Natural Home Show House 2009 | Georgia-Pacific DensGlass Gold High-Performance Sheathing
By Karen Adams

Framing is well underway at the Natural Home Show House 2009 in Boerne, Texas, and we’ve used several lumber-sparing approaches in an effort to conserve resources. LEED for Homes suggests ideas like two-corner studs, wider spacing for studs and rafters, and wood substitutes. While these are small things, when you add them up, you’ve saved some trees.

One of the products we have also used in an effort to conserve wood is Georgia-Pacific’s DensGlass Gold exterior outer layer. 

During the framing stage at the Natural Home Show House 2009 in Boerne, Texas, Karen and Griz Adams chose to use Georgia-Pacific’s DensGlass Gold exterior sheathing instead of traditional plywood to save trees and to provide an effective moisture barrier. Georgia-Pacific DensGlass Gold, commonly used in commercial construction, is becoming more popular in residential building projects. Photo Courtesy Karen Adams.

You’ve seen it a million times—it’s the yellow sheathing that’s used extensively in commercial buildings. Georgia-Pacific DensGlass Gold is made from gypsum and is coated with a thin layer of fiberglass. Because it has no paper outer or inner layers, it’s not attractive to mold and is moisture-resistant. The gold fiberglass outer coating makes the panels very weather-resistant when they are exposed during construction. It will handle 12 months out in the weather with no problems. The panels are also rated for high winds; when installed properly, they will sustain 155 mph wind loads. 

Because exterior sheathing requires so many 4-feet-by-8-feet sheets, this is a great way to add some points to a LEED project and save many trees. 

More residential projects should consider using this product. It is easy to use and when we had questions, the customer support from Georgia-Pacific was outstanding.