Cement board around shower

[branimal]

I'm getting ready to install 1/2" cement board around the shower to 72" high (2 3'x5' cement boards stacked) and then sheetrock from 73" to the ceiling (114"). I'll tile to maybe 96" or so.

Should the sheetrock be 1/2" thick or the standard 5/8" thick? I'm thinking 1/2" so the transition looks smoother and there's no bump out.

I'm guess b/c the sheetrock starts at 6', there's no need to use greenboard (mold proof sheetrock)

Thanks!!!

 

[Copymutt]

You will have a lt of humidity. Go w/ green bd.

 

[The Cobbler]

use the same thickness as your cement board. you should seriously look at some of the new styrofoam board on the market, much lighter & easier to work with than cement .
the green board ( it is not mold proof) is marginally better, IMO. I would probably use it in my own place.
a good oil primer after you latex prime will help a lot with mold too. don't direct prime the drywall with oil. it rasies the hair in the drywall & makes a mess

 

[ClappedOutBport]

Dad and I did two showers recently, we did the cement board over the green rock, then used round nose tile to cap it. That's how all the old ones I've seen are done.

 

[The Cobbler]

why would you put cement board over drywall?

 

[b-boy]

Personally, I like to take the tile all the way to the ceiling. It's not that much extra work and I think it looks better.

 

[ClappedOutBport]

why would you put cement board over drywall?

Because something needed to fill the 1/2" gap.

 

[The Cobbler]

so you put on 1/2 drywall, then added 1/2 cement board on top of that?

 

[ClappedOutBport]

so you put on 1/2 drywall, then added 1/2 cement board on top of that?

...Yes. Look at at any shower from the 60s. That's how they look. They used chicken wire and real 'crete, but same bumpout. How would you have done it? Just amateurs here.

I guess it's not normal because the 2 1/4" screws needed are not easy to find.

 

[Dustball]

...Yes. Look at at any shower from the 60s. That's how they look. They used chicken wire and real 'crete, but same bumpout. How would you have done it? Just amateurs here.

I guess it's not normal because the 2 1/4" screws needed are not easy to find.

Furred out the studs with ripped down boards. Drywall behind cement board is no good. Fur out the studs, install vapor barrier, then install the cement board.

 

[The Cobbler]

the old days they used lime & mortar on wire mesh. tough as nails. perhaps someone just went over it to put on new tile? or the tile was an afterthought & they went over the original plaster? there's no reason to double up wallboard for a shower .
I'can't say I've ever seen it, other than to re tile without ripping the existing off.

 

[Higgins]

Ditto

CB to the ceiling,

Tile to the ceiling,

Done!

 

[barks]

b-boy said it. Go tile to the ceiling. Your shower will look larger, it is a (perceived) sign of an expensive install and you eliminate the mold discussion.

 

[The Cobbler]

OP has tall ceilings, 114"
he plans to tile to 96"
I think that would look better than tile to the ceiling in this case

 

[Shiftless]

Ditto

CB to the ceiling,

Tile to the ceiling,

Done!

That’s how I did mine too.
Waterproof membrane over the bare studs, 1/2 inch cement board with thin set and fiberglass tape sealing corners and joints. Then tile and grout.
Tile all the way to the ceiling eliminates the need for expensive bullnose trim pieces. Plus you won’t have the problem of paint discoloring or peeling above the steamy shower.

 

[ClappedOutBport]

the old days they used lime & mortar on wire mesh. tough as nails. perhaps someone just went over it to put on new tile? or the tile was an afterthought & they went over the original plaster? there's no reason to double up wallboard for a shower .
I'can't say I've ever seen it, other than to re tile without ripping the existing off.

No, like I said, just amateurs being amateurs.

Furred out the studs with ripped down boards. Drywall behind cement board is no good. Fur out the studs, install vapor barrier, then install the cement board.

Ah well. Oh well. The original was just tile on sheetrock, that failed, badly, requiring the tub to be pulled and much of the wood around it to be replaced. That made it 20 years maybe before failure, this should make it at least twice that long and I imagine the house will be bulldozed after my parents are gone. Which will be less than 40 years. So

 

[The Cobbler]

I was curious,, that's all. hope not to come across otherwise.
I commend people for stepping up & doing things themselves.

 

[rburke65]

Cement board to the ceiling and your covered.

 

[branimal]

1. When you tile to the top how are you going to make the transition from tile wall to drywall ceiling? Do you just blue tape the ceiling and slip that last row of bullnose tile up there?

2. Lets say I want to leave a bit of a painted surface at the top (bullnose or schluter profile on top of the top row of tile) and I used cement board all the way to the top. How do you paint cement board. It's not smooth like drywall. Do you skim coat with drywall compound then paint?

 

[Jlbc212]

I'd put cement board on the ceiling and tile the ceiling too.

