As a Brit observing, you mentioned the tile is made in Mexico. At the time of writing, DT has just been sworn in. As an observation. If tariffs come in, the potential impact on buildings products could be considerable.
I used Schluter Ditra Heat in my bathroom remodel. Great product, but expensive! I particularly liked the installation manual that was very well written with clear illustrations.
Yeah but it cost that for a reason. There are a couple other brands out there for pros but they cost the same. None of those brands have all the extra products like shelves, drains and terminations. It's literally the standard and they're the ones that developed the whole product and process for homes. Think it's been around since the 80s
Oh, for sure. It's a premium product at a premium price. I think the slick packaging of the system is a lot of that... Not that the product is poor quality, by any means, but there are other quality products for less money. The Schluter advantage, IMO, is that it's a system of products all designed to work together, and more than that, it comes with an outstanding warranty if installed correctly. And installing it correctly is facilitated by the excellent and thorough instructions they write! All that adds up to make it expensive. Not that it's poor value... It's just expensive.
@soundman1402 what are the brands that cost significantly less? And where are? Seriously, I'm always interested in new products and it's been a while since I priced the blue and other products.
It’s best to fill the space between the tub and cement board with mortar before waterproofing, this will help hold the tub in place and can help prevent the grout joint from cracking.
Our shower was kerdi on regular drywall, was in use over 25 years. We had a house fire and I tried to save some of the tiles. They were adhered to well to remove. No signs of water intrusion, Im a believer!
12:09 and after tray 8nstalled I’d buy yourself a FloFX bonding flange drain and use with this, as fits well and won’t have the white fleece delaminate from back of kerdi drain and flofx bonding flange will fit perfecting in kerdi pan just make sure buy the FloFx Binding Kerdi drain and be all set. Just pro tip is all ✌🏻
I have GC'd three custom houses for our family. For the first two, the tiles guys insisted on using old-school metal pans, cement board, hand-floated shower slopes, etc. "We have been it this way for 30+ years!" kind of thing. Both houses had leaking master showers (2nd floor) down to the first floor. UGH. Last house, I went to the Schluter dealer and asked for the tile guy buying the most Schulter products. Never had one issue (not one) with leaks. I will never not do Schluter.
Matt I see your tub isn’t covered. As a builder I’m still trying to find the best way to protect the tub during the build. We set a dedicated board on top, but that’s taken off for tile. Any suggestions ?
TCNA guidelines (Tile Council of North America) call for caulk for any change of plane. Most critical would be the vertical shower corner nearest the shower spout. As a building moves a tiny bit, a grouted joint will crack and allow water into the structure. Would the Kerdi fabric have enough resiliency? Maybe, maybe not. Is there any research on this? A soft corner means silicone for the depth of the board and thinset and tile, not a smear on a grouted corner. It uses a lot of non-shrinking silicone caulk but it works. I've don't it in a building that moves a lot.
I usually really love this series; but this was just an ad for schluter products. We didn't really delve into the intricacies of tile work or different types of options for waterproofing. I really liked the approach you took with the outside, showing us different wall assemblies. Just my 2 cents. Otherwise great series! Thanks
Schluter is the standard. There are a couple other good brands but I've only seen them maybe 10 times instead of orange. Those are the same material and process. It's the standard and if pwople haven't done a new plu.bong install in the last 15 years they wouldn't know about it. Top tier homes it became standard in the early 2000s.
@@Truth_Ends_Cancel_CultureI've been in hundreds of nice homes and maybe saw 5 or 10 that weren't schluter but it was the same material and same cost for other brands. None of those companies have the time saving products they have. Or the products to make it easier for DIY ers. Also they've had training videos longer than anyone. It would be questionable if he showed any other brand than schluter.
He's talking about thw amounts of water in a shower and I'm working on a custom shower in my house pushing 10 to 20 gallons per minute instead of 2. GPM. The new showers with multiple shower heads started when they restricted the flow rate of a single showerhead.
Curious how the vapor barrier in the exterior wall works with the Schluter system; it would seem like there is a vapor-impermiable zone that would prevent drying to the inside.
