# Tile Wainscoating - Best substrate for behind tile?



## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

I have bathroom coming up that calls for some tile wainscoting in a bathroom.

It will consist of 3 - 12x12 tile high + about 6" of mosaic above that and a pencil trim to cap it off.

Would you just use 1/2" cement board for the bottom three feet and then run the tile up onto the drywall? I'm wondering where to put the cementboard/drywall transition? Or would you just put the tile over drywall?


----------



## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

Similar to this?


----------



## mikeswoods (Oct 11, 2008)

Drywall is fine ---I assume you will have backer board in the wet areas---


----------



## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Drywall unless it's gonna get wet.


----------



## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

Green board...or any mold and mildew drywall. I would run AD on the floor, fibafuse the plane change from the floor to the wall and then AD up the wall a few inches.


----------



## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

Sounds good. Thanks for the replies. Thats what I needed.

This is going to be my most expensive bathroom remodel yet. Looks like about $25k gonna go into this one.


----------



## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

Spencer said:


> Sounds good. Thanks for the replies. Thats what I needed.
> 
> This is going to be my most expensive bathroom remodel yet. Looks like about $25k gonna go into this one.


That's awesome! There is a sweet spot for price. Anything below that and it feels cheap and over that price they get to be a pain in the arse and nick pick the everything.


----------



## RSCTile (Jul 1, 2014)

One thing we do here is wire the drywall (in your case 3 feet") with diamond lath (.75) obviously "paper'd" for any water that may splash, and cement scratch-coat the entire 3 feet and consider the thickness for your finish at the top (pencil rod, etc.)

Unless the walls are currently up the studs, then it wouldn't be bad to add the cement board. We're a little old school and do the cement lath surfacing. 

Good luck on your project and congrats on the agreed project price! \m/


----------



## PrecisionFloors (Jan 24, 2006)

RSCTile said:


> One thing we do here is wire the drywall (in your case 3 feet") with diamond lath (.75) obviously "paper'd" for any water that may splash, and cement scratch-coat the entire 3 feet and consider the thickness for your finish at the top (pencil rod, etc.)
> 
> Unless the walls are currently up the studs, then it wouldn't be bad to add the cement board. We're a little old school and do the cement lath surfacing.
> 
> Good luck on your project and congrats on the agreed project price! \m/


Why?


----------



## RSCTile (Jul 1, 2014)

Usually whoever does the surfacing if it isnt the tilers and or granite guys DO NOT take consideration of a leveled surface. We ensure its leveled using this method, plus its a way to guarantee any damage


----------



## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

RSCTile said:


> Usually whoever does the surfacing if it isnt the tilers and or granite guys DO NOT take consideration of a leveled surface. We ensure its leveled using this method, plus its a way to guarantee any damage


We watied 6 months for that? :blink:


----------

