The Waterproofing System

Why every Coastal Tile shower is built on Schluter.

Tile is beautiful. What's behind it is what lasts. We build every shower on the complete Schluter system, the same membrane, substrate, drain, and uncoupling products trusted by luxury builders for more than fifty years. No compromises on waterproofing. No weak links behind the wall.

Schluter tiled shower system
Est. 1966
50+ Years
of waterproof showers
The problem we’re solving

Most tile failures aren’t the tile's fault.

01

Water gets past the tile

Grout is porous. Caulk joints fail. In an old school mud bed shower, water reaches the substrate within a year and starts rotting studs, subfloor, and drywall, often for a decade before a single drop shows up on the ceiling below.

02

Substrates move, tile doesn’t

Florida slabs expand and contract with humidity. Plywood subfloors flex. Tile is rigid. Without something between them to absorb that movement, stress cracks the grout and eventually the tile itself.

03

Mold lives where you can’t see it

Cement board absorbs water. Drywall behind it absorbs more. By the time you notice the musty smell, the wall cavity is already compromised, and the only fix is a full tear out.

The Schluter Shower System

Five components that work as one system.

Each piece is designed to bond to the next. There’s no mixing and matching with other brands' waterproofing, because the whole point is an unbroken seal from the wall studs to the drain.

KERDI Membrane
Sheet applied waterproofing behind every tile

KERDI Membrane

A pliable, bonded waterproofing membrane and vapor retarder. Goes directly over the substrate before tile, the shower walls and pan are sealed against water penetration before a single square foot of tile is laid.

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KERDI BOARD Substrate
Waterproof building panels, the backbone of the shower

KERDI BOARD Substrate

Lightweight, 100% waterproof construction panels that replace traditional cement backer board. Serve as the structural substrate and part of the waterproofing envelope in one product, dramatically cutting shower build time.

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KERDI LINE & KERDI DRAIN
Integrated linear and point drains

KERDI LINE & KERDI DRAIN

Drains engineered to bond directly to the KERDI waterproofing layer, no surface mounted retrofit seals that can fail. The linear KERDI LINE drain enables curbless, zero entry showers with a modern low profile grate in 40+ patterns.

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DITRA Uncoupling
Why your tile will never crack

DITRA Uncoupling

A polyethylene membrane installed between the subfloor and tile. It neutralizes the stress differentials between substrate and tile caused by seasonal movement, subfloor flex, and thermal expansion, the #1 cause of tile cracks in poorly built floors.

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DITRA HEAT Floor Warming
Heated tile floors that won’t crack

DITRA HEAT Floor Warming

Combines DITRA’s uncoupling with integrated heating cables under the tile. Programmable comfort on cold mornings, zero cracking, no increase in floor height. Popular on master bath remodels in Tampa Bay.

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Why it works so well

Three reasons your shower will outlast the rest of your bathroom.

Waterproof by design

The shower is sealed before the tile goes on

Every component, walls, curb, niche, bench, drain, bonds to the same KERDI membrane. There’s no seam, no caulk joint, no drywall paper waiting to fail. Leak ready from day one.

Cracks, delamination, not here

DITRA neutralizes the movement that ruins tile

Your subfloor flexes with the seasons. Your slab expands in summer heat. Without an uncoupling layer, that movement transfers straight into grout lines and cracks your tile. DITRA eats the movement before it reaches the stone.

Built to last

Over 50 years of wet area waterproofing

Schluter pioneered the modern tiled shower in Europe in 1966 and has been the trade standard for high end residential bath work in North America for decades. Every Coastal Tile shower is built on the same system.

Ready?

Every bath we build is Schluter waterproofed from the studs out. Design yours.

Product imagery courtesy of Schluter Systems. Coastal Tile Installation is an independent installer and is not affiliated with Schluter Systems L.P.