Asbestos Content in Bestwall Drywall

Beaver Products, Compo-Board & Bestwall History

Bestwall History

Taping drywall joints dates from as early as the 1920's. Asbestos-use in plaster overlaps this period.

Bestwall, perhaps the earliest successful gypsum-board or "drywall" product, in its original composition, was a mixture of wood product and gypsum (Armstrong 1913, 1919) was produced by the first as Compo-Board (Armstrong 1913) and then by BeaverProducts, later by Bestwall Gypsum Company in Ardsmore, PA.

Certainteed purchased Beaver Products in 1928.

The Bestwall company founded in 1956 was, by some sources, a "spin-off" from CertainTeed Corporation, a large manufacturer of gypsum board (drywall) and joint compound.

BestWall was bought by Georgia Pacific in 1965.

Below: CertainTeed Beaver Gypsum Lath, courtesy of InspectApedia reader lulutalul, posted on this page 2022/01/10.

Note: This is a gypsum based product, not of the same composition as other wood fiber board products that also bear the "Beaver" trademark.

The "Beaver" name was used on both BEAVER GYPSUM LATH (shown below) and on BEAVEROBARD, a wood-fiber insulating wall and ceiling sheathing product described

at BEAVERBOARD IDENTIFICATION. Neither of these is a "Bestwall" product.

These gypsum lath or "rock lath" boards, found in a 1940s home in Ironwood MI, USA, are stamped: BEAVER GYPSUM LATH, FIRE PROOF, CertainTeed ?? Corp, New York NY.

[Click to enlarge any image]

In turn, Georgia Pacific purchased the BestwalL Gypsum Co. from Certainteed in 1965. Koch Industries, present owner of Bestwall, bought Georgia-Pacific in 2005.

Bestwall LLC, facing over 64,000 asbestos injury claims, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division, on 2 November 2017. Case No. 17-31795.

Bestwall LLC is expected to establish a trust to handle asbestos-liability claims under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code Section 524(g). News reports note that Georgia-Pacific, owner of Bestwall LLC, and GP's subsidiaries were not included in this filing.

CertainTeed formed Bestwall Gypsum in 1961. Certainteed's Bestwall Gypsum board, contained asbestos through 1977. Depending on when the product installed in a particular building, even buildings constructed in the next year or so could have used new-old-stock gypsum board that contained asbestos.

Bestwall Bankruptcy Filing

The Bestwall Gypsum Company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017.

See this 2017 BESTWALL CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY FILING PRESS RELEASE [PDF] (2017)

In 2020 the Bestwall bankruptcy case was still pending, confounded perhaps by claims of subversion of the bankruptcy process by Georgia Pacific, in an effort to avoid paying asbestos-related injury or mesothelioma claims.

Additional hearings in the Bestwall bankruptcy protection filing claim are currently scheduled beginning in August 2022, extending through December 2022.

The Claims & Noticing Agent for this case is

• Donlin, Recano & Company, Inc. Re: Bestwall LLC P.O. Box 199043 Blythebourne Station Brooklyn, NY 11219 Toll Free Tel: (877) 864-5058 International Toll: (212) 771-1128 Fax: (212) 481-1416 Email: bestwallinfo@donlinrecano.com Website: https://www.donlinrecano.com/Clients/bw/Index

Complete List of Bestwall Gypsum drywall & plaster boards & finishing products

From ASBESTOS PRODUCING COMPANIES & TRUSTS we have this list of products made by Bestwall that contained asbestos:

