Cement board

load bearing applications. These boards are made of a homogeneous mixture and hence are formed as single layer
for any thickness. Cement bre boards are more used
in decorative applications and can be manufactured from
3 mm to 20 mm thickness. Fibre boards are made in
very thin layers, making it extremely dicult to manufacture high thickness boards. Many manufacturers use additives like mica, aluminium stearate and cenospheres in
order to achieve certain board qualities. Typical cement
ber board is made of approximately 40-60% of cement,
20-30% of llers, 8-10% of cellulose, 10-15% of mica.
Other additives like above mentioned aluminium stearate
and PVA are normally used in quantities less than 1%.
Cenospheres are used only in low density boards with
quantities between 10-15%. The actual recipe depends
on available raw materials and other local factors.

Cement board is composed of aggregated Portland cement with

a glass-ber mesh on the surfaces. This 5/16 inch (7.9 mm)
thick cement board is designed as an underlayment for tile oors.
These are 3 by 5 foot (91 by 152 cm) sheets

2 Advantages
A cement board is a combination of cement and reinforcing bers formed into 4 foot by 8 foot sheets (or 3 foot
by 5 foot sheets), 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick that are typically
used as a tile backing board. Cement board can be nailed
or screwed to wood or steel studs to create a substrate for
vertical tile and attached horizontally to plywood for tile
oors, kitchen counters and backsplashes. It can be used
on the exterior of buildings as a base for exterior plaster (stucco) systems and sometimes as the nish system
itself.

As a tile backing board, cement board has better longterm performance than paper-faced gypsum core products because it will not mold, mildew or physically break
down in the continued presence of moisture or leaks. Cement board is not actually waterproof, but it is highly
resistant to absorbing moisture and has excellent drying
properties. In areas continually exposed to water spray
(i.e. showers) a waterproong barrier is usually recommended behind the boards or as a trowel-applied product
Cement board adds impact resistance and strength to to the face of the boards behind the nish system.
the wall surface as compared to water resistant gypsum
boards. Cement board is also fabricated in thin sheets
with polymer modied cements to allow bending for 3 Disadvantages
curved surfaces.
One major disadvantage of cement board is the weight
per square foot. It is approximately twice that of gypsum
board, making handling by one person dicult. Cutting
1 Composition
of cement board must also be done with carbide-tipped
tools and saw blades. Due to its hardness, pre-drilling of
Cement boards are mainly cement bonded particle boards
fasteners is often recommended. Finally, cement board
and cement bre. Cement bonded particle boards have
is initially more expensive than water resistant gypsum
treated wood akes as reinforcement, whereas in cement
board but may provide better long term value.
bre boards have cellulose bre, which is a plant extract
as reinforcement. Cement acts as binder in both the cases.
The re resistance properties of cement bonded blue particle boards and cement bre boards are the same. In 4 Installation
terms of load-bearing capacity, cement-bonded particle
boards have higher capacity than cement bre boards. Cement board is hung with corrosion resistant screws or
Cement particle boards can be manufactured from 6 mm ring-shank nails. Cement board has very little moveto 40 mm thickness making it extremely suitable for high ment under thermal stress, but the boards are usually in1

stalled with a slight gap at joints in shower pans, bathtubs, and each other. These joints are then lled with
silicone sealant or the manufacturers taping compounds
before applying a nish. The lled joints are taped like
conventional gypsum board, but with berglass tapes that
provide additional water resistance. Combined with a water impermeable nish, cement board is a stable, durable
backing board.

Water resistance

The category of construction material known as cement

board includes both water resistant and waterproof board.
Each has its own best use.
Typically water resistant cement board is composed of a
treated gypsum core with a non organic ber reinforced
covering, either on one or both faces. This type of board
requires fastidious sealing of all cut edges and penetrations to maintain the manufacturers warranty for wet area
installations. Gypsum core cement board panels are
ideal for moist but not truly wet installations of tile and/or
stone walls.
There is a class of cement board strictly constructed of
a Portland cement based core with glass ber mat reinforcing at both faces. This type board is truly waterproof. These panels can be immersed in water without
any degradation (excluding freeze thaw cycles). These
panels do not require the sealing of edges and penetrations to maintain their structural integrity. These Portland
cement based products are smaller in size compared with
the gypsum core based products. Typically they range in
size from 30 x 48 to 36 x 60. They are, as one would
expect, considerably heavier than the gypsum core type
panels.
Portland cement based panels are ideal for truly wet locations like shower surrounds and for locations where a
Portland cement based thin-set material is used for bonding tile and stone surfaces to a substrate. They are also
ideal for oor tile and stone installations over a structural
suboor.
Cement boards may be classied as water resistant as in
not aected by water exposure; however, they do allow
penetration and passage of water and water vapor. To
waterproof cement boards, a liquid or membrane waterproong material is applied over its surface.
Cement boards should not be confused with gypsum core
backer boards. Gypsum core backer boards are aected
by water and should not be used on wet exposure areas.

See also
Drywall
Fiber cement siding

REFERENCES

7 References
Why is Cement Backer Board So Great? (And What
to Use it For! By Lee Wallender, About.com
iVillage Home & Garden Network, What are pors
and cons of Wonderboard vs Hardybacker
National Gypsum PERMABASE BRAND CEMENT BOARD

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