Brochure: Georgia-Pacific

If you need a 5/8” fire-resistant substrate for tile, Dens-Shield® tile backer is the ultimate choice. Dens-Shield tile backer outperforms cement board in commercial applications

Architects around the world are discovering the difference that Dens-Shield® FireGuard® Type X Tile Backer, from Georgia-Pacific, makes in commercial projects.

Dens-Shield tile backer is the industry's only standard 5/8" Type X, high-performance, fire-resistant tile backer for wet or dry areas. It’s no wonder that it’s the preferred product for installing tile in interior areas that are susceptible to moisture. Dens-Shield tile backer simply outperforms cement board.

Once you’ve tried it, you’ll agree. You’ll never go back to traditional cement board tile backers.

Why it's unique in the industry

Dens-Shield tile backer's patented design makes it the most unique tile backer in today's marketplace:

• A heat-cured, acrylic surface on the tile application side — provides a water barrier that stops moisture at the surface — thus delivering optimum protection for tile installation.
• Inorganic, glass mats embedded into both sides of the core during the manufacturing process — add strength and rigidity, with less weight.
• A patented, treated core — acts as a second moisture-repellent layer, for double moisture protection.

The unprecedented result: a moisture-resistant core, framed by strong glass mats and surfaced with a built-in moisture and vapor barrier…

Superior performance: the only 5/8" tile backer to be fire- and moisture-resistant

Meeting ASTM criteria for Type X in numerous fire-rated assemblies, Dens-Shield tile backer is the only 5/8" premium performance tile substrate for walls that achieves a one-hour and two-hour fire rating. Neither insulation nor tile is required. (See wall assembly diagrams below.) In comparison, other premium substrates demand more complicated assembly, mineral insulation, Type C gypsum board, non-standard steel studs, shimming to align with 5/8" wallboards — and higher labor costs. Simply put: cement board requires higher installation costs to attain the same fire rating...

Faster installation equals huge labor savings

(excerpted testimonial) Publix grocery chain needed a 1.2-million-square-foot dairy processing and dry grocery facility, able to withstand high traffic as well as a daily floor-to-ceiling wash-down. The chain contracted with Food Plant Engineering of Yakima, Washington, to design their suburban Atlanta, Georgia, dairy facility.

According to Project Architect Michael Bauer, "We found that ceramic tile did not hold up well under the wash-down and high traffic conditions..."

Using Dens-Shield tile backer instead of cement board allowed contractors to provide maximum tile installation protection while achieving substantial cost-savings for the client. Mulkey says, "We estimate that installation for this job was approximately 40% faster with Dens-Shield tile backer than with a cement board product. The size of this project made Dens-Shield tile backer a VE item — cement board installation would have been extremely expensive."...

Dens-Shield: the industry's ultimate tile backer

Engineered and manufactured by Georgia-Pacific, the nation's leading building products manufacturer and distributor, Dens-Shield tile backer features a 20-year limited warranty against manufacturing defects and decay from moisture, cracking, chipping or delamination. Millions of trouble-free square feet have been installed since its introduction in 1987.

The only 5/8" fire-resistant tile backer with double moisture-resistance, the Dens-Shield product has earned the title of "the Ultimate Tile Backer". Outperforming cement board — and much easier and less costly to install. After you compare the two, we think you'll never go back to the old way again.

To learn more

For Dens-Shield tile backer sales information, detailed product literature and order placement, call ...