• Acoustical plaster containing asbestos
• Bedding compound
• Bestwall drywall compounds including: Bestwall™ All Purpose joint compound, Bestwall™ bedding compound, Bestwall™ topping compound, Bestwall™ Lite Acoustic coating, Bestwall™ textured coatings, Bestwall™ triple-duty drywall-joint compound, Bestwall™ Ready-Mix joint compound, Bestwall™ Speed-Set joint compound,
• Bestwall™ Denswall™ Texture coating
• Bestwall™ Kalite acoustical texture coating
• Bestwall™ patching plaster
• Bestwall™ Drywall adhesive
• Drywall joint compound including Georgia Pacific Triple-Duty™ Joint Compound, Bestwall Speed-Set™ Joint Compound, All purpose joint compound, Ready-Mix joint compound
• Bestwall™ Drywall laminating compound
• Bestwall™ Patching plaster
• Bestwall™ Roof coatings & sealants, asphalt based, including asbestos fibers
• Bestwall™ Spackling compound
• Bestwall™ Textured coatings, paints
• Bestwall™ Topping compound
• Also see CERTAINTEED DRYWALL ASBESTOS
• Also see Georgia Pacific in ASBESTOS PRODUCING COMPANIES & TRUSTS

Bestwall Gypsum Board Stamps & Identification End Tape Data

Above: Bestwall Fire-rated drywall stamp noting that the product uses fiberglass.

This product cites U.S. Patent NO. 2,681,863 included in more-detail below. That patent refers to some uses of asbestos in plaster but is focused on the use of fiberglass as you can read in this excerpt from the patent disclosure:

The drawn textile glass fibers are on the other hand, produced as continuous filaments, each of which is discharged in a molten state through an orifice and is attenuated by winding on a high speed winding drum.

In the production, winding and handling of drawn glass fibers or filaments it is essential that a great many such extremely fine filaments be grouped into strands each containing from one hundred to several hundred individual filaments so that the forces that are necessarily involved in the high speed handling will not cause breakage of the filaments.

Watch out: Croce's 1950 patent US2526066A, also given below, confirms that some gypsum board or "plaster board" products may have been manufactured with reinforcement that may have included both fiberglass and asbestos.

Below: Bestwall drywall identification is easy when the drywall end-tape is intact and visible. This end tape was on the same drywall product that included the Reinforced with Fiberglass stamp shown above.

From DRYWALL TYPE IDENTIFICATION STAMPS we have:

Thanks to reader Nick for these photos giving some hints at identifying Bestwall gypsum board (2020/01) with these stamps found on the back of the gypsum board in a 1939 home.

There is text reading "“Certain-Teed Beaver Gypsum Fireproof” making this a CertainTeed product, gypsum board, produced after the company's purchase of BestWall.

Bestwall Drywall Production Patents & Identification Labels

Below, US Patent Numbers give an age range and identify the probable manufacturer for this particular sample of gypsum board: U.S. Gypsum Co. with Bestwall and National Gypsum and others as antecedents.

• Roos, Carlisle K. "Cementitious material." U.S. Patent 2,017,022, issued October 8, 1935.
• Kauffmann, Hans O. "Method of producing porous gypsum products." U.S. Patent 1,946,077, issued February 6, 1934.
• Gough, Fred J., and Bernard T. Ballard. "Foam cell." U.S. Patent 1,955,123, issued April 17, 1934.
• Gough, Fred J., William M. Mcneil, and Frederic D. Pfeffer. "Mixer for stucco compositions." U.S. Patent 1,767,791, issued June 24, 1930. 11-01
  
• Utzman, Clarence W. "Machine for making plaster-board or the like." U.S. Patent 1,330,413, issued February 10, 1920.

The word "asbestos" does not appear in any of the patents listed just above

Additional BestWall patents

listed on the stamps on Bestwall drywall, thanks to reader Nick Oswana21

• Armstrong, Morgan K. "Plaster board." U.S. Patent 1,701,291, issued February 5, 1929. Application filed by United States Gypsum Co
• Haggerty, Joseph F. "Wall board." U.S. Patent 1,702,966, issued February 19, 1929. Application filed by National Gypsum Co
• Haggerty, Joseph F. "Plaster wall board." U.S. Patent 1,500,452, issued July 8, 1924. Application filed by UNIVERSAL GYPSUM Co
• Roos, Carlisle K. "Cementitious material." U.S. Patent 2,017,022, issued October 8, 1935. Application filed by United States Gypsum Co. 1924-08-20.

