I’ve been in the ceiling and drywall game for over 27 years. Before I started Fundi Interior Systems at our dining room table in 2015, I was already deep in this industry — and if I had a rand for every time someone asked me “so is drywall actually better than brick, or what?” I’d have retired a long time ago.
The honest answer is: it depends. But if you ask me what I recommend for most internal wall applications in a South African home or office in 2026 — and especially in Gauteng where we deal with everything from load-shedding to summer thunderstorms — the answer is usually drywall. And I’m going to tell you exactly why, with real numbers, not marketing fluff.
Grab a koeksister and let’s get into it.
Drywall — also called gypsum board, plasterboard, or Rhinoboard — is a building panel made from a gypsum plaster core sandwiched between two layers of paper liner. You screw it to a steel or timber frame, tape and skim the joints, and you’ve got a finished wall. No mortar, no curing time, no waiting for the plaster to dry for a week before you can paint.
In South Africa, the most common boards you’ll come across are the standard 12mm board for partitions, the 9mm board for ceilings, and specialist options like fire board (pink liner) and moisture board (green liner) for specific applications. We stock all of them at Fundi, and I’ll be the first to tell you which one you actually need rather than selling you the most expensive option on the shelf.
This is where most people start, so let’s just get the numbers out there.
In 2026, based on current Gauteng market rates:
| Wall Type | Cost per m² (incl. labour & materials) | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Standard drywall partition | R350 – R800/m² | ✓ Drywall |
| Brick wall (plastered & painted) | R600 – R1,200/m² | — |
| Double face brick (no plaster needed) | R800 – R1,500/m² | — |
So even at the top end of the drywall range, you’re still cheaper than entry-level brick — and roughly half the cost of a properly finished face brick wall. On a 50m² partition project, that’s a saving of anywhere between R12,500 and R35,000. That’s not small change, especially with the current cost of living chewing through everyone’s budgets.
Be careful when comparing quotes. Some contractors quote labour-only per square metre — that R150/m² figure you sometimes see online excludes boards, studs, screws, tape, plaster and paint. Always ask for an all-in price. At Fundi, we do free material calculations so you know exactly what the materials will cost before you even speak to a contractor.
This is where drywall really makes its case, and it’s the reason contractors love it.
A brick wall needs to be laid, pointed, left to cure, plastered, left to dry again, and then painted. We’re talking about a process that, done properly, can take two to three weeks before it’s ready for the painter. And if you’re renovating while the family is still living in the house — eish. Nobody wants that disruption for that long.
A drywall partition? A competent crew can frame, board, tape and skim a standard room in one to two days. You can literally be painting by the third morning. On commercial projects — shopping centres, offices, medical rooms — this time saving translates directly into money. Every day a tenant can’t trade is a day of lost revenue.
I’ve had contractors call me on a Friday afternoon needing materials to finish a partition for a Monday handover. That’s a story brick can never tell. Drywall can, and we make sure the stock is there when they need it.
Now, let’s be fair. Brick does have its place, and I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t acknowledge it.
For external walls — your boundary walls, your outer skin, anything that faces the elements — brick is still the standard in South Africa and for good reason. It handles our climate, it handles security concerns, and it lasts indefinitely with minimal maintenance.
For internal walls though? The “brick is stronger” argument is mostly myth when we’re talking about partition walls. A properly built drywall partition using 12mm board on 63mm or 102mm steel studs is more than capable of handling the demands of a residential or commercial interior. You can hang cupboards off it, mount a TV, fix shelving — as long as you hit the studs or use the right wall anchors, it performs.
Where brick still wins on strength is in structural applications and areas of very heavy impact — like the wall behind a factory door that gets hit with a forklift three times a week. But that’s not what most homeowners and office fitouts need.
Most people assume brick is more fire-resistant than drywall. It’s actually more nuanced than that.
