We are having our basement finished and the contractor is doing the tiling himself around the tub. He has installed regular sheetrock and I have a problem with this. Will this suffice or does he need to tear it our and put in green rock? I seriously think he is trying to cut corners and I want to stop him before he does this.
I would certainly think that you need rockboard around the tub.. Sheetrock will simply not hold up..
Fire the clown right now. He's not only cutting corners, he isn't following your buiding codes unless you happen to live in some backwater. You'll be responsible for all of his goof-ups long after he takes off with your money. To be sure you're doing the right thing, call your city hall and talk to the building inspector group. They'll tell you, I'm sure, that cement board goes in the wet areas and greenboard in the other walls. Some codes allow regular drywall in the ceiling because there were brands of green board that used to be prone to sagging. Above all, if your basement is typical you should be using mold-resistant wall board; has that been the case? Next, contact your attorney in case things get ugly. It's possible no permit was pulled for the work...check on that, too. Read over the contract you signed and compare the specs to what you see in place. You may find other deviations that could be an unpleasant suprise. Good luck, you'll need it.
Joe
Can you define "green rock"? Did you think of talking with him before posting this? If you know the differences between wallboard materials, why didn't you think of settling this question before he started? Sounds to me like you have no faith in the guy.
thetiler
Neither is good for direct water contact - you need cement board.
Stop him. It's been a long time since I had to redo mine but builder used regular sheet rock and shower came apart in a couple of years. I'm sure its same around my tub/shower in 2nd bath, but that one held together. I'm not sure but I believe the green board is intermediate between regular sheet rock and cement board, but before it gets covered, I'd use the best.
Frank
Green gyproc is only slightly better than regular gyproc. I would go with cement board instead.
Cheers DBK
I have no faith in him, because he has proven that he lied about his abilities. We asked him about this and he said it was "to code". I didn't know the difference before, but I sure do NOW!! You are supposed to be able to trust your contractor. He sent the plumber to hang my cabinets and the electrician to do carpentry, after days of not showing up himself. It's obvious he expected us to believe everything he told us. Those workers no longer work for him and we have fired him.
You _know_ now about what drywall is to code and you fired him, all based on what you read here?
In SW Florida where I'm at, more than 90% of tub/shower areas in new construction work are done with 'greenboard', or 'MRDrywall' (MR standing for 'moisture resistant'). I agree with the post from "whomever" in this thread, that MR board is only slightly better than regular drywall. It has a "moisture resistant" paper on the tile side, so is theoretically supposed to resist moisture. In the real world though rot comes as moisture gets in through the base of a shower or in the valve openings over the years, and destroys the wallboard. I know because I've torn out and redone hundreds of these crappy jobs.
Yes a true craftsman would use cementboard, but MR Drywall is "the code" all over the place, maybe even where you are. A quick call to your development dept. could have resolved that. As far as you contractor, if he's as much of a loser as you describe, it sounds like you didn't do your homework in hiring him, so you have to accept some of the blame. You didn't get a detailed written proposal of the work from him so you're partly to blame.
My gut tells me you hired this guy because he was cheap, and that's what you wanted. If I'm wrong, tell me how he was recommended to you, and what references you checked.
thetiler
Considering the labor in a tile job, how much difference is there in the cost (including labor) of Hardibacker over sheetrock? It seems to me there wouldn't be a *huge* difference. Tile is expensive, why put it on crap?
"We asked him about this and he said it was "to code". "
Never take the contractor's word on these things.
It may be to code but that doesn't make it right. Note to self: mark this on the "must have" specs sheet for the new house.
In a tile job, the cost of all materials vs. labor is about 50-50. That's generally how it works out. In a tub/shower remodel, the cost of the 'wallboard' would be less than 7% of the job, so to use drywall over cementboard in a wet area doesn't save much money. If someone really was broke and needed to save money on a job, they could just use cementboard on the lower 36" of the walls and be fine. Water damage in my experience is always either under a window, under the faucet handles, or in the lower 18" of the wall where water can wick up from the bottom. Personally I use cementboard all over, all the time.
The issue is poor communication with the contractor. In this bath remodel, one of the most fundamental questions that should have been addressed early on would be what kind of wallboard was being used in the wet area. Although foolish, the contractor may have had the "right" (going to code) to use MR drywall, otherwise known as 'greenboard'. At that point, the owner (OP) could have offered to pay more for cementboard to resolve it, rather than have a hissy-fit on this newsgroup over it.
He claims to have fired the guy because of information in this thread, yet none of us know the code in this poster's location. If the contractor was lying about what code was, I agree he should be fired for lying.
thetiler
That's what I suspected. I wouldn't think there was much difference in labor either.
I'd think for the 10% difference *everyone* would. This seems like a stupid place to cut corners.
Agreed, though perhaps he didn't want to offer the difference since it might make him look more expensive.
Sure.
Perhaps a call to the appropriate code enforcement folks was in order.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.