Wet Room walls, is plasterboard (Gyproc or Drywall) OK to use?

Question

Looking to build a new wet room style bathroom. Is it better to use cement sheeting for the walls that will be tiled, or will plasterboard (Gyproc) just as good to use? Obviously whichever surface is used will have the relevant wet room sealing mixture used on it, but would cement sheeting provide a better base that Gyproc?

Obviously the cement sheeting is thinner than the plasterboard which would be an advantage to gain some small amount of space.

Once the wet room sealer is applied to the surface it will then be tiled.

Ended up using NoMorePly as the tile backing boards. 12mm on the walls and 6mm on the floors. — TravisPUK, Sep 09 '13 at 10:15

score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered May 09 '11 at 15:17

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Cement sheeting provides a better backing - specifically something like "Aquapanel" (as marketed here in the UK.

It's stronger and stiffer than standard plasterboard and hence can take the weight of the tiles. It is also more resistant to moisture. Also it's not hideously more expensive.

answered May 09 '11 at 15:17

ChrisF

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thanks for the comment. I think I have seen the Aquapanel brand before and will definitely check it out. Now just need to see if Ridgeons sell it. :) – TravisPUK May 10 '11 at 08:02

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered May 09 '11 at 21:00

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I've seen (and occasionally used in patching) a product referred to as "waterrock" which looks and behaves like typical sheetrock. It was indicated to me as being intended for wet applications, like in bathrooms.

On the other hand, the contractors that build our house last year just used standard sheetrock throughout. The bathrooms were being tiled over it, so the difference is likely something to do with how you intend to finish the walls.

answered May 09 '11 at 21:00

Scivitri

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thanks for the response. The builders who had previously fitted out our bathroom (prior to us owning the house) had used Gyproc and tiled over it, however this was just a standard bathroom rather than a wet room... although one of the reasons why we have started again was because they did a horrible job at sealing the shower and now we need to replace rotten floor joists etc :( Thanks for the comment. – TravisPUK May 10 '11 at 08:01

Wet Room walls, is plasterboard (Gyproc or Drywall) OK to use?

2 Answers2