Standard 12mm gypsum board offers meaningful fire resistance — up to 60 minutes in a compliant partition system. Step up to 12mm fire board (the one with the pink liner that we always have in stock) and you’re at a solid 60 minutes as a single layer. Double-board with 15mm fire board and you’re at 120 minutes — which is the specification required in hotels, hospitals, multi-storey buildings, and commercial developments where the SANS regulations are strictly applied.
Gypsum is essentially non-combustible. The reason it performs well in fire is that the water crystallised inside the gypsum core releases as steam under heat, slowing the transfer of heat through the wall. It’s actually clever chemistry, and it’s why fire engineers specify it by name.
Brick conducts heat. In a sustained fire, a brick wall will eventually crack and collapse. So the “brick is safer in a fire” assumption isn’t always accurate when you compare like-for-like.
Here’s where I always caution people, because this is where drywall gets a bad reputation it doesn’t always deserve — but sometimes does.
Standard drywall and water do not get along. If you use standard gypsum board in a bathroom, behind a shower, or in a laundry — you are going to have a problem. The board swells, mould grows, and before long you’ve got a wall that looks like it’s had a very bad year.
But here’s the thing: we stock 12mm moisture board for exactly this reason. The green liner is your signal — it’s specifically engineered for high-humidity environments. It absorbs less than 5% water, inhibits mould growth, and provides a stable tile-ready substrate for bathrooms and kitchens. Used correctly, drywall handles wet areas just fine.
The rule is simple: right board, right application. Standard board for dry areas. Moisture board for wet areas. If anyone tells you “you can’t use drywall in a bathroom” — they’re half right. You just need the correct board, which we can help you spec in about two minutes.
This is one that catches people off guard. A standard brick wall, plastered on both sides, has reasonably good acoustic performance. But a drywall partition with acoustic cavity batts installed between the studs can outperform brick for sound insulation — significantly.
We stock Knauf cavity batts in 51mm, 63mm and 102mm to match standard stud profiles. They friction-fit between the studs, no staples or adhesive needed, and a double-boarded partition with batts can reduce noise transfer by 50% or more. For home offices, bedrooms, boardrooms and home theatres — this is the specification you want.
In a Gauteng townhouse complex where you can hear your neighbour having an argument in another language at 10pm on a Tuesday? A properly insulated drywall partition is the answer. Trust me, I’ve supplied enough of them.
Here’s one nobody talks about but every property owner eventually appreciates.
Drywall walls can be moved. If your business grows and you need to reconfigure your office space, you call a contractor, they take down the partition in a morning, reframe it where you need it, and you’re done. The materials cost is minimal. The disruption is minimal.
Try doing that with a brick wall. You’re talking about a pneumatic drill, rubble removal, replastering, and a lot of dust — both the building kind and the neighbour-complaint kind.
For commercial tenants especially, this flexibility has real financial value. It’s also why developers building speculative office space almost always use drywall for internal partitions. They can reconfigure the space for the next tenant without demolishing anything structural.
After 27 years in this industry, here’s how I break it down:
Use drywall for: All internal non-structural partitions, ceilings, home offices, bedroom divisions, commercial fitouts, bathroom walls (with moisture board), garages converted to rooms, and anywhere you need to work fast and stay within budget.
Use brick for: External walls and boundary walls, structural or load-bearing applications, and areas of extreme physical impact where you need serious mass and permanence.
The bottom line is that drywall isn’t a compromise product. It’s not “the cheap option.” It’s the specified choice of architects, developers, engineers and contractors on projects from modest home renovations to five-star hotels. The trick is using the right board, the right frame, and the right accessories — and that’s exactly where we can help.
At Fundi, we’ll calculate your full material list, advice on the correct specification, and have everything ready for your contractor to collect or have it delivered — including after hours if the job demands it. No guesswork, no overbuying, no second trips.
Come in and see us at 61 Terrace Road, Eden Glen, Edenvale. Or call us on 011 974 0513. We’re here Monday to Saturday and we always have time for a proper conversation — even if you just want to argue that brick is better. I’ve had that debate many times. I always enjoy it.