Prefinished Gypsum
In-House : New Product Development
How might we reduce the time required for offsite manufacturers to finish drywall?
Interior finishing is a slow, iterative process requiring multiple skilled operations. Modular factories typically follow the same process:
Hang gypsum, mud seams, tape seams, wait… Mud seams again, wait… sand or topcoat, spray paint/finish, wait…
This process typically spans 2-3 days, and requires three distinct 'waiting’ periods where no other work can be done on the interior of the unit, and the time required for drying will change depending on the temperature, humidity, and mix.
what if we just… kept the seams?
High touch pre-painted boards with a hidden fastening system could eliminate several time consuming in-factory steps, allowing for same-day wall finishing
Requirements
1) Product must have a lower total installed cost than traditional drywall
2) Product must have a premium, modern aesthetic
3) Product must have a fully hidden fastening system
Aesthetic Variation Testing
We rendered 8 variations of shiplap-style seam patterns and A-B tested them with architects, landlords, and homeowners to determine customer preferences for style, location, and volume.
We were pleased to find that all customer segments preferred option A (shown here)
We were surprised to find a preference for it in living spaces (living room, dining room) over utility spaces (kitchen, bathroom)
Concept Development and Refinement
The initial concepts relied on a complex folded system to stiffen the material edges and support the hidden mounting hardware. This proved to be a manufacturing nightmare, requiring the use of a CNC and multiple gluing operations. I proposed a variety of concepts to alter the mounting system to reduce the overall complexity. Material characterization testing allowed us to downselect these concepts by feasibility, manufacturability, and aesthetic. Ultimately we were able to remove the fold and stiffen the edges with alternate methods.
Small Scale Prototyping
We ran small-scale prototyping to confirm the functionality of the mounting system, and to validate that changes to the fasteners did not impact overall aesthetic.
Since we are shipping with the final coat of paint already applied, we tested a variety of finish types to achieve the desired look of the final home. Once we had customer approval, we moved forward with production of the final boards.
Medium Scale Prototyping
We had an opportunity to provide the interior finishing for roughly half of the interior wall area of an 1,800 sqft home being built for a customer. After significant refinement and system tweaks, we produced roughly 90 fully finished boards in our prototyping area.
Half of the boards were installed in-factory to test viability for offsite construction, while the other half were installed on-site after the house was erected.
Material Characterization and Failure Mode Testing
In-Factory Installation Testing
Pilot scale installation of system on three wall sections in manufacturing facility. Studs to Paint in 30 minutes per wall.
Customer feedback on quality, process, and challenges.
On-Site Installation Testing
Pilot scale installation of system on three walls on a jobsite.
Completed installation of ~150’ of wall in one working day.
Customer feedback on process, differences between sites.
Shipping and Raising
Finish-to-finish walls were packaged, shipped, and craned into place on the customers house. We were pleased to find that none of the gypsum cracked during shipping, and gypsum survived installation.
Final Customer Home
The customers were thrilled with their homes interior finishing, and window trim and final electrical was able to be installed the same day that gypsum was installed.
Objectives / Results
So. Did we meet our success criteria?
We received exceptionally positive reviews from our customers on the aesthetic and consistency of the product.
All mounting hardware is fully hidden, including at corners and rough openings.
Traditional drywall finishing takes, on average, 3 days to complete. One additional day is typically needed for painting.
The three wall sections above were installed in 1 hour, from bare studs to a fully painted interior.
We can estimate the cost of drywall at roughly $ 0.75 per square foot and the price of labor at roughly $1.50
We can estimate our time savings conservatively at 75% against traditional labor.
This would give us a manufacturing margin of ~50% to maintain a break-even total installation cost.