31:55 this sutra has gone thru many iterations and can remember gen 1 and installing it and so on. Kinda missing the “bubbles” that’s stuck up compared to waffle pattern have now……
26:58 or add piece of Schluter trim like plain jolly (not my fav but would work) for something like this instead of having 2 cut edges facing you, looks to me, like forgot or missed; and what would set a great from good job…..details, details Just my opinion
You know we made an incredibly inexpensive shower and shower/bath combo units. We decided it didn't look nice, so we came up with a system that looks a bit better, has way more risk, and costs like 10x. I struggle seeing the actual value in tile showers but they sure do look and feel much nicer.
That's the value. It looks nice. It's no different than why people spend more on counters, flooring, trim, etc. People care a lot about the aesthetics of their home.
That Kerdi board is absolutely NOT Rigid; irregular drywall is more rigid. We were installed on that Kerdi board Mosaic tiles, and it was a nightmare to have this at the perfect level. After that, we discovered another product it is called Prova Board-Plus this product is more rigid and easier to work to do waterproofing because you only work with the caulking to cover up inside corners and screws.
Another comment with no context or explanation as to why. Come on, folks, back up your comments with some sound reasoning and maybe even examples from your own experience! That’s the power of Comments on RUclips.
I have installed both but Wedi seemed to be a more bomber system in my opinion. Prove me wrong! And he seems to be very high end oriented and to me Schluter is not that. Not saying there is anything wrong with Schluter just my opinion.
Schluter is great and all but way too expensive. Just finished my basement bathroom; to use the Schluter system for my 48x48” shower would have been ~$900. That’s insane just to waterproof a shower. Went with GoBoard and did my own dry pack pan. Less than $300.
@@stevemullen8457 never is a strong word. As long as it doesnt find a way to crack, all plumbing is correctly installed, walls are correctly seamed to the base, and the base to wall seam doesnt crack open. Nothing is perfect.
@@apex007 This is why tile redi has the best approach to 100% water tight cause it has a seamless pan with 4” side walls and the drain is Intergrated into the pan as well. Nothing to crack or relying on caulk or thinset. Look into it it’s a great system and way better that the orange system since thinset is not a water proofing solution
@@apex007anything is possible but it's highly unlikely to crack. It's a molded plastic product. Like an unfinished tub. Walla are less likely to cause an issue than the pan. Tile redi sells a trim piece for wall to pan seal. Your walls have to be waterproof and you can't puncture the pan.
I like the membrane but I'm not sold on the fact that you use mortar to "glue" it to the walls and overlaps. I think mortar is going to wick water through it, maybe slowly, but if water gets through your tile I just don't trust that it won't be wet, forever. I went with Durorock and a few coats of Red Guard top to bottom, over the sill and out onto the floor.
You use thinset for the Kerdi membrane which is not quite the same as mortar. Thinset is more of an adhesive and is hydrophobic when cured. It is a standard component of several waterproofing systems. Durock works great as a substrate for Red Guard, but the ease of handling and installation is what sets Schluter apart-but it doesn’t come cheap.
Tests have shown that water WILL WICK past the mortared joint where two fleeces overlap. The 2" overlap requirement is meant to keep it within limits. However, I prefer to see shower walls on interior walls with vapor-permeable areas all around to allow that incidental moisture to escape. Otherwise ===>>> TRAPPED moisture ===>>> MOLD FARM. I like: interior walls, always warm (even in winter), vapor permeable all around, no redguard, unsealed grout. There will be incidental gain and loss of moisture in the grout line, which is ok.
the whole point of the membrane is that it is waterproof. If installed correctly, nothing gets through it to whatever holds the membrane to the floors/walls. you've got a triple layer system: tiles (generally waterproof, but will leak at the grout lines), thinset (holding the tiles, not waterproof at all), membrane. doesn't matter if stuff gets through/around the tiles - it hits the membrane and it stops. the 2" overlap rule for the kerdiband is because the thinset used to attach the membrane will not wick that far, so even if moisture gets behind the tile and makes it to the edge of the kerdiband, it will not wick far enough to actually get behind a properly installed membrane.
That said, the Schluter system is not hard to install perfectly. It’s actually kind of foolproof if you follow the installation guidelines and watch the instructional videos. PVC is likely to crack over time as it ages.
