Cement board and plastic sheeting.
Shower backer board cement vs concrete wall.
Fiberglass mats irritate bare skin.
When installed properly they will give you many many years of durable shower construction.
Cement backerboards include hardiebacker durock fiberboard wonderboard and similar products.
Any of them can work well if properly detailed.
All of these backerboard options have advantages and disadvantages.
There are other brand names of polystyrene backerboard as well as other materials to choose from including cement backerboard.
Cement board is easily cut with a hand saw or a power saw.
The core of these boards is made up of a combination of cement and concrete that will not absorb any water and therefore will undergo no damage even if exposed directly to water.
Wonderboard is used specifically.
Cement board is porous so grout and mortar adhere to it well.
Will soften if water seeps through joints or gets behind the waterproof surface.
Cement backer board on concrete as a subfloor or underlayment is usually not recommended or needed.
Then the cement board is installed on top of the plastic sheeting.
I have been using various types of 1 2 cement board on tub and shower walls and 1 4 fiber cement boards on bathrroom floors with 1 8 inch gap.
Backer board cement board comparison review written by fred daues on january 4 2013 in wedi shower systems this review was done to test the performance of 3 different cement boards for ceramic tile installation.
When doing floors i use 1 4 x 14 notched trowel with thinset over the sub floor.
Cement backer board is often used as a tile base on plywood or osb subfloor.
In most cases you can apply tile directly to the concrete.
Easier to cut and fasten than cement board.
These materials bridge the gap between expense and effectiveness.
In this highly convenient inexpensive and popular application a moisture barrier of 4 or 6 mil thick plastic is installed directly over the wall studs.
Screws secure the cement board to the wall studs.
Can t support all types of floor tile see product specification sheet.
The smaller dimensions of cement board make the installation of it on large walls more difficult but cement board panels fit vertically in 3 foot wide showers or horizontally behind a standard 5 foot bathtub.
Drywall panels fit between wall studs spaced 16 inches or 24 inches apart.
The name backer board comes from its use as a subsurface for tile installation especially in showers and tub enclosures.
It can be nailed or screwed into almost any material including cinderblock brick and concrete.
Lighter in weight than cement board.
The wedi backer board hardibacker and wonderboard.
Installing cement backerboard is one of the more popular choices for a shower wall substrate.
