You'll pass thousands of these items every day. It's everywhere in your home, in your office, and in every store you go to. It's known by many names: Sheetrock, wallboard, plasterboard, gypsum wallboard, or, more commonly, it's called drywall. Despite the widespread use of drywall throughout our lives, few are aware of how it is made or where it's sourced, or what its value is.

Drywall is a building material that is used to construct ceilings and walls. It's also used for numerous design elements, like arches, eaves, and various architectural features. It's easy and quick to put up, extremely robust, and needs only minimal repairs when damaged. In the world of commercial construction, drywall is utilized to cover columns in order to hide steel beams. It is a cost-effective and easy option to add a layer of walls over ceilings. Drywall can also be used to provide fire protection to ceilings and walls and prevent the spread of fire so that people are able to evacuate in an emergency.

Before the widespread use of drywall for interior construction, the building was made out of plaster. For centuries, ceilings and walls were constructed by laying layers of plaster that was wet over hundreds of wooden strips, known as laths. The wet plaster eventually expanded to create walls; however, the construction and repair process was lengthy and challenging to complete efficiently. For walls made of plaster, it required several coats of plaster to be applied with a lengthy drying time between coats. In addition to the lengthy duration of installation, the application of plaster was extremely labor-intensive and required skilled artisans who worked on an area of the wall for weeks.

Walls that could require weeks to construct using plaster can be completed within a few days using drywall. They will last longer and be less expensive to construct. The damaged drywall can be patched up faster and less difficult manner than plaster. Additionally, the drywall has a higher amount of fire resistance.

Despite all the benefits, the use of drywall took a while to be accepted by builders. It was only over the last 50 or 60 years that the material earned any respect.