Illustration above: Beaver BESTWALL label (Form 1789) found on a North Florida home built in 1925. (Thanks to Laurel Greene, in reader Q&A below).

• Armstrong, Morgan K. "Plaster-board." U.S. Patent 1,278,821, issued September 17, 1918. Application filed by BESTWALL Manufacturing Co
• Ballard, Bernard T., and Fred J. Gough. "Liquid measuring apparatus." U.S. Patent 1,813,834, issued July 7, 1931. Application filed by United States Gypsum Co.
• De Forest, Crandell Dean, and Neher Roy. "Mixing machine." U.S. Patent 1,967,291, issued July 24, 1934. Application filed by National Gypsum Co
• De Forest, Crandell Dean. "Method of making wall board." U.S. Patent 1,932,956, issued October 31, 1933. Application filed by National Gypsum Co.
• Gough, Fred J., and Bernard T. Ballard. "Foam cell." U.S. Patent 1,955,123, issued April 17, 1934. Application filed by United States Gypsum Co
• Gough, Fred J., William M. Mcneil, and Frederic D. Pfeffer. "Mixer for stucco compositions." U.S. Patent 1,767,791, issued June 24, 1930. Application filed by United States Gypsum Co
• Adolph, New Gustave. "Cellular gypsum product." U.S. Patent 1,770,797, issued July 15, 1930. Filed by American Gypsum Company
• Hite, Charles E. "Heat-insulating material and method of making same." U.S. Patent 1,230,297, issued June 19, 1917. Application filed by Charles E Hite
• Kauffmann, Hans O. "Method of producing porous gypsum products." U.S. Patent 1,946,077, issued February 6, 1934. Application filed by Buffalo Electro-Chemical Co Inc. 1932-09-15
• Turner, John J., and Absmeier Carl. "Mixing device." U.S. Patent 1,813,828, issued July 7, 1931. Application filed by United States Gypsum Co
• Utzman, Clarence W. "Machine for making plaster-board or the like." U.S. Patent 1,330,413, issued February 10, 1920. Application filed by United States Gypsum Co

Beaver BestWall Patent Information

llustrated here: Beaver brand "BestWall" plaster wallboard label, thanks to reader Dave.

• "HEAT-INSULATING MATERIAL AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME." U.S. Patent Application 1,230,297, filed August 18, 1916.
• Hite, Charles E. HEAT-INSULATING MATERIAL AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME [PDF] U.S. Patent 1,230,297, issued June 19, 1917.
  Excerpts:
  
  My invention relates to an improved heat insulating material and the method of making same. The object is to provide an improved insulating material, suitable for covering steam and hot and
  cold water pipes, refrigerating machinery, boilers and furnaces, and for numerous other uses requiring insulation of high efiiciency, which is non-combustible, durable and light in weight.
  ...
  Among the best insulating mediums or materials now in use, may be mentioned hair felt, cork, carbonate of magnesia and asbestos. These materials are expensive, and each has certain disadvantages.
  ...
  This mass of carbo-hydrate, water and sulfate, is at first quite fluid, but soon sets and becomes firm.
  
  The action of the carbohydrate paste is to hold the particles of sulfate in suspension, preventing settling until the sulfate hardens, then on the evaporation of the water, a substance is produced full of air cells, which has proved of greater insulating efficiency, as above stated, than insulating substances composed of 85% carbonate of magnesia and 15% asbestos.
• Utzman, Clarence W. MACHINE for MAKING PLASTER BOARD or the like [PDF] U.S. Patent 1,330,413, issued February 10, 1920. Application filed by United States Gypsum Co.
  This patent disclosure does not include the word "asbestos"
  
  Excerpt:
  My invention belongs to that class of machines employed 'in vthe 'manufacture of specication of Letters Patent. Application ined september 3,1918. i serial No. 252,403. i' .plaster board or a board made up of a suitablebody provided with covering sheets` for containing the same.
• Utzman, Clarence W. PLASTER-BOARD [PDF] U.S. Patent 1,383,249, issued June 28, 1921. Application filed by United States Gypsum Co
  
  This patent does include the word "asbestos" in the general product-type description only, not in the patent text body.
  
