Cement board

Cement particle boards are manufactured from 1⁄4 to 1+9⁄16 inches (6 to 40 mm) thickness making it suitable for high load bearing applications.

These boards are made of a homogeneous mixture and hence are formed as single layer for any thickness.

Cement fibre boards are more used in decorative applications and can be manufactured from 1⁄8 to 13⁄16 inch (3 to 20 mm) thickness.

Many manufacturers use additives like mica, aluminium stearate and cenospheres in order to achieve certain board qualities.

In areas continually exposed to water spray (i.e., showers) a waterproofing material is usually recommended behind the boards (i.e., plastic barrier) or as a trowel-applied product to the face of the boards behind the finish system (i.e., liquid membrane).

Cement board is hung with corrosion resistant screws or ring-shank nails.

These joints are then filled with silicone sealant or the manufacturer's taping compounds before applying a finish.

Portland cement based panels are ideal for truly wet locations like shower surrounds and for locations where a Portland cement based thin-set material is used for bonding tile and stone surfaces to a substrate.

Gypsum core backer boards are affected by water and should not be used on wet exposure areas.

Cement board is composed of aggregated Portland cement with a glass-fiber mesh on the surfaces. This 5 ⁄ 16 inch (7.9 mm) thick cement board is designed as an underlayment for tile floors. These are 3-by-5-foot (91 by 152 cm) sheets.