USG's New Fiberock Sheathing

Fiberock Aqua-Tough Sheathing, a new product from gypsum products giant USG, has significant environmental and performance advantages. Strength, durability, and integral water resistance are selling points for this unfaced gypsum sheathing.

Aqua-Tough Sheathing, Fiberock Underlayment, VHI Abuse-Resistant interior wallboard panels, and XL interior wallboard panels comprise the Fiberock family of gypsum-fiber products. All of these products contain recycled cellulose fibers within the panel core and do not have paper or fiberglass facings like conventional gypsum wallboard and sheathing. Unlike faced gypsum products, which rely on their facings for strength, Fiberock is not susceptible to significant losses in material integrity when its surface is damaged. Risk of delamination is also avoided.

The Fiberock family of products has an interesting history. The family is split between a plant in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia (underlayment and wallboard) and the new sheathing production line in Gypsum, Ohio. The Nova Scotia plant, formerly owned by Louisiana-Pacific, produced Fiberbond wallboard and underlayment (see