When I’m not associated with basement finishing projects or one of my other various pursuits, I’m usually getting together with my children. If yours are (or were) anything like mine, you understand they merely can’t stand the green stuff. It didn’t matter what sort of vegetable it had been if it turned out green you weren’t getting hired in that room.
Well, there’s a few other green stuff you should watch out for; especially when you’re about to find a basement finishing project! Years ago, when the tile was installed in a shower, they’d tile right over the plaster or drywall. It eventually became apparent until this wasn’t a durable solution as water invariably got behind the tile caused the backer to mold and deteriorate.
The next generation of shower wall backer-board was essentially drywall, though a mold and water-resistant paper. This product is still used by many today, but that may be a mistake. The board could be mold-resistant (which is good), in our basement finishing experience, water-resistant is just too strong an announcement. Any shower wall backer board will eventually get wet, along with the material behind the green paper that may deteriorate.
A good wall substrate has to resist water whether it gets wet (because eventually, it’s going to) and has got to shed any water that comes from the grout right down to the shower or tub below it. A cement board like Durock can this function a lot better than the rest. It can be completely saturated in water for extensive periods and won’t breakdown, and yes it sheds water to the shower or tub below it extremely well.
Not only is this kind of product extremely effective for walls, but normally a bathroom in the basement finishing project may have a seat or bench inside. The bench seat is of course not a vertical surface as being a wall. While it is angled, it can’t shed water you’d like an entirely vertical wall. Using a cementitious product like Durock for the seat surface will resist any potential water that comes from the grout, and is also an excellent step towards quality within your basement finishing project.
Few homeowners want their basement finishing efforts to get wasted. A superior backboard within your tile areas doesn’t cost a lot more than a lesser product and can last where others may not. A backer board like Durock is often a quality decision you must not ignore. It will help your basement stand test of your energy.