  E04C2/043 - Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by specified materials of concrete or other stone-like material; of asbestos cement; of cement and other mineral fibres of plaster
  
  (no details available)
  
• Haggerty, Joseph F. PLASTER WALL BOARD [PDF] U.S. Patent 1,500,452, issued July 8, 1924. Application filed by UNIVERSAL GYPSUM Co.
  Excerpt:
  
  The strength of the board as above made, may be materially increased, and the tendenc to breakage reduced by the addition of fiber, as for instance, asbestos fiber, wood fiber, sulfite fiber, jute and the like. The asbestos fiber is preferably in some respects, being fire-proof and of a mineral nature.
  
  When fiber, as for instance, asbestos fiber, is added to the paste and thoroughly distributed so that the fiber is completely separated, each individual fiber becomes covered with the paste, which being adhesive, causes the gypsum to adhere more tenaciously to the fiber when the board is dried.
• Armstrong, Morgan K. PLASTER BOARD [PDF] U.S. Patent 1,701,291, issued February 5, 1929. Application filed by United States Gypsum Co.
  
  This patent does include the word "asbestos" in the general product-type description only, not in the patent text body.
  
  E04C2/043 Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by specified materials of concrete or other stone-like material; of asbestos cement; of cement and other mineral fibres of plaster

Bestwall Drywall Asbestos Test Results

As we noted at the start of this article, some but not all Bestwall drywall contained asbestos.

Watch out: even if drywall itself is asbestos free, if it was installed or repaired using drywall mud (joint compound) that contained asbestos, the wallboard, as installed, may contain some asbestos and should be handedl with care to avoid creating a dusty mess.

Below we include asbestos test results for Bestwall from three InspectApedia readers. None of these three tests detected asbestos in their Bestwall samples.

Bestwall Fireproof Gypsum Sheathing Asbestos Test Result #1

Illustration above: Beaver Fireproof Gypsum Sheathing label from a home built in 1960, tested for asbestos by the homeowner who reports:

Our home was built in 1960. We found Bestwall fireproof sheathing in our home. It tested negative for asbestos, 87% Gypsum, 8% cellulose, 5% fiberglass.

It tested negative for asbestos, 87% Gypsum, 8% cellulose, 5% fiberglass. - 2022-07-30, Bradford Allen.

 

Bestwall Plaster Wallboard Asbestos Test Result #2

Below: a second inspectApedia reader reported on Bestwall plaster wallboard found in a home dating from 1932 and located in upstate New York near Troy.

Huge fan of the InspectApedia and have learned so much from it. I thought I’d try to help to return the favor. Had a few older materials tested as I’m undergoing a Reno project.

I tested sheet vinyl flooring backing, best wall plasterboard and then the compound used (I think I have rock lath with compound squeezed in). Results attached! Only the floor came back positive.

This Bestwall plasterboard looks original to me the best I can tell and based on the patents on the back, timing goes with a 1932 install. 

- private email to editor Nov 21, 2024

Above: a photo of this reader's drywall showing its "BESTWALL the superior plaster wallboard" identification stamp.

The report below found asbestos in a flooring sample but not in the Bestwall plaster wallboard samples # 679A, 680A and 680B submitted by this reader to SEEML Labs in November 2024.

Bestwall Fireproof Plasterboard Asbestos Test Result #3

I had an old Bestwall drywall panel in my house tested for asbestos. I have photos of the panel and the patent number listed, as well as the test results (negative).

Thought it might be a useful addition to your site, but wasn't sure the best way to share the info. Is there a particular page to add it to as a comment, or should I email you the info? - anonymous by private email 2020/08/07

Moderator reply:

Thank you so much for the offer. If you can send me high res photos and information about the country and city where the house is located and the house age that would be a valuable addition that will help other readers. I'll find the best spot to add that info and send you the link for comment.

