Patent ID: 8440296

Claim:
A shear panel building material comprising: a first facing membrane and a second facing membrane, wherein the first facing membrane and the second facing membrane are independently selected from the group consisting of paper, metal and metal alloys; a rigid material situated between the first facing membrane and the second facing membrane, said rigid material being self-supporting; and a core matrix sandwiched between the first facing membrane and the second facing membrane, wherein the core matrix includes: from about 25 wt % to about 60 wt % of microspheres based on wet formulation, the microspheres having a size of from 100 to 1500 microns, wherein the microspheres are consisting of cenospheres, each cenosphere comprising an outer surface and a hollow interior filled with gas; from about 20 wt % to about 36 wt % sodium silicate binder; and from about 5 wt % to about 15 wt % organic binder, wherein the microspheres are bonded together by the sodium silicate to create a plurality of voids between the microspheres, wherein the rigid material is held in place with respect to the first and second facing membranes by the core matrix.