In our prior video, we showed you how to install Schluter Ditra-Heat mats, which was very quick
and easy.
In this video, we’re going to show you how to install the Ditra-Heat wires and sensors
and start the tiling process all on the same day.
Okay, so once you got the mat down, we have to test the wire before installing it.
Before you even take it off the roll, you want to test it.
Because if there’s a problem, then you want to contact Schluter or the place that you
bought it at immediately before putting it and installing it.
And not only that, but if you want to have the warranty that goes along with this heated
system, you have to write down the numbers of before the installation, which would be
right now, after I put the cables in, and after when I do the tiles.
We set our multi-meter to test for resistance, and we actually have 53.7 Ohms on both stickers
that came with the Ditra-Heat cables.
So we test it, and we got 54.1 Ohms, and that’s within 10%.
So we know that that’s a good measurement, and we wrote that down on our warranty sheet.
We then set our multi-meter to test for continuity and tested between the ground braid and one
of the power braids in the cable.
You can actually test on both power braids.
What you want to see is “I” for infinity.
We then turned our multi-meter back to resistance and tested the resistance of both floor sensors.
You get a floor sensor for the thermostat and one with the power cables.
We then placed our electrical fish stick down into our conduit so we could fish the cables
up to our electrical box.
We taped them all together—so the floor sensors and both heating cables—and then
taped those to the fish stick and fished them up into the electrical box.
We cut a sliver of the Ditra-Heat mat out using a utility knife, and this allows the
cold/hot splice to sit just below the surface of the Ditra-Heat mat do that it won’t interfere
with the tile setting process.
We kept the heating cable a minimum of 3 inches away from our curb and our walls and 7 inches
away from the center line of our toilet flange, and this is per the Schluter directions.
We kept our heating cable within three studs away from our curb.
So we have a Schluter shower in this bathroom.
So as you can see here, we’re maintaining that three-stud pattern as we weave our way
around the bathroom.
we’re also making sure that the cable is at least 7 inches away from the center line
of that toilet flange because you don’t want the heating cables to melt the wax ring
that’s going over top of the toilet flange.
So running the cable’s fairly easy and straightforward as long as you maintain that three-stud pattern.
You can do an alternating three-/two-stud spacing per the Schluter Ditra-Heat directions,
so make sure you just follow the directions to a tee.
And there’s no Ditra-Heat in this location because that’s where the vanity is going
to be placed.
We next installed the Ditra-Heat floor sensors.
These are really important.
One will not be working as an extra up in the electrical box, and the second one will
be connected to the thermostat.
It’s a smaller wire, so you have to jog them around the studs.
And we actually cut a sliver out of one of the studs to put the sensor down into it.
It’s important to put this sensor into the Ditra-Heat per the directions and nowhere
close to a heating source.
The second sensor here—again, this is just an extra sensor in case the first one goes
bad—so it’s always nice to have a backup.
Once the heating cables and sensors were installed, we did our second resistance test on the heating
cables, and we got 54.2 Ohms, and that was within 10% of the reading on the sticker,
so we were good to go.
The next test that we did was our continuity test on the heating cables.
So again, you test between one of the power leads and the ground braid.
And what you want to make sure is that your multi-meter measures “I” for infinity
because you don’t want those two wires to be touching.
The next test or final one that we did was the resistance test of both floor sensors.
And again, they measured within the range that was indicated on the sticker that came
with the Ditra-Heat.
We added all these measurements to our heating cable testing log for our warranty purposes.
Bathrooms obviously have a lot of opportunity for water damage, so we wanted to waterproof
between the Ditra-Heat mat and the Schluter shower curb.
We’re applying Schluter’s ALL-SET.
This is a thinset mortar used to fill in the stud cavities of the Ditra-Heat.
And we directionally troweled over top of the floor and the curb.
Then we used a 6-inch drywall knife to smooth out the KERDI-BAND here so that it wouldn’t
interfere with our tile work on the curb and the Ditra-Heat mat.
You can also use a sponge to smooth over top of the KERDI-BAND, and this helps out quite
a bit.
We wanted the entire bathroom floor to be completely waterproof, so we applied ALL-SET
to all the seams of the Ditra-Heat mat and directionally troweled over top of that then
embedded Schluter’s KERDI-BAND and smoothed it out using our 6-inch drywall knife and
a sponge.
So again, we did this for all of the seams including the seam between the Ditra-Heat
mat and the drywall in this bathroom.
Now, the reason why we did this is because we do have a shower.
And if for some reason there’s a clog in the shower and the water comes up over the
curb, it won’t ruin the drywall hopefully in the process.
So again, you can apply Schluter’s ALL-SET.
In this case, we have white.
We again made sure we did directional troweling so that all the ridges face the same direction.
Then we embedded our KERDI-BAND in that crease between the drywall and the Ditra-Heat mat.
We used a 6-inch drywall knife to smooth out any of the thinset that went onto the drywall,
and that makes sure that you also have a good surface for tiling or for your baseboard.
We smoothed everything out with a sponge as well because you don’t want the thinset
to dry on the wall.
And we did the exact same thing on the opposite side of the shower curb.
We just embedded our KERDI-BAND and smoothed everything out with our knife and our sponge.
Once we were done installing all the cables, we directly went on to tiling the bathroom
floor with 12x24 porcelain tiles.
And that’s really the nice thing about Ditra-Heat mat—you can install it and tile all on the
same day.
Our next video will show you how to install the Schluter Ditra-Heat thermostat.
And if you’re doing a complete bathroom remodel and you want help with that, definitely
check out Bathroom Repair Tutor’s video library.
It’s mobile-friendly, and you can watch videos on your phone while you’re doing
your project.
So whether you’re a home owner or you’re a contractor who wants to learn how to do
bathroom remodels, check out Bathroom Repair Tutor’s video library today.