Your husband is right. Bead board can be used in powder rooms - or larger baths with tub only....but no paint or even several coats of polyurethane will keep moisture out of a humidity filled bathroom that has a shower.

gutted whole room and took out the tub to make walk in shower,We will be adding a new fan.I don't think we have any more humidity than any other bathroom.There is a new window.My daughter leaves the door slightly open when showering.We did have mold behind tile but the old window was leaking.I suggested oil painting the bead board but my husband doesn't think thats enough.

Honey bunny, everything I've looked at says heck no...now that you mentioned it's a walk in shower, even that fan doesn't matter while the shower is on. Pick a pretty porcelain plank tile which can be applied to walls and come in different lengths. Use that to mimic the bead board.

O.K thanks I have the large white tiles in shower{12 x24} with a row of mixed glass [Grey/Blue} as accent so I thought more tile on room walls may be a bit too much tile.Floor is grey tile.

Look into PVC beadboard. It's moisture proof and paintable. I made the mistake of using oil based white paint on a bathroom door and it yellowed over time. Hope this helps!

Yummy!!

I don't understand. Why would appropriately installed bead board lift off the wall any more than tile? Have they looked at all the surviving bead-boarded bathrooms? I lived with one in a flat in SF that had to be 75-100 years old. It needed a good cleaning, but was still stuck quite securely to the wall.

you know i bet it has a lot to with what they use to apply it? Now my husband used nails, of course we have not done a bathroom yet, but i do plan on it. I does seem that many things have to do with the way things are made nowadays. i remember that many times old houses have extensions on the porches, and then that porch would be rotten and floor caving in when we went to see them. I did not understand why, when it did not happen to the rest of the old wooden house. The answer arrived recently on house. the under neath of the porch floor is not prepared properly when we use new materials that do not breath on them it causes wet, cold, heat, humidity to not evaporate as it should thereby rotting the natural part of your floor. you have to put another barrier and some barrier but not totally to the outside. being a fla slab girl, what did i know? So perhaps the modern beadboard made of pvc etc, is so well protected it allows the perspiration to build up behind it?

Well, that's my story and i am sticking to it. i am vastly interested in the answer, as i too wish to use it in my bathroom. Come on folks, expiring minds truly want an answer.

Given modern technology (like visiting Mars), if this woman wants bead-board in her bathroom, someone surely can make it work. We all know that painted surfaces can require more maintenance than tile or stone. It seems to me that the bottom line is how much are we willing to do to maintain something we love. There may be easier and cheaper solutions from a maintenance view (I'm thinking formica now), but what does it cost in terms of our bliss every time we walk into that space?

I think the problem sometimes lies with the materials (i.e. pressboard or vinyl "wood" or very thin wood boards) used as wainscotting or lack of caulking in areas that may get occasional exposure to wet. We have real wood (painted...latex) in the bathroom of our 100yr old office building and in our 40 yr old home. No rot, or moisture damage, it's holding up just fine... and I love that I can hang anything up anywhere (shelves, cabinets, paintings etc) because you don't need to find a stud. The only place I would suggest not to use it would be around a kitchen sink (BTDT) Tile wainscotting is nice too, but lots more expensive and you can't change the colour when you get tired of the old...

Most beadboard panels today are made of MDF. Older bead board was made of actual board joined together tongue and groove style. They are usually 3/4" thick and solid wood. The joints expand quite a bit depending on their location.

People now prefer the thinner 3/8" mdf panels as they never expand and contract between the boards or at least as visible. You can also buy the boards in MDF.

I would use the MDF boards as it is a more authentic look without the expansion and cracked paint.

MDF is a great product as long as it doesn't get wet. It is fine in a bathroom as long as it is installed correctly and your bathroom is properly vented. Paint the bottom edges and at least 1/3 up the backs. Also leave a 1/2 gap at the floor and use a real piece of wood as the baseboard. This way water cannot wick up into the panel.

I am going to assume a NE house as other parts of the country do not tile their entire walls. If pained sheetrock holds up so will MDF. No need for oil paints modern latex paints will be fine. If the MDF is coated with paint it won't get damaged unless submersed in water.

Put it up correctly and it will be there for 25years. The vinyl stuff is great for ceilings as it is brittle for wall applications.

Good luck. You could always compromise and make some boxed wainscoting over the sheetrock. Good luck!!

To insure a proper seal in a bathroom the addition of caulk or contractor adhesive is used.

To say that beadboard is not proper for a bathroom..is..uninformed.

my mdf beadboard bath has had no problems whatsoever.

I have wood bead board in my teen boy's bathroom and downstairs lav. Painted white. Never an issue! Love it!

We have white latex painted bead board in bathroom for 4 years without any problem with a shower

I had beadboard in my bathroom as well. I put it up with liquid nails and never had a problem. I was offering an alternative suggestion since OP's husband seemed opposed to the idea.

Wow, somebody better tell all these people up here in New England to tear out that bead board they've had in their beach houses for decades!!!!

I guess the vote is in and pooh on all nay sayers! lol

Our white beadboard has been in our bathroom for over 15 years. There are no problems.

Of course your contractor wants to tile halfway up the walls, it is much more expensive than bead board! More $ in his pocket. MDF bead board has very nice detail and takes the paint extremely well. I have never had a problem with it since I first used it in 1997.

and you can do it yourself.

I think it depends on the quality of the installation of the board. I live in Colorado--very dry, so less mold and moisture issues. I took off some old (wood) boardboard in the bath and to was a real .(blankety blank).... to get off. There was no issue with it peeling!

google water resistant beadboard!

Beadboard can work. Many bathrooms have this.

Is the picture vinyl or wood beadboard

We have had painted bead board in our bathroom for twenty years. We do have a good fan on a timer but no problems

I had the fake panel type bead board in our last house (only bathroom in house) and painted it with latex and zero issues after 10 years.

This thread is 4 YEARS OLD! It's DEAD.

Had it 22 yrs with no vent and still fine

I don't know if that's your room or not but it is beautiful and if it makes you happy go with it enjoy. His husband feels to like it's feminine then painted a little deeper color so it'll be masculine for him blend your styles that's what loves all about remind him

And I also say that I've had what have beadboard through my whole apartment for years including my bathroom and I have never had any issues with it whatsoever but it does make it feel comfortable and warm and happy