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Gypsum vs. Hardboard Walls

The advantages of Gypsum over Hardboard:

Gypsum is fire rated and has better sound deadening capabilities than hardboard... Plus it always meets building codes. National prefers to use gypsum board over hardboard for these reasons, but we understand that hardboard does have its applications.

Can you use "Hardboard" in a wall panel?

Yes, if you use National Partitions Hardboard wall system with honeycomb core... and NO, according to all major building codes, when hardboard is used with an EPS insulation. Chapter 26 that covers EPS, requires an approved thermal barrier, and hardboard is not approved. Currently 45+ states follow a major building code that prohibit this construction and that number has been increasing due to the acceptance of the new International Building Code. The industry has used this product for over 25 years and to our knowledge, without incident... and although we could continue to restrict and advise where this product is appropriate, we decided to lead the industry and eliminate it...

Besides, National Partitions very popular ValueWall System which is a fire-rated product has superior sound deadening capabilities and costs LESS than our rivals hardboard walls. Why would anyone buy a non-code compliant product when a cost effective and better alternative is available?

Our ValueWall system uses fire-rated 5/8" type "X" gypsum for the wall surfaces. We are proud to state that this product exceeds the building code thermal barrier requirements of 15 minutes by nearly 3 times.

When you purchase a product, wouldn't you feel better if it were fire-rated and code compliant? Of course.

National Partitions also offers a 1 and 2-hour certified fire-rated wall systems when needed.

 

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