I'm highly sure the average shower is not 3' x 3'. I have a feeling Matt hasn't built a house with a 3x3 shower in the last decade. But got to be dramatic with those numbers, right? 😆
Not saying schluter isn’t one of the best - but their warranty is a joke. If you use ANY other products, even superior ones - it completely voids any warranty. For example; the Flo fx drain. It’s hands down better - and using it voids warranty. That’s just a d-move. In my situation - contractor used liquid waterproofing and got some on a corner piece - the rep took one look at that and shirked responsibility even though was 100% obvious it wasn’t the cause of problem.
@@njsification Foam is certainly lighter to carry and easier to cut and less crumbly, but Durock (or Hardie board, too) is more vapor-permeable and stronger and more fire-resistive. Since trapped moisture can cause gigantic damage, the cement-based products are far from obsolete.
As a Brit observing, you mentioned the tile is made in Mexico. At the time of writing, DT has just been sworn in. As an observation. If tariffs come in, the potential impact on buildings products could be considerable.
I used Schluter Ditra Heat in my bathroom remodel. Great product, but expensive! I particularly liked the installation manual that was very well written with clear illustrations.
Yeah but it cost that for a reason. There are a couple other brands out there for pros but they cost the same.
None of those brands have all the extra products like shelves, drains and terminations.
It's literally the standard and they're the ones that developed the whole product and process for homes. Think it's been around since the 80s
Oh, for sure. It's a premium product at a premium price. I think the slick packaging of the system is a lot of that... Not that the product is poor quality, by any means, but there are other quality products for less money. The Schluter advantage, IMO, is that it's a system of products all designed to work together, and more than that, it comes with an outstanding warranty if installed correctly. And installing it correctly is facilitated by the excellent and thorough instructions they write!
All that adds up to make it expensive. Not that it's poor value... It's just expensive.
@soundman1402 what are the brands that cost significantly less? And where are?
Seriously, I'm always interested in new products and it's been a while since I priced the blue and other products.
It’s best to fill the space between the tub and cement board with mortar before waterproofing, this will help hold the tub in place and can help prevent the grout joint from cracking.
Look out Huber, there's a new favorite, Schluter in the Risinger Infomercial Sponsorverse.
Our shower was kerdi on regular drywall, was in use over 25 years.
We had a house fire and I tried to save some of the tiles. They were adhered to well to remove. No signs of water intrusion, Im a believer!
12:09 and after tray 8nstalled I’d buy yourself a FloFX bonding flange drain and use with this, as fits well and won’t have the white fleece delaminate from back of kerdi drain and flofx bonding flange will fit perfecting in kerdi pan just make sure buy the FloFx Binding Kerdi drain and be all set. Just pro tip is all
✌🏻
Mixing brands does void the Schluter warranty however.
I have GC'd three custom houses for our family. For the first two, the tiles guys insisted on using old-school metal pans, cement board, hand-floated shower slopes, etc. "We have been it this way for 30+ years!" kind of thing. Both houses had leaking master showers (2nd floor) down to the first floor. UGH.
Last house, I went to the Schluter dealer and asked for the tile guy buying the most Schulter products. Never had one issue (not one) with leaks. I will never not do Schluter.
Matt I see your tub isn’t covered. As a builder I’m still trying to find the best way to protect the tub during the build. We set a dedicated board on top, but that’s taken off for tile. Any suggestions ?
TCNA guidelines (Tile Council of North America) call for caulk for any change of plane. Most critical would be the vertical shower corner nearest the shower spout. As a building moves a tiny bit, a grouted joint will crack and allow water into the structure. Would the Kerdi fabric have enough resiliency? Maybe, maybe not. Is there any research on this? A soft corner means silicone for the depth of the board and thinset and tile, not a smear on a grouted corner. It uses a lot of non-shrinking silicone caulk but it works. I've don't it in a building that moves a lot.
I usually really love this series; but this was just an ad for schluter products. We didn't really delve into the intricacies of tile work or different types of options for waterproofing. I really liked the approach you took with the outside, showing us different wall assemblies. Just my 2 cents. Otherwise great series! Thanks
yep, he's got his favorite brands and quickly become an echo chamber. He's certainly done the same with Zip and Avantech
Imagine how much he’s saving in material. Probably built this house for free
Schluter is the standard. There are a couple other good brands but I've only seen them maybe 10 times instead of orange.
Those are the same material and process. It's the standard and if pwople haven't done a new plu.bong install in the last 15 years they wouldn't know about it.
