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I purchased a neo angle shower and I am installing it on the second floor of my house. I have the pan down and I am ready to drywall. which is safer to use, cement board or green board behind the shower panels?

Tester101
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carol r gebhardt
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4 Answers4

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I would always use cement board in the shower area. I would extend the cement board to where you shower unit will cover. You can go past that point just plaster with a nice joint compound, like durabond to join to the rest of the plaster board for a permanent bond. I typically do not use green board unless you expect the wall can get wet, like a basement. My bathroom is upstairs and my house would wash away before those walls got wet, therefore regular board is fine.

Mike
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I would use Schluter Kerdi board , not green board or cement board. This is the system to use if you want to construct a shower to last a lifetime

Robert
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Always use cement board in a wet area. Green board in the rest of the bathroom. If you're using plastic or fiberglass panels you can use green board, but I would paint it with a waterproof membrane to insure the longevity. You can search on the internet for names of membranes

Ronald Thompson
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    Why? What would you define as a wet area? How far should the cement board extend? Please improve your answer with more details. – Doresoom Feb 02 '15 at 17:27
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In my upstairs bathroom that has a full 6 ft. whirlpool tub and shower I used cement board throughout the tub area for the long term durability before tiling. It has held up excellently. For the basement powder room, I am just putting in a stand up shower. This will not get as much use so I used green board on all of the interior walls of the bathroom and the tile in the shower area will be installed over the green board. This shower will be used less often and I did make sure to install a good fan to evacuate the moisture. If this shower was going to see regular use I would have installed the cement board in the shower area. My biggest concern is the interior of the green board. Although the paper covering is treated for moisture resistance as well as mold resistance, if your calking or other sealing products fail and water does find it's way into the center of the drywall, the drywall will wick up the moisture and swell. This swelling will further upset your tiles exasperating the problem. I don't think I need mention that this wicked up water is going to cause other issues that you will have to deal with as well. Which ever way you go I would make sure that your final calking is good and inspect it regularly. Chances are you will be sitting close by anyway from time to time, so having a quick look around is not a big deal. Good luck.

Robert Hodgins
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    Why use green when you can use cement board? As I recall, there is not a significant price difference. Perhaps it is because the finishing is more demanding? – wallyk Aug 19 '15 at 02:48
  • Greenboard is not an appropriate substrate for tile. – iLikeDirt Aug 19 '15 at 03:01