Sometime in the future - Schluter Ditra with integrated heating mats

[jadnashua]

At a workshop in the Schluter headquarters...finishing up in the morning. Sometime in the future...no indication of when (product is tested, but not ready for full production/marketing/packaging) they are going to integrate heating in Ditra as an option. Then, if you wanted heated tile, you'd get it all by just installing one sheet! There won't be any further info for probably months as they work out the details, pricing, and get ready to market it for realtime, but it is coming, sometime in the (hopefully near) future. Personally, I expect we'd see it before the end of the year, but then who knows. Their US Kerdiboard factory is nearing max output, and they're going to need to add another production line to produce it to meet the increasing market. We had a chance to work with the stuff over the last few days, and it really is neat. They had built a suspended corner bench with the stuff - Kerdifix the thing to the Kerdiboard walls, tiled above and below with one of their metal trims in front (all metal, polished, matt, or with a tiling recess), they tested it after it had fully cured (Kerdifix cures at about 1/4"/day, and this was a 2" board) and were able to slowly add 12! bags of thinset on it before it collapsed -= that's over 600# (600 + packaging, so not that much over 600#). That from just Kerdifix holding it - think what it could hold if you built a bench with legs!? Schluter has a bunch of videos on YouTube - search on Schluter1 (if I got that right). Really neat.

[johnfrwhipple]

Kerdi Fix is the Bomb.

I think from experience it cures more like 1/8" per day.

We can leave KErdi Fix out overnight and then just pull the cured tip away. Most days it only cures about 2-3mm or 1/8".

I guess the larger the void the faster the cure.

Jim I'm told by a client in Chicago that Kerdi DS is for sale in the US now. Did you get to see any of this?

JW

[jadnashua]

It's coming, soon, primarily to pass the upcoming (January 2014) commercial steam room perm rating requirements (>=0.5perms is required as of next January in the USA for a commercial steam room). It was mentioned, but no, we did not see any. You may be able to get it if you ask. I haven't looked through the product catalog to see if it's now there. If I get a chance later, I will and edit this if it's in the catalog.

[johnfrwhipple]

Jim I have a new client in Chicago who tells me they do have Kerdi DS for sale. I was promoting the material on Houzz and they called to check.

You might need to call a larger kerdi supplier as I think in Chicago it is only available at one dealer.

The Canadian TTMAC specification has already changed and the Kerdi DS is good to go for all commercial projects. This perm requirement should be the least you accept and any steam shower should be installed with Kerdi DS over regular Kerdi. NobleSeal TS and DalSeal TS two other options meeting this lower requirement.

I still have a 2/3 roll of Kerdi DS to use up. Here in Canada you need to order the larger roll as Kerdi DS does not come in the smaller ones.

JW

It's coming, soon, primarily to pass the upcoming (January 2014) commercial steam room perm rating requirements (>=0.5perms is required as of next January in the USA for a commercial steam room). It was mentioned, but no, we did not see any. You may be able to get it if you ask. I haven't looked through the product catalog to see if it's now there. If I get a chance later, I will and edit this if it's in the catalog.