Hello!
I am doing a research of the French market for gypsum plasterboard. I am interested in knowing what are the standart sizes used, what requirements the gypsum plasterboards should meet and maybe which are the main producers/suppliers of that material.
Thank you a lot! Have a nice day!
Hello Selvin and welcome to the forum.
Google has lots of information you can use for your Research.
Plaque de plâtre is what you need to look up.
Here is one link, of course there are many others.
Hello Stella!
Thank you for your reply. That’s what i was looking at just now. I am guessing you are a french citizen? Could you perhaps tell me:
Thank you for your time! Greetings!
Hi Selvin… I’m about to eat… will answer later.
Where abouts are you ??
Hey!
I am from Bulgaria. You may not know my country, it is located on the Balkan peninsula. The reason i am doing this reaserch is because i am currently a participant in an educational program, each week we have different projects to do.
Hi Selvin
When/if we need placo - we visit the local DIY (Do it Yourself) stores and also the Builders Merchants (who sell to the Trade and to Private People as well).
Depending on the job, for us the price versus performance will be most important. We try to get the best value for our money.
Phew - that’s me finished. As I suggested already - check out Google - loads of info readily available.
cheers
Hi!
Thank you a lot for your time. You’ve been very helpful!
Have a nice day!
Hi Selvin,
It may help you to know that here in France plasterboard comes in different specifications according to the intended purpose. There is some that is pink in colour which has a higher fire resistance rating, some which is tinged greeny / blue that is more water resistant (for use in bathrooms), and then the rest can be either a rougher brown coloured finish which is used when it’s going to be skimmed over with plaster or tiled, or a whiter and smoother finish which is intended for ‘direct decoration’ where either paint or wallpaper is used directly onto the board.
There is also plasterboard which polystyrene insulation already bonded onto the back of it.
Have a look at this link where you will find lots of information. https://www.bricodepot.fr/catalogue/construction-renovation/materiau-gros-oeuvre/cloison-plafond-plancher/plaque-de-platre-panneau-dagencement/#p1n20srelevancy
Good luck with your project.
Hi, Robert,
Thank you for the shared information, it was really helpful. Could you maybe answer the questions I had asked on the previous post?
Thank you! Have a nice day.
I don’t particularly associate plasterboard with any individual manufacturer even though I have bought quite a lot of it over the last ten years or so. Here in France the various types are all made in accordance with government stipulated minimum standards, so who actually makes it becomes a bit irrelevant as far as I’m concerned.
When buying plasterboard I go to one of the specialist outlets (such as Brico Depot) that supply the public and small traders. I have a suitable trailer with which to transport it so the fact that they don’t have a delivery service is not a problem for me.
Which grade and thickness of board I buy depends on the type of job it is needed for, and whether it’s going to be subjected to ‘direct decoration’ or not. Then it is simply a matter of price. Which manufacturer actually makes the chosen grade of board is irrelevant to me.
We all know the problems with pollution and such. Would you prefer buying a product which is more echo-friendly which, of course, meets all the standards?
Hi Selvin
What specific problems are you thinking about ?
How the product is made? When the product is used? When the product is disposed of …??? 
Standard P/B sizes in France are as follows: 2500x600, 2500x1200, 2600x1200, 2800x1200, 3000x1200 & 3200x1200, all at 13mm thick. 2500 x1200x 10mm is also available. Thicknesses of 18mm & 25mm are also easily available.
Hi!
I mean the process of production and disposal. And also that the product would be recyclable.
I believe the product is already recyclable … from what I have read on Google and the various Gypsum information sites.
What other areas of research are you involved in ?? (other than on our Forum)
Yes, indeed most of the products are, but I am not sure if they are 100% recyclable.
Since the whole project has to do with marketing, I am also searching information about that all around Google. Technically many, many different sites.
Provided the product gave the same or better results, and was not too horribly priced, then the answer to your question is ‘Yes’.
Hello again,
Thank you all for your time and for your answers! You all were really helpful. I wish you all the best of luck in life!
Greetings from Bulgaria.
Hi Selvin,
You could try looking here, the French industry organisation website (CSTB) for building materials. The CSTB provides, possibly for a fee (I haven’t checked), access to the various standards, technical specifications, etc.
The main manufacturers of plasterboard available in France are probably Knauf Gips (a German company), and Lafarge Plâtres (a French conglomerate). There may be board available from other manufacturers, such as Georgia Pacific, Saint Gobain, USG (US Gypsum Corp), Etex Group, Armstrong World Industries, Boral Ltd, Fletcher Building Ltd, Gypsum Management & Supply, and National Gypsum Co, depending on the particular application and environment that the board is intended to be used in.
Selvin, producing plasterboard is energy intensive (having visited several production sites in a previous professional capacity). Whether or not manufacturers have improved their processes to be more energy efficient is probably something you would have to ask them directly.
As for recycling, well in France, at least, you can take your old boards to the public dump and they generally have a separate container set aside for people to leave their used plasterboard in. Whether or not, and how, this actually gets recycled does not appear to be easily accessible information.
Plasterboard’s main component is, after all, gypsum, which requires a lot of energy to undo the very strong bonds that form on crystallisation out of the slurry from which it is made. Recycling the cardboard coatings (if at all possible) that form the board outer surfaces also requires significant energy input. Other components go into the manufacture of plasterboard, including a whole range of not so very environmentally friendly additives (retardateurs de prise, accélérateurs de prise, agents thixotropes, dispersants, azurants, agents blanchissants, colorants, renforts, fibres, etc), which I doubt can be separated out or disposed of very easily.