wet bathroom wall problem, please advise Updates as we go

[kimisfishing]

My daughter was cleaning the caulk in her bathroom and found rotting walls, we cut ( useing that term losely) them out and now need to find what I think is Masonite board. Where can I get it and how do I search it?

 

[BusyBlonde]

Are you talking about wallboard? There are many types of drywall out there that can work in wet areas. Some call it 'greenboard', or'purpl board", but look for a water resistance and mold guarantee. Use the recommended finishing products and you should have no problem. In a bathroom tub/shower situation, I would always recommend fiberglass/tile or marble panels over exposed drywall, but it comes down to personal preference and budget.

 

[JD4570]

I work for a restoration company so hope I can help. Masonite is a older type wallboard developed in the late 1920's. Then closest thing to masonite I believe is a type of concrete wallboard rated for bathrooms. Don't use greenboard because it more porous and a good medium for mold growth. I have had to remove to much greenboard from bathrooms and rooms around it because of mold. Yuck! Putting other coverings over such as fiberglass or marble panels as suggested is a excellent idea . It creates a water/vapor proof barrier on the wallboard.

 

[Royd]

I agree. I have remodeled many showers and I am a fan of 1/2" thick hardee board. There are other comparable brands, but I can cut Hardee board with a pair of electric shears. A clean line with no dust. Using a diamond blade, though, it will create dust.

Without pictures, my advice is limited, but my experience is that it will be best to remove the complete wall inside the shower. Especially with rot, because the studs, more than likely, will have signs of rot, and will need to be addressed.

The next thing is, if the other two walls are in good condition, matching the existing tile, which is often difficult. Your choice will be to live with the mismatch or redo the complete shower.

Post pics for more thorough advice.

 

[SillyChicken]

masonite is like a wood sponge... it absorbs water and will swell, alot! I would never recommend using it for a shower enclosure! If you must use it, you can generally find it where they keep wall paneling. Don't put it so it's touching the tub, hold up about 1/8 or more and caulk well.

Did they have the fake tile masonite for the shower walls? Their best bet would be to take it down and either put up, hardi backer and or durock (found in tile depts) or the fiberglass (paperless yellow board drywall board) not green board (drywall), and then cover with a pvc shower enclosure or tile (but that requires more prep work for moisture proofing).

You can also get pvc in a sheet in the paneling dept.. that could be a cheaper alternative for you.

 

[Marcymom3]

We recently had a bathroom renovation for the same reason. The demolition of the shower was a terrible mess and Hubs had to do some reframing because of some rot in the studs. We used cement board for the walls around the tub. It's heavy! But according to the experts, is the best way to avoid future problems. We put up ceramic subway tiles around it.

Hope it's the last bathroom redo. Next time it needs one, I'm moving!

 

[SillyChicken]

Quote:
LOL, I know what you mean, I think bathroom reno's are the worst to do. (next to kitchens)

 

[kimisfishing]

Thanks for all the ideas, now we have gotten to the part where we decide how far to go...

we tore out some wall board and were going to put the shower liner up, but it seemd too flimsy so we are thinking of replacing it with the same white wall board, but then I looked at HD and they have 1/2" drywall. That might be better and if we do that I want to do half of the room. (the other half later). The room is divided with 1/2 white board and 1/2 cheap paneling. I just dont know, and the tub will need something so do we refinish it? we could do that later and the liner would be 200.00

so as you can read we are at a stale mate wiht no shower for now. This is why I bought a new house LOL but we will get through it together.
I just feel bad as a mom I shoud be able to fix things for her RIGHT NOW.......

just my stupid thinking LOL
I will post pics as we go and will be needing advice from you agian.

 

[Royd]

Quote:
Tub refinishing always looks just like that, regardless of how well it's done. Change the tub, if you are going that route.

In today's world, budget is everything, but my life experience is that any shortcuts will come back and bite you, and end up costing you more, in the long run.

It sounds like you are considering resheetrocking the whole room...I would use green board everwhere, except the tub area, which really needs to be done in a cement board or that new blue sheetrock.[Never used it, but have seen it installed and it looks good.]

If your shower fixtures are still connected, just staple up some visqueen[4-6mil plastic] and you'll be good to go.

 

[theotherranch]

Most areas have pretty specific codes for bathrooms and kitchens where moisture can be a problem. No, I am not trying to tell to go get a permit for something you can do. But if you find out what the minimum requirement is, it may save you from having problems later.The other issue I see, have you found the reason that the wall got wet to start with? You don't want to put it all back together if you still have a leak somewhere.