Kerdi & Laticrete Membranes - Do they play nice together?

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D C

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I'm building a new house and have 3 bathrooms to finish.
I have some leftover Kerdi pieces from a remodel in my last house (corners, opening seals, a niche I didn't use). In my shopping I've found that the Laticrete membrane is lower priced than the Kerdi and seems to be equally as good.

Is there any reason I can't mix and match the two products? i.e.use a kerdi corner with the hydro ban membrane? I'm sure the companies will say no, but considering that the're bonded to the thinset, and just form a layered membrane for water to sheet off of, I'm struggling to find a reason why not.

Dave
 

Jadnashua

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Probably will, but why risk it? FWIW, there are people that like the Hydroban sheet (from Laticrete) and some that like Kerdi (from Schluter). Kerdi has been around for over 25-years, their patent protection expired, and Laticrete came out with Hydroban maybe about 3-years ago. Not identical, but quite similar.
 

Will Rogers Plumbing

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I'd use Hydro Ban. Can fill small cracks on change of planes. Use a fiberglass mesh and thinnest in corners and change of planes for insurance. Then just apply the Hydro Ban liquid membrane as manufacture recommends. The extra cost of liquid membrane is offset by ease of installation. Use a Hydro ban drain or Kerdi Drain.
 

D C

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Probably will, but why risk it? FWIW, there are people that like the Hydroban sheet (from Laticrete) and some that like Kerdi (from Schluter). Kerdi has been around for over 25-years, their patent protection expired, and Laticrete came out with Hydroban maybe about 3-years ago. Not identical, but quite similar.

It's an engineer thing. I have stuff that I don't want to go to waste, but see an opportunity to use a different product that's essentially similar for less $$. There's no chance that either manufacturer is going to say that there's compatibility between products, of course. It seems pretty low-risk, but I'm not sure if there are inherent issues somewhere.
 

Dj2

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I've built new homes in my life, you must look at the whole picture and you have to ask yourself: Do I really want to save a few dollars dealing with waterproofing a shower floor and run the risk of a leak later on?

I don't know your entire construction budget, but this comes to mind: Don't be Penny wise and Dollar foolish.

Use only new materials for your shower floors. You can donate the leftovers to charity.
 

Jadnashua

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Someone told me that Laticrete will honor their warranty if you use a Kerdi drain with their membrane...the simplest thing to do is to call them.

While liquid applied membranes can work, they aren't as simple as they may seem. It's not as easy as some make out to get each layer within the min/max (and it DOES matter) without pinholes or runs or thin spots. Then, there's the extra day or so you need before you can flood test verses a sheet membrane. More important for a pro than maybe a weekend warrior. Then again, not all 'pros' follow the codes and best practices, and flood test their shower pans. With a liquid applied membrane, you need to use the tape on the seams, and thinset them, again, then wait for that to cure before you can paint on the membrane...yet another delay. ANd, if not done properly, speed bumps that inhibit setting your tile the way you want. Trying to embed the waterproofing's mesh in the corners can be messy. It all can be done, but IMHO, a sheet membrane works better...it's always thick enough, and you then only need to really worry about making your seams properly. It doesn't 'run' either!
 

Will Rogers Plumbing

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I've got a ton of Liquid membrane and Kerdi membrane shower under my belt. Hydro ban is a different animal than other liquid membrane. Can be flood test in 2 hours, requires no fabric(I use fabric at change of planes always even though not required and around where kerdi or hydro ban drain meet deck mud). Hydro ban is crazy expensive, but worth every penny IMO for a shower pan, it can't be beat for function and custom-ably.
 

Leew1234

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I'm building a new house and have 3 bathrooms to finish.
I have some leftover Kerdi pieces from a remodel in my last house (corners, opening seals, a niche I didn't use). In my shopping I've found that the Laticrete membrane is lower priced than the Kerdi and seems to be equally as good.

Is there any reason I can't mix and match the two products? i.e.use a kerdi corner with the hydro ban membrane? I'm sure the companies will say no, but considering that the're bonded to the thinset, and just form a layered membrane for water to sheet off of, I'm struggling to find a reason why not.

Dave
I had a similar question about using hydro ban in lieu of kerdi band and thin set. For srams it makes sense to use the kerdi band. However for water proofing the cap and mounting screws..i used hydro ban. Here's why.

You could use kerdi bond..ie the sealant. I looked up each products safety data sheet which lists the ingredients, a main ingredient for both is trimethoxyvinylsilane. So seems to me they can be substituted ...and brushing hydro ban works on kerdi should work.
 
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