How can I tell what kind of drywall was used in my bathroom?

Question

I live in a new home about a year old. The wall above my shower unit started crumbling and cracking. The contractor came in and just scraped spackled and repainted. But the paint and spackle are now cracking and peeling again. Is this an issue of using the wrong kind of drywall? How can I tell and what can I do about it?

Answer 1

It could be alot of things: lack of joint tape; working the mud to fast; leak in the roof at that spot; lack of sheet rock backing; weight load not properly braced. What I mean by "working the mud to fast" meaning that it was not properly dry before continuing to next step. Good Luck

Answer 2

They don't use a moisture barrier between sheet rock and a tub surround.

There are two types of "drywall" that is used in a bathroom. The first type is what is called "green wall". This is a moisture resistant drywall, but should not be used around a tub at all, but may be used above a tub surround if care is taken to keep water off of it. Usually that doesn't happen though.

The second, isn't really a drywall, it is called "tile backer". It is a reinforced cement board. It is impervious to moisture and should be used in the area around the tub, regardless of whether you intend to put tile in. It is simply the best, and lasts the longest.

If the problem you are having is in the area above your tub surround, you can obtain a material called by different names, tub sheets, shower sheets, etc.

There are three differnet kinds I've seen. One is Marlite, it is a board that someone might call Masonite. It has a moisture resistant front, but can't take moisture from the back, as it is basically pressure treated saw dust.

The other two materials are plastic. One is a beaded plastic sheet that is about 1/8" thick. The other is a smooth plastic sheet about 1/16" thick. The former can be glued up using construction adhesive. The latter must use a latex adhesive made for the purpose.

If the area is above the tub surround, like I suspect, I would make sure the paint and repairs are secure, then glue up these panels around the top of the tub surround, then silicone caulk around the edges.

These panels are 4' x 8' and are easily cut. The thinner on can be scored with a knife and broken at the scoring.

You can obtain spicing and corner material to give a more finished look, but I just caulk mine and use my finger to smooth the corners and edges. Just draw as small a bead of caulk as you can if you do this, for a better look.

Now if you don't have a tub surround, and they just put drywall, whatever the kind, around the tub, they screwed up, and they should be made to redo the work properly.

Good Luck

Answer 3

To carry this further,no matter what gypson product ( dry-wall) is used it won't last in a high moisture area. Green board is made to be used in bathrooms, however, it is still gypson covered with a green moisture barrier, still gypson underneath. the dry-wall mud used to smooth the tape joints is not water proof, nor is spackling. You have a ventilation problem. Commonly seen in allot of new construction. If you have shower doors, or a lower ceiling in the shower, this is not allowing for the moisture to escape. I am assuming your contractor is not being very cooperative about this. He probably has numerous complaints from other projects of his. Be sure to use the exhaust fan when showering, although, it's probably not close enough to the shower to correct this problem. Tell the contractor you want an water proof exhaust fan with a light installed in the shower. This should cure your problem. And save him allot of time for repairs.
Good Luck...

For future reference, a shower should have cement board for the surround. It's waterproof.....

Answer 4

I am not a contractor, but in general this is pretty easy. In high humidity or moisture areas, a special sheet rock must be used. It is commonly called "green board". It is specially treated sheet rock that has a moisture resistant, not water proof, covering and the core of the board is specially treated as well to handle the excessive moisture.
In many cases the outer portiion of the board is blue or green, if I am not mistaken, and it may be slick or smooth, as opposed to the dry, rougher feel of standard paper faced sheet rock.
If your builder skimped and did not use this type of product in the shower enclosure then you certainly could begin to see problems like you are describing. In essence what is happening is the water is penetrating the paper facing of the sheet rock and the interior of the board is absorbing the water then crumbling and falling apart; not a good thing. In addition, if this condition continues and excessive moisture gets into the wall space you could start to have a mold problem, and that can be very serious if not taken care of soon enough.
Enough said, I hope this has been of some help to you.

Answer 5

It sounds like they failed to use a moisture barrier between the shower stall and the sheet rock. I would contact your builder and ask if this was done. This should not be happening in a house only a year old.