I have a 20' trailer loaded with the excess sheetrock from my house build. All new-no paint. Rather than haul it to the landfill---is there anything useful I could use it for? Will it work for road fill---like on our fencline perimeter road?

Is there anything toxic about it? Runoff from it be toxic to fish--contamination of ground water etc?

btw, if I just threw it on one of my really big brushpiles--would it burn?

I think it's mostly just gypsum. (sp?)

I toss it in my gravel driveway. usually break it up over the pot holes that form.

I have burned it, it just basically "melts" and you can do what you want with it at that point. The volume goes down quite a bit after burning it, it has a high concentration of air inside of it.

quote Originally posted by Raydar: I think it's mostly just gypsum. (sp?)

True--

So, will it (the gypsum) burn at very high temps? (I have watched 1" pipe in my brushpiles glow red, then collapse as the temps rise--these are very big very densely packed brushpiles consisiting of the after effects of logging--these piles get really really hot while burning--depending how much wind is blowing on them)

If I throw the stuff in a pothole, will it turn slick and slurry like--or will it be suitable to drive on?

This is the X stuff--fire retardant--if it makes any difference.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 01-19-2009).]

dont they call it gyp-rock?
i dont think its to harmful. but i guess it is to a degree? since your not allowed to put it in your house garbage?
i dont know to much about it. but i dont see anything wrong with crushing it up and burning it or using it as fill for something.
i know that some drywallers throw leftover sheets they cant use inside the walls when they drywall.

I've heard it called gyprock, but believe that is predominately a Canadian designation. Same stuff tho. I have one particularly soft spot out in one of the pastures (actually an access road thru that pasture) that I would like to put this stuff into, but it's part of a watershed for one of the small lakes on my property. I prefer not to kill off all the bass. I am also very unsure what the stuff will do in a muddy area----I do not want to aggravate the problem by adding a substance that might make it slick as well as soft.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 01-19-2009).]

quote Originally posted by maryjane: I've heard it called gyprock, but believe that is predominately a Canadian designation. Same stuff tho. I have one particularly soft spot out in one of the pastures (actually an access road thru that pasture) that I would like to put this stuff into, but it's part of a watershed for one of the small lakes on my property. I prefer not to kill off all the bass. I am also very unsure what the stuff will do in a muddy area----I do not want to aggravate the problem by adding a substance that might make it slick as well as soft.

It is called Gyprock here too. Gyprock being a brand name that pretty much generalised the whole material. Other names used around the world are wallboard and plasterboard.

I know over here it has to be disposed of legally in building waste dumps, which are a bit different to your average landfills as they are sealed from the water table etc. Based on that and personal experience watching the stuff get wet I wouldn't be putting it on the ground. You don't want to end up with 3 eyed cancer causing Bass right?

Wikipedia, on gypsum, which is the primary component : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsum

It is also used in foot creams, shampoos and many other hair products. It is water-soluble.

Because gypsum dissolves over time in water, gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand.

Uses

Drywall
Plaster ingredient.
Fertilizer and soil conditioner. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Nova Scotia gypsum, often referred to as plaister, was a highly sought fertilizer for wheat fields in the United States.
A Binder in Fast-Dry tennis court clay.
Plaster of Paris (surgical splints; casting moulds; modeling).
A wood substitute in the ancient world; for example, when wood became scarce due to deforestation on Bronze Age Crete, gypsum was employed in building construction at locations where wood was previously used.[10]
A tofu (soy bean curd) coagulant, making it ultimately a major source of dietary calcium, especially in Asian cultures which traditionally use few dairy products.
Adding hardness to water used for homebrewing.[11]

The problem of disposing of it outside is the paper, I would think, rather than the gypsum.

Are any of the pieces useable? Are there any full sheets? If so, you could donate them to Habitat for Humanity or their resale store- Restore

quote Originally posted by Copper85GT: Are any of the pieces useable? Are there any full sheets? If so, you could donate them to Habitat for Humanity or their resale store- Restore

Hehe I cant help but laugh. Must be my sick sense of humour. I am trying to picture a habitat for humanity. I suppose it would be partially made of gyrock

The stuff is good to break up clay soil.

Applied as a top dressing, gypsum is an excellent and widely used soil conditioner. It will loosen clay soils and increase water retention in sandy soils. It works best when tilled into the surface after application. Removing the paper facing is the primary practical problem when recycling gypsum wallboard for use as a soil conditioner.

well Crap Marvin--I sure as heck don't need any enhanced water retention capability. Guess I best just burn the stuff and deal with the gypsum powder the same as I do with the tree ashes.

Thanks for all the replys.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: well Crap Marvin--I sure as heck don't need any enhanced water retention capability.

The soil under my last home in Oklahoma City, located in a beautiful upscale neighborhood only two miles from the state capitol building, was about six feet of tight sand lying on a bed of solid sandstone. The water table was about 65 feet down. Gypsum top dressing helped a lot, but most attempts at watering the lawn were still an exercise in futility. The sand burrs loved it, though. On the other hand (and speaking of crap), the percolation rate for our septic system was faster than the speed of light!

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 01-19-2009).]

zero perc here--had to go aerobic spray system. Alluvial silt/clay mix starts 3-6" down and extends about 3 feet--then 2 feet of red clay..

Had to pour 16" piers 8 feet deep as per soil engineer.

The pasture soil here has only 2 consistencies: Hard as concrete or bottomless baby poo, with only about 1 day of workable time between the 2. One day, you can push a Tee post right thru it--the next, you can't drive one with a sledge hammer. One day, the gunk balls balls up on my box blade--the next day I have to put down the scarifiers to get it to break loose. I've had tons of sand brought in to try to fix the roadways, with less than adequate results.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 01-19-2009).]