Top tier homes it became standard in the early 2000s.
@@Truth_Ends_Cancel_CultureI've been in hundreds of nice homes and maybe saw 5 or 10 that weren't schluter but it was the same material and same cost for other brands.
None of those companies have the time saving products they have. Or the products to make it easier for DIY ers.
Also they've had training videos longer than anyone.
It would be questionable if he showed any other brand than schluter.
What is the proper way to place aluminum foil wrap on a black metal roof? Between the underlayment and metal or in the attic, under the rafters.
Is the window sill in the shower sloped? It looks level to me.
Is the window tempered? I realize it's too high to easily wack with your elbow, but the building code may not care about that little detail.
He's talking about thw amounts of water in a shower and I'm working on a custom shower in my house pushing 10 to 20 gallons per minute instead of 2. GPM.
The new showers with multiple shower heads started when they restricted the flow rate of a single showerhead.
Curious how the vapor barrier in the exterior wall works with the Schluter system; it would seem like there is a vapor-impermiable zone that would prevent drying to the inside.
It works like a mold farm. This setup should have some extra ventilation behind that tile.
How is the inside of the window waterproofed against the shower "rain"? I see none of the usual necessary precautions.
31:55 this sutra has gone thru many iterations and can remember gen 1 and installing it and so on. Kinda missing the “bubbles” that’s stuck up compared to waffle pattern have now……
what is the manufacturer and description model on the tub and the floor? that tub looks smaller than 5'?
Go board is better than the schluter board. Much stiffer, cheaper, doesn't need weird washers.
26:58 or add piece of Schluter trim like plain jolly (not my fav but would work) for something like this instead of having 2 cut edges facing you, looks to me, like forgot or missed; and what would set a great from good job…..details, details
Just my opinion
You know we made an incredibly inexpensive shower and shower/bath combo units. We decided it didn't look nice, so we came up with a system that looks a bit better, has way more risk, and costs like 10x. I struggle seeing the actual value in tile showers but they sure do look and feel much nicer.
That's the value. It looks nice. It's no different than why people spend more on counters, flooring, trim, etc. People care a lot about the aesthetics of their home.
Am I the only one wondering why he's in such a rush to get out of the shower? 8 minutes? Bro, enjoy the luxury! 😂
That Kerdi board is absolutely NOT Rigid; irregular drywall is more rigid. We were installed on that Kerdi board Mosaic tiles, and it was a nightmare to have this at the perfect level. After that, we discovered another product it is called Prova Board-Plus this product is more rigid and easier to work to do waterproofing because you only work with the caulking to cover up inside corners and screws.
Do that company make schluter products that are bigger than a 5x10 shower floor
Yes, you can make a custom shower any size you want.
Looks like an insulated shirt -what are you wearing ?
30:57 It’s Durock, Matt, not “Durorock”
Honestly I'm a bit surprised you dont use Wedi instead of Schluter
Another comment with no context or explanation as to why. Come on, folks, back up your comments with some sound reasoning and maybe even examples from your own experience! That’s the power of Comments on RUclips.
Lots of armchair experts commenting on this video.
I have installed both but Wedi seemed to be a more bomber system in my opinion. Prove me wrong! And he seems to be very high end oriented and to me Schluter is not that. Not saying there is anything wrong with Schluter just my opinion.
@@jonathanrodemich197 I have used WEDI, good product but a bit more expensive than Schluter. WEDI board does feel much sturdier.
Schluter is great and all but way too expensive. Just finished my basement bathroom; to use the Schluter system for my 48x48” shower would have been ~$900. That’s insane just to waterproof a shower. Went with GoBoard and did my own dry pack pan. Less than $300.
Tile Redi is the current best shower base out there. It can never leak and comes in any custom size you want and any drain location.
@@stevemullen8457 never is a strong word. As long as it doesnt find a way to crack, all plumbing is correctly installed, walls are correctly seamed to the base, and the base to wall seam doesnt crack open. Nothing is perfect.
@@apex007
This is why tile redi has the best approach to 100% water tight cause it has a seamless pan with 4” side walls and the drain is Intergrated into the pan as well. Nothing to crack or relying on caulk or thinset.
Look into it it’s a great system and way better that the orange system since thinset is not a water proofing solution
@ I dont think you carefully read my response to tile redi. Please read it again.
