T HE IMPORTANCE OF

G YPSUM B OARD D IRECTION

AND OFFSETTING JOINTS
By James L. Houser
J.L. Houser and Associates
Gypsum Consultants

P utting a building together from

the design stages to the creation of
The point is that details, no mat-
ter how insignificant they may seem,
basic elements of Life Safety, areas
of refuge, escape routes and protec-
functional space requires that each are extremely important to the over- tion of property.
trade contribute a level of knowl- all performance of any tested or This is an awesome responsibil-
edge at the “cutting edge” of their engineered assembly. ity!
industries’ technology. Every day we provide wall and It has been this author’s experi-
Construction is a highly techni- ence that gypsum board direction
cal industry, and sometimes seem- of application and the offsetting or
ingly minor changes have the po- We are proper staggering of joints are the
tential for monumental conse- source of more job problems for the
quences. This was vividly and tra-
not only wall and ceiling contractor than any
gically demonstrated on the evening creating space, other specific detail of application
of July 17, 1981 when a devastating requirements. And, unfortunately,
failure occurred at the Hyatt Re-
we are it is one of the most costly for the
gency Hotel in Kansas City. installing the contractor to correct.
The original suspension details It may be appropriate to start
of two atrium walkways were
basic elements of with a review of the definitions of
“slightly” altered during the con- Life Safety, the various terms relating to gyp-
struction phase by a change order. sum board direction and joint loca-
The alteration eventually caused a
areas of refuge, tions as they are presently written
stress failure that resulted in the escape routes and in the industry application stan-
death of 114 people and injured dards 1 and test descriptions 2:
over 200 others. The litigation and
protection
settlement costs of this accident have of property Parallel - This term means that the
been enormous and the impact on long or factory (paper bound) edges
the entire construction industry are applied in the same direction as
without precedent. This is an the primary framing member. On
Contract language is more sidewalls this method may be re-
explicit...Change orders are more
awesome ferred to as “vertical application,”
closely monitored...bonding is more responsibility but the term vertical is not appro-
expensive...liability insurance costs priate to ceiling construction and
for design, engineering and general may create confusion.
contracting professional have ceiling systems that must conform
skyrocketed...most jurisdictions to code-imposed fire and sound Perpendicular - This term refers
have upgraded their plans review ratings and structural criteria for to applications where the long edges
process and inspecting authorities’ attachment, suspension, axial and are applied “at right angles” to the
educational requirements. Doing lateral loading. We are not only framing members. Onsidewalls this
business is simply more difficult. creating space, we are installing the met hod could be described as “hori-
Joints - cont'd on page 30
Construction Dimensions/November 1992 27
 there are fewer joints to finish. On combined water, and a slight over-
Joints - cont'd from page 27
ceilings however, where joints or all shrinkage occurs in severe tem-
zontal,” also not appropriate to de- trusses are often spaced up to 24 in. perature exposure. Edges and ends
scribe board direction on ceilings. o.c. and/or the use of water-based backed by framing members pro-
spray textures are anticipated, then tect the cavity and unexposed sur-
Staggered Joints - Edges and the gypsum board thickness and face for an additional period of time.
ends are offset from each other at direction is extremely important. In perpendicular (at right angle)
least one framing space, 16 in. o.c. The charts in Figure A from ASTM applications, edge joints that fall
or 24 in. o.c. based on test details. C 840 and Gypsum Association lit- directly across from each other may
This refers to boards applied on the erature delineate recommended be prematurely exposed to severe
same wall side as well as partitions application standards. temperatures and experience early
withgypsum boards applied on op- In fire-rated systems the code failure.
posite sides. authorities will require that the as- Ininstances when gypsum board
sembly be built in the field as it was has been improperly installed, there
NOTE: In multi-layered assemblies it tested. In most cases gypsum board are remedies that may be accept-
is most important to plan the base and wall assemblies are tested with the able to the building official, such as:
face layer joint locations to offset one factory edges adjoined over the pri- 1. The use of greater stud depth
from the other. A common error on mary framing members in both than that which was tested.
parallel applications is to end up with wood and metal construction. There 2. The addition of glass or min-
all butt joints at one height. This is most are, however, a few specific assem- eral insulation in the cavity of cer-
