Installation Guide

DUROCK Brand Cement Board

®

installation guide
Substrate and ceramic tile installation for walls, floors, countertops and wall shields.

DUROCK® Brand Cement Board... Strength beneath the surface™

A ceramic tile installation is only as good as the surface beneath the tile. Strong, lightweight and resistant to water damage, DUROCK Brand Cement Board is an ideal base for ceramic tileinstallations throughout the home. Installing tile takes planning, time and care. But with the help of this step-by-step installation guide, the careful do-it-yourselfer can get the same results as a professional.
Textured side Coated glass-fiber mesh

Aggregated portland cement core

Cut edge

Smooth wrapped edge
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Smooth side

Start with Quality Products
DUROCK Brand Cement BoardStandard board is 1/2 or 5/8 thick and 32 , 3 or 4 wide. Standard lengths are 4 , 5 , 6 or 8 . Custom lengths are available upon request and minimum order requirements do apply. DUROCK® Brand Underlayment is 4 x4 x5/16 , 3 x5 x5/16 or 4 x8 x5/16 —ideal for floor and countertop jobs. Board is smooth on one side for adhesive applications, textured on the other for thin-set mortar applications. DUROCK™Brand Interior Tape Alkali-resistant glass fiber tape reinforces interior cement board joints to provide a strong, continuous surface.

Tools
In general, common tools are used for cement board installation while installing tile requires special tools. Retail stores frequently rent the special tools needed for tile work on a per-day basis, including tile cutter, nippers and notched trowels. Othertools you may need for cement board and tile installations include: straightedge, level, tape measure, caulk and caulking gun, hammer, drill, drill bits (including hole-saw bits), wood rasp, scoring tool or utility knife, sponge and squeegee.

Fasteners Cement board is readily applied over framing with 1-1/2 hotdipped galvanized roofing nails or 1-1/4 DUROCK™ Brand Wood Screws. With steel framinguse 1-1/4 DUROCK™ Brand Steel Screws.

Adhesives, Mortars, Grouts Check your local tile distributor for the products available and which ones are appropriate for your job.
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Installing Board— Walls and Ceilings
A typical tub surround uses two 3 x5 cement boards horizontally for tub backwall, one 3 x6 board vertically at each endwall, and one 3 x5 board for the ceiling. 2. Cutouts To makecutouts for fixtures, outline area with utility knife, cut through the mesh on both sides, and punch out with a hammer from the back side. Smooth edges with wood rasp. Alternatively, mark location and drill hole using the appropriate size hole-saw bit and drill. Use slow speed if available.

1. Cutting To cut DUROCK Brand Cement Board, mark desired size on the board with a rule and pencil. Scoreboth sides and edges with a utility knife through the glass-fiber mesh, and snap the board to size. Smooth cut edges with wood rasp. Cutting with a circular saw with a carbide-tipped blade is an alternative.

3. Attachment Place a 1/4 spacer strip or shim around lip of tub or shower pan to hold bottom edge of cement board off lip. Fasten board to wood studs spaced at 16 o.c.* with 1-1/2hot-dipped galvanized roofing nails spaced 8 o.c. for walls, 6 o.c. for ceilings, or using 1-1/4 DUROCK Brand Wood Screws with the same spacing. (For steel stud applications, use 1-1/4 DUROCK Brand Steel Screws.) Leave a 1/8 gap between all panel edges.

*On center is the spacing between the centerlines of two structural members or fasteners. 4

Installing Board— Floors
1. Lamination Laminate 5/16DUROCK Brand Underlayment to minimum 5/8 thick exterior grade plywood or oriented strand board (OSB) using adhesive or mortar suitable for bonding cement backer board to the subfloor. Apply adhesive with 5/8 V-notched trowel, mortar with 1/4 square-notched trowel.

Installing Board— Countertops
1. Attachment Install minimum 3/4 exteriorgrade plywood or OSB base across the wood cabinet supports....