[jelly]

I am in the process of remodeling my bathroom in which there will be a bathtub and shower. I don't understand which places I need to hang green board or hardi.

I plan to tile in the shower 6' up and around the perimeter of the bathroom 40" up from the floor. There are some places where I will be tiling over Hardi and green board. Since Hardi board is only .41 and the green is .5" thick, should I just feather it out with fiberglass tape and mud so I can tile over the seam?

Is it okay to tile over green board? If so, do I need to also install a vapor barrier of some sort?
Why is Hardi only .42" thick?

Thanks for your help. Cheers.
jelly

[Blondesense]

A lot of people will use greenboard (or moisture resistant drywall) on bathroom walls because it is such a high humidity area. Not a bad idea.

You should not use any drywall product in a wet area like a shower since tile and grout are not waterproof. And when water works it way through it, you will end up with a soggy, moldy mess. Ask me how I know this.

The rare exception to this rule is if you are using Kerdi.

Hardibacker is one alternative for under tile in a wet area, there are other CBUs as well.

Bud's blog is a good place to start when researching your shower walls.

http://www.diychatroom.com/blogs/con...wer-walls-152/

[jelly]

thanks blondesense.

below is a picture i took of my bathroom. The small yellow triangular area is where my bathtub is and the red outline represents where my tile will be. Do you see any issues with the tile going over the transition from hardi to green board since they are different thicknesses?

how much of a gap am i suppose to leave between the boards? any potential problems you see?

cheers

[Blondesense]

I'm no expert. I just did a whole lotta research here before I tiled my shower, so I don't know the best way to deal with the different levels. I don't believe there will be a problem, but maybe Bud or Jaz will show up to verify this.

I just want to clarify a couple things in your pic. Is that going to be a niche (with the caulking gun and hammer)? Is it going to be inside or outside of the shower?

And is that a window on the right side. FWIW, a wood window in a shower is a bad idea.

Originally Posted by jelly

how much of a gap am i suppose to leave between the boards?

When I was doing my research I read to leave a small gap between the hardiebacker boards. So I cut some thin plastic I had on hand to use as spacers. Afterwards I read that that is more for floors.

Sorry, but you've seem to exhausted my supply of knowledge.

[jelly]

Originally Posted by Blondesense

I just want to clarify a couple things in your pic. Is that going to be a niche (with the caulking gun and hammer)? Is it going to be inside or outside of the shower?

That is where our medicine cabinate is going and no... it will not be in the shower area.

Originally Posted by Blondesense

And is that a window on the right side. FWIW, a wood window in a shower is a bad idea.

It's a window. I am installing a vinyl window, PVC stool, stops and trim.

[ttr13r]

Originally Posted by jelly

I am in the process of remodeling my bathroom in which there will be a bathtub and shower. I don't understand which places I need to hang green board or hardi.

I plan to tile in the shower 6' up and around the perimeter of the bathroom 40" up from the floor. There are some places where I will be tiling over Hardi and green board. Since Hardi board is only .41 and the green is .5" thick, should I just feather it out with fiberglass tape and mud so I can tile over the seam?

Is it okay to tile over green board? If so, do I need to also install a vapor barrier of some sort?
Why is Hardi only .42" thick?

Thanks for your help. Cheers.
jelly

Never use green board! Hardibacker or wonderboard, either is fine. The green board will rot, and next thing you know, the wall will come crumbling down. Foundation prep is extremely important, it must be done correctly or you will have major problems.

[jelly]

Originally Posted by ttr13r

Never use green board! Hardibacker or wonderboard, either is fine. The green board will rot, and next thing you know, the wall will come crumbling down. Foundation prep is extremely important, it must be done correctly or you will have major problems.

wrong, green board can be used outside of the shower area.
i am only tiling a portion of the walls, the rest will be painted. cannot paint wonderboard or hardibacker.

[JazMan]

I'm pretty sure ttr13r meant not to use greenboard in wet areas. Greenboard of course is fine on the other walls, but actually once primed and painted, regular drywall may be just as good.

That window assembly need to be sealed, and I don't just mean a bead of caulk. The rough jamb should have been waterproofed before the window was installed.

Some CBU's can be finished for painting. I'm pretty sure Hardie is one of them.

Jaz