We get this question a lot, and that is: How do you plan a Ditra-Heat installation, specifically,
how do you choose how much mat to get and how much cable to use for your bathroom project?
So in our latest project, we heated the curbless shower pan area, and we also heated the main
bathroom floor area.
So we needed two different cable systems, a whole bunch of mat, and a thermostat, and
we’re going to punch in our numbers into Schluter’s new Ditra-Heat Estimator and
show you how we did the planning for that project.
And also at the end of this video, I’ve got a hot tip for you as to why you may not
want to buy Schluter products on Amazon.com.
The first thing that you need to do is just visit Schluter.com, and there’s the Ditra0Heat
Estimator right there on the main homepage.
Or you can find it under the products and Ditra-Heat section of the website.
The first thing you need to do is choose what project you’re working on.
So for example, we’re working on a bathroom.
So we chose the bathroom project.
Secondly, you need to choose your bathroom configuration.
For example, we chose a tiled shower base with no bench.
Thirdly, you need to choose whether or not the shower area is going to be heated.
So in this particular example, we chose “yes” because we’re going to be heating our curbless
shower area.
Fourth thing that you need to do is choose the type of drain you’re going to be using.
So again, we’re using the KERDI-LINE channel drain.
It’s a linear drain.
You can also choose the Schluter standard drain called the KERDI-DRAIN.
That’s the square drain in the shower pan area.
Fifth step is to choose the type of tile you’re going to be putting down over top of the Ditra-Heat.
So you can choose either porcelain, ceramic, natural stone, or marble.
And so we’re going to be installing porcelain both over top of the shower pan and the bathroom
floor just to simplify things.
The next step is to choose the type of subfloor that’s in your bathroom.
In this case we’ve got a wood subfloor, so we chose the “wood/plywood subfloor”
option.
Step seven is to select the membrane and wiring method.
You can go with 3 stud spacing, 3-2-3 spacing, Ditra-Heat, or Ditar-Heat Duo.
We chose the 3 stud spacing and just standard Ditra-Heat.
Step eight is probably the trickiest, and that is to choose the right voltage for your
project.
Now if you don’t know how to do this step, consult an electrician or a contractor.
In this case, we chose 120 V and that is because our total square footage is less than 140
ft2.
So if you’re in a specific situation like this where your square footage is less than
140 ft, then you may want to go with 120 V.
If it’s greater than 140 ft2, then you may want to go with 240 V.
This is something that you really need to get right, so make sure you consult an electrician
if you’re not sure.
Step nine is probably the easiest, and that is to choose a thermostat.
Schluter actually has three different types of thermostats right now.
You can actually get a Wi-Fi thermostat, which is really nice if you’re that kind of a
techy person and you want to control the heat via your phone.
If you don’t want to have that expenditure, you can just get the normal non-programmable
thermostat, which is what we chose.
Once you get through all those steps, which doesn’t take very long—literally it only
takes like two to three minutes maximum—you’re going to come to the Ditra-Heat Estimator,
and you need a few numbers for the Estimator to make this work right.
The first thing you need to do in the Estimator is determine the total square footage that’s
going to be tiled in the bathroom.
That was roughly 60 ft2.
The second thing you need to do is determine the total area that’s going to be heated,
excluding the shower pan/bench.
And in this example, that total area is roughly 32 ft2.
Third thing you need to do is figure out the total area of shower floor that’s going
to be heated.
And we determined roughly 14 ft2.
The fourth thing you need to do is determine the distance from the shower to the thermostat.
And in this case, we estimated that to be 5 ft.
Now, here’s some really important things to consider when planning your Ditra-Heat
installation.
Number one, you need to exclude Ditra-Heat cable from being underneath a vanity or too
close to your shower drain, or too close to the toilet.
I’m going to give you really specific numbers here.
If you’re going to be using a linear drain, you need to leave 4 inches between the cable
and the drain pipe, and one inch between the cable and the collector edges.
You also need to factor in spacing between the cable and the toilet drain, and that needs
to be seven inches from the center of the drain to a cable.
That’s really important because you don’t want the Ditra-Heat to melt the wax ring underneath
your toilet bowl.
That would be really bad.
Finally, you need to factor in spacing any type of furniture, toe kick underneath the
vanity, and the walls.
And a cable has to be a minimum of two inches away from those items.
By the way, if you like the tips in this video, give us a thumbs up.
That way somebody else can find the video if they’re doing a similar project, and
hopefully the tips will help them too.
Now, Schluter does recommend that the heated area be equal to or less than the total tile
area.
So for example, if your total tile area is going to be 60 ft2, if you’re going to be
heating the entire area, that means that that entire area cannot have a toilet or a vanity
or some type of furniture.
So you have to exclude how much heated area there is that doesn’t need the cable, like
underneath your vanity and, like I said, next to a toilet or any furniture or drain that’s
in the bathroom.
By and large, the most important thing that you need to do is underestimate how much you’re
going to need for the heated shower area and the main bathroom floor area because you cannot
cut Ditra-Heat cables, and that’s what’s really important to understand.
Once you get through the Ditra-Heat Estimator, it’s going to show you all the different
products that you need for your project.
So for example, we needed the Ditra-Heat membrane; we needed eight sheets.
We needed two Ditra-Heat cables—remember: one for the shower area, the curbless shower
pan, and one for the main bathroom floor area.
And then finally, we opted for the non-programmable thermostat, which is a little more cost-effective
than the Wi-Fi thermostat.
But again, if you want to control the Ditra-Heat from your phone and the Schluter app, check
out the Wi-Fi thermostat.
It’s pretty cool.
The other thing that you might be surprised about is that Schluter, you can actually buy
the products from them on their website, and they’ll ship it to you.
That brings me to what I wanted to talk to you about, and that is if you buy any Schluter
product on Amazon.com, you do not have a warranty.
Where did we find this out?
Well, our Schluter rep told us that.
Now, you might be leery like, “Hey, is this all B.S.?”
I don’t know, but you have to believe the rep.
And if you buy something like Ditra or Schluter shower kit from Amazon, and then something
bad happens to it and you don’t have a warranty, if you’re the installer, now you’ve got
to deal with that.
If you’re the homeowner, you’ve got to deal with that.
It’s just something to consider, so you may want to buy all of your Schluter products
from a local distributor or from Schluter online.
So it’s just something for you to think about.
Now, in our next video we’re going to give you some tips on how to run the actual Ditra-Heat
cables outside of the shower pan area.
And after that video, we’re going to show you how to run the Ditra-Heat cables for the
curbless shower pan area.
We wanted to make two separate videos because this was actually a little bit of a tricky
project to show you, and we wanted to go over that in detail so that you have all the specifics.
So make sure you watch those videos, and we’ll put a link to them at the end of this one
when they’re available.
Thanks for watching our tutorial, and we hope you have a great day.
Take care!