No drywall on exterior walls, ok?

[oddan]

Hello,

I live in a newly built Hjältevadshus. I was going to hang some pictures today on an exterior wall and was surprised to find that there was no drywall, only particleboard. I had previously read on Hjältevadshus drawings that they "recommend that exterior walls be clad with a movement-stable board (type gypsum)" and just assumed the contractor had put drywall over the particleboard. I guess that explains all the corner cracks that have appeared (and been fixed by the contractor)...

Are there any obvious disadvantages to only having particleboard? Is it a cost-cutting/shoddy construction or more a matter of taste?

 

[klaskarlsson]

Hello,

I live in a newly built Hjältevadshus. I was going to hang some pictures today on an exterior wall and was surprised to find it wasn't plasterboard but just particleboard. I had previously read in Hjältevadshus drawings that they "recommend that exterior walls be clad with a movement-stable board (type plasterboard)" and just assumed the contractor had put plasterboard on the particleboards. That explains all the cracks in the corners that have appeared (and been fixed by the contractor), I guess...

Are there any obvious drawbacks to having only particleboard? Is it a cheap/poor construction or more a matter of taste?

There is probably no rule that the board material must be plasterboard, although it is usually used - not least because particleboard is difficult to make look nice if painted or wallpapered directly on it, and it can crack. But for wall stability, particleboard is probably as good as plasterboard, and it's also good to have behind the plasterboard if you're screwing things onto the wall, etc.

 

[oddan]

There is probably no rule that the sheet material must be gypsum, even though it is usually used—especially since chipboard is difficult to make look neat if painting or wallpapering directly on it, and it can crack. But for the stability of the wall, chipboard is probably as good as gypsum, and it's good to have behind the gypsum if you screw things onto the wall, etc.

Thanks for the answer. In this case, there's nothing wrong with the wall's finish, not as far as I can assess anyway. It's also whole chipboards covering the entire wall, so no seams. However, I've had problems with cracks in the corners where walls meet. I've indeed had that upstairs too, where it's gypsum. So that might not be relevant at all.

 

[Jonatan79]

A Småland solution from the manufacturer. If you want, you can install corner moldings where it has cracked.