What Are the Main Plasterboard Brands in the UK?

Choosing which type of plasterboard to use in your project is made slightly more difficult by the abundance of plasterboard brands on the market. Some are known for particular features or areas of specialisation in their boards, such as the following:

• Thermal performance
• Fire resistance
• Acoustic insulation
• Moisture resistance
• Vapour resistance 

There are many manufacturers of plasterboard and several produce a wide variety of other products - as part of their global construction industry brand or line of products. Some manufacturers also make accessories and other building materials related to plasterboarding, such as fixings, fillers or adhesives.

Most Popular Dry Lining Products and Plasterboard Brands

All of the brands listed manufacture gypsum boards, but there may be additional product series and sub-brands that are not directly mentioned. While this is not an exhaustive list, the following are some of the best brands for various types of common-use boards:

• British Gypsum: One of the oldest and most recognisable manufacturers of gypsum products is British Gypsum. This brand makes a large range of high-quality specialist boards, as well as quality standard gypsum boards.
• Celotex: Celotex helped to popularise the use of plasterboards during the early 20th century and will make it simple to insulate your walls. Celotex is known for boards with excellent thermal performance that use PIR foam.
• Ecotherm: For similarly high thermal insulation, again using PIR foam, Ecotherm is a popular brand. Ecotherm is made by using a special blowing agent, which has zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and is CFC/HCFC free.
• Fermacell: The Fermacell brand is known for the top-performance acoustic insulation it provides. Their boards also come with a class 0 fire rating, high strength and can be used on a ceiling - so it is a versatile, all-round board.
• GTEC: This company primarily makes acoustic boards, with other qualities such as vapour control and fire resistance. GTEC is part of Siniat, which produces a wide range of other boards and related building materials.
• Kingspan: The Kingspan brand of plasterboards is known for its reliability and high levels of thermal insulation. They do not produce many specialist boards, but their products are known for performance over a long time.
• Knauf: German by name and German by nature, this plasterboard brand is synonymous with reliability, convenience and strength. You can get almost any type of feature with Knauff, as they run the gamut for specialist boards.
• Recticel: If you need simplicity in complex and large-scale jobs Recticel plasterboard is ideal, as it is quick to fix. Recticel also makes quite versatile boards, with the ability to both dot and dab and mechanically fix them.
• Warmline: Warmline products are, as the name suggests, all about thermal insulation. By using a rigid PIR foam they create a high-performing board of various foam thicknesses, capable of handling almost any level of cold.

There are a couple of parent companies involved when recognising who the leading plasterboard brands are. In terms of size, Saint Gobain and the Siniat are both major companies that are responsible for many of the brands listed above - with plants and operations all over the world. Knauf is also a major player in this space.

When creating walls and ceiling systems using plasterboard products made by these brands, be aware that the boards may have more than one use - such as sound-insulating thermal insulation or moisture resistance boards with fire protection combined into a single board.

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How to Make Sure You Get the Best Plasterboard Brand

Whether you need one kind of standard board with a square edge or 1,000 pieces of specialist plasterboard with a tapered edge cut - you always need a high-quality supplier to guarantee you only get the best.

If you have a supplier or list of suppliers, then you might find that they do not call you back when they say you will. This will be a sign that they are unreliable, avoid this to make sure you get authentic plasterboard brands at the fairest prices.