New ASTM Standard Replaces Eight Gypsum Product Specifications
The task of specifying gypsum board products has just become much simpler. As of December 1, 2004, a single ASTM International reference standard, ASTM C 1396, Specification for Gypsum Board, has replaced eight standards previously used to designate specific gypsum board products employed in commercial and residential construction.
No technical changes have been made to the individual specifications incorporated into C 1396, which was established to avoid inadvertent inconsistencies in the requirements of individual products due to staggered document revision schedules.
Incorporated into the new ASTM standard for gypsum board products are:
C 36, Specification for Gypsum Wallboard
C 37, Specification for Gypsum Lath
C 79, Specification for Gypsum Sheathing Board
C 442, Specification for Gypsum Backing Board, Gypsum Coreboard and Gypsum Shaftliner Board
C 630, Specification for Water-Resistant Gypsum Backing Board
C 931, Specification for Exterior Gypsum Soffit Board
C 960, Specification for Predecorated Gypsum Board
C 1395, Specification for Gypsum Ceiling Board
To facilitate a smooth transition from the old standards to the new, all-encompassing standard, the gypsum industry agreed in 1999 on a five-year phase-in period during which product labels and literature would project both the new standard and the original product specifications.
Robert Wessel, Assistant Executive Director of the Gypsum Association and Secretary to ASTM C11 Committee on Gypsum and Related Building Materials and Systems, said the period of dual labeling was designed to give the industry time to educate specifiers on the need to use ASTM C 1396 in place of the existing specifications.
"Now that the individual product standards have been withdrawn and replaced with a single standard, C 1396, the building codes should soon reflect this change," he said. "Moreover, design professionals should make sure that their specifications use the C 1396 designation instead of the previous standards so that they are in compliance with both industry standards and code language." Wessel also stated that builders and code officials need to know that the new standard replaces the eight previous gypsum product specifications.
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