# Forum Home Renovation Plastering  cement board vs water resistant plasterboard for bathroom

## breakerboy2000

Hello,  
so i need to put up new plasterboard in my bathroom,  for the shower walls I will be using cement board,  
my qu is, should I just use cement board for the whole bathroom? if so, does it look good painted? (white) 
if not, how can i get the plasterboard and cement board flush when putting them up, 
I think the cement board come in 9mm and 15mm thicknesses, will 9mm be strong enough for shower walls with 400x 400 tiles?  and plaster board in 10mm.. how can i make up the 1 mil gap for the c/board on the studs?  
thank you for any replies!

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## johnc

You only need standard cement sheet on the wall (6mm), it paints up as well as any other surface and is no different to plasterboard in appearance once paint is applied.

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## SilentButDeadly

...except it isn't really a choice.  Just go with the cement sheeting.  A good quality sealer/undercoat over the top of properly finished cement sheeting will ensure the surface comes up fine for paint.

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## breakerboy2000

Thank you for your replies, 
to clarify, you mean to put 6mm cement sheeting directly over studs throughout the whole bathroom? 
is there anything wrong with using 9mm cement sheeting with water resistant plaster board or just 9mm c/sheeting? 
thanks.

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## johnc

Use ordinary plaster sheet for the roof and cement sheet for the walls. Look up the specs on the James Hardie site, find the sheet recommended for wall (not floor) tiles, and fix with nails or screws only behind the tiles use glue only behind non tiled areas. Fill joins with base coat and only use top coat in areas not covered by tile. Don't use any form of plaster board on the walls, it is inferior in my opinion in wet areas.

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## Rod Dyson

> Use ordinary plaster sheet for the roof and cement sheet for the walls. Look up the specs on the James Hardie site, find the sheet recommended for wall (not floor) tiles, and fix with nails or screws only behind the tiles use glue only behind non tiled areas. Fill joins with base coat and only use top coat in areas not covered by tile. Don't use any form of plaster board on the walls, it is inferior in my opinion in wet areas.

  This sure is a matter of opinion. 
Personally I used and would use Wet Area plasterboard. It is an accredited system for wet areas and works perfectly well if installed correctly.  
The cement sheet product to use in bathrooms is "Villaboard" it has a recessed edge for stopping up not to be confused with "hardie flex", or "blue board", or any other cement sheet product. 
If you use villaboard in the shower recess it is recommended to use it on all walls. Use normal ceiling board on the ceilings. 
For the record my reason for preference for Wet Area Plasterboard is that it has a superior finish. Villaboard can have a bit of a motely surface that requires a level 5 finish to be acceptable. Not in all cases, but over the years I have had plenty of call backs to fix the villaboard surface. Another reason is villaboard is more prone to joint cracking. Again experience of many years and many jobs have seen far to many call backs to repair hair line cracks in villaboard. 
Finally, from personal experience, I had a leak behind the shower that would not have been discovered until major damage had occured if we had used villaboard.  
The WAB had deteriorated enough for me to realize there was a problem before all the studs had rotted out. As it was the nogging at the base of the shower had rotted and needed to be replace. So slow was the leak there was no external evidence of it. Villaboard would have stayed in tack and I would not have discovered the leak for years to come. In that time I am sure my floor, bottom plates and studs would have all rotted causing a major rectification job. 
This last point IMO is the best reason for not using villaboard.  
Cheers Rod

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## Rod Dyson

> Thank you for your replies, 
> to clarify, you mean to put 6mm cement sheeting directly over studs throughout the whole bathroom? 
> is there anything wrong with using 9mm cement sheeting with water resistant plaster board or just 9mm c/sheeting? 
> thanks.

  BTW villaboard also comes in 9mm but is major overkill for use in a domestic bathroom.  It is mostly used in high impact areas like school wet areas or some commercial and public wet areas where damage is a concern.

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## breakerboy2000

Thank you for those pointers guys,  
johnc - i should be able to keep the ceiling panels that are already in place, might just need to scrape off that popcorn finish though, 
Rod, you bring up some good points about c/board and plaster. directly on the other side of the shower rose wall, is a closet for another room, I may put in an access panel there for a separate shower and vanity shut off, and check in there once in a blue moon for any leaking. 
I think I will go with villaboard and lets hope for no cracking!, I know 9mm is overkill, but in my head it just makes sense to try and match up the thickness to the plasterboard in other areas of the house, and Ill know for sure it can take the 400x400 tile weight. as long as there is no actual negative reason to use it besides being overkill and a little more $$

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## Oldsaltoz

Has no one commented on the fact that this is a bathroom and should have Waterproof wall sheets with a waterproof rating stamp on it (WR). 
Stock standard cement or plaster board is not even legal in a wet room. 
As the preference for WR rated plasterboard I would never this rubbish, it provides less support, is very prone to damage (it' only a layer of paper over plaster) and pin holes is all you need. 
Villaboard has proven to be far more resilient in wet areas over many years. 
Just another reminder, All sheeting in your bathroom Must have a WR rating. Most of the Insurance companies will pay for water damage claims if the waterproofing was DIY, and certainly if a non WR rated was used. 
Good luck.   :Smilie:  
Waterproofing Standards are the MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS designed to protect YOU and your property.

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