i am tiling my tus/shower and was wondering if i need to use backer board or if the drywall is ok

No, you gotta get this part nailed down straight:

You use drywall if you're getting paid to tile SOMEONE ELSE'S tub and shower enclosure.

You use tile backer board if you're tiling YOUR OWN tub and shower enclosure.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nestor,

Any kind of drywall (whiteboard, greenboard, blue board) has not been allowed as a surround material under tile since about '96.

The only way drywall can be used is if it's covered with a material like the Schluter Kerdi fabric. Otherwise some form of concrete backer with a waterproof liner.

Jacks6:

In my view, the best tile backer boards are, in order of preference:
1. Hardibacker board
2. Fiberglass reinforced cement boards like Wonderboard, Durock, etc.
2. Dens-Shield (Made by the Georgia Pacific Company, it's very water resistant, but just not as strong as the fiberglass reinforced cement backer boards.)
9. Greenboard. Think of "Greenboard" as ordinary drywall with a racing stripe.

Take the time to apply painter's masking tape to both the tub and your ceiling and mark your stud locations on the tape. You may need to locate these accurately to fasten horizontal piece of wood molding around your tub enclosure. If your tub isn't flat and level, you can set your tiles on those horizontal moldings (to prevent the tiles from slipping down as the thin set dries). Set all your tiles above those wood moldings, then remove the moldings and cut your bottom row of tiles to fit down to the tub. That way, if your tub isn't sitting flat and level, it won't affect your tiling. Your grout lines will still be vertical and horizontal. (You don't want your vertical grout lines to lean toward the front or back corners of your tub/shower enclosure cuz the tiles were set on the tub, and the tub wasn't level.)

And, don't tile directly over your tile backer board. Neither grouted tiling nor the tile backer board are intended to prevent moisture penetration through the wall. Set the bottom edge of your tile backer board about 1/8 inch ABOVE the lip on your tub. After you get your tile backer board up, then coat it with a waterproofing membrane like RedGard:

http://www.homedepot.ca/produc...mbrane-gallon/921795

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG5GIqcYkSs

You can apply the RedGard with a paint roller sleeve.

Then, tile over that water proofing membrane with a thin set mortar. The bottom row of tiles will hang down over the gap between the tile backer and the tub.

It's advantageous to use a fairly large tile (like 6X8 or larger. That minimizes the amount of grout you have to seal and otherwise maintain. Also, you can get a custom look by setting rectangular tiles in landscape mode instead of the MUCH more common portrait mode.

Then grout and give the grout sufficient time to dry completely. DO NOT grout the joint between the bottom row of tiles and the tub, and don't grout around wall penetrations for faucet knobs, tub spouts and shower arms. Stuff sumfin into those gaps that you can pull out later with a dental pick to prevent getting grout into those places cuz it'll be hard NOT to get grout in there when you're grouting. Any grout in those locations will only crack anyhow.

When grouting, keep a white or green Scotchbrite pad handy. Any excess grout that remains on the tile faces will harden up on you as it dries, and it may become too hard to remove with a damp sponge. If that happens, you can tear it off real fast with a Scotchbrite pad without scratching your tiling.

Now caulk the joint between tub and tile and around wall penetrations for faucet knobs, tub spouts and shower arms (typically with silicone).

Now seal your grout. (You need to decide by the time you finish grouting whether to use a penetrating grout sealer or a film forming grout sealer. Penetrating grout sealers SHOULD theoretically last much longer, but film forming sealers are, in my view, much more reliable. Never use a silicone based film forming grout sealer.)

And, in my view, it makes more sense to TILE all three walls up to the ceiling, and THEN stick your soap dishes and/or corner shelves onto the tiling with silicone caulk rather than set them to the waterproof membrane with thin set. Don't use ordinary Kitchen & Bath silicone caulk for this; you can get much stronger adhesive silicone caulks from the places listed under "Caulk and Caulking Supplies" in your yellow pages phone directory.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nestor,

you use drywall when you want to kill somebody with mold and rot.

never, ever use any drywall in a tub/shower area. bad results guaranteed.

cement board or Durock/hardibacker are your choices. should waterproof the wall behind them with 8-mil plastic, and run that over the tub's mounting lip so any water that gets past on the mounting screws really does end up someplace other than the studs and floor.

lots of good sites with best practices. the tile association sets the standards, but it looks to me like the good stuff is members only. I found lots of info elsewhere. if nothing else, check the schluter website, their waterproofing material/methods are well accepted.

silicone for the fixtures: GE Silicone II is about as good as you can buy without a sales tax permit and a union card.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: swschrad,

quote:

GE Silicone II is about as good as you can buy without a sales tax permit and a union card.

I expect GE's silicone is just as good as Dow's Silicone caulk. But, the Dow 786 silicone and the DAP Titanium II silicone come in a tube with a resealable cap THAT ACTUALLY WORKS.

The primary reason I buy Dow 786 is that's is a premium silicone caulk that comes in a tube that I can actually re-seal, and use again a few months later.