Ceiling in new bathroom

[Marianne]

We are installing a new bathroom on the second floor. The floor and most of the walls will be covered with ceramic tile. We are wondering how to treat the ceiling. It is currently regular wall board, and we are concerned that the steam from showers will cause it to bubble and crack. We will be installing a ceiling exhaust fan (exhausting outdoors), but are still concerned about the ceiling. Should it be covered with another product?

[ABP]

I have never heard of any problems with using wallboard (Sheetrock) in a bathroom, however you should use "Greenboard" This is a green drywall board made for high humidity areas. It primes and paints just like regular drywall. I would however do 2 more things,
1) Use a good quality primer and paint (Explaine to the paint store what you have in mind)
2) Connect your exhaust fan to run when the light is turned on as most people will not bother to turn it on if it is on a seperate switch

Also make sure that the CFM will handle the room, in otherwords you need to make sure that the cubic feet of air per minute that the unit will displace is equal to or greater than the cubic feet of air in the room

[skintdigit]

Marianne,
If your ceiling is already covered with sheetrock and the tape/bed work is done, just prime it well and paint with a good quality latex paint. It will be fine unless you're building a steamroom.

[pushkins]

If the ceiling is already drywalled BEFORE you paint it with a primer or a top coat paint it with Zinsser (gold label) this is an oil based product and when dry creates perfect a vapor barrier.
It's available at either HD or Lowes.