Walls behind showers need more than standard drywall to ward off moisture.
Sheetrock is a brand of drywall made by USG Corporation. The generic term "drywall" refers to several different products with varying resistance to moisture. Since bathrooms and shower surrounds are places with high exposure to moisture, the best drywall choice with which to seal wall studs is backerboard.
How It's Made
Backerboard is also called cement board, and it consists of a thin, interior layer of concrete sandwiched between two outside layers of fiberglass mesh cloth. This construction makes backerboard impervious to water, an ideal quality in shower stalls that are prone to leaks which expose building materials to water. The cement makes backerboard stiffer and flatter than other drywall products. However, that also means it does not bend to accommodate flaws in wall studs, which may require shims.
Advantages Over Other Drywall
Regular drywall is made of a gypsum core covered with heavy paper. The product is very strong when dry, but turns to a mushy paste when wet. The paper is not made to resist water seepage into the core. Another product, referred to as "greenboard" because of the color paper used to wrap the core, is fine for low-moisture areas, such as behind sinks or toilets. Green paper is coated with a wax that seals out moisture, making the material water-resistant. However, it lacks the waterproofing offered by backerboard.
Hanging Backerboard
A standard sheet of backerboard is 1/2-inch thick, which means that wall studs behind it may need to be shimmed with felt paper where backerboard meets typical 3/4-inch drywall. Backerboard is also heavy, and it is easiest to hang by starting at the lower level and stacking the next sheet on top of the first. Special cement board screws or galvanized nails or screws must be used. These fasteners hold up well in wet conditions.
Finishing
Typical backerboard does not accept paint. Some manufacturers cover the cement and fiber with a paintable sheet, but backerboard is typically covered with tile or with fiberglass shower enclosure materials. When installing backerboard, holes for shower fixtures must first be scored with a utility knife on both sides of the sheet, then the opening hammered out.
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