Patent ID: 7770346

Claim:
A shear panel for floors and roofs comprising: a first layer comprising a generally planar fire-resistant cementitious board having an exposed first surface and a second surface, the first surface and the second surface of the cementitious board having a generally rectangular shape defined by a first width between a first edge and a second edge of the second surface and a first length defined between a third edge and a fourth edge of the second surface, each of the first surface and the second surface being uniformly substantially flat and being uniformly substantially parallel with each other; a second layer of high-strength backing material, the backing material having a generally rectangular shape and being uniformly substantially flat in a backing material plane, the rectangular shape defined by a second width between a respective first edge and a respective second edge of the second layer and a second length defined between a respective third edge and a respective fourth edge of the second layer, the second width of the second layer being approximately equal to the first width of the first layer, the second length of the second layer being greater than the first length of the first layer by a selected distance, the first edge of the second layer aligned with the first edge of the first layer, the second edge of the second layer aligned with the second edge of the first layer, the third edge of the second layer aligned with the third edge of the first layer, and the fourth edge of the second layer displaced from the fourth edge of the second layer by the selected distance to form a tab in the same plane as the backing material that extends from the fourth edge of the second layer in the backing material plane such that the second layer including the tab is uniformly substantially flat; and a bonding layer interposed between the second surface of the first layer and the second layer to secure the second layer to the first layer.