This more a Homebuilding curiousity question but I am not registered there. Which came first: framing studs on 16 inch centers or 4 x 8 wallboard and plywood?
Thanks
forrestb
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Replies
Lightweight framing using 16" centers was developed before the introduction of plywood and drywall. Pre WW II builders manuals go into the details of lightweight 2x framing, though not without some impassioned rants about "flimsy" construction. The exterior walls and floors were sheathed with diagonal wood sheathing, usually ship lapped or T&G, and the interior walls were lath and plaster.
Plywood and sheetrock only came into widespread usage after the war. The mass production of plywood was developed during the war to supply the wartime aircraft and boat building industries.
Sheetrock was also a pre WW II invention, but again didn't come into use until the US government started using it to build barracks and offices in a hurry for the war effort. After the war ended, the new tract housing builders adopted both technologies to build homes quickly and at low cost with less skilled labor.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
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