Today was installing the backer board. The product I am using is Durock^® Cement Board by US Gypsum. I have to laugh at their "cut it just like drywall" line since this is basically cement and you have to cut though a layer of that prior to reaching the fiberglass reinforcer. Even then breaking it is not the snap that drywall is, neither is the trimming of the ragged edges (I used the axe end of my drywall hammer). You secure it with 1-1/2" galvanized roofing nails, which you surely to not drive with your drywall hammer, so have a framing hammer handy, too. Lastly, the surface is not as smooth as drywall, so don't plan on scraping your knuckles on it and saying "golly", there will be many more choice words for you to use.

It comes in "convenient" 1/2 inch, 3x5 foot sheets because anything bigger and you would need to hire an ape to help you carry it. This size is about the weight of a 4x8 foot sheet of 1/2" drywall. NOTE: If you are thinking ahead of time (I wasn't, I was lucky) standard 16" centers will not work good, you will need 12" centers. Another alternative is to lay green board first to act as a brace behind the seems of the backer board.

I have not been working a lot of framing type carpentry lately, so I forgot the taste of galvanized nails. That, mixed with the cement dust, requires a beer or two when done with the job. I would not recommend beer during the job, besides the obvious safety issues, you do not want to make a mistake with this stuff, it's too hard to correct.

Here is my tile pile. I expect all the Durock^® to be gone today.

It only took an hour and a half to do the seat. I should have started on something easier, but this was the place to start to get my lapping right.

I finally got some help... someone took pictures for me. As you can see I am using the axe end of my drywall hammer for fine tuning.

Did I loose something?

Yes, I need to shave, but I am too lazy to move my razor to the other bathroom.

All done for the day. It's all up. Tomorrow I start tiling the floor.