Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 22, 2019 11:10 am Hi, I have multiple chemical sensitivities and am looking for no-VOC options for interior wall systems for a two storey duplex. I'd love to know if you can use sealed hebel on the inside (and insulation with metal cladding on the outside) without drywall. OR if anyone has any ideas on inert interior walls. Anything made recycled paper, formaldehyde etc is out. Bricks would be ideal but are too expensive. Internal insulation is also important for soundproofing which is why I thought hebel would be good, however I haven't seen it used inside yet, except under layers of gyprock/drywall. Re: Building a low chemical home - looking for interior wall 2Apr 22, 2019 1:00 pm If you have sensitivity, then please re-think metal cladding and insulation as it may be a recipe of the disaster as there will be no way for the interior moisture to escape because of the metal cladding, it will stay on your insulation/studs and cause rot/mould issues. Therefore, if you use metal cladding, there has to be ventilation/water drain space in between the insulation and cladding itself (but this won't be very much "breathable" walls too). As for inside, I would recommend to use MgO boards instead of gyprock or Hebel (there are many of them, just google), they are very ecological and do not contain any formaldehyde, but still need to be sealed. Will be much cheaper than Hebel, they are water resistant, fire resistant, handle impacts much better than Hebel and gyprock, "breathable" and self-drying, insulate, have thermal mass and regulate moisture (Google them out, there are many brands offered in Australia). They can be installed by gyprockers. You can also use them for your ceilings. Re: Building a low chemical home - looking for interior wall 3Apr 22, 2019 9:27 pm alexp79 If you have sensitivity, then please re-think metal cladding and insulation as it may be a recipe of the disaster as there will be no way for the interior moisture to escape because of the metal cladding, it will stay on your insulation/studs and cause rot/mould issues. Therefore, if you use metal cladding, there has to be ventilation/water drain space in between the insulation and cladding itself (but this won't be very much "breathable" walls too). As for inside, I would recommend to use MgO boards instead of gyprock or Hebel (there are many of them, just google), they are very ecological and do not contain any formaldehyde, but still need to be sealed. Will be much cheaper than Hebel, they are water resistant, fire resistant, handle impacts much better than Hebel and gyprock, "breathable" and self-drying, insulate, have thermal mass and regulate moisture (Google them out, there are many brands offered in Australia). They can be installed by gyprockers. You can also use them for your ceilings. Thanks Alex for your reply. I have been looking at magnesium oxide boards but was put off by the way they absorb water - there have been documented studies about the magnesium salts absorbing moisture and sweating salt causing extensive corrosion issues - and where I'm building it is very humid and low to the flood plain. Otherwise this would be my first choice. Thanks. Good points about the metal cladding and ventilation gaps. What I liked about that was the low thermal mass and lack of maintenance. I'd prefer something that doesn't need to be painted or rendered. Re: Building a low chemical home - looking for interior wall 4Apr 22, 2019 9:40 pm Not exactly, they do adsorb water excess but they are also self-drying. There was indeed an issue due to chloride contained inside the boards, I believe, in Netherlands where they used those boards as a cladding somewhere near the coast, where humidities were regularly exceeding 90%+, they also haven't used properly galvanised stainless steel screws to attach them. I won't be advising to use chloride based MgO boards outside, anyway. But also they are currently producing chloride free magnesium sulfate boards, which do not have corrosion issues chloride-based boards used to have. Re: Building a low chemical home - looking for interior wall 5Apr 22, 2019 11:17 pm alexp79 Not exactly, they do adsorb water excess but they are also self-drying. There was indeed an issue due to chloride contained inside the boards, I believe, in Netherlands where they used those boards as a cladding somewhere near the coast, where humidities were regularly exceeding 90%+, they also haven't used properly galvanised stainless steel screws to attach them. I won't be advising to use chloride based MgO boards outside, anyway. But also they are currently producing chloride free magnesium sulfate boards, which do not have corrosion issues chloride-based boards used to have. Oh I didn't realise Magnesium sulfate boards were different. Thats fantastic news. Are there any manufacturers that you'd recommend? The only one I've found is Firecrunch. Re: Building a low chemical home - looking for interior wall 6Apr 22, 2019 11:59 pm Ketch123 alexp79 Not exactly, they do adsorb water excess but they are also self-drying. There was indeed an issue due to chloride contained inside the boards, I believe, in Netherlands where they used those boards as a cladding somewhere near the coast, where humidities were regularly exceeding 90%+, they also haven't used properly galvanised stainless steel screws to attach them. I won't be advising to use chloride based MgO boards outside, anyway. But also they are currently producing chloride free magnesium sulfate boards, which do not have corrosion issues chloride-based boards used to have. Oh I didn't realise Magnesium sulfate boards were different. Thats fantastic news. Are there any manufacturers that you'd recommend? The only one I've found is Firecrunch. Firecrunch are good (but a bit pricey in my opinion, e.g. they are asking $18 per sqm for 10 mm board +GST), there are several big vendors at Alibaba and I suspect Firecrunch are likely to be white labeling from one of them. 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