Kerdi vs Provamat drain?

[exeunt]

Someone on **** was selling off their remaining Kerdi equipment so I grabbed some. He claims that they as a reseller have switched to ProvaMat due to lots of Kerdi failures recently. He claimed that many plumbers were making the switch. Any truth to this? I've got Kerdi and the tray now, should I be looking elsewhere for the drain?

I sold and installed the Schluter drain for four years, the ProVamat drain is better in all ways, it is easier to work with and better designed, we do not however have it in brushed nickel.

The floating application of the Schluter drain always made me worry that one large person in the shower could stand on the drain center and collapse the whole thing then I would face a lawsuit, we also had reports of them failing,they do not allow proper weeping.
The provamat drain does allow for weeping right into the drain line.
as I am sure you know weeping occurs when condensation and hydrostatic pressure builds in the thinset and will weep around the sides of the drain. The schluter cup once place in the drain body will seal to the body surface when pressure is applied form installation, this allows moisture to build around the drain insert and will create a stagnant pool that will draw mildew.
I would eliminate this by putting concrete in this area to keep the center cup from making direct contact with the drain body, it also gave me confidence the drain cup would not collapse under the weight of a person showering.
The ProVaMat drain has a screw in application that allows for proper weeping and greater support it als has a square drain, our contractors are changing the provamat system at a rate of 8-1.

[jadnashua]

I've not heard of any failures with the Kerdi stuff. My guess, and it is only that, is that they've chosen to switch to a less expensive source. No experience with ProVaMat. Note, properly installed, a Kerdi install does NOT have weep holes, since the surface membrane is sealed to the drain...no moisture ever gets beneath it. A system that claims to be a surface membrane that requires weep holes is looking at belt and suspenders...they expect their drain to leak. All of the Kerdi drain covers are square in all available finishes. As with anything, you must follow the manufacturer's installation instructions...installed properly the Schluter system works great.

Note, if installed properly, moisture typically wicks at most 1/4". Since there's supposed to be at least a 2" overlap, moisture never even gets close to leaking beneath the membrane far enough to do anything. I was at a class where they put Kerdi on a cardboard box using thinset. It was in use for months. Filled with ice and drinks in the morning. The box never got wet. It got floppy because of all of the flexing, but the kerdi never leaked nor did the box get wet after months of use. The stuff works and they have a long track record.