Drywall vs brick: the internal wall debate in Spain

Drywall or brick: what the partition wall hides

A seven-year-old rental flat. A shelf repositioned, four holes patched, and a noticeable draught coming from the exterior-facing wall. The tenant who started the thread offers a diagnosis as simple as it is uncomfortable: the partition can't hold the weight of a few books and, on top of that, lets the cold through. The question they pose —whether drywall has been the biggest step backwards in construction for the end user— has drawn nearly sixty replies and an uncomfortable conclusion: the material isn't the problem. The workmanship, almost always, is.

What drywall is and why it took over new builds

Pladur is the brand name that gave its name to laminated gypsum board, the drywall system screwed onto a metal frame with insulation inside. Its advantage for builders is obvious: less weight on the floor slab, faster construction, no plastering or chasing, and a smooth finish that avoids textured paint. The structural savings are the argument most repeated by those who have worked for developers: if the partition weighs less, the slab can be designed more tightly.

The problem arises when that saving becomes the only criterion. A standard system with **studs every 60 centimetres and a single 13-millimetre board** isn't designed to hold anything serious. That's where the litany of complaints begins: shelves that sag, walls that give way when you lean on them, paint that cracks at the joints when the slab takes load. None of that is the gypsum's fault. It's the fault of building to the bare minimum.

Sound insulation: where drywall beats brick

The paradox of the matter is that, properly executed, drywall insulates better than brick. One specific case illustrates it: converting a studio into a home with double board, mineral wool, an intermediate acoustic membrane and a solid door with rubber seals produced a partition **30% thinner** than the brick equivalent, with the television at full volume inaudible on the other side, according to one forum user. The key is the acoustic membrane, an intermediate element almost nobody knows about and which turns out to be essential.

International experience points in the same direction. Someone who has lived in drywall housing in the UK describes the best sound insulation they can remember, with the country's standard system. In Spain, by contrast, the dominant memory is the opposite: flats from the boom years where you hear everything and the back bedroom seems to be next door. The difference isn't the material. It's the specification.

How to hang a shelf so it doesn't fall down

The most frequently mentioned practical problem has a technical solution. For normal loads, specific drywall anchors are enough, not ordinary ones. For heavy loads —shelves, kitchen units, wall-hung sanitaryware— the solution is to plan reinforcements behind the board: a wooden panel anchored to the studs, extra metal studs in the area, or aligning the fixings with the metal frame and screwing directly into it. Someone who installed a monster of a shelf with reinforcements behind it confirms it didn't budge. Without reinforcements, the wall won't hold 60 or 80 kilos.

The basic flaw is one of design, not installation. In a new build, nobody knows where the next occupant will want to hang a wardrobe. The sensible solution would be to reinforce the predictable areas as standard. It isn't done because it costs more. And that's where the profit lies: the extra cost is paid by the user in the form of a limitation, not by the developer in the form of a bill.

Brick isn't as good as it's remembered to be

An honest comparison requires admitting that brick doesn't come out unscathed either. A six-year-old flat built by top-tier contractors, with solid brick walls throughout, where you can hear everything. Absolutely everything. Brick is reasonably good in most cases, but that doesn't make it excellent. And in recent housing, finding well-executed brickwork is as hard as finding well-installed drywall.

The methodological error is comparing the best drywall with the worst brick, or vice versa. The valid comparison is between what is typically installed in each case. And there brick has a structural advantage: it tolerates botched work better. A poorly built brick partition can still hold a reasonable weight. A poorly built drywall one can't.

What the technical specification should say for drywall to be good

The technical answer is that loose materials aren't specified, but complete certified systems. The most common mistake is omitting the isolation strip between the channels and the floor or ceiling. As a reasonable minimum: **studs every 40 centimetres and 15-millimetre board**; if an architect signs off the project, double 13-millimetre board. For higher-than-normal ceilings, performance must be upgraded.

The question no buyer asks but should: what exact system does my partition use? The answer is in the execution project, a document the developer hands over and almost nobody reads. That's where you can see whether the drywall is a considered solution or cheap filler.

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The conclusion the conversation leaves is uncomfortable for everyone. Well-done drywall is better than badly-done brick. The problem is that badly-done drywall is worse than badly-done brick. And in the Spanish market, the cheap version wins by a landslide.