 

[bugnut]

My advice and how i did mine, drywall and then membrane, tile to the ceiling.....

https://www.schluter.com/schluter-us/en_US/faq/shower-system-kerdi-over-drywall-tiled-shower

 

[56Mark]

You didn't say but you need to coat the concrete board, it is not really waterproof. You need a moisture barrier either behind it using plastic, or on the tile side of it using something like Red-guard or Aqua defense. Don't do both, it makes a moisture sandwich. I don't like the green board sheet-rock to tile on, I don't think thin set sticks as well; feels kind of waxy. Someone else mentioned the foam boards like Kerdi board, that is the way to go I think. Check out johnbridge.com for great advice and check out videos of Schluter kerdi. Also, keep the step between concrete board and dry wall as flat as possible; it will make the tile much easier to put on. I don't do it for a living but have done several showers over the last 15 years and no problems so far.

 

[Shiftless]

1. When you tile to the top how are you going to make the transition from tile wall to drywall ceiling? Do you just blue tape the ceiling and slip that last row of bullnose tile up there?

2. Lets say I want to leave a bit of a painted surface at the top (bullnose or schluter profile on top of the top row of tile) and I used cement board all the way to the top. How do you paint cement board. It's not smooth like drywall. Do you skim coat with drywall compound then paint?

1. I just tiled all the way to the ceiling. No bullnose needed. Just cut the last row of tiles to fit. You do have a wet saw, right? I painted the ceiling after the tile job was completely finished.

2. I used 90 minute mud to skim the cement board. This was a small bathroom with tile walls 3 feet up from the floor all around so I just used cement board everywhere.

 

[Superbec]

I just did my first bathroom from scrap , had to redo plumbing and found two old tile floors underneath the one I wanted out ... took me ~2 months .

I would do some research about waterproofing showers, it's not as easy as you might think, and no , grout is not usually waterproof unless you buy epoxy grout, but even with epoxy grout I wouldn't want to rely just on grout waterproofing.

I used Wedi board it's 100 waterproof and if installed correctly will last a few lifetimes .
On top of the wedi I had a membrane like red-guard , then grouted the floor tiles with epoxy grout .

I wouldn't install cement board or green plaster in 2019 , we have many better options to choose from.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Personally, I like to take the tile all the way to the ceiling. It's not that much extra work and I think it looks better.

X2. No repainting, and easier to clean, too. That's what my contractor is doing in our new bathroom. He's of the same opinion.

Tommy

 

[dg57]

You didn't say but you need to coat the concrete board, it is not really waterproof. You need a moisture barrier either behind it using plastic, or on the tile side of it using something like Red-guard or Aqua defense. Don't do both, it makes a moisture sandwich. I don't like the green board sheet-rock to tile on, I don't think thin set sticks as well; feels kind of waxy. Someone else mentioned the foam boards like Kerdi board, that is the way to go I think. Check out johnbridge.com for great advice and check out videos of Schluter kerdi. Also, keep the step between concrete board and dry wall as flat as possible; it will make the tile much easier to put on. I don't do it for a living but have done several showers over the last 15 years and no problems so far.

absolutely red guard or kerdi on the tile side and don't create a double moisture barrier with plastic. Tile/grout is not nearly as water resistant as most folks assume.

 

[MoonRise]

Cement board is porous and so is most grout, so you NEED a waterproof membrane somewhere underneath the tile.

And +99 on tile all the way to the ceiling. And tile the shower ceiling too (with appropriate waterproof membrane underneath and cement board).

No to drywall (even greenboard) in the shower.

 

[flat350]

My advice and how i did mine, drywall and then membrane, tile to the ceiling.....

https://www.schluter.com/schluter-us/en_US/faq/shower-system-kerdi-over-drywall-tiled-shower

This is the way to go,used all of their products on this one.

 

[pcmeiners]

Furred out the studs with ripped down boards. Drywall behind cement board is no good. Fur out the studs, install vapor barrier, then install the cement board.

Agree but Leave out the vapor barrier, then red guard sealer on the finished cement board, two coats. If you want the tile to stay up forever use thinset instead of tile mastic, a good bit more work but worth it. I used a small amount of body filler on the seams/screws (before red guard). Think of a hand rail if you believe it will keep you safer. tile to the ceiling, tile the ceiling in shower, if you do not do the ceiling you will be sorry later on... do it right the first time

 

[ripperd]

At my old house when I re-did the shower, I did cementboard directly on the framing to about 72", then I did greenboard the rest of the way to the ceiling. Then I redguarded the whole thing. Then I tiled all the way to the ceiling.

Honestly, if you are soaking the top 2' of the shower walls regularly are you doing jumping jacks in the shower or what?

