So in this video I want to talk about Schluter
systems and five common problems and mistakes that I see people making all the time. These
are expensive systems, they are great for waterproofing, but if you make these mistakes,
they can lead to leaks, and I don’t want to see that happen to you. Also, stick around
because I have a quick pro tip that will make it much faster for you installing these.
So the first mistake is not having your studs in line with one another. Foam board, cement
board, anything that’s half-inch thickness, if your studs aren’t in line with one another,
you can end up with a dip and create a problem for your tiling installation. Making tile
easier for installing requires a flat surface. So making sure that your studs are even with
one another is super important. Most half-inch boards are going to require your studs to
be 16 inches on center. So making sure that your distance between the studs is 16 is really
important. The one common bathroom that I typically see this is usually an issue with
is removing one-piece fiber glass surrounds. The main reason is because the people that
were installing these things, they don’t really care about the stud placement. The
framers know that there are going to be one-pieces and there’s a lot of fudge room to basically
install these things, and it doesn’t really matter whether they’re in line with another.
So it can be frustrating, but there are solutions to making sure that your studs stay in line
with another. Really two simple ways to do it. One, furring out the studs with an appropriate
sized amount of plywood. If you’re safe, you’re ¼-inch or more, you can use plywood
strips to fur that out. You could also plane down one of the studs are actually not aligned
with one another using a hand planer or an electric planer. And then third is to actually
sister on entire new studs if it’s really bad. This might help more with studs that
are completely out of plumb. Plumbness is going to make it easier installing your shower
doors and also your tile work as well. So number one is to always make sure that your
framing is sound for the new installation of these boards.
Okay, so the second problem or mistake that I see is with using KERDI-BOARD and not having
enough screws. It sounds like a really simple thing to not happen. A lot of these kits,
they come with 100 packs of screws, and you want to be installing these screws and washers
in the appropriate way that Schluter wants. So you want it within 12 inches on the walls.
And then on the ceilings, you’re going to want it every 6 inches. So you’re going
to use a lot more screws for that. I know this is a simple rule, but I see it all the
time where people run out of the screws and washers, and then they just go ahead and finish
the shower. And then there’s like bowing or, you know, the board can actually move.
So make sure that you have enough screws. One other tip I want to give you on covering
the screws and finishing them is I like to get some extra KERDI-BAND and just actually
do full seams from top to bottom covering all those screws. I find it a little bit easier
than cutting just the regular squares and then patching each one. I think that using
just full bands is a lot easier. So if you’re buying a kit, it might be a good idea to buy
an extra roll of KERDI so that you’re able to do this a lot more efficiently.
So the third mistake that I see has to do with trowel sizing. This also goes along with
my last tip as well, so stick around because both of these are equally as important. But
trowel size is really important when you’re installing the pans, when you’re installing
the KERDI-BAND, or if you’re installing the DITRA-HEAT or DITRA-MAT. All of them actually
use different size trowels, so you have to be really particular with making sure that
you’re using the right ones. So for KERDI-BAND, going over KERDI-BOARD or going over drywall,
you want to use a KERDI trowel. They actually make a specific trowel for KERDI. But it is
essentially just 1/8 x 1/8-inch square notch trowel. For setting your shower pans, you
want to be using a ¼ x 3/8-inch square or U notch trowel. And then for DITRA, they actually
have a specific trowel for DITRA, which is 11/64, pretty much a 3/16-inch notch trowel.
And then for DITRA-HEAT, you want to be using a ¼ x ¼. We’ll actually put all those
trowels in the links below because I really think it’s important. If you’re doing
more than one bathroom of if you’re doing a large bathroom, I think it’s really important
to buy the trowels along with this. And the main reason that the trowel size is important
is it has to do with build-up and making sure that you don’t have any humps or trying
to squeeze out too much thinset underneath of it. The system really requires having the
proper amount of thinset when putting these waterproofing materials together. It makes
sure that the system will be leak-proof. Problem number four that’s very common with
Schluter systems is having build-up in your corners. It can be really frustrating when
you’re trying to install tile and having build-up in all of your corners. Build-up
usually coincides with not using the right size trowel because if you have a bigger size
trowel, you’re putting too much thinset, and it’s creating more build-up. But sometimes,
the build-up is just from what you’re building. If you’re installing a curb or if you’re
putting a bench in or a niche, for that matter, those are really common areas for build-up
to be made in the corners because you’re overlapping KERDI multiple times in an area.
So the way I address it is by: number one, using a proper size trowel; secondly, using
a drywall knife and smoothing out the seams and trying to get all the thinset underneath
of it as smooth as possible and making the transition of these corners. So you still
might actually have build-up, but there’s two ways you can really overcome this when
you’re installing tile. So number one is probably the easiest, and that’s actually
using additional thinset. Especially if you’re using a large format tile, the build-up of
these corners aren’t much of an issue because you’re using a larger size trowel. To install
it, you can back butter and actually even back trowel the tile so that you have more
flexibility to overcome those bumps. When it comes to more intricate installations,
like around the niche, another way is to actually grind down the back of the tile with something
like an STL blade. That’s always a solution especially when you’re using mosaics or
subway tile, something like that. It’s a lot easier to almost just grind off the tile
than it is to build all of that up. So all this talk about thinset and correct
trowel sizing leads me to the last mistake that is pretty much prevalent in all of tile
industry, and that is not using the right amount of water to mix your thinset. The days
of just adding powder to a bucket, adding a little bit of water, and just looking at
it to see if it’s the right consistency is no longer here. We have to abide by the
back specifications of the bag of the right amount of water. This is really, really important
with basically any of the new thinsets that are coming out. You have to use the right
amount of water. This can lead to basically the thinset not bonding to your waterproofing
materials. It can lead to—if you’re installing tile, even—tile coming loose and not staying
in place. So always look at the back of the bag. Make sure that you’re using the right
amount of water for the right amount of thinset. If you’re using a Schluter system, I do
highly recommend just buying the ALL-SET. It’s a modified thinset that Schluter makes
specifically for their product. They have two different ratios on the back of the bag.
One is for membranes, and the second one is for actually installing tile. Always use the
membrane ratio for membranes. So my pro tip to make this a lot faster for
installing bands and the KERDI membrane is to actually just use a mud pan and a 6-inch
knife as if you’re doing drywall. I find it a lot faster to put the thinset in a mud
pan and then basically pretend that I’m drywall mudding. You can apply it in the corners
a lot faster, I’m getting a little bit less on me installing it, and then you can just
go over all those areas with your proper size trowel for the KERDI membrane, the 1/8 x 1/8.
Applying the thinset is always probably the biggest job of waterproofing this, so using
a mud pan and a drywall knife makes it a lot faster.
So I hope these tips helped you out and you don’t make these mistakes. Give us a thumbs
up because it helps other people find these videos. We don’t want to see mistakes being
made. And if you’re still a little bit confused on how to install Schluter systems, check
out our site at BathroomRepairTutor. We have a ton of step-by-step tutorials on not only
how to install Schluter systems but complete your bathroom from start to finish. And we’ll
see you in the next video.
