Gypsum —The Rock No One Knows, But Everyone Uses

Did you know that gypsum, the principal ingredient in glass-mat roof board and the cornerstone of United States Gypsum Company’s business, is used in more than wallboard and roof board? Today, it is used for a variety of applications in a wide range of industries, with many products manufactured by USG. You can find gypsum all around you. Some uses that might surprise you are:

Gypsum Rock

• Sidewalks (cement)
• Streets and highways
• Tennis courts
• Plaster statuary
• Soil conditioner for both consumer and agriculture
• Chalk
• Matches
• Plates, cups, and saucers thatwere shaped on or in a gypsum mold, as well as sterling silver handles of knives, forks, and spoons
• Molds for bathroom fixtures


Gypsum Rock

• Car windows and molds for various parts
• Dough conditioner
• A tofu (soy bean curd) coagulant
• Brewing supplement
• Dietary calcium supplement
• Filler for medicinal tablets
• Toothpaste
• In foot creams
• Shampoos and many other hair products.
• Casts for broken bones
• Molds for dentures and crowns

For over 5,000 years, gypsum has played an important part in history. And since 1902, USG has been at the forefront of innovative applications for gypsum including roofing materials such as SECUROCK® Gypsum-Fiber roof board and SECUROCK Glass-Mat roof board. In future posts, we’ll take a look at how gypsum has been used through time and the role Benjamin Franklin played in advocating its use in America.

Sustainable Roofing System Featured on One of the Nation’s Greenest Park-based Buildings

For sustainability in architecture and construction, the roof is sometimes overlooked, but sustainable roofing materials are increasingly being viewed as a viable solution. USG Securock® gypsum-fiber roof board, made from 95 percent recycled content, has become a preferred material for sustainable roofing systems and has been awarded a Green Cross certification from Scientific Certification Systems.

One of the more recent sustainable projects using USG SECUROCK gypsum-fiber roof board is the Golden Gate National Parks’ Crissy Field Center. The Crissy Field Center is an award-winning environmental education facility, operated in partnership by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the National Park Service, and the Presidio Trust. The high performance modular facility, currently on track for the US Green Building Council LEED® Gold Certification, serves not only as a hub of sustainability programming in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, but also as a convening spot and resource for local community organizations, visiting diplomats, politicians, and educational leaders on both national and international fronts.

The project’s 10,000 square-foot sustainable roof system features an assembly of environmentally friendly building materials including USG SECUROCK gypsum-fiber roof board. Since the Crissy Field Center is in immediate proximity of saltwater (San Francisco Bay), one of the harshest environments for building products, it was important that the roofing materials be moisture resistant. USG SECUROCK’s gypsum-fiber roof board has been treated for uniform moisture resistance throughout the panel. In addition, in testing it scores a 10, the highest score for mold resistance, on ASTM D3273.

After the Crissy Field Center moves back to its original location, the interim building will be re-used and possibly relocated and reused. In the meantime, the Center is open and has integrated its current building’s green technologies and sustainable design into its programming, including sustainable development workshops and site tours.

Learn more about the Crissy Field project (PDF) and the Crissy Field Center in San Francisco.

We would love to know about any other sustainable building projects or products you’ve heard about. Please share your thoughts below.