What does everybody think of using Denshield in shower and tub surrounds? I’ve used it a couple of times and it cuts and handles just like sheetrock. I hate cement board! It’s heavy and messy! Denshield comes in 3×5 sheets too!
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I used it in our rentals and have no problems so far. Granted its only been 4, maybe 5 years, since I used it - but so far so good. Plus, its much easier to heft up to the third floor of an old victorian.
I like it and have not had any problems in 8+- years of using it - no callbacks.
Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
Well, it's NOT cement board. I rarely use it to the bottom of a shower or a tub. Cement board is best there.
If you insist on using Denshield down low, make sure to caulk the edge that hits the tub and in the shower, try to keep it off the mud or floor 1/2". Thinset and fibatape all the joints and corners ans skim the screwheads. And use the right srews, don't use roofing nails or sheetrock screws.
It's really not a great idea in showeres at all. You can probably get away with it in a tub depending on the client and thier lifestyle.
Or just use cement board. Cut it outside with a diamond blade, a good mask and glasses. It won't take much longer and you will NOT have to worry a drop.
Eric
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It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
we have been using it for many years and had no problems with it. Key is proper installation. I would seal the bottom edge with a lasting waterproof agent. Denseshield is highly waterresistant but not waterproof in itself.
We are switching to the Schluter system. Absolutely troublefree.
check http://www.schluter.com , scroll down to showerinstallation(they have a video) but it can be used for tubsurrounds likewise.
I have used it alot without problems for tile floors. Against the rules but works well.
I can attest first hand that, if it gets wet, it will behave just like any other sheetrock.
I would NEVER use it in a shower.
>>if it gets wet, it will behave just like any other sheetrock.No it won't. And if it's installed correctly, it really can't "get wet". Do a search on the John Bridge forum--or, hell, Google it--for "Denshield failures" (or the like). None found. FYI, I've tested samples by leaving it in 5 gal buckets of water for weeks. I can attest that it does NOT behave like sheetrock.>>I would NEVER use it in a shower.Well, that's what it's made for. And it appears to perform just fine as it was intended. I'd be happy to hear some verifiable testimonies, however, of professionals who have witnessed Denshield failures ( in proper installs). Seriously. Please share.
I bought a unit of Denshield for a new home I was building four years ago (Denshield was spec'd by the customer).
One corner of the unit got wet during transport, affecting, IIRC, about a half dozen sheets.
The corners of those sheets softened and the f/g impregnated paper separated from the gypsum core.
While we used the unaffected Denshield throughout the project, I was leery of it's use in the shower areas and convinced the HO to use cement backer board in those areas.
>>One corner of the unit got wet during transport, affecting, IIRC, about a half dozen sheets.
>>The corners of those sheets softened and the f/g impregnated paper separated from the gypsum core.Installed properly, Denshield will not get its 'corners wet'. All seams/ penetrations are sealed w/ thinset and the tub/wall transition is to be silicone caulked. The acrylic coating is waterproof. It can't get wet. But if it does, it does not dissolve like sheetrock. I'm not saying it's superior to hardi or cbu's, only that it performs as claimed by the manufacturer. It is easier to work with, and it's cheaper. And I've not once (and I've looked hard!) heard anyone claim it failed in a proper installation. I've used it plenty and like it. Kerdi is a superior product, but I'm not convinced cbu's are (they DO absorb moisture; Denshield and Kerdi block moisture at the surface).
Hey Fruffmike,No fair editing your posts! :-)kirk
I must admit, I jumped to conclusions; the material I was using was Densglass Gold....not the Denshield, which I have NOT used....
I stand corrected.....
DensGlass, Densglass Gold, DensShield - these guys at Georgia Pacific need to come up with more easily-differentiated names! This topic is bringing me back to the time I wrote up a piece for What's the Difference in the magazine about non-paper faced drywall. The names really start to get confusing after awhile...Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
I agree with that assessment, I too have seen densglass crumbling and starting to mold when left to the elements. As much as I hate to work with cement board, why take the risk?
Edit- I see Densglass/ Denshield are perhaps different products, the latter being suggested for tile backer, the former for sheathing. Still, I don't think gypsum and moisture belong in the same sentence or assembly.
Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
Edited 2/7/2006 11:34 am by ruffmike
Ruff mike, I think you reversed the two names. Denshield is the tile backer and Densglass is either the sheathing material or the new "mold proof" drywall.Kirk
This is a timely thread as I will be doing a tub with shower very soon.
I was originally planning to use concrete board but the tile store recomends Denshield.
Now I'm really confused. My gut tells me to use concrete board. I don't see a down side to it.
Limestone tiles if it makes a difference.
I also need some help on the drain vent but I'll start another thread.
I just did a shower using the schluter system. I did it over concrete backer board, although, in the video on their site, it looks like they use it over drywall. If you use the densheild, it would be good to use something like the schluter kerdi system.
Read carefully. ; ^ )
I have installed too much densglass commercially and dispise it almost as much as cement board. The project I am starting tommorrw is exterior sheathed with about 75% cement board and 25% densglass. Not really looking forward to that! Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
Your edit is correct. I used Denshield around all the showers in my house 6 years ago. Not trusting a new material, I dropped a piece of it in a bucket of water. It floated. Two weeks later, it was still floating, and as far as I could see, it was as good as the day it was minted. I saw it float, now I'm a believer.Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
I did 100% of my tub suround in 99' that was the first time I ever seen it.
Has held up perfectly.
I was plumbing a 25story apt at the time & they did all the tubs & showers in it--- BTW that's where I got it from ( freebie).
I soaked a 1' wide 7' long piece in water 48 hours so I could bend it to the radius of my allcove----- no luck the water wouldn''t soak in.