# Greenboard Mistake



## rusinko1

I am just a do it yourselfer but I have a problem that I was hoping someone could help me with.

I redid my basement bathroom. When I ripped everything off I found the drywall and furring stips molded and very improper. So I ripped it down to the concrete block.

I put up a vapor barrier on the block, then 3/4 foam insulation board, then treated furring strips, then green board. Problem is I put the green side of the board up facing the block wall not the bathroom. I read you were to put the green surface toward where the mnoisture was coming from and by all accounts it was really bad on the bloack wall side of drywall compared to the side on the interior of the drywall. 

Did I make a big mistake or do the right thing? 

I can't just simply switch the side because I built box panelling with cove accent over the lower half of the wall. 

Thank you in advance for your help.


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## DSJOHN

There is a front and back to sheetrock-----get some literature from Spec-chem and buy the least amount of Nu-wall to cover your mistake,,its your only alternative unless you want to rip it out!!!


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## smisner50s

mold will still grow on green board..Denns armor will not feed mold because there is no paper it is fiberglass matt.I would of sprayed a membraine surficer on the masionary wall than pulled out 4 inches and set 3.5/8 steel stud wall there and hung denns armor in the situation that the wall is wet.the sprayable membraine would stop every bit of water when applied to a dry clean surface.And drywall only has one side sutible for finishing back is uasally brown .front is green white blue gray...not brown ... brown side marrys up to the fasting surface..and if you did it wrong well tear it out and learn from your mestakes and do it right the 2ed time


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## 2buckcanuck

green side up


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## rusinko1

*Can't just rip it out at this point, need to make the best of it*

The greenboard was only done in the toilet & sink area of the bathroom. The shower is separate with tile on cement board. The shower is an enclosed shower with a part brick part glass block wall with a glass shower door separating it from from the area in which I put the green board up on. I plan on finishing the greenboard with satin latex paint. The bottom half of the board is panel boxed with pine boards and will be finished with a latex semi gloss. 

The moisture problem seemed to be coming from the subgrade concrete wall behind the board hence my madness. 

Before putting up the board, green side toward the block, I put up a paper vapor barrier, 3/4 foam insulation board & treated furring strips. I guess I am wondering did I overkill the moisture coming from the subgrade block and neglect the possible vapors from light bathroom use.

This is a mancave bathroom that will see very little shower use. More to drain it and wash the hand afterwards.

AT this point in the project after panelboxing with with wood & cove trim, I have to do what ever I can to mitigate my mistake & live with it.


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## moore

your good man. biggest problem is finishing off the brown side. 
look for blisters in the recess . after finishing off seams / butts /angles, 
2 coats on field of sheet. put it on,, wipe it off,, check it out with light .
if it needs more, do more. a blister is a bubble in the paper. it has to be cut out. 10 coats over a blister / still a blister. it's green board ,front to back, still serves the same purpose. i would worry more about applying wallboard
to salt treated lumber. that never turns out well. wet lumber dries out .....:huh:


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## rusinko1

*Is it going to be okay?*

The bonus here in the brown board is there are no seams and edges. I buried them with pine boxing. As a drywall rookie I figured I mine as well woodwork my way out of the seams. There are only two seams in the entire project. The drywalled part of the room is 90" x 60". I hung them sideways on top each other, lightly mudded the seams and burried them under the pine panel boxing. So basically all I am looking at is an upper wall of clean brown paper board to paint.

Am I going to be alright? Either way I am better of than where I was two weeks ago.


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## 2buckcanuck

just do what moore said
green board is not the greatest product.But maybe you will get LUCKY,time will tell


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## rusinko1

*Don't understand*

What exactly do you mean by 2 coats on field of sheet?


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## smisner50s

Coat the whole sheet pulled tight let dry.repeat once more.it will even out the texture because the back are not the quality of the front


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## moore

what smisner said. smooth out the entire sheet.:thumbsup:


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## SlimPickins

Another mistake that was made (not sure if anyone else pointed it out) was that green board (at least here) does not go over a vapor barrier. 

Why not paint the green board with some marine paint, that'll keep any moisture from getting behind it


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## Final touch drywall

Are you sure the moisture wasn't coming through the foundation? If so you need to fix that moisture problem first.
You will probably need to dig up outside & re water proof.


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## rusinko1

*The outside foundation was done*

The outside foundation was done about 15 years ago but the bathroom hasn't been updated since before that. I am guessing that the problemsI found were partly due to prior problems that festered even after having the exterior fixed.


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## carpentaper

it will probably all be fine. just paint it twenty times and sand between each coat.:jester: but seriously i wouldn't even worry about it. it sounds like you did at least take some steps to cut down on moisture. if it's going to rot again it will rot. do you really want to take it all apart again?


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## Mudshark

I agree with carpentaper. Just live with it until you smell mold or sell the house!

Some are now calling greenboard an inferior product but it is still being installed in new houses. Prior to greenboard they just used ordinary wallboard and it got several years on it before problems arose.


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## moore

Green board / regular board ..If there's a water problem It has to be nipped in the bud ASAP... wood rots too. BUT speaking of water problems..Let me tell ya what happened to me last night..
Got up at 2 in the morn for a piss run step into the bathroom to see 2'' of water in the floor ,,,heard a hissing behind the can ,,went to turn the cut-off valve ..The ear drop elbow nipple and all broke off from behind
the wall........ I'm on my [email protected] ,,see,, water hits me at like
4 gallons a min. I run to the crawl space [ in my boxers 30 degrees out] 
To shut the water off. Water dripping from the sub-floor [ now I'm awake]
Run back in the house ,,water seeping under the walls into the kitchen and mudroom [220 ] Run to the breaker box and cut off every thing in the path of water,,,,,,[ I'm now awake @ sober ] ... And then the whif....I'll skip that.. Condensation from the chitter over the years had run down and followed the piping and rusted the threads on the nipple...

Fixed the problem this morning $30.... Got a dehumidifier and 2 fans running in crawl space as I post ... No shut-off valves in my home except for well line @h/w heater.[ speck home ] I will soon go on shut-off valve frenzy ....Each bath needs a shut-off valve...RIGHT??


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