Predecorated gypsum wallboard for impermeable wall

An exterior wall or a roof-ceiling structure having, on the interior side, a wallboard with a front face which forms the interior wall or ceiling surface and a back face, which is adhered to wall framing members. The back face has a paper-foil laminate which is adhered to the basic board back side, with the foil side of the laminate adhered directly to the basic board back side. The paper side of the laminate is adhered directly to the wall framing members.

This invention relates to exterior wall construction and is particularly 
directed to wallboard forming the interior side of the exterior wall, 
having a paper-foil laminated to the back side of the basic wallboard with 
the foil side directed inwardly and the paper side adhered to wall framing 
members. 
The inclusion of a vapor barrier in an exterior wall or in a roof-ceiling 
structure is a known practice. This has been accomplished in the past by 
various methods, such as the use of mineral fiber insulation batts or 
blankets in the wall cavity which are wrapped with foil on one face, or 
such as the use of large sheets of plastic film, for example polyethylene, 
affixed to the inner surfaces of the framing members and extending 
throughout the extent of the wall. 
Another method of providing a vapor barrier has been the use of a presently 
available product referred to as foil-backed gypsum wallboard. Presently 
available foilbacked gypsum wallboard is a composite product consisting of 
a basic board with a foil-paper laminate which is laminated to the back 
side of the basic board, with the foil side of the foil-paper laminate 
exposed. Foil-backed gypsum wallboard has always had foil exposed on the 
back side whereby the foil can function as a reflective insulation. The 
foil of the prior foil-back gypsum wallboard was applied in the form of a 
paper-foil laminate, with the paper side being directed against the basic 
wallboard back side, providing a paper surface for the adhering of the 
laminate to the board. 
This prior foil-back gypsum wallboard is not suitable for affixation to the 
wall framing members by an adhesive, because the foil surface does not 
bond sufficiently to a bead of adhesive disposed along the extent of the 
framing member face. 
In accordance with the present invention, a novel gypsum wallboard-vapor 
barrier combination is prepared by adhering a foil-paper laminate onto a 
basic wallboard with the foil side of the laminate adhered to the basic 
wallboard with adhesive which is spread completely to bond the entire 
surface to the foil to the surface of the basic wallboard back side. This 
wallboard is adhered to framing members, such as studs or joists, with a 
bead of adhesive, which readily adheres to the very receptive paper side 
of the paper-foil laminate. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved wallboard 
for use as the interior surface of an exterior wall, having a vapor 
barrier on the back of the wallboard and a paper surface on the vapor 
barrier for reception of a wallboard application adhesive. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel wall structure 
formed by the adhesive application of such wallboard to the inner faces of 
the wall framing members.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a wall 10, which can be an 
exterior vertical wall or a roof-ceiling. Framing members 12, 12 can be 
either vertical studs or generally horizontal joists. On the exterior side 
of framing members 12, 12 is exterior facing material 14 which may be 
siding or roofing. 
On the interior side of framing members 12, 12, there is adhered the novel 
composite vapor impermeable gypsum wallboard 16, with an elongate bead 18 
of adhesive bonding each wallboard 16 to each framing member 12. 
Each wallboard 16 is comprised of a basic board 20 plus a foil-paper 
laminate 22 adhered to the back face 24 of basic board 20. The foil-paper 
laminate 22 is comprised of aluminum foil 26 laminated to paper 28, with 
the paper 28 facing outwardly and thus forming the back face 30 of 
wallboard 16. 
Basic board 20 is a basic form of commonly available gypsum board 
consisting of a gypsum core 32, a face paper liner 34 and a back paper 
liner 36. The face paper liner 34 extends around the edges 38 and onto the 
back of the board where it is overlapped at 40 by back paper liner 36. 
The present invention is particularly adapted to the use of a form of basic 
board 20 having a predecorated face paper liner 34 which board is thus not 
suitable for screw application and is instead applied with adhesive. With 
paper 28 facing outwardly and forming the back face 30 of wallboard 16, 
the wallboard 16 can be affixed to framing members 12 with adhesive beads 
18 with a resultant strong bond of the adhesive to the wallboard 16. 
The foil-paper laminate 22 extends throughout the entire area of the 
wallboard back face 30, whereby the foil 26 forms a vapor barrier in wall 
10. This foil 26, which would not function well as an outer surface for 
being bonded to framing members by beads of adhesive, does function 
completely satisfactorily as an inwardly directed side of the foil-paper 
laminate 22 in regard to being bonded firmly to the basic board back face 
24, since this bonding function involves an adhesive being spread 
completely throughout the interface 42 between the foil 26 and the basic 
board back face 24. 
The foil-paper laminate 22 is a standard commodity. In the preferred form 
of the invention, it has an overall thickness of 0.002 inch (0.005 cm), of 
which 0.00025 inch (0.00060 cm) is the thickness of the aluminum foil 26. 
The paper 28 is a 20 lb. Kraft paper. The weight of laminate 22 is about 
11 lbs/thousand sq. ft. (54 kilograms/thousand square meters). For a 
typical wallboard 16 width of 48 inches (120 cm), the foil-paper laminate 
is 481/2 inches (121 cm) wide with about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) extending 
around onto each edge 38. 
The aluminum foil 26 is completely bonded throughout to the paper 28 and 
should be free of pin holes, tears, wrinkles, cuts or any other type of 
surface imperfection. The foil-paper laminate 22, as described, can be 
obtained from Reynolds Metals Company or Aluminum Company of America. 
Foils other than aluminum, such as steel, or other impermeable films, such 
as plastic, can be used also. 
A suitable adhesive for adhering the foil-paper laminate 22 to the basic 
board back face 24 is an aqueous solution of sodium silicate having a 
specific gravity of about 1.4. 
In addition to the use of adhesive beads 18, the wallboards 16 of the 
invention can be adhered to framing members 12 by using an electrically 
activated hot melt strip disposed between wallboard 16 and framing members 
12 as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,231. 
Having completed a detailed disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the 
invention, so that others may practice the same, I contemplate that 
variations may be made without departing from the essence of the invention 
.