# BROWN drywall?



## Dwayne Bearup (Aug 26, 2019)

One of the local churches where I sometimes do work had a water leak in the bathroom that damaged the 5/8" drywall. While scraping the paint/texture coat off I gouged through the drywall paper and discovered the drywall itself is brown. And yes, it's brown all the way through, but it's not any kind of fiberboard I've seen. It feels like gypsum, but it's brown.
My online search provided no answers, so any knowledge/thoughts/opinions anybody here would like to share about this would be appreciated. (I tried posting a photo but the file upload failed....)
At any rate, thank you in advance for any comments.


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## Shelwyn (Apr 10, 2015)

Maybe it is insulating fiberboard?


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## Dwayne Bearup (Aug 26, 2019)

Shelwyn said:


> Maybe it is insulating fiberboard?


It could be, if they make an insulating fiberboard covered in drywall paper...not being a "dryaller" per se I am unfamiliar with all the various forms of wall covering material and nothing I looked up online quite right.
A slab leak detection pro we brought in for that job suggested it might be soundproofing board. That seems logical since it's a bathroom....


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## drywallisair (Jan 4, 2020)

Dwayne Bearup said:


> One of the local churches where I sometimes do work had a water leak in the bathroom that damaged the 5/8" drywall. While scraping the paint/texture coat off I gouged through the drywall paper and discovered the drywall itself is brown. And yes, it's brown all the way through, but it's not any kind of fiberboard I've seen. It feels like gypsum, but it's brown.
> My online search provided no answers, so any knowledge/thoughts/opinions anybody here would like to share about this would be appreciated. (I tried posting a photo but the file upload failed....)
> At any rate, thank you in advance for any comments.





Perhaps Buffalo board? I saw some of this on an older house once, (like drywall, but brown all of the way through...)


Or perhaps just water damage staining the whole area?


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