Every three years the Gypsum Association publishes a new edition of its flagship publication, "GA-600, Fire Resistance Design Manual (FRDM)," and this year we are rolling out the 2006 (18th) edition.

Gypsum wallboard or "drywall" has become the preferred surface material used in the construction of interior walls and partitions. In residential construction, gypsum wallboard is also the preferred material for interior ceiling surfaces. Now that this material is so commonly used and surrounds us in our daily lives, we tend to think of it in terms of a plain, flat, bland surface over which a neutral colored paint or nondescript wallcovering is applied.

To what extent should society insist on terrorist-proof buildings? In post-Sept. 11, should we construct every new building so that it is completely safe from a terrorist action or should we view terrorism as a random event and construct buildings much as we have in the past?

Gypsum board systems can either be non-rated or rated for fire, sound or shear resistance. The joint tolerances in gypsum board systems rated for fire, sound or shear resistance need to be tighter than the joint tolerances in non-rated systems.

The number of inquires to the Gypsum Association about water-damaged gypsum board always increases during the winter and early spring. What is interesting is how answers to many of these questions can be found in the content of one of the first columns we wrote for Walls and Ceilings and in an association document last revised in 2003.

I have always found one of the more intriguing characteristics of a model building code document to be its fluid nature. Granted, a specific edition of a code is finite; however, since model code texts are constantly being updated, they can and do change over time; and what is a standing truth today may be completely irrelevant or outdated tomorrow.

Modern gypsum board has as its predecessor a product called "Sackett Board," a composite material that was made of layers of thin plaster placed between four plies of wool felt paper.

Gypsum board is now such a commonly used building material that it's difficult to imagine a construction project that doesn't use it somewhere. Most residential interior walls and ceilings are composed of framing and gypsum board; a very large portion of commercial interior walls use gypsum board; gypsum sheathing is frequently used in exterior construction; and area separation walls in townhouses and shafts for elevators and stairwells frequently are built using gypsum shaft liner board.

"Build it to code"-a phrase that every contractor or building owner has probably heard at least once in their career. But what does it mean for a drywall contractor? And

Over the last century, particularly during the Great Depression and World War II, scarce resources and economic pressures provided the incentive to conserve energy and recycle or reclaim raw materials.