With Americans spending more and more time showering, the volume of water hitting shower walls and floors is growing exponentially. All that water eventually works itself into your bathroom's structure if your shower isn't waterproofed correctly.
Knowing how to waterproof a shower properly can save you from leaks, mold growth, and expensive structural damage. Although waterproofing and tiling a shower used to be a tedious process, that is no longer the case with Schluter waterproofing membrane, which will help you get your new shower done faster and easier than anything else on the market.
Unfortunately, a lack of consistent building code standards for waterproofing meant that critical steps were frequently ignored. For example, many times installers wouldn't add a slope to the dry pack mortar bed, resulting in poor water drainage.
In other instances, non-waterproof materials were used as backerboard fasteners and shower benches, leading to leaks and mold damage. Finally, liquid waterproofing membrane, although cheap, was difficult to apply evenly across the shower surface, leading to quicker breakdown and leaks.
Schluter is the best way to waterproof a shower because it eliminates these risks and extra steps, providing a sheet membrane that can quickly and evenly be applied to drywall or green board and make waterproofing and tiling a shower easier than ever.
Schluter gets your shower 100% ready for tiling with a wealth of products that fit your application.
When you want to waterproof a shower but don't have a backerboard installed, you can apply 1/2-inch thick KERDI-BOARD water-proof wall panels directly to wall studs and KERDI band to the joints, reducing the entire waterproofing process to one step.
If you are creating a walk-in shower for safety and ease-of-access, Schluter makes the KERDI sloped shower tray, which will waterproof your floor and ensure proper drainage. These shower floor trays are available in a variety of sizes and configurations.
Other Schluter waterproofing products include:
KERDI-KERECK pre-formed corners that save the hassle of manually waterproofing corners.
KERDI-SEAL pipe seal and KERDI-SEAL mixing valve seal that seal pipe protrusions and protect moisture-sensitive solid backing panels.
KERDI-BOARD shower curb.
KERDI-DRAIN integrated bonding flange that connects to the KERDI water-proofing membrane on the shower tray.
The laundry list of Schluter products may seem confusing at first, but it really comes down to choosing the right components for the shower base and walls.
To choose the right Schluter waterproof shower base:
To waterproof your shower walls with Schluter:
It's that simple, but you can always contact our team for assistance selecting the right products.
We recommend hiring a professional to install your Schluter shower. If you do decide to undertake the project yourself, there are a few points to keep in mind.
Watch the Schluter Installation video below for clear, concise instructions on waterproofing your shower.
Although waterproofing your bathroom floor isn't mandatory, it can be useful in those instances when the toilet overflows or your kid does a cannon ball jump into a filled bathtub.
The easiest way to accomplish this is by using Schluter DITRA mats. DITRA is a polyethylene uncoupling membrane mat. It's called "uncoupling" because, when installed properly, it "uncouples" or separates your bathroom floor tiles from the substrate below.
This is great for two reasons:
Although crack prevention and easier floor tile installation are its main benefits, DITRA is waterproof. As long as you also waterproof the seams between the DITRA mats using KERDI-band strips, you won't ever have to worry about leaks in your floor.
Schluter waterproofing membrane is the fastest and easiest path to a new shower that is 100% waterproofed and worry-free.
Whether you're building a walk-in shower, shower stall, or redoing your bathroom floor, Schluter has the right product. Once you lay the waterproofing membrane, you can start laying tile and be showering before you know it.