Your selection of gypsum board and the ability to install it quickly and accurately can have a major impact on both your construction schedule and your material costs. When choosing gypsum board, certain key innovations like the powerful combination of GridMarX® installation guide marks and the MaX 12® fastener pattern can give you a true competitive edge.

Standard on gypsum board products manufactured by Gold Bond Building Products, LLC, and provided by National Gypsum Company, the patented GridMarX are printed on the face paper surface to help installers instantly identify stud locations and make accurate cuts without having to pencil in or snap chalk lines. MaX 12 is the industry’s first and only 12" o.c. optimized fastener pattern for single layer, 1-hour UL fire-rated assemblies on metal framing. The combination of GridMarX and MaX 12 helps increase the speed of installation and provides significant savings on material and labor.

Easy-to-Use Guide Mark Systems

GridMarX installation guide marks are printed in 4" increments and align with standard building dimensions to help quickly identify fastener lines for studs and joist framing. Accurate cuts can be made without having to draw lines. To meet local building codes, GridMarX help to quickly identify fastener patterns, virtually eliminating the need to measure between fasteners. Plus, cleaner fastener patterns provide a visual benefit for inspectors, which makes inspections much faster and smoother.

Contractors can save time and money every step of the way. With GridMarX, guide marks run along the board lengthwise every 4 inches in both tapers and at 16", 24" and 32" o.c. The guide marks are visible even in the low light conditions of the typical jobsite yet cover easily with no bleed-through using standard paint products. 

In a horizontal application, GridMarX serve as a reference mark to help identify the location of framing members behind the gypsum board. For example, if the framing member is located 2" to the right of the GridMarX reference mark at the top edge of the board, it will be located 2" to the right down the face of the board.

In vertical applications, GridMarX serve as a guide mark to help identify the exact location of framing members behind the gypsum board, thus eliminating the need for installers to add their own reference lines on the jobsite. For ceiling applications, GridMarX provide reference for locating joists.

GridMarX, which help dramatically reduce the learning curve for new installers or apprentices, also provide invaluable reference marks for utilities and reduce the potential to penetrate hidden utilities like pipes and wires.

12" O.C. Optimized Fastener Pattern

Another productivity-enhancing feature is the MaX 12 optimized fastener pattern for UL fire-rated assemblies. It was recently recognized as the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry’s (AWCI) 2021 Excellence in Construction Innovation Award winner.

MaX 12 improves upon the industry standard fastener pattern for most UL fire-rated systems and replaces it with a simpler, more efficient method that results in savings of both installation and finishing labor, as well as material costs for the contractor.

A study by RSMeans data, an industry-leading construction cost consultant, determined that utilizing Gold Bond® Fire-Shield® Gypsum Board with patented GridMarX® installation guide marks and the MaX 12 optimized fastener pattern can save applicators up to $70 per thousand square feet – savings that are significant on large-scale projects!

PURPLE Drywall Brings Innovation to Clemson University

Innovation is at the core of Clemson University’s new home for business education, a dual-tower, 176,000-square-foot building in the heart of campus that brings students, faculty and industry together in a collaborative and inspiring space.

DPR Construction, Inc., a national commercial contractor and construction manager, chose PURPLE high-performance drywall provided by National Gypsum Company to deliver the productivity and value needed to yield the best results.

During the Clemson project, DPR and National Gypsum conducted a study comparing GridMarX installation guide marks and the MaX 12 fastener pattern to the installation of traditional drywall. Using two separate rooms with the exact same dimensions, conditions and installers, PURPLE drywall with GridMarX and MaX 12 provided a 29.8% increase in productivity over standard drywall.

“We’ve seen a lot of efficiency gain using the PURPLE products because of the features they have – like GridMarX, which allow our guys to reduce layout time, start drilling fasteners more quickly and bypass a lot of rework,” said Casey Kilgore, Drywall Project Manager, DPR Construction, Inc. “When combining GridMarX and the MaX 12 pattern together, the bump in productivity is astonishing.”

The combination of GridMarX and MaX 12. Simple. Efficient. Effective.