Exterior wall sheathing

[Thronester]

Has anyone used Densglass fiberglass mat gypsum board for wall sheathing? More specifically for metal framed walls? It seems to be fire resistant, holds  up to humidity, moisture and obviously termites. I’ve seen it on residential projects throughout the mainland and in elevator shafts on large commercial jobs. It looks like a great alternative to OSB.

[Ccat]

I would also like to know the answer.  I have been looking for all alternatives to wood.  BTW, traditional cement stucco, which is often used over densglass, gets moldy in the tropics.  I am not sure if the acrylic stucco is that much better, in the rainy tropics,  because of its texture.

So, what do you coat densglass with in the tropics if you don’t want it to look hopelessly moldy?


Ccat

[Thronester]

I’ve seen this product used for residential projects on the exterior behind the siding instead of OSB plywood for structural sheathing. It gets covered by Tyvek house wrap or similar. I’ve never seen it in the tropics but have read that it can be used for hurricane safe rooms when used with 8 1/4” lap siding.

[Obie]

If there are any openings in the fiberglass termites could get in and devour the gypsum core. Ir's meant to be covered with siding, brick or stucco. I'm not sure it would offer any advantage over pressure treated plywood.

My house is all plywood covered with hardi plank siding. I have had no mold issues and termites don't seem to be interested.

[Thronester]

If there are any openings in the fiberglass termites could get in and devour the gypsum core. Ir's meant to be covered with siding, brick or stucco. I'm not sure it would offer any advantage over pressure treated plywood.

My house is all plywood covered with hardi plank siding. I have had no mold issues and termites don't seem to be interested.

Gotcha. That’s a good call on the gypsum. I did not know termites ate it. I would think that if it were covered by hardi plank siding and protected with maybe some kind of flashing on the bottom that it could be comparable to plywood.