One day, as you enter your bath. You look around and see that some tiles are about to come apart. Some seem like it’s about to fall off anytime soon. Aside from that, the paint looks like your skin peeling after getting a very bad case of sunburn. You realize that you have no choice but to have everything replaced. Patching it may be an option, but then again, that is provided that it is correctly done.
Regardless if you’re renovating it or if you are starting from scratch, here are some tips on how to handle dilapidated tiles. Beneath the surface of the wall in the interior, we find what we call as the gypsum board or plasterboard. It is being used all around the house. It has a covering that is made up for paper and is colored either gray (this is the one that is being used all over the house other than the bathroom and areas prone to be wet) or green. The green gypsum board is unyielding to water that is why this is being used in kitchens as well as bathrooms.
Although the gypsum board can resist the water, like anything else in this world, it has its limitations. If the board is directly exposed to water (or any form of liquid), it will lead to the boards degeneration. Ensure that it is installed correctly and properly being most careful with the plumbing that surrounds it. Securely cover it with tape that is of the waterproof kind.
Gypsum boards should only be installed outside the bathtub part of the room as well as outside the area for the shower. For the other parts, cement boards that are fiberglass (Portland) are needed since exposure to water for this material does not affect its functionality. In the kitchen, the cement boards are to be installed in the backsplash area close to the sink. The same goes for the area where the stove is since steam is going to be prevalent in that space.
One better option other than the Portland cement would be cement mortar. This goes along with lathe as well. The only downside to this though is that you would require the services of a professional technician. It can be quite pricey and fussy as well. Portland cement however is pretty easy to work with as long as you are capable of doing so.
Now if you will be the one doing all the work. Make sure that the screws that you are using in connecting the boards with the studs as well as the nails you use are resistant to water or any liquid for that matter. Fiberglass tape should be seen to encase the seams. After that, mortar should also be applied to it. You can use the same one you used for the setting of the tile.
The thickness of the gypsum boards varies depending on where it is going to be used. For the regular house, it’s around ½ inch in contrast to that of commercial buildings which is a bit thicker, at most being one full inch. It is such because fire laws mandate it in cases of fire where it would take around an hour the very least for the fire to get through the walls. Nowadays, homeowners are actually found to be doing the same in their respective homes for safety purposes.
