Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Expanding foam between shower backer?
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Bestguess
04-07-08, 09:09 AM
I have ripped out my shower surround to the studs and will be replacing the tub. On the studs I've tacked up 30# roofing felt as a wet barrier and placed 1/2" Hardibacker over that. Hardibacker doesn't seem to break very evenly, so the gap between some adjacent pieces is jagged. Has anyone ever tried filling the gaps with expanding foam and trimming it off flat? I would think the mud/tape step would then be more even. Does that make any sense? Foam, seems to me, is waterproof and hard enough to support taping. Why wouldn't it work?
HotinOKC
04-07-08, 03:36 PM
Don't need to use any type of foam in the gap. The tape and thinset is all you need.
Why did you choose #30 rf instead of 6mil plastic?
Why did you choose #30 rf instead of 6mil plastic?
Bud Cline
04-07-08, 04:19 PM
Has anyone ever tried filling the gaps with expanding foam and trimming it off flat?
You do what you want to do my friend but why spend time trying to reinvent the wheel when the ones we have now work superbly?
I would say stay with the proven methods.:)
You do what you want to do my friend but why spend time trying to reinvent the wheel when the ones we have now work superbly?
I would say stay with the proven methods.:)
connie
04-07-08, 04:38 PM
Hello, Bestguess!
I think hardibacker is so much easier to use than Durock, because it is so much easier to cut! When you score, do you then put a 2x4 atop the backer board, clamp, then whack the end for a clean break? Wait a minute...is that the way everyone else does a score and snap? Probably not, huh? But, my way works well:)
Anyway, you can also cut with a jigsaw and a carbide blade, so I'm not sure why you have any ragged edges to fill:)
Connie
I think hardibacker is so much easier to use than Durock, because it is so much easier to cut! When you score, do you then put a 2x4 atop the backer board, clamp, then whack the end for a clean break? Wait a minute...is that the way everyone else does a score and snap? Probably not, huh? But, my way works well:)
Anyway, you can also cut with a jigsaw and a carbide blade, so I'm not sure why you have any ragged edges to fill:)
Connie
Bud Cline
04-07-08, 04:43 PM
Score Hardie with a scoring tool or utility knife about four or five times then break it away from the cut. It works fine.:) If you make a mark and follow the mark it will cut straight and break acceptably clean and there won't be any huge gaps to fill unless of course they are the result of miscalculations and mis-marks.:)
connie
04-07-08, 04:56 PM
Salami...(I'm bowing!) Salami...I'm bowing again:D
Bestguess
04-07-08, 05:12 PM
Don't need to use any type of foam in the gap. The tape and thinset is all you need.
Why did you choose #30 rf instead of 6mil plastic?
Frankly, being a newbie at this, I only happened to see a post about placing an additional moisture barrier (between the Hardie and the studs) in the form of tar paper. So that's what I did. I realize others use plastic, but it seems to me--now that I think about it--a plastic sheet is more easily damaged and therefore compromised as a water barrier. Thankfully, I found the advice about the paper before I put up the Hardie.
Why did you choose #30 rf instead of 6mil plastic?
Frankly, being a newbie at this, I only happened to see a post about placing an additional moisture barrier (between the Hardie and the studs) in the form of tar paper. So that's what I did. I realize others use plastic, but it seems to me--now that I think about it--a plastic sheet is more easily damaged and therefore compromised as a water barrier. Thankfully, I found the advice about the paper before I put up the Hardie.
Bestguess
04-07-08, 05:28 PM
Hello, Bestguess!
I think hardibacker is so much easier to use than Durock, because it is so much easier to cut! When you score, do you then put a 2x4 atop the backer board, clamp, then whack the end for a clean break? Wait a minute...is that the way everyone else does a score and snap? Probably not, huh? But, my way works well:)
Anyway, you can also cut with a jigsaw and a carbide blade, so I'm not sure why you have any ragged edges to fill:)
Connie
I had limited luck breaking it toward the score line (per instructions)...it was a but rough. My real bad edge was a result of growing tired of scoring over and over with a carbide blade, so I mounted a ceramic blade into the Sawzall and torn down the line. But with the dust that ensued, I couldn't see the line and it went awry.
I think hardibacker is so much easier to use than Durock, because it is so much easier to cut! When you score, do you then put a 2x4 atop the backer board, clamp, then whack the end for a clean break? Wait a minute...is that the way everyone else does a score and snap? Probably not, huh? But, my way works well:)
Anyway, you can also cut with a jigsaw and a carbide blade, so I'm not sure why you have any ragged edges to fill:)
Connie
I had limited luck breaking it toward the score line (per instructions)...it was a but rough. My real bad edge was a result of growing tired of scoring over and over with a carbide blade, so I mounted a ceramic blade into the Sawzall and torn down the line. But with the dust that ensued, I couldn't see the line and it went awry.