# Best and worst board brands



## ubcguy89 (Mar 23, 2013)

What's your favorite? I prefer goldbond, I feel it gives the tightest joints, paper is always great, and makes for a beautiful finish. On the flip side I think Lafarge is freakin junk. Getting tight joints is a nightmare, the corners are rolled, paper is garbage. What's your opinions. I mostly hang 5/8" stand ups on metal


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

I like certainteed And had the misfortune of being 6 boards short on Sunday to finish and ran to hd. Apparently all they have in 5/8th is ultra light. That chit is complete junk.


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## ubcguy89 (Mar 23, 2013)

Certainteed is good stuff I just really hate Lafarge. All HD and lowes board sucks the best board is still hot off the press directly from the plant!


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

ubcguy89 said:


> Certainteed is good stuff I just really hate Lafarge. All HD and lowes board sucks the best board is still hot off the press directly from the plant!


The date on our main order from my supplier was 1/28/14. Hardly enough time to ship it here


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## Big Shoe (Jun 16, 2008)

Anything other than USG Lightweight.


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## ubcguy89 (Mar 23, 2013)

I have a plant within 10 miles of me on large orders we get truck from the factory. On a cold day you will pull board off the truck still steaming and hot from the press. I kid you not. Not that it makes the board any better though


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## D.E.P.S. (Aug 3, 2013)

We have a USG plant, and 3 very good large suppliers within 13 miles of my home. We can get just about any product we want from the major brands. I really feel for the guys who have to depend on suppliers pushing out the defective board. Hard to make time when flats turn into butt joints all day long.


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## smeagol (May 13, 2008)

I prefer goldbond. Toughrock not so much.


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## sandshooter (Dec 30, 2012)

here in socal USG is our favorite. 
and least favorite theres some 5/8 garbage called pabco.


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## shanekw1 (Mar 20, 2008)

I'm no drywaller, and I certainly don't pretend to want to be one, but what is the real problem with the lightweight board? Other than "it's junk" are there any real quality or finishing issues with it?


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## ubcguy89 (Mar 23, 2013)

shanekw1 said:


> I'm no drywaller, and I certainly don't pretend to want to be one, but what is the real problem with the lightweight board? Other than "it's junk" are there any real quality or finishing issues with it?


I feel the problem comes with hanging. I have not used it a whole lot, but you gotta watch because you can easily tear it up. You get more screw pops, paper tears easier, hard to snap...


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## Ancient Rocker (Jul 25, 2009)

The "problems" are not from the hanging. USG lightweight is terrific , but Georgia- Pacific is horrible.


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## tyb525 (Feb 26, 2013)

Must be why we don't have problems with the lightweight, we use USG mostly. We don't use lightweight 5/8 on the ceiling, but man I hate hanging that heavy stuff.


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

I'm never buying half inch again . I'm only going to use 5/8 and not lightweight


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## princelake (Jul 17, 2012)

here the only brands are cgc, certainteed and toughrock. and thats the order i like them. I've gotten use to the light weight and dont really have any problems with it. The only thing i find is there is the odd air bubble in it and only noticable when cutting it.


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## ubcguy89 (Mar 23, 2013)

jlsconstruction said:


> I'm never buying half inch again . I'm only going to use 5/8 and not lightweight


On the rare occasion we get 5/8 lightweight I love it. But I would rather hang goldbond 5/8 any day


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## iDAHOchris (Feb 11, 2012)

jlsconstruction said:


> I'm never buying half inch again . I'm only going to use 5/8 and not lightweight


 The road has been much smoother .


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## ToolNut (Aug 9, 2012)

Problems with L/W; doesn't cut and snap clean, can ding it with your fingernail, paper tears when putting screws in, does not hold screws well, since it doesn't hold screws well after up a bit screw pops, high shoulders to the point that almost every seam is a butt.


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## blacktop (Oct 28, 2012)

shanekw1 said:


> I'm no drywaller, and I certainly don't pretend to want to be one, but what is the real problem with the lightweight board? Other than "it's junk" are there any real quality or finishing issues with it?


Just Imagine laying your sub-floor with cardboard.


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## smeagol (May 13, 2008)

Our last basement we hung i specked out all gold bond high strength ceiling board.

It is about 27 pounds more than lite board but holds a screw perfect and cuts clean. Good screw holding is more important to us now that we run strictly collated. You can tell its density/strength when you carry its not making crackeling noises like lite board


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## ubcguy89 (Mar 23, 2013)

smeagol said:


> Our last basement we hung i specked out all gold bond high strength ceiling board.
> 
> It is about 27 pounds more than lite board but holds a screw perfect and cuts clean. Good screw holding is more important to us now that we run strictly collated. You can tell its density/strength when you carry its not making crackeling noises like lite board


I tend to move board from truck to a frame cart to elevator to A frame to stack in beam. From the stack to a a frame to the wall, I try my best not to carry more than a few feet


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## iDAHOchris (Feb 11, 2012)

Has anyone ever played with the Aqua Tough Rock? Now that is some mean chit


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## intjonmiller (Jan 8, 2014)

I'm in Salt Lake. My employer buys from LW (locally called Building Specialists) and a local outfit called Swanson and they both carry the Pabco crap. Pabco is a regional brand made just outside Vegas. It has far more texture to the actual rock than any other brand I've used, including long fibers. It seems like that may add to its strength, which is nice, but it's terrible to cut. It doesn't snap, it slowly tears, especially if there's any humidity. And on this massive condo renovation job we're storing our materials in a vacant unit's garage, a few feet from the door so it is constantly exposed to the shifting weather/humidity this time of year. The long fibers are probably why it won't snap easily, and it's as itchy as any fiberglass I've ever encountered. And it leaves a rough edge that ALWAYS requires rasping, even when I score both sides before breaking it. Today I ordered a Blade Runner and a Tajima rasp, hoping that together it will make it a little less work. The biggest pieces I'm doing on this are about 6" strips around replacement entry doors and sidelights, along with little 2" sidelight window returns. I can't imagine needing to cut more often on a job than I am on this one, and they get me the worst boards in town. 

For my own basement (45 boards) last week I ordered from LW and specifically said "Certainteed or USG". Half of the 4x8s were Pabco because "we were out of the others". Then tell me that and I'll order from someone else! I specified it for a reason! But I didn't know until after the delivery was complete. 

I had also ordered three 16 foot boards. They brought me three 15 foot boards. "Oh, we don't stock 16s in Utah. We have to order those from California." THEN TELL ME AND I'LL ORDER FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE! With 15s I have a butt joint where it was supposed to be seamless! If I have to deal with a butt joint I'd rather two 8s than a 15 and a 1. 

I will never order from them again.


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## ubcguy89 (Mar 23, 2013)

16' is a common length, all of our suppliers stock 8' 8'6" 9' 10' 12' 14' and 16' although if you need a large quantity more than a few thousand sheets you need them ordered from a manufacturer


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## intjonmiller (Jan 8, 2014)

I know it is. I was going to go through Colonial Supply which stocks every full foot increment in both 48 and 54, and they only stock CertainTeed. But I got a modest price break by going through my employer's account. That was a mistake.


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