@@apex007anything is possible but it's highly unlikely to crack. It's a molded plastic product. Like an unfinished tub. Walla are less likely to cause an issue than the pan. Tile redi sells a trim piece for wall to pan seal. Your walls have to be waterproof and you can't puncture the pan.
I like the membrane but I'm not sold on the fact that you use mortar to "glue" it to the walls and overlaps. I think mortar is going to wick water through it, maybe slowly, but if water gets through your tile I just don't trust that it won't be wet, forever. I went with Durorock and a few coats of Red Guard top to bottom, over the sill and out onto the floor.
You use thinset for the Kerdi membrane which is not quite the same as mortar. Thinset is more of an adhesive and is hydrophobic when cured. It is a standard component of several waterproofing systems. Durock works great as a substrate for Red Guard, but the ease of handling and installation is what sets Schluter apart-but it doesn’t come cheap.
Tests have shown that water WILL WICK past the mortared joint where two fleeces overlap. The 2" overlap requirement is meant to keep it within limits. However, I prefer to see shower walls on interior walls with vapor-permeable areas all around to allow that incidental moisture to escape. Otherwise ===>>> TRAPPED moisture ===>>> MOLD FARM. I like: interior walls, always warm (even in winter), vapor permeable all around, no redguard, unsealed grout. There will be incidental gain and loss of moisture in the grout line, which is ok.
the whole point of the membrane is that it is waterproof. If installed correctly, nothing gets through it to whatever holds the membrane to the floors/walls. you've got a triple layer system: tiles (generally waterproof, but will leak at the grout lines), thinset (holding the tiles, not waterproof at all), membrane. doesn't matter if stuff gets through/around the tiles - it hits the membrane and it stops.
the 2" overlap rule for the kerdiband is because the thinset used to attach the membrane will not wick that far, so even if moisture gets behind the tile and makes it to the edge of the kerdiband, it will not wick far enough to actually get behind a properly installed membrane.
How do I get you to come design a home for me?
Probably want an architect to design your house, not a builder
i prefer the old pvc shower pan, its basically impossible to get it wrong. if you dont install this system perfectly, it will fail.
That said, the Schluter system is not hard to install perfectly. It’s actually kind of foolproof if you follow the installation guidelines and watch the instructional videos. PVC is likely to crack over time as it ages.
I'm highly sure the average shower is not 3' x 3'. I have a feeling Matt hasn't built a house with a 3x3 shower in the last decade.
But got to be dramatic with those numbers, right? 😆
Not saying schluter isn’t one of the best - but their warranty is a joke. If you use ANY other products, even superior ones - it completely voids any warranty. For example; the Flo fx drain. It’s hands down better - and using it voids warranty. That’s just a d-move.
In my situation - contractor used liquid waterproofing and got some on a corner piece - the rep took one look at that and shirked responsibility even though was 100% obvious it wasn’t the cause of problem.
Please note diy, homeowners etc…..AS ALL TILE COMTRACTOR PROS KNOW THIS.
Grout and thinset are absolutely 100% NOT WATERPROOF
What are you suggesting? I can blast my tile and grout with a garden hose for an hour and no water gets through.
Durock is the worst product ever specially when you have to do the remodel
Specifics, please. As is, your comment is meaningless.
@@MichaelJ674is not that durable (crumbles easily), a pain to cut, heavy as hell, and isn't an inherent waterproof barrier.
@@njsification Durock is not meant to be a waterproof barrier, thank God. You MUST have a way for incidental moisture to escape.
@@camheady235 it's meant to be a legacy product that's far beyond it's usefulness because of boomers that can't try something better
@@njsification Foam is certainly lighter to carry and easier to cut and less crumbly, but Durock (or Hardie board, too) is more vapor-permeable and stronger and more fire-resistive. Since trapped moisture can cause gigantic damage, the cement-based products are far from obsolete.
Interior designers don’t think that way. You need an architect if you want to align your windows with your tiles my man.
Why is he such a Schluter shill? There are better cheaper options.
What are those options, in your opinion?
Yeah, a statement with no data is just an opinion.
GoBoard is one option among others.
@@dianearnold5381 yes and why would one skimp at such a critical stage?
@@williamdemilia6223what do you recommend