Kerdi vs Provamat drain?

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exeunt

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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

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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.
 

Tileyourshower

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ProVa Mat. Not Fully understood...

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.
.

Since this question is directly in response to what I said to a customer I will assume I have the right to....respond.

As the poster stated here: "A kerdi install does not have weep holes" he is correct, what he does not understand is that the ProVa Mat system is designed similar to the kerdi, the membrane is adhered to the drain body just as the kerdi adheres to its drain body.
The ProVa Drain is not designed to leak
Lets also clarify.... the weep holes are in the drain cover insert threads..... so this tell us they are in the flow point, it will not leak nor is designed to leak.
I have been in this trade for almost 30 yrs and I am suprised at the way people offer advice based on a item they have never used, nor attempted to use.
This reply is long overdue but I felt when one is offering false facts about a unit they do not understand, then a rebuttal is required.
Thank you.
 

Tileyourshower

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The ProVa Drain is a cheap copy of the Kerdi Drain. with the design modification of the strainer height is adjusted by a more traditional twisting motion.This video shows how to clean a Kerdi Drain. The Strainer on the ProVa is lumpy on the back side because of a poor quality mood I believe. This kerdi Drain shined up nice.

I will say you have formed an opinion based on a factless observation.
I have been in this trade for 30 yrs and my father before me was, it I count the time since I was used a child in advertising for his business I will say 40 years...
It is clear you have never used this drain and it seems you are the problem with mis information on this site.
There is nothing Cheap about the prova drain design, we sell thousand of them and to date have not had one returned or one fail.
I will not stoop to your level to tell you the surmised flaws of what you like to use.
The arrogance you exude defines you closed mind. We all as professionals do the research and development to find the best solution for our customers, when somebody like you assumes an issue without understanding the application nor has even used the item you belittle your own claimed expertise level.

The aspects to ProVa to the Kerdi are vastly different, the Kerdi drain will not weep and it has a weight limitation and your height adjustment is limited and the drain floats in the body only attached by the lateral ring, witha subgrade unmodified thinset
T he ProVa drain body is not "lumpy" as you have so radically mistated The ProVa drain unit screws into the body that integrates into the tray, this in turn give one greater control of the hieght sdjust and provides four weeping slots build into the threads.
The ProVa drain is in all way superior to the Kerdi drain.

I have pictures of the infamous kerdi drain 6 months after install and the water that has turned to mildew around the based of the adjustment collar, that cannot weep....

The ProVa Drain was designed in Canada, since you are Canadian, you should show an innovative company from your own country the respect it is due.
 
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Themp

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Just did a complete shower redo and had always hated the Oatley round shower drain that was used in the original shower. I had ABS on all drain lines and I ended up getting this:

http://ebbe-america.com/e4022-2-abs-3-pc-drain/

The tile guy liked it, he was used to the round ones. It was only like 69 dollars for the complete drain and grate. I see now they have stopped selling on their website and you have to buy from a plumbing vendor or plumbing internet site. I never thought about the quality of a drain when I was looking, so not sure how this will hold up. But it seems as good as what I had in the first place.
 
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