Why have Drywalls not succeeded in Residential Buildings in India?

Construction Industry contributes a major chunk to the Indian GDP. Of the total construction market in India, the residential segment contributes a significant portion. Despite much advancement in technology in every field, this is one sector where we still see things not catching up as fast as others. India leads the Digital transformation globally and perhaps has one of the best pool of human resources who are leading this change. Today's unicorns are a testament to that.

Why have we not seen such evolution in Construction Industry and particularly in the Residential Segment? We are still stuck with brick-and-mortar technology. Pre-Engineered Buildings (PEBs), Aluminium Form-Works technology, Light-Gauge-Steel-Frames (LGSF) have made their way into Indian construction- but are still not being used in all markets. We have seen new technologies coming in – but not scaled up as much as we would like it to be. Even the new start-ups we have seen going big seem to be working on buying efficiencies and reducing inventories and waste – more on the material procurement and aggregation side. Large contractors have the bandwidth to experiment with new technologies – but we see that most construction is still in the medium and small segments where more traditional ways are being used still.

We will specifically talk about why Drywalls (Gypsum boards also called Plasterboards/ other Board Walls sometimes clubbed together) are not taken off in India despite the technology being around for a long time. The use of Gypsum Boards has been around for a very long time. But it has been there mostly for ceilings. Use of Gypsum Boards in partitions has been found in Commercial & Industrial buildings requiring higher performance on acoustics, fire handling capabilities, impact resistance, and to some extent moisture resistance. Several new types of boards and wall panels have found their way into the market for applications that need better strength (perceived & real) as well other performance compared to brick and AAC blocks. These products have done well in Industrial and Commercial buildings – mostly in warehouses and factories. However, the use of such boards and panels has seen limited use in Residential Buildings.

What is the main reason for the low usage of drywalls in the residential segment, even though drywall construction requires very less water (as the name suggests), is very light as compared to bricks, faster to construct, and more accurate in alignment. Apart from this, Drywalls also have much higher acoustic, fire, mositure, and impact resistance. Architects and specifiers can design walls to suit specific performance requirements. They also free up useable space inside an apartment. Yet builders have stayed away from Drywalls and continue to do so. Globally, we see that most walls (internal and external ones) are made from Gypsum, Fibre Cement Boards, and other such materials. Yet, in India, builders don’t want to experiment with these.

About a decade ago, some leading developers from cities like New Delhi and Mumbai had experimented with using Gypsum/other wallboards for their Residential projects. The use of serious drywalls was started in Pune city by a very well-known builder there who had used it for some residential buildings after using it in their commercial buildings. They had even created a team of specialists who got trained by some drywall product companies for the installation of such boards and walls. Some of the Developers in West India used this technology for some residential projects. But as it turned out, the installation of such boards had challenges in some projects due to many reasons. Lack of trained installers (workmanship), changing designs, and lack of deep understanding of the construction sequence and yardsticks to measure the construction quality were some factors that contributed to overall finish and quality, which were not in line with the customers’ expectations. Despite these projects being high-end, and customers who booked apartments in these projects very well-traveled lot, there were general apprehensions about the sturdiness and strength of such walls. A strong perception exists even today amongst buyers of residential units that drywalls can’t perform as well as brick walls and don’t feel as secure as brick walls. There is also a feeling that drywalls can’t be worked upon as easily as brick walls – hanging of point loads (picture frames) and creating fixtures for cabinets and other immovable fixed furniture. This perception is compounded by the fact that such walls sound hollow on tapping. The engineers can vouch that some of the most rigid structures can be hollow. We have seen the use of Square and Rectangular Hollow Sections (SHS & RHS) in construction works. It is the intrinsic nature of these walls to feel hollow since there is a layer of sound-absorbing material like glass wool between two layers of boards. But that doesn’t mean that these walls are not strong and can’t withstand impact. Drywalls if built correctly can provide the required strength and long-term performance. Builders who initially thought that they could market this technology as part of the new construction solution to their customers had to backtrack and go back to the conventional approach. Such was the impact of some of the news created, that many builders who otherwise had started experimenting with drywalls, decided to put the experiment on hold and use what was tried and tested.

Perhaps, the organized Gypsum and other Board & Panel manufacturing companies have a big role to play in this. We have not seen concerted efforts from them as an Industry Body to come forward and put facts clearly in front of the customers. Even today, the Industry-level representation of all Boards & Panel manufacturers is limited. We have yet not seen a strong nation-level Industry representation that purely works for promoting Drywall interest. Manufacturers, Architects, Contractors, Builders, and Specifiers – all need to come together to start creating the right impetus for pushing this technology. We may have to work on creating solutions that may be hybrid ones. Ones that address the strength issue as well as which can deliver on Fire & Acoustic performance. In today's

Each stakeholder has a key role to play. So does the Government which can be the biggest impact creator of this. The use of such materials and solutions is prevalent in high-altitude dwelling units or establishments needing high-performance levels. But yet, we need to see Building Codes being changed to create specific insertion of drywall usage in residential buildings. This is possible when all stakeholders work closely to iron out all the typical issues related to this technology including creating a high skill installer base for the same as the installation is key to the success of these solutions. Some new companies have started promoting the drywall concept with Boards and Panels which are alternatives to Gypsum to address the strength issue. But it will need some huge marketing spending to start making an impact at the national level. And most of them don't have that kind of money to spend.

How does this technology compare to the brick wall in cost? Pretty competitive. For projects that can get completed faster with less requirement of water, and sand, and with reduced dead load for the buildings, the real cost-benefit comes from the savings to the project and not just a per sqm cot comparison with brick walls. Even at the per square meter rate basis, these solutions are pretty competitive. With rising cost and availability issues for sand and water, the parity on a cost per sqm basis is just around the corner.

Gypsum is an inert material and is found naturally. It also comes as a by-product of some processes (Flue Gas Desulphurization – FGD). There is no dearth of this material and it has a low carbon footprint. Gypsum Drywalls have a lower carbon footprint as compared to Red Clay Bricks and given the fact that Drywalls use almost no water & sand, the total embodied carbon for Drywalls is lower than Brickwall. From a sustainability point of view too, this material is a good choice.

There is a future for Drywalls in India if we can get over the barriers created in the minds of the customers and builders. Sustained and open marketing communication to explain the benefits of drywall and removing the concerns on strength, useability & performance of such walls can help change the mindset and help increase the usage of this technology in coming times. Creating a pool of expert installers can further help improve the perception of the quality of workmanship. Some good Drywall Construction companies are doing their bit, but the numbers are very limited. It’s time that industry experts come together and start to think about how this can be pushed as a unified agenda.

Disclaimer: Picture credit to original owners (unknown). This article has been written without any prejudice based on industry experience and secondary research material available.