[Pleasuremann]

Hi guys; I'm new here. Anyways here goes:

Noticed some cracking in the shower wall with warped paint...tore it back and Voila! Decent amount of rot about 4" up in the drywall. No green here. It is a prefab shower and I'm looking to replace the walling around it with something that will be more reliable than its predecessor.

I've heard bad things about Greenboard obviously; looking to avoid that. I hear 1/2" cement board is the way to go. Anything I should know before going ahead with this? My first time doing shower repair. Thanks.

 

[Just Bill]

Not quite sure what you are describing. Is it tile or something different, a surround?? Yes, greenboard is not what it was originally intended. Ok for walls out side the shower, but not under tile in the shower/tub area.

 

[shumakerscott]

Pictures

We can not see what you are working on. Pictures please. Dorf Dude...

 

[Gary in WA]

I think it may be the wallboard above the shower surround. I'd replace it with Denshield, with a waterproof face. Not cement board, unless you want to Redgaurd. Even then c.b. wicks water. Be safe, GBAR

 

[Pleasuremann]

I don't have a working camera right now but I can describe.

The shower itself is a prefabricated one-piece shower/bath. There are no tiles anywhere in the bathroom. My problem became evident when I noticed that there was some cracking and general warping of the paint in the areas where the top of the prefab shower unit met with the walls, where it had been caulked. I peeled back some of this paint and found crumbling drywall.

The content of the wall which appears to be constant throughout the bathroom goes in this order:

1. Finish
2. Primer
3. Thin brown paper
4. Drywall
5. Thin brown paper
6. Studs/crawl space

Of course, the only difference is where the caulk has been applied around the prefab unit to (attempt to) keep moisture from getting to the drywall.

Once again, there are no tiles in this bathroom. I just found molding, crumbling drywall behind some coats of paint and a couple of sheets of brown paper where it was obvious moisture damage had been getting to it, surrounding the top perimeter of a single prefabricated shower/bath unit.