Schluter waterproofing systems.

A shower fails at the seam, never at the field. We waterproof every wet-area substrate with a bonded sheet membrane — Schluter Kerdi — installed by certified crew, with every corner, drain collar, and pipe penetration sealed with the system-matched component the manufacturer engineered for it.

We do not paint waterproofing on. We do not spec liquid-applied membranes that cure differently in a December Coral Gables vs an August Miami Beach build. We bond Kerdi to the substrate, we band every seam, and we warranty the assembly.

How a wet area gets waterproofed

1 · Substrate preparation

Drywall taken back to studs. Cement board (Schluter Kerdi-Board or USG Durock) screwed at 8” o.c. with corrosion-resistant fasteners. Fastener heads and seams pre-treated with Kerdi-Fix or Kerdi-Coll. Substrate is signed off plumb and square before any membrane goes down.

2 · Field membrane

Kerdi 8 mil polyethylene sheet bonded to the substrate with Schluter unmodified thinset. Trowel notched 1/8” × 1/8”, combed in one direction, sheet laid wet, beaten flat with a Schluter Kerdi-Trowel. No bubbles, no voids — every square inch in contact with the bonding mortar.

3 · Seams, corners, penetrations

Every seam overlapped 5” minimum and rolled. Every inside and outside corner gets a Kerdi-Kereck-FI preformed corner — no folded sheet, no field-cut diagonals. Every pipe penetration sealed with a Kerdi-Seal-PS pipe collar bonded over the membrane. Mixing-valve flanges sealed with Kerdi-Fix.

4 · Drain integration

Kerdi-Drain or Kerdi-Line bonded into the membrane field with the integrated Kerdi sheet flange. The drain becomes part of the waterproofing, not a hole in it. Flood test held 24 h on the cured assembly before any tile lands.

5 · Sign-off

We document the membrane install with photos at every corner, every drain, and every penetration. The flood-test pass is logged. The package is delivered to the GC and homeowner before tile is set — the waterproofing is signed off as a discrete trade, not buried under the finish.

Partner systems we set every day

• Schluter Kerdi — 8 mil bonded sheet membrane, ANSI A118.10. Our default across every shower, wet room, and steam enclosure.
• Schluter Kerdi-Board — preformed waterproof substrate panel for curbless and complex bench geometry. We use it on linear-drain showers and zero-threshold remodels.
• Schluter Kerdi-Drain & Kerdi-Line — point and linear drains with integrated bonding flanges. The only drains we install on a Schluter system.
• Schluter Ditra — 1/8” uncoupling membrane for floor tile in continuous wet areas (powder rooms with adjacent shower, laundry rooms). Bonded with the same unmodified thinset as Kerdi.

Where this matters most

Brickell high-rise showers sit over occupied units — a leak is a structural and legal problem within a week. Coral Gables historic-home steam showers run wet 6 days a week and demand a vapor-tight assembly above the membrane. Key Biscayne salt-air baths corrode every fastener that is not stainless — every screw we install on a Schluter assembly is rated to A2 or A4. Each project gets the same membrane system; the substrate, fastener spec, and drain choice change with the building.

What the spec sheet should say

If you are an architect or designer specifying our install, three lines are enough:

Wet-area waterproofing: Schluter Kerdi bonded sheet membrane installed by Schluter-certified contractor, ANSI A118.10 compliant. All corners, drains, and pipe penetrations sealed with system-matched components (Kerdi-Kereck-FI, Kerdi-Drain or Kerdi-Line, Kerdi-Seal-PS). Assembly to pass 24 h flood test prior to tile install; documentation delivered to GC.

We will hit those three lines, we will document each seam and corner, and we will release the assembly to the tile crew only after the flood test logs clean.