Habito: A Revolution in High-Performance Drywall

Put the anchors away -- CertainTeed introduces the world's strongest 1/2-inch wallboard

MALVERN, Pa., Jan. 11, 2016 /CNW/ -- Drywall is drywall. Right? There are certain rules that must be followed. For example, don't hang anything too heavy without the proper anchors and hardware. Use doorstops to prevent doors and knobs from making unsightly holes in the wall.

But what if there was a building product solution that threw out the rule book?

Introducing Habito (hab-i-toh), a revolutionary new drywall product from CertainTeed. Habito is the strongest and hardest 1/2-inch wallboard material available today and features technical benefits previously unseen in the drywall category.

"Finally, a wallboard product that helps eliminate the frustration many of us have when hanging heavy objects -- the need for anchors or finding wall studs," says Dave Engelhardt, president of CertainTeed Gypsum.  "Habito continues our emphasis on providing innovative products that offer practical solutions to builders and homeowners."

Habito is an industry-first, featuring a new level of flexibility and unmatched performance, including:

• Fastening Capability - Fixing capabilities that eliminate the need for threaded drywall anchors or nailing to wall studs for fixtures under 30 pounds.
• Builder and Developer Upgrades - Offers professionals an upmarket option, replacing standard drywall in high-traffic and high-impact areas of the home.
• Better Acoustics - Delivers homeowners better sound insulation than traditional drywall
• Fewer Repairs - The 1/2-inch drywall's inherent durability and robust strength translates to superior impact resistance. 
• Solution Specific - The perfect alternative for high traffic areas interiors that tend to see use and abuse, as well as areas where homeowners will often redecorate and mount shelves, media, decor and other fixtures. 

Habito will premiere this month with a dramatic rock climbing demonstration wall at the International Builders' Show (IBS), booth #C2127, Jan. 19-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Builder Opportunity

Habito combines the benefits of old-fashioned plaster and the modern drywall, adding a sense of stability and substance. This allows builders to instill confidence and assurance for consumers who are upgrading to the material in specific rooms or areas of the home, justifying the added expenses that are associated with high-performance building products.

Improving Home Improvement

With a continued increase in popularity of media rooms, home offices and transitional spaces, Habito allows builders to create and renovate spaces that will provide easy mounting of fixtures for years to come. As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, homeowners need the option of mounting and remounting the newest televisions, speaker systems and other home electronics.

Habito allows consumers to do this in stride, forgetting the hassle of mounting on traditional drywall surfaces with threaded anchors or having to find wall studs. The same innovative fastening capabilities allow easy redecoration of spaces like child bedrooms, nurseries, home offices and laundry rooms without worrying about damaging or stressing the drywall beyond its performance capabilities.

Habito will be available to the North American market this Spring. For media enquiries visit the Habito pressroom at www.hellohabito.com.

Committed to a truly sustainable future by utilizing recycled materials and minimizing use of natural resources, CertainTeed Gypsum products are third-party recognized for meeting and exceeding environmental compliance. As part of the Saint-Gobain family of companies, CertainTeed Gypsum has access to unparalleled research and innovation capabilities to manufacture wall products that can greatly affect physical and mental well-being. For more information about CertainTeed Gypsum, visit www.certainteed.com/gypsum.

About CertainTeed

Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, has helped shape the building products industry for more than 110 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America's leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, insulation, gypsum and ceilings.

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the world's largest and oldest building products companies, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 5,700 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. For seven consecutive years, the company has received top honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its contributions in protecting the environment and was most recently the recipient of the 2015 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award. The group had total sales of approximately $3.3 billion in 2014. www.certainteed.com

SOURCE CertainTeed

Victoria Gallagher, CertainTeed Corporation, [phone], [email protected], www.certainteed.com/pressroom, http://www.certainteed.com