difficult to justify to inspecting au- blies where tests have been con- tain systems.
thorities unless the joints occur above a ducted with the board in either di- 3. A greater thickness of gypsum
ceiling membrane. rection, such as WP 1200 and WP board than that tested, provided
3520 from the current edition of the that the core is of a rated type for-
In general, the gypsum board Fire Resistance Design Manual.2 mula.
direction on sidewalls of non-rated The rationale for this application 4. Backblocking of the joints with
or residential construction makes requirement, as demonstrated by cross framing members.
little structural difference. Perpen- the ASTM E 119 standard test 5. Ceramic tile or other non-com-
dicular direction is often preferred method, is that the gypsum core bustible wall surfacing material on
as it is the stronger orientation and will release most of its chemically one wall surface.
Joints - cont'd on page 38
30 November 1992/Construction Dimensions
 enable an organization to shape its which was tested or specified.
Teamwork - cont'd from page 34
the strategic planning process are own future rather than to simply Be on secure ground by doing it
congruent with the stated objec- prepare for the future. right the first time. In this day and
tives and end results. The ongoing time, a lack of knowledge is not an
effectiveness of this high perfor- acceptable excuse.
mance, high commitment system There are numerous places where
requires constant planning and in- you can obtain excellent educational
teraction among the various teams materials, reference standards, test
to achieve optimum quality and details and proper installation pm-
profitability on each project. cedures. Before you start the job,
Sound Leadership: the chal- check with the gypsum manufac-
lenge for the organizational leaders turer, the Gypsum Association, your
is to continually ask themselves local or national trade association
these questions and keep them in such as AWCI or the Foundation of
the forefront of their thinking: the Wall and Ceiling Industry, etc.
• Do we want to seek quality in All you have to do is ask!
everything we do? • Will we over- Incidently, School may end, but
come the struggle to move forward learning is a life-long process.
rather than return to traditional
ways of doing things? • Are we References:
willing to become systematic think- 1. ASTM C 840, GA 216
ers and planners. • Do we believe 2. GA 600, Fire Resistance Design
that this management system will Manual
About the Author:
make a difference in the market- Norb Slowikowski is a professional
place? About the Author:
trainer and a management consult- James L. Houser recently retired
If the answer is yes, then the lead- ant who concentrates on all aspects
ers need to understand that they are from Domtar Gypsum, as Director
of Human Resource Development. of Technical Services, after almost
“buying into” and initiating a redis- Norb and his wife, Mary Kay,
tribution of power, which leads to: 40 years in the gypsum industry. He
founded Slowikowski and Associ- is the author of the “Glossary of
Empowerment: power is ex- ates in 1975.
tended to people who do the work. Gypsum Board Terminology,” the
Since 1982, Norb has worked “Levels of Gypsum Board Finish”
Their intelligence is valued, their extensively in the construction in-
potential for learning and getting and numerous articles of technical
dustry with a variety of contractors significance.
involved is encouraged, and their representing diverse trades. He has
interest in caring is fostered. Middle Jim has been awarded two pat-
trained over 5,000 field supervisors ents and given a Lifetime Honorary
and upper management begin to and has provided consulting exper-
treat people as adults and value Membership in AWCI. He has
tise to a number of companies in the formed his own consulting busi-
them as resources to the success of areas of management development,
the company. Delegating responsi- ness and resides in Ann Arbor, MI
organization development, strate- with his wife, Harriette. q
bility and commensurateauthority, gic planning, designing perfor-
expanding employees’ roles and mance appraisal/incentive pro-
sharing information about the com- grams and installing new manage-
pany will foster a management and ment systems. q
worksystem characterized by high
energy, continuous learning and
quality improvement that becomes
an obvious choice for all team play- Joints - cont'd from page 30
ers. The inspecting authority will
The strategic planning process sometimes accept a letter from the
and a management system of achiev- gypsum board producer, indepen-
ing organizational excellence dent testing agency or other profes-
through teamwork is a systematic sional opinions and base their ac-
effort by your company to deal with ceptance on evaluations of similarly
the inevitability of change and to tested designs. One should not an-
attempt to envision its own future. ticipate the success of a job based on
The importance of this process and convincing the building official that
the accompanying elements will an altered assembly is equal to that James L. Houser

38 November 1992/Construction Dimensions