Finally - three different drywall materials in one shower remodel!
It isn't often that you see such creativity, but I did. Perhaps my year is complete.
We arrived at a home inspection with the remodeling in progress.
In the basement bathroom, to which was added a shower stall, this is what we saw.
On the left at the shower hardware is 1/4" regular drywall.
On the back wall in the center of the photo is 1/2" regular drywall. That is also what is behind the new tile on the right of the photo.
High on the back wall is a small section of the proper stuff - a cement board made for shower stalls which meets the newer code (since 2006).
Regular drywall and the newer vaunted "green board" are no longer considered appropriate for shower stall applications.
The code is clear:
R307.2 Bathtub and shower spaces.
Bathtub and shower floors and walls above bathtubs with installed shower heads and in shower compartments shall be finished with a nonabsorbent surface. Such wall surfaces shall extend to a height of not less than 6 feet (1829 mm) above the floor.
R702.4.1 General. Ceramic tile surfaces shall be installed in accordance with ANSI A108.1, A108.4, A108.5, A108.6, A108.11, A118.1, A118.3, A136.1 and A137.1.
R702.4.2 Fiber-cement, fiber-mat reinforced cementitious backer units, glass mat gypsum backers and fiber-reinforced gypsum backers. Fiber-cement, fiber-mat reinforced cementitious backer units, glass mat gypsum backers or fiber-reinforced gypsum backers in compliance with ASTM C 1288, C 1325, C 1178 or C 1278, respectively, and installed in accordance with manufacturers’ recommendations shall be used as backers for wall tile in tub and shower areas and wall panels in shower areas.
Why not drywall or green board any longer? Because they ARE absorbent materials, subject to mold, and will deteriorate when wet. What's appropriate now? The cement boards, or other non-absorbent material.
In addition, here the thicknesses of the two materials on the rear wall were disparate.
Tile is not likely to stick too well to different planes!
This contractor apparently just threw up whatever he had available. The code? We don't need no stinkin' code! Best practice? We don't need no stinkin' best practice!
Remember, the code is the MINIMUM STANDARD. There is nothing particularly exceptional about the code. It's intent? Propriety and safety, basically. But at least it provides a floor from which to begin!
Had we come AFTER the tile installation, OF COURSE, we could not have seen this drywall menagerie.
My recommendation: woulda, coulda that I could show up during each step of the way watching remodeling and flips for all my clients! You wonder, I wonder, we all wonder what is being done to a house during remodeling and flipping! I have had posts like this before! And things don't seem to change. What's the saying? There's nothing new under the sun. Perhaps...
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