What Is The Wall Board Behind Ceramic Tile Called

Today most professional tile setters back their tile with cement board instead because it offers almost the same durability with a lot less work.

What is the wall board behind ceramic tile called.

Ceramic tile backer board also called cement board or tile backer is a rigid panel material that installs over wood framing much like drywall. Backer board is everything that drywall is not. The traditional method of installing ceramic tile called for setting it in a solid mortar bed. Both green board and cement board are excellent substrate for wall finishes such as tile or frp fiberglass reinforced panels albert penna of dna architects says that properly installed tile or frp helps protect walls from the elements grease water pests throughout the operation of a commercial kitchen.

The facing serves as an integrated waterproofing membrane so you don t need to install a separate layer of plastic behind the tile backer or a sheet membrane over the backer. Ceramic tiles are installed on cement backer board that is secured to the wall spacers. But that s pretty much where the similarity ends. Farm rooster chickens by carl jutz accent tile mural kitchen bathroom wall backsplash behind stove range sink splashback one tile 10 x8 ceramic matte 3 6 out of 5 stars 4 25 00 25.

Use tile spacers in between tiles so you can fill the joints with grout. Create patterns if desired by using more than one color of tile. Here s how to choose the best tile backer board for your project. The important thing to keep in mind is that without a water barrier the tiles will leak water making a water barrier behind the tile a critical step in installing any type of drywall.

Georgia pacific s densshield is one such product. Tile needs to be installed on a backer board to keep the assembly stiff otherwise the assembly will flex at the grout joints allowing water to seep behind the tile and rot the substructure. Although similar to the cheap grooved paneling that was commonly used in recreation rooms and basement remodels in the 1970s tileboard is made primarily of compressed wood fibers which are then embossed with grooves to simulate the appearance of tile grout lines. When using ceramic tile try to find boxes with the same dye lot number.

It s made primarily with cement and sand and it has no paper that can deteriorate or promote mold growth if it gets wet. Doesn t deteriorate when wet. Troweling a perfectly flat bed required great skill but the reward was a tile job that lasted for decades. If you can t find matching numbers mix tile from different boxes when installing so any color variation won t be as noticeable.

One type of tile backer board is made with a water resistant facing on both sides of the board. Membrane faced board only. Cement board is by far the heaviest type of drywall used in tile wall applications and the most resistant to water. Ceramic tiles are also easy to wipe clean.