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I closed on my newly built house last Jan. The warranty has now
expired, and conveniently enough, there are vertical cracks in the
grout of my stand up shower.

I spoke with someone at Lowes about it (he said he had built new homes
up north for a while before coming to Florida). He asked how the tile
was laid - ie, was it laid over standard sheetrock, or did they use
cement backerboard.

I really was not sure, to be honest - however it seems that it may be
laid over general sheetrock. He said that if the shower was tiled over
standard sheetrock that the sheetrock may deteriorate quickly over
time, resulting in a lot of expensive damage.

Considering that the wall does not sound very dense when you knock on
it, I am wondering if the builder cheaped out and just used standard
sheetrock.

Is there any sort of building code that requires the use of concrete
backerboard for new constructions (in the bath areas)??

I am really worried now, as I know that the grout already has to be
redone in those areas, but I really didn't want to worry about this
other crap now.

Does anyone have any knowledge of this?? By the way, I'm located in
Orlando Florida.

Local building officials would know for sure.

Where I live bathrooms are done in green (water resistant) wall board. That
is MININIUM code. Tile can be installed over the green board.
You have more problems than the drywall here. If the cracks are in the tile,
grout joints then either the structure is shifting, or the installation of
the tile was sub-standard.