Clay panel or clay board (also known as ''loam panel'', ''clay wallboard'', ''clay building board'', or ''clay building panel'') is a panel made of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

with some additives. The clay is mixed with

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

, and

fiber Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...

, typically wood fiber, and sometimes other additives like starch. Most often this means employing the use of high-

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wa ...

waste fibres. To improve the breaking resistance clay boards are often embedded in a hessian skin on the backside or similar embeddings. By introducing the clay panels, the building material loam can also be used in dry construction. Clay wallboards are a sustainable alternative to gypsum plasterboards, suitable for drywall applications for interior walls and ceilings. It can be applied to either timber or metal studwork. Usually the application of clay boards is completed with clay finishing plaster.

Constructional properties

The boards have fire retardant properties and medium levels of acoustic insulation. Due to the clay component they have the ability to absorb large amounts of

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

through the plaster and helping to protect vulnerable buildings from excess moisture generated by modern living. Board Options for Clayworks Plasters
(clay-works.com)

Production

Clay panels are available from different manufacturers in different designs. The main component is clay or loam. This is either reinforced by a reed mat or stabilised by straw or wood fibres (sawdust) as with clay bricks. Further vegetable or mineral aggregates may also be contained. The boards are not heat-treated, so that the positive characteristics of the clay remain in its entirety.

Processing

Clay panels are used for the dry construction of wall and ceiling claddings and facing shells. The boards are mounted on a steel profile or wooden frame construction by means of screws or nails. For ceiling claddings, washers must be used depending on the type of clay panel. The panels can be sawn with standard tools, like a cutter knife, a jigsaw or a

circular saw A circular saw is a power- saw using a toothed or abrasive disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion spinning around an arbor. A hole saw and ring saw also use a rotary motion but are different from a circular saw. ' ...

. The joints of the clay boards often have tongue and groove for easier processing. The joints must be reinforced with a jute fabric or glass fibre fabric and filled with a fine clay plaster mortar. The clay board is mounted in vertical or horizontal form. The clay building wall or ceiling can then be treated with a clay plaster or painted directly with clay paint.

Combination with heating and cooling

Clay is an ideal construction material for combinations with heating and cooling. Before the development of drywall panels made of clay, however, wall heating elements could only be laid in clay plaster. Meanwhile, some manufacturers offer clay building boards with integrated heating and cooling pipes. This makes the installation of heating and cooling in dry construction on walls and ceilings much easier.

Applications

* Interior wall and ceiling board * Area separation wall board * Backer board and underlayment * Substrates for coatings and insulated systems * Clay Climate Systems

References