 

[branimal]

You didn't say but you need to coat the concrete board, it is not really waterproof. You need a moisture barrier either behind it using plastic, or on the tile side of it using something like Red-guard or Aqua defense. Don't do both, it makes a moisture sandwich. I don't like the green board sheet-rock to tile on, I don't think thin set sticks as well; feels kind of waxy. Someone else mentioned the foam boards like Kerdi board, that is the way to go I think. Check out johnbridge.com for great advice and check out videos of Schluter kerdi. Also, keep the step between concrete board and dry wall as flat as possible; it will make the tile much easier to put on. I don't do it for a living but have done several showers over the last 15 years and no problems so far.

I plan on Red-Guarding the C/B. I've got a bucket of that stuff laying around. I've heard good things about the Kerdi wall membranes. You've got to thinset them onto the C/B which seemed more of a hassle than rolling on redguard.


I use the schuter linear trays on 2 showers. They are super easy to setup and are water tight. I'll be using them again in this remodel.

 

[branimal]

1. I just tiled all the way to the ceiling. No bullnose needed. Just cut the last row of tiles to fit. You do have a wet saw, right? I painted the ceiling after the tile job was completely finished.

I suppose a small piece of tile way up top is better than small piece on the bottom.

Yup I got a wet saw.

 

[branimal]

This is the way to go,used all of their products on this one.

Great shower @flat350. i like the long white subway tile, with the darker grout! Great contrast.

So you went with three water sources. Shower, rainfall, and sprayer. Was it worth it?

 

[GTFiero]

Use Schluter board for shower walls and ceiling. Install per mfg instructions, very easy. Then tile walls to the top and ceiling. The Schluter system works very well, easy install, quick, light material, very stable. Schluter also works great for floor tile backing. Again, follow instructions to the word, don’t be tempted to use non stainless screws.

We did two full baths with this and we're very satisfied with the results!

 

[GTFiero]

Use Schluter board for shower walls and ceiling. Install per mfg instructions, very easy. Then tile walls to the top and ceiling. The Schluter system works very well, easy install, quick, light material, very stable. Schluter also works great for floor tile backing. Again, follow instructions to the word, don’t be tempted to use non stainless screws.

We did two full baths with this and we're very satisfied with the results!

 

[flat350]

Great shower @flat350. i like the long white subway tile, with the darker grout! Great contrast.

So you went with three water sources. Shower, rainfall, and sprayer. Was it worth it?

Only used the three because I had them laying around,I had all of the fixtures in hand left over from work years ago.The rainhead gets used the least amount,best addition was the fold down teak seat.If you ever look for one don't shop at a bath type shop,look at boating supplies cost is much lower.

 

[shellback]

Awesome info especially for a rookie like me. We are going to do out first shower and have a few issues/questions:
- window sill/shelf, used to hold the loofa and shampoos on the shower wall has loose tiles. I know water got in there and probably for years...
- I really suspect dry wall damage from that leak, so I'm replacing the dry wall with one of the suggested methods from posts above.
- I really like the Schluter system and it seems like it's not too hard to install even for us....
- We do want a curb-less entry and really liked flat350's results.
- Flat350: had you gone with the fixed glass shower wall, and not the 2 pane closing doors, you think you would have water intrusion to the rest of the bathroom, like the toilet area, etc? Again, we want to do the door-less, half glass covered entry.
Thank you again for the awesome post!

 

[branimal]

Only used the three because I had them laying around,I had all of the fixtures in hand left over from work years ago.The rainhead gets used the least amount,best addition was the fold down teak seat.If you ever look for one don't shop at a bath type shop,look at boating supplies cost is much lower.

I framed out my last shower for a fold down seat but later felt it was too crowded and abandoned the idea. Current shower project has the room. Will definitely check out boating supply stores.

Thx



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[paulsomlo]

I'm surprised no one recommended DensShield: https://www.buildgp.com/product/densshield-tile-backer/. It cuts like drywall, has a moisture barrier, and a water resistant core. I've used it on two showers, and sealed the joints with a single part urethane liquid with fabric embedded, as well as painting the liquid over each fastener head. It's easy to work and about $10/sheet at HD.

 

[flat350]

Awesome info especially for a rookie like me. We are going to do out first shower and have a few issues/questions:
- window sill/shelf, used to hold the loofa and shampoos on the shower wall has loose tiles. I know water got in there and probably for years...
- I really suspect dry wall damage from that leak, so I'm replacing the dry wall with one of the suggested methods from posts above.
- I really like the Schluter system and it seems like it's not too hard to install even for us....
- We do want a curb-less entry and really liked flat350's results.
- Flat350: had you gone with the fixed glass shower wall, and not the 2 pane closing doors, you think you would have water intrusion to the rest of the bathroom, like the toilet area, etc? Again, we want to do the door-less, half glass covered entry.
Thank you again for the awesome post!

The one panel to the left is fixed,and I definitely think there would be water issues on the floor with the 30" sliding panel removed.