Materials for bathroom wainscoting?

[LeanMachine]

We plan to put wainscoting around our free standing tub in our new bathroom. All the videos I have watched, the open areas are just the existing drywall or 1/4 mdf over the drywall. Is that going to holdup to kids splashing water out of the tub if I use a high quality paint? One video did use solid wood for the base board since it is more likely for water to get to it.

I'm open to ideas.

[Double C]

Don’t do straight drywall!

At a minimum use what they do behind tile which is cement board or equivalent moisture barrier material.

your wainscoting board will last as long as your caulk and paint barriers hold up. Once those barriers have a breach, water will get to the wood/panel and need to eventually replace it.

id think it will last pretty good with just bath use, if a shower head is hammering water on it several times a day it’s a bigger risk.

[LeanMachine]

Don’t do straight drywall!

At a minimum use what they do behind tile which is cement board or equivalent moisture barrier material.

your wainscoting board will last as long as your caulk and paint barriers hold up. Once those barriers have a breach, water will get to the wood/panel and need to eventually replace it.

id think it will last pretty good with just bath use, if a shower head is hammering water on it several times a day it’s a bigger risk.

This is a dedicated bath with no shower head. I considered hardie cement board but I am concerned that even the smooth side of it, will not be smooth enough to look right for this application. Skim coating it might be an option. Another thought is if I do 1/4 mdf over drywall, I could pre prime and paint all of the panels, front , back, and edges, before installing. That should minimize the risk of issues.

[bowhntrmatt]

What about tile just in that area?

Not sure if it's right, but I would bet backer board that has been red-guarded then skim coated would be about as tough as you could get.

[Double C]

If you don’t have a shower head, and it’s just an occasional splash from a tub, I wouldn’t worry too much then. Use some awesome caulk at the seams and several layers of an oil based exterior paint

[Walker]

How about vertical bamboo flooring?

[LeanMachine]

We are pretty sold on the idea of wainscoting it. And I'm real happy to have less tile work to do.

I'm going to research it some more and see what other people have done.

[dpg481]

Bead board looks great in situations like that. We used it as our kitchen backsplash along with a 1x4 piece of quarts as trim. You can also use the PVC/plastic trim boards that are waterproof. As mentioned, keep it well sealed with silicone, not caulk. Also a rolled on application of Red Guard around the the bottom of the area prior to covering will help. You can paint the back side and bottom edges of the bead board with the Red Guard. It's a permanent waterproof/latex material used in wet locations.