New walls/ceiling in gutted bathroom

Haff · 09-21-2009, 10:16 AM

I'm new to this site, so I apologize if this comes out poorly.

I am planning on completely gutting my bathroom down to the studs for the walls and ceiling. Due to some shower leakage i will need to patch/replace at least the top layer of the subfloor as well.

I currently plan to tile the entire floor so I will probably replace the top layer of the subfloor with cement board or something equivilent to give a good base for the eventual tile. Its the walls and ceiling i am not sure about. I have a mold allergy so I am paranoid about doing it right. I want to avoid sheetrock in all its forms if possible. But I also do not want to tile the wall all the way to the ceiling, nor to tile the ceiling. I do not think it would look good in my particular bathroom.

So my question is this: Is cement board a good wall/ceiling material even when not using tile? If so, what can I do over it so I can have a nice presentable wall/ceiling to paint? If cement board is not good, what do you recommend?

As a side note: I am currently planning to have the shower be a full enclosure, possibly something like this: http://www.maaxcollection.com/Produi...=1834&mdl=2558 although I'm not sure which brand or model yet.

Thanks.

RDS · 09-21-2009, 01:22 PM

Cement board uncovered by tile would look pretty bad, IMO. Plus it's porous so moisture could be transmitted to the framing behind it and there's your mold problem again.

There are paperless drywall products out there if you're concerned about mold growing on the paper in drywall. DensArmor is one trade name. Lowe's sells it I believe. You can also get mold-inhibiting additives for paint. Ask at the paint store. Use a good waterproofing membrane behind/under any tile -- Redgard or one of the Schluter (sp?) products. And of course install a good, appropriately sized exhaust fan to remove airborne moisture. Make sure it vents outside the building. You shouldn't have any mold problems if you take these steps. (Of course first make sure you've removed any existing mold and repaired your plumbing leaks.)

bjbatlanta · 09-23-2009, 01:38 PM

Dens-armor is one of the "paperless" drywall products and I believe both Lowes and HD carry it. Use it for walls and ceiling if you're concerned with mold. You will have to skim coat the entire surface with joint compound to get a smooth finish as the surface of the product itself is fairly rough. Use cement board on top of the drywall where you are going to tile. As far as the floor, you will likely have to replace the plywood you tear out and THEN add 1/4" cement board for the tile floor. Pick a tile and read the mfgr's. specs for subfloor so as not to void your warranty. Many of them are quite specific....