Our default is to keep you anonymous unless you ask otherwise.

Reader follow-up:

Thanks for following up. Glad this will help. I am not a home inspector but my company exclusively works on preservation and restoration projects and I use your site all the time.

But this is from my own house in Philadelphia. Anonymous contribution is fine.

I attached the best two photos I have from before the panels went in the trash—sorry, I didn't realize how blurry one of them is.

It reads "Bestwall Gypsum Company / General Offices Ardmore, Pennsylvania."

I looked up the patent you can see in the other photo, and it looks like this particular formulation may not have used asbestos, which is confirmed by my lab test.

These were installed in my basement with no tape or joint compound, so I only had the panel itself tested.

• BESTWALL ASBESTOS TEST REPORT [PDF] Western Analytical Laboratory, Inc., 6 August 2020, courtesy of reader Anon.

Research on Bestwall Asbestos Content

• Armstrong, Morgan K. Compo-board [PDF] U.S. Patent 1,076,261, issued October 21, 1913. Application filed by BESTWALL Manufacturing Co. of Chicago IL.
  Excerpts:
  
  My invention relates to that class of buildmaterial generally known to the trade as compo-board, the said term being used in a sense broad enough to include so-called plaster-board, and has for its object to provide a material of this kind which, while of low cost, is highly efiicient for the purposes had in view.
  
  To such ends, the invention consists of the construction hereinafter'described and defined in the claims.
  
  The ingredients used in making the improved board are calcined'gypsum, silicate of soda, borax and saw dust.
  
  The proportion of the ingredients may be considerably varied, but I have obtained highly satisfactory results by the use of the materials as follows: calcined gypsum 75 per cent., silicate of soda 2% per cent., borax 2 per cent, saw dust 20 per cent.
  
  The term saw dust is used in a liberal sense to include any and all finely divided wood particles usually treated as refuse at saw mills, and which are, consequently, of very small cost.
  
  The proportions above, give aboard that is espe-' Application filed June 28, 1911. Serial No. 685,782. cially adapted for use as a plaster board, and when the board is to-be used for other ...
• Armstrong, Morgan K. "Plaster-board." U.S. Patent 1,278,821, issued September 17, 1918.
• Armstrong, Morgan K. Plaster-board composition. [PDF] (1919) U.S. Patent 1,301,893, issued April 29, 1919.
  Excerpts:
  
  My improved composition consists of a mixture of dry, ground tan bark, of gypsum or stucco, plaster of Paris or like plastic material. In preparing the composition, I prefer to use the ingredients in approximately the following proportions :
  
  - fifteen pounds of ground tan bark and
  - eighty -five pounds of stucco, or other suitable calcined gypsum,
  
  The tan bark and gypsum plastic material. are thoroughly mixed, and to each one hunthis dry mixture is added dred pounds of about thirty pounds of water.
  
  The water, if slightly warmed, will more-readily mix with the dry ingredients.
  
  I prefer to mix the dry, and gypsum in'a hopper or other vice'and then vdischarge this dry ground tan bark mixingdemixture in a thin, flat, even layer upon a movable belt.
• Berney, Bernard C., and Henry A. Goebel. "Prefabricated building panel wall." U.S. Patent 3,336,709, issued August 22, 1967. Application filed by Mosaic Building Products Inc
  
  Excerpts:
  Claims: CEMENT ASBESTOS BOARD CO-EXTENSIVE WITH AND ADHERED TO THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE FIRST OF SAID SHEETS OF GYPSUM BOARD, MECHANICAL FASTENERS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID CEMENT ASBESTOS BOARD,
  Details:
  
