Whenever we go to tile over drywall, this question (“do I need to prime drywall before tiling”) always comes to our mind, but before switching to the answer to your question it is very important to know about the drywall and the primer, so let’s start from drywall
What Is Drywall
Drywall is the most common indoor building material in the United States. Drywall is a panel or board made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum CaSO4•2H2O) for more information you can also check Wikipedia.
Drywall is essentially a modern alternative to hand-applied wall plaster. You can use it as your normal wall. You can hang heavy pictures, coat hooks, wine racks, wall art, and mirrors as well as you can also tile over drywall.
Mostly drywall comes in four different types Regular, Mold resistant, Moisture resistant, and Fire resistant.
The Advantages and disadvantages of drywall are as follows
There are some advantages and disadvantages of drywall are as given below,
Advantages
✔ Good absorbent
✔ Fire resistance
✔ Noncombustible
✔ Sound insulation
✔ Heat insulation
Disadvantages
✔ If used on the ceiling, framing should be no greater than 300mm (12″) o.c. for 12.7mm (1/2″) board and no greater than 400mm (16″) o.c. for 15.9mm (5/8″) board.
✔ Moisture resistance is not recommended for areas that will be continuously wet or subjected to high humidity.
✔ Good absorbent
✔ Not recommended for exterior application
✔ Not recommended for continuous exposure to temperatures exceeding 52-degree Celcius (125-degree F)
✔ Treat all cut edges and openings with water-repellent sealant.
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What is Primer
Primer is the preparatory coatings of drywall before painting. It is that product used in between the drywall (or masonry walls or metals) and paints for protecting and strengthening the life of the paint.
It ensures better adhesion of paints to the surface and increases paint durability. Primer can also be used on dirty surfaces that can not be cleaned properly.
Primer is designed to adhere to surfaces and to form a bonding layer, which indirectly strengthens the surface energy of the material.
Primer is often used on porous materials it may be drywall, concrete wall, or wooden wall. Primer is mandatory in case of new drywall for preventing the growth of mold as well as moisture.
I think a little bit thing about the primer is cleared to you, so stay tuned with “do I need to prime drywall before tiling”
I hope you will be understanding the primer so stay tuned with “do I need to prime drywall before tiling”
Properties of Primer
The properties of the primer are as follows
- Moisture resistant
- Temperature resistant
- Anti porous
- Better adhesion
[Some good high build primer to cover drywall imperfections are given below, so have a look]:
1 | Rustoleum Peel Bond Primer |  | ||
2 | Mad Dog Dura Build Primer |  | ||
3 | Benjamin Moore Ultra Spec Primer |  |
[Some good stain blocker primer for new drywall is given below, so have a look]:
1 | Kilz Original Primer |  | ||
2 | Zinser B.I.N Primer |  | ||
3 | Behr Multi-Surface Primer |  |
Now let’s come to the point “do I need to prime drywall before tiling”
Do I Need To Prime Drywall Before Tiling Or Why Primer Is Necessary 8 Amazing Facts Or Importance Of Primer
If the drywall is old and you already applied the primer over there, then there is no need for a primer over the old drywall. But in the case of new drywall, Yes you need to prime drywall before tiling, because there are so many reasons behind this.
Now we see one by one which is those reasons,
1. Due to the Porosity of drywall
As you all know the drywall material is very porous which is one of the properties of the drywall, that will absorb the solvent in the glue, which you applied over drywall for holding the tiles.
This is undesirable because most glues undergo chemical reactions during the process of sticking, which is dependent on the water or solvent evaporating slowly.
As the solvent evaporates more, the adhesive hardens and results in poor adhesion and when subjected to loading, debonding may occur easily at different locations. Even the physical stresses may also cause the separation of the surface.
So a layer of primer will prevent the underlying wall from prematurely absorbing the solvents in the glue.
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2. Prevent from Moisture and growth of Mold
In the case of new drywall applying primer to the same is standard practice to seal the wall from moisture and can also prevent the growth of mold.
3. Due to Sunlight and Heat
Sunlight and heat may weaken the adhesive. So a layer of primer strengthens the adhesive because the primary ingredient of primer is polyvinyl acetate (PVA), this basically the same as the carpenter’s glue.
If you choose the correct bonding primer for your application, you will be sure to get great adhesion to the surface.
[Read]: Best primer to cover drywall imperfections
4. For increasing the surface energy of the substrate
The quality of adhesive bonding depends strongly on the ability of the adhesive to efficiently cover the substrate area. This happens when the surface energy of the substrate is greater than the surface energy of the adhesive.
However high strength adhesives have high surface energy. Thus their application is problematic for low energy materials. To solve this problem, surface treatment can be used to increase surface energy.
So priming is one of the methods in which you can increase the surface energy of the material.
5. Prevent from Mildew
A coat of primer provides an enhanced mildew-resistant film that helps to prevent mildew growth.
6. Hide Medium Stains
By using the best primer for new drywall you can hide the medium type of stains very easily but your drywall has minor imperfections then always use a high build primer.
7. Flashing issue
The primer solves the flashing problem by equalizing the two surfaces.
Suppose if you repaired patches and directly paint over them with regular paint, you would have a problem called flashing, and when you put a light over it, then it looks clearly there’s a patch underneath the paint.
The primer will solve this flashing problem they will soak into the patch, seal it up, and give you a nice foundation for the topcoats.
8. Primer also acts as an adhesive
The primary ingredient of primer is polyvinyl acetate (PVA), this basically the same as the carpenter’s glue. It’s nothing more than an undercoat applied on drywall for enhanced paint adhesion and thus long-lasting result.
The primer will also cover the joint compound and provide a good base for texturing or painting over skim-coated drywall.
Drywall mud areas have been primed, why this is so important is because nothing really sticks to drywall mud, so it is very important to prime over the skim coated drywall before proceeding.
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So these are the few reasons why do I need to prime drywall before tiling, hope you understood well. Before priming, you should clean the drywall.
What are the effects of not priming over drywall before tiling
Primer and tiles are two different materials that fulfill different functions, and skipping the primer can have a number of undesirable consequences.
You will notice some of these consequences immediately and some consequences will be seen after a course of time.
The following are the effects when priming not done over drywall before tiling,
👉 No proper adhesion
The primer has a glue-like base, drywall primer helps the glue of the tiles adhere properly. If you skip priming, results in poor adhesion and when subjected to loading, debonding may occur easily at different locations.
Even the physical stresses may also cause the separation of the surface. So a layer of primer will prevent the underlying wall from prematurely absorbing the solvents in the glue.
👉 Does not sealed the drywall
If you do not apply primer to the drywall then it doesn’t seal the wall from moisture and can not prevent the growth of mold.
👉 Does not strengthen the surface
If you do not apply the primer then it does not strengthen the surface of the material.
👉 Low surface energy
If you do not apply the primer then you won’t get the good surface energy of the material.
👉 Mildew resistant
If you do not apply the primer then you won’t get a mildew-resistant film that helps to prevent mildew growth.
[Recently asked Q]: Best joint compound for skim coating.
Final Wording
Here you came to know the importance of primer or why primer is necessary over bare drywall and in this way you will get the answer to your question do I need to prime drywall before tiling.
So you always prime drywall before tiling for better results. If you want to know the effects of painting drywall without primer then read this post painting drywall without primer.
Hope you understood this article well and may this article “do I need to prime drywall before tiling” helps you in the right direction in your project. If you want to tile your drywall then visit this post Can I tile over painted drywall?
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