Plasterboard is just another term for drywall, sheetrock, or gypsum. It’s an excellent material for interior construction because of its insulation ability and the fact that it is a decent load-bearing material.
Not all plasterboard is created equally, meaning that certain types will be stronger or weaker than other types. From an average, across-the-board standpoint, expect no less than 20lbs of holding strength that can easily reach 100, depending on type and construction.
While hanging a small plant from the plasterboard on your ceiling may be perfectly fine, hanging a large boxing bag just won’t cut it unless your hook is embedded in the ceiling stud. If it’s too heavy, it will simply pull a gaping hole out of your overhead plasterboard.
Different Types and Strengths of Plasterboard
There are several different kinds of plasterboard, so it’s not just a matter of thickness or application. When it comes to industrial plasterboard, it is typically stronger than the stuff you will find in a residential application.
That doesn’t mean you can’t have or use the same plasterboard used in industrial applications in your home, because you certainly can. Industrial strength plasterboard is a lot more expensive than what is installed in new home construction projects.
Impact Resistant Plasterboard
This is probably the strongest plasterboard you can get your hands on and no contractor is going to install impact-resistant plasterboard inside your home unless it’s plasterboard surrounding a safe/panic room.
You would have to request that sort of thing before the contract work began or you would have to replace your existing plasterboard with impact-resistant plasterboard on your own time and with your own money.
Besides, impact-resistant plasterboard is specifically made for high-traffic areas or areas where you expect impacts to happen. Not only does it have a very high density, but it’s also thick, heavy, and covered in thick paper that improves its support.
You could easily hang something that weighs 50lbs from impact-resistant plasterboard without worrying about it coming through or sagging.
Fire-Resistant Plasterboard
While fire-resistant plasterboard is strong against fire, thanks to the types of materials that go into it, as well as glass fibers, it’s no more or less strong than most of your other plasterboard materials. It’s just really hard to light it on fire.
Fire-resistant plasterboard is typically found in industrial settings and between the garage and the rest of the house in residential applications.
Insulated Plasterboard
This stuff is much more common inside the home. It has excellent thermal properties so it will hold in heat during the winter and won’t leech the cold out of the room during the summer. It’s as strong as you would expect it to be.
Of course, that means you probably shouldn’t hand anything from it heavier than a potted plant. Insulated plasterboard is usually combined with standard plasterboard, so even though it looks thicker on your wall than you would expect, it’s only that way because of the combination.
Acoustic Plasterboard
Acoustic plasterboard is second only to impact-resistant plasterboard in terms of strength and durability. Mineral wool and fiberglass are typically used to manufacture acoustic plasterboard and the materials themselves are pretty sturdy.
You will usually see acoustic plasterboard in theaters, churches, and buildings where music or sound is being recorded. It’s not quite as strong as impact-resistant plasterboard, but it’s close.
Unless you have a specific room in your house that is dedicated to recording audio or video, there is no reason for acoustic plasterboard to be in your house, and it’s not something that contractors would do without specific guidance to do so.
Water-Resistant Plasterboard
You will typically see this in the form of green board and contractors will sometimes install this type of plasterboard in bathrooms, around the bathtub and shower, and around other areas where water is going to be prevalent.
This may or may not include the water heater, dishwasher, and washing machine. In terms of strength, it’s a little bit better than standard plasterboard around the house, in addition to being resistant to moisture, mold, and mildew.
Despite it being a little bit stronger than regular plasterboard, you shouldn’t hang anything on it that’s heavier than 20lbs. The odds of you having a place to hang something are slim and none anyway.
Water-resistant plasterboard is placed in areas where you would bang your head against anything that you hung up.
How Thick is Standard Plasterboard?
Standard plasterboard or sheetrock is generally ½ in thickness. However, oftentimes contractors will place multiple layers of the stuff in the ceiling, so it’s thinner than it might appear at first.
In the UK, the thickness of plasterboard is measured in millimeters and the typical thickness is 9.5mm to 12.5mm. So it’s not very thick, whether it’s applied in the states or overseas. However, it’s padded in most places, and for good reason.
What Can You Hang on Ceiling Plasterboard?
Not much. You shouldn’t hang anything that’s heavier than a small, potted plant. Even then, you need to be conscious of the fact that watering the plant may make it heavy enough to pull through the ceiling.
Whenever you hang something in plasterboard, it’s better to get a drywall screw and anchor. The anchor expands into the plasterboard as you insert the screw and if you are dealing with a simple hook, you just need a drywall anchor that matches the hook’s thread diameter.
The most sensical and sturdy thing to do is screw anything that you want to hang in the overhead into the studs (joists) that are hidden behind the plasterboard. You can purchase a simple stud finder at any local retail store to help you or you can knock on the ceiling and listen to the different sounds to locate a stud.
All Things Considered
Standard plasterboard is not strong enough to hold a substantial amount of weight. It’s plenty sturdy for what it is but it’s the frame of the building that you want to hang things on, not the plasterboard.
In fact, you are far better off using drywall anchors to hang things like picture frames on the wall than you are hanging stuff in the overhead without using a stud.
If you found this blog post helpful, please share it on social media or wherever you can. Also, take a look at our other most recent blog posts below:
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