We have an upstairs 9×5 bathroom in wooden construction. Ceiling height is
8 feet. Our contractor used a combination of "GoBoard" (concrete-type board) for the shower area, and "blueboard" for the remaining part of the bathroom.
We purchased porcelain tile that is 12×24", 5/16" thickness, and this tile is heavy. Each piece of tile weighs about 8.5lb (so about 4.25 per sq ft).
We'd like to tile from floor to ceiling to achieve a modern look, but don't want backerboard/tile to fail someday down the road, and come crashing down.
The current dilemma is whether to:
A. Scale down the plan and tile only a portion of the wall, perhaps the lower 4 feet.
B. Ask the contractor to replace the "blueboard" with something stronger.
C. Go ahead and tile over the blueboard.
Was hoping someone could suggest ballpark figures of safe/unsafe load and if we're thinking correctly here. Many thanks.
Best Answer
What you have is done all the time. In some cases it is set on regular drywall, a little weaker than the blueboard. The loading tests the shear strength of the screws and glue that holds the drywall in place, if it has it. If it was done like that on the ceiling, it would be a different matter.