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Question:

How can I tell if my walls are normal drywall or cement board?

We recently bought a house with a corner tub in the master bathroom. There was a partially covered pipe for a shower head but the walls are not waterproof. Since the plumbing is there for a shower we would like to waterproof the walls and put in a shower head. Is there a chance the builder put up cement board but skipped tiling? Is there a way to tell without ripping the walls down? Also I'm wondering if we need to tear down the existing drywall and put up cement board or if we can just use a type of acrylic shower wall and caulk it really well. Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer:

most likely the builder used greenboard in the area you are referring to. That is unless your house was built before 1947. Old houses most likely have lath and plaster walls and are even better than cement board. If I was a betting man, I would say that your walls are not covered with cement board. How to tell: Enlarge the hole where the shower head is to go and inspect the hole and the debris that comes out.
extremely tough stuff lookup with google that may help
tricky aspect seek onto yahoo or google that might help
Stick a push pin into the wall. If it's drywall it will go in and if it's cement board it won't go easily.
There are many options to cover normal drywall for showers. Most are a type of plastic or acrylic.

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