What's the difference between Hardy board & cement backer board?

[x071907]

What's the difference between Hardy board & cement backer board? I'm about to start my bathroom remodeling project and I'm not sure which of these products to use & where I should use them. I plan on removing/replacing the bathroom floor and the walls in the shower. Is it a matter of preference, or are they unique to a specific application? Also, I'm not sure how difficult of a job it is going to be to remove the floor (tile & cement board). Any insight into the demolition and installation of the floor would be greatly appreciated.

[SQLit]

As far as I know they can be exchanged freely. If you have a cement floor their really not necessary. Used a lot on tile counter tops. I would use blue board, water resistant drywall on all the walls and ceiling that are not in direct contact with water. Blue board can take the humidity.

[Greg]

Use either/or. One's a generic name, the other's a copyrighted name.

For the floor demo, what I usually do in a case like this is get a cheap 4.5 inch angle grinder, buy some masonry blades, and checkerboard the tile and cement board in a conveniant size. Then tear it up. Those small pieces will be much easier to move than huge chunks. It'll be alot heavier than you planned for....

Do a good cleanup and prep and you're ready to go.

Greg

[jeffc]

There is no such thing as "Hardy board" I don't think. HardiBacker is a brand name of cement backer board.

Get out the ol' sledgehammer. Wear eye protection and leather work gloves.

[twiedeman]

As far as I know, they both perform about the same.The cement board is exactly that- fiberglass mesh with cement sandwitched in the middle. The hardy board is a fiber and cement product with other waterproofing additives.

I switched to the hardy bd, it is lighter(easier on the back), less likely to crack and crumble apart. I cut it with a circular saw w/ an old dull carbide blade,which goes pretty quick and makes less dust than cement bd.The hardy bd installs with screws or nails more readily than cement brd. Its a pretty good product, I don't float any walls anymore, or countertops either. The only fresh cement I use now is for shower floors in order to create pitch toward the drain. Todd .