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Taylors' Home Built To Last With XP board From National Gypsum
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| Nov 14, 2012 |
People's homes are their castles. In Tommy Taylor and his wife's case, their home is their fortress. It is constructed of reinforced concrete and the walls and ceilings are covered with 5/8-inch XP® Gypsum Board.
Using concrete for the walls of the 5100-square-foot home was a natural for Taylor who is a retired highway-heavy contractor. He also wanted to make the home as safe and energy-efficient as possible.
"We lost our home to fire about five years ago," he said. "It has taken us a long time to get over that.
"We've done a lot of research to include the best products and the latest technology in our new home."
Taylor consulted with retired Anniston plant manager, Harris McComb, and with the current manager, Neal Stephenson. They recommended the 5/8-inch XP product, and Taylor researched it further on the National Gypsum website. "The customer service folks were great. They helped me navigate the website and got me the information I needed. "
Thirty-four concrete panels, some weighing over 19 tons, form the walls in the tilt-up concrete, sandwiched-panel construction technique Taylor used.
Three inches of concrete was poured into a form giving the outside face of the wall a stamped stone appearance. Then, two inches of insulation was applied to the concrete followed by six more inches of heavily reinforced concrete. The floors are also concrete with imbedded radiant heat coils. The concrete is either stamped with a brick motif or stained and polished.
Timbers made of decay- and insect-resistant heartwood pine from a 19th century building reach to the 26-foot-high ceilings in the family room and form the exposed beams.
"For most of the year, we will use a solar system to heat water for the house and for the radiant heating system," Taylor said. "During the winter – December through about March -- we will use a wood boiler to heat water." An underground geothermal system will provide heating and cooling for the home.
"We used 320 pieces of XP Gypsum board – 4 by 12s," said installer Blake Shew. "This was the first time I had used 5/8-inch board in a house. I like it. It finishes well." The contractor also used ProForm® XP® Ready Mix on the walls.
After the Taylors home is finished next year, it will be featured in the American Concrete Institute's publication.
About National Gypsum
Our formula for success is based on customer service and National Gypsum's quest to provide products meeting its customers' highest standards. To do this, the company has created the most advanced customer service organization in the industry, updated plants and built modern manufacturing facilities, applied advanced technology to improve product quality, and put increased emphasis on innovation. National Gypsum's 2,700 associates have years of experience in the production of gypsum and related products, cement backerboard underlayment, wall and ceiling system designs, and in servicing design professionals and the construction industry.
The company is a fully integrated building products manufacturer and one of the world's leading gypsum wallboard producers. Placed end to end, the company's annual wallboard production would travel around the earth 14 times. National Gypsum also offers a full line of interior finishing products, including joint compounds, tape, and plasters. Its growing cement board product line has a strong customer base in the United States and several other countries.
Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, the company has 31 manufacturing locations serving major metropolitan centers, as well as eight mines and quarries and research and testing facilities in Charlotte and Buffalo, NY. The Buffalo facility provides full-scale fire, structural and acoustical testing for dozens of companies around the world.
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