Fire Resistant, or Fire Rate Gypsum Boards (FRG) are gypsum wall boards specially designed to offer superior fire resistance performance when used in drywall partitions, shaft walls, ceilings and lining systems. Fire rated gypsum board is more fire resistant because it contains glass fiber reinforcement and other additives within its specially formulated gypsum core to help it hold up longer to a fire exposure.

Physical Description
    All gypsum board are fire resistant and produced in a range of thicknesses, core formulations and optional special performance enhancements. In the specialty fire rated gypsum board, the primary core additive is either glass fibers, surface materials for boards may be either enhanced, recycled paper or fiberglass mats.

Advantages and Benefits
    Fire resistance is one of the first specialty performance characteristics added to standard gypsum boards, and more characteristics can summarized as:

Fire Resistance – Fire-Resistant Gypsum Boards are classified for use that can deliver fire ratings up to 3 hours in ceilings and as long as 4 hours in wall and column systems.

Construction Efficiency – Fire Resistant Gypsum Panels are just as easy to install and finish as the standard gypsum boards covering the largest proportion of interior wall and ceiling surfaces in most single-family homes. Score-and-snap cutting and reliable compatibility with a broad range of finishing treatments make them a popular and efficient construction choice to provide enhanced fire safety in new construction as well as remodeling.

Noise Attenuation – Gypsum drywall panels have long been recognized as an effective material in the construction of interior partitions designed to help control unwanted noise because of their mass and density. Fire-Resistant Gypsum Panels perform this role especially well with its abundant and solid core texture and laminated surface materials.

Other Specialty Performance Properties – Fire-Resistant Gypsum Panels are also manufactured with a number of added performance characteristics as well. The combinations of features that may include in a fire rated gypsum board are:

• Mold/Moisture Resistance
• Abuse Resistance
• Impact Resistance
• Reduced Panel Weight
• Enhanced Ceiling Span Characteristics.