  Component B: One-eighth inch cement asbestos board (Johns-Manville Corporation)
  Component C: One-half inch fire resistant gypsum wall board (Bestwall Type X, Bestwall Gypsum Company, Ardmore, Pa.) ... a suitable material has been found to be a lime/silica composition reinforced by a high percentage of asbestos fibers. ...
• BESTWALL ASBESTOS TEST REPORT [PDF] Western Analytical Laboratory, Inc., 6 August 2020, courtesy of reader Anon.
• CERTAINTEED DRYWALL ASBESTOS
• Michele, Croce. PLASTIC COMPOSITION MATERIALS AND PRODUCTS MADE THEREFROM [PDF] (1950) U.S. Patent 2,526,066, issued October 17, 1950. - Assignor to CertainTeed Products Co., continuation of Croce's application No, 510,365 November 15, 1943 and No. 688,843, filed August 7, 1946 and in Canada Septemb er 8, 1944.
  
  Excerpt:
  I have also had very satisfactory results by the use of 2% of fibre, either 2% of asbestos fibre or 1% of asbestos fibre and 1% of glass wool fibre. I have found the asbestos fibre more satisfactory with respect to controlling and feeding the fibre into the mixture.
• Croce, Michele, and Clarence G. Shuttleworth. PLASTER COMPOSITIONS and PRODUCTS [PDF] U.S. Patent 2,681,863, issued June 22, 1954. Filed by Certain Teed Products Corp.
  Excerpt:
  It should be observed also that in some instances asbestos has been used in plaster. In one such use the asbestos fiber has been added to plaster primarily to improve the plaster workability or trowelling characteristics while in another instance, in the Croce
  
  Patent No. 2,526,066, such asbestos fiber was added as a means for retaining an expansive component of the plaster composition in place in the set cast. In each case the amount of asbestos was quite high, and the Water absorptive capacity of the asbestos has increased the drying time of casts thus made.
  ...
  The drawn textile glass fibers are on the other hand, produced as continuous filaments, each of which is discharged in a molten state through an orifice and is attenuated by winding on a high speed winding drum. In the production, winding and handling of drawn glass fibers or filaments it is essential that a great many such extremely fine filiments be grouped into strands each containing from one hundred to several hundred individual filaments so that the forces that are necessarily involved in the high speed handling will not cause breakage of the filaments.
• Fisher, Daniel, "Industries Puts Bestwall Unit, A Small Player In Asbestos, In Bankruptcy", Forbes, 3 November 2017, retrieved 2020/01/17 original source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/legalnewsline/2017/11/03/koch-industries-puts-bestwall-unit-a-small-player-in-asbestos-in-bankruptcy/#35fa5f0fac87
  
  Excerpt: Koch Industries has put a division of its Georgia-Pacific unit in Chapter 11 bankruptcy after failing to stem a rising tide of lawsuits by mesothelioma victims who attribute their disease to asbestos-containing drywall compound.
  
  Georgia-Pacific’s Bestwall business manufactured the joint compound, commonly known as “mud,” with chrysotile asbestos fibers until 1977.
  
  In a court filing explaining the reasons for its Chapter 11 filing, Bestwall said joint compound in total never amounted to more than 1.5 percent of asbestos-containing products sold in the U.S., yet the company is now named in 70-80 percent of all lawsuits over mesothelioma, a cancer that can be caused by asbestos exposure.
  
  Fisher continues to report that asbestos lawsuits have involved apparently-fraudulent claims, adding in referring to a related lawsuit both reports of questionable claims and also "double dipping" in which the same plaintiff(s) were used in multiple lawsuits against multiple companies.
  
  ... U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George Hodges issued a series of groundbreaking rulings exposing the widespread practice plaintiff lawyers to manipulate the evidence of asbestos exposure against solvent companies before filing conflicting claims with bankruptcy trusts set up by the insolvent ones.
• Rizzo, Lillian, "Georgia-Pacific’s Bestwall Seeks Bankruptcy Protection Over Asbestos Litigation", The Wall Street Journal, 2017/11/02, retrieved 2020/01/17 original source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/georgia-pacifics-bestwall-seeks-bankruptcy-protection-over-asbestos-litigation-1509623160