Bathroom: Durock to sheetrock transition

I'm a bit surprised by how hard it has been to find any good information on these transitions that are, I think, somewhat common in bathrooms.

The plan and where I'm at now is a bathroom with shower with Durock for shower area walls, which is typical. Ceiling is sheetrock, all non-shower walls are greenboard. All walls will by tiled floor to ceiling

Questions:

1) For Durock to ceiling joint, is this typically taped? If so, do I use the fiber tape as with the rest of the Durock/Durock joints?

2) For Durock to Green Board transition on walls, how to handle transition joint?

3) For one outside corner, where one wall is Durock and the other Green board, how to handle that joint?

Again, all walls will be tiled floor to ceiling.

Thanks !!! Keith

 

If you tape the joints - use paper tape and joint compound [preferably a setting compound like durabond or easy sand] Many leave the joints open since the tile normally hides the gap.

 

Thanks Mark.

So you are saying I don't need to tape any of the seams or nothing special for the outside corner? And all I've ever heard is to always use an alkali resistant tape, as the thin set will break down the paper?

 

The areas you are talking about aren't wet areas - correct? I'm a painter not a tile guy but on all the new houses I've painted I've seen paper tape used [or nothing] at the perimeter of the tub/shower surround. The mesh tile tape is always used in the wet areas.

 

I always leave a wall return of sheetrock on the outside corner so I don't disturb the corner bead. That area, although sheetrock, is usually outside the water area and it won't matter much. Bring the CBU to within an inch or so of the corner and overlay the tile to the corner if you want.

Yes, use alkaline tape on all corners with thinset. I go one step further and RedGard the corners and any place where water may find a way through. May be overkill, but they don't leak.

 

For quick reference:

No tape at cement board to ceiling inside corner - take tile up to ceiling and caulk your gap.

Cement Board to Cement Board use alkaline tape and thinset (Redgard optional depending on other waterproofing/vapor barrier measures).

Cement Board to Drywall transition use mesh tape and a setting type joint compound - feather the finished wall side out like normal drywall. Bridge the mesh with tile or bullnose so that the break/transition doesn't happen on a grout line.

Cement Board to outside corner drywall -2 ways

-Stop the cement board short and make a drywall corner with bead die bullnose tile into the corner

-Take tile to corner and turn corner with 2 pieces of bullnose and finish on drywall side.

 

Wow, great information guys !!

Mark,
yes the seams not wet (all that are not within shower area) are paper tape and mud. It was the seams that are an intersection between sheetrock and Durock that were my questions.

Chandler,
I'm happy to hear you're on this site, since "Friends" went off the air. Seriously, that is a great idea on the corner/return that had never occurred to me. Although I have the Durock all the way to the outside corner now, I can easily cut that back, as the wall was furred out via plywood to get my final finish measurement correct for doors planned. What I'm concerned about is that feathering of the corner bead would go into the wet area of shower. And if I don't feather far enough, that would be a difficult tile angle. That corner is not far past the doors.
All "wet" shower walls will be Redguard x 2 coats.

Czizzi,
Great step-through of my questions!!
On the ceiling transition, do you caulk the transition (ceiling to Durock) before tile, then again when tiles are installed?

On the drywall to Durock wall transitions, understood, but not positive yet if I can totally avoid a grout line on the actual mesh, although I can try. With the alternating pattern it may be more difficult, but I think that will work.

Not 100% sure I understood your outside corner methods. Is the first essentially what Chandler mentioned? (You say, "bead die bullnose tile") I know what corner bead is, and bullnose tile, but "die"? not a term I understand in this context.
On the second method, does this mean no tape, or bead prior to tile, then use a bullnose tile on both sides of the corner?

Thanks again guys!!! Great information

 

Ah, punctuation - ...with bead, end(die) bullnose tile into the corner.

Here is an example of turn the corner with tile finishing. Note the use of two bullnose to make the turn.



I don't see any benefit to caulking the ceiling cement board prior to tile. If the walls were installed prior to the ceiling, you may have a gap to contend with. You also want to hope that the ceiling is level with the rest of the room. An issue when a grout line hits close to the ceiling making the out of level extremely noticeable.

 

Thanks Czizzi. Yes, though little comma things are a B*tch sometimes. Now I get what you were saying.

Ceiling prior to walls, as is the norm.

As for the ceiling level, I am anal about these things and did a self-leveler across entire floor after having re-poured the concrete from plumbing replacement below grade.

From that level, I used a very good transit level to set framing for new ceiling. I know I'm extremely close, give or take 1/16 or so.

That being said, I'm not a highly experienced tiler, so I will set initial batter boards for starting course of tile via same level, and will check every few courses with my Leica D8 to ceiling and if anything is getting off, make very slight adjustments in grout gaps to get back on track.

See, told you I'm anal about these things.

Thanks again....really great information sir !!

 

When our church group traveled to Kentucky to help build a church we arrived with a solid foundation and plywood decking 24' x 50'. Our job was to erect walls. An elderly gentleman was part of our team (why? amusement probably), so I set him on a non essential job down range from us. He came back all flustered stating things were all wrong. The deck was 1/2" out of square He was a metal engineer, so 1/2" was a mile. I had him escorted to where the women were preparing lunch.

 

That's funny Chandler. Yeah, I get a little nuts about precise sometimes.