Cellulose insulation looks like dirty cottony paper-pulp. You are also lucky if you have fiberglass (that pink cotton-candy-looking stuff.) These, fortunately, are the most likely things you will see in your attic floor, besides dust.

It can be just a white powder on your concrete, salt-like crystals, white fuzzy stuff, or what looks like white stalactites growing on your concrete wall. These white deposits happen when water is drawn out of a cementious material: it is called efflorescence. It is a scientific reaction.

Loose fill asbestos is a dangerous form of asbestos used for insulation by a small group of companies in the 1960s and 1970s. The best-known of these companies, Mr Fluffy, operated in the ACT and in some areas of NSW.

Exterior walls usually will have fiberglass, cellulose, mineral wool, or foam insulation. Older homes’ exterior walls may not have insulation behind the drywall. Interior walls usually do not have insulation but sometimes will have it as a soundproofing device.

Walabot DIY Wall Scanner Walabot DIY is paired with an Android phone (see specifications for details) to produce a visual image of what is inside drywall up to 4 inches (10 cm) deep. Your Walabot detects metal studs, wood studs, wires, pipes and can even find pests by showing movement behind walls.

It’s laterally structural to support the building’s side-to-side forces. Penetrations in your shear wall must adhere to different restrictions than other walls and you may need to consult an engineer to verify.

Yes, plywood can be used behind sheetrock. I just finished a bathroom, a small bathroom where every inch counted so I infilled between the studs. Yes, it was a bit labor intensive but now a grab bar or towel bar can be added anywhere without the worry of it being pulled out of the sheetrock.

Drywall screws work great for plywood.

Finished plywood can be installed as a wall material in two ways. So long as it is nailed into the studs of the wall, plywood can easily go over paneling, Sheetrock and even plaster with the right installation equipment.

Fire Safety In California, residential building codes require a one-hour fire rating at walls separating an attached garage from the living space, and at any enclosed living space above the stairs. Check with your local building authority about rules for using plywood as the sole interior wall finish.

Consider the options below for alternatives to drywall that looks good and holds up better.

1. Wood Planks.
2. Plastic Panels.
3. Plywood.
4. Veneer Plaster.
5. Pegboard.
6. Lath and Plaster.
7. Wahoo Walls.
8. Textured Wall Panels.

For most applications, drywall is going to be a better soundproofing material than plywood. This is due to the larger mass of the drywall and the fact that sound travels very fast through wood.

In a nutshell, the best soundproof wood types are Cork, Acoustic Plywood, Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) and Oriented Strand Board (OSB).

If you have the resources to purchase material, mass loaded vinyl is the best fabric for soundproofing. It reduces airborne noise, but when installed under carpet, it can also reduce impact noise. Mass loaded vinyl can also be painted, so it is a good choice for walls, too.

Cover walls with thick blankets, moving pads, tapestries, or quilts. Virtually any soft material will work, though thicker ones absorb more sound than thinner materials. If you don’t mind adding an industrial look to the room, fasten sound-absorbing panels to the walls and, if necessary, the ceiling.

The 3 components to the acoustic fabric wall panel are: the sound absorbing core material (which will perform the acoustical absorbing and sound containment – we recommend a 2″ thick semi-rigid fiberglass or mineral fiber board insulation; a sturdy wood frame to pull the fabric tightly against and around (and wall …