Page 1 - 2017-04-CFR Volume 103 Gypsum Yes or No - April 2017

Volume 103—April 2017
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Gypsum, in the past, has been the bane of the flooring industry as a flooring prep material. It was soft
and chalky, didn’t bond well, stuck to the back of flooring materials, was affected by water and other-
wise not up to par with cementitious based patches, levelers and substrate prep materials as a result it
gained a bad rap and likely rightfully so. But you must be fully aware that the gypsum products of today
aren’t anything like those of old and actually have better attributes and performance characteristics than
cementitious products. In fact all cementitious products contain some gypsum so even though you may
think you’re avoiding gypsum entirely you aren’t because it’s in concrete as calcium sulfate. You’re also
brushing your teeth with it because it’s in your toothpaste as well
and many of the other products you use daily. The high early set
up in cementitious floor prep materials, those being used instead of
gypsum, is due to the gypsum it contains. The new gypsum floor
prep products rival and exceed concrete and they are not affected
by water and in several aspects are better than cementitious floor
prep materials.
So let’s take a look at gypsum floor prep products and their attrib-
utes so you can come to the same conclusion that I did that these
products are amazing performers and why.
Old Gypsum Layer
First, what is gypsum?

Gypsum is a naturally occurring mineral made up of calcium + sulfate with 2 molecules of chemically

1 Commercial Flooring Report April 2017