Redgard vs. Schluter: Which Shower Waterproofing is Best?

We’re in the depths of remodeling our primary bathroom and are finally at the stage of rebuilding, but as we started installing the Schluter shower waterproofing system last week, it got me thinking about whether I like this process more or less than the Redgard we’ve used before.

As a DIYer, it can sometimes feel overwhelming choosing the more technical details in a remodel like a shower waterproofing system, and next thing you know you’re two hours deep on YouTube analyzing the way different contractors use the products.

This was our first time using the Schluter shower kit system, but we’ve tiled the shower surrounds in two other bathrooms with Redgard so I have some thoughts on the two.

Let’s dive in.

What is Redgard?

Essentially, both of these products are shower waterproofing membranes to make sure there aren’t any water leaks seeping in behind your shower walls to cause damage.

Redgard comes in a tub and has the consistency of a really thick paint. The process to apply it is to add cement board to the studs on the entire shower surround then tape and thinset the seams and screws. Once that’s dry, you paint the Redgard over the entire area with a couple of coats and when it dries, it becomes a waterproof area.

What is Schluter?

Schluter is a brand name but in this context, I’m specifically talking about their Kerdi waterproofing system. Schluter had a pretty solid stronghold on the shower waterproofing membrane game for a while and it was all I saw everywhere, but now there are some other brands making versions of the same thing.

The Schluter shower waterproofing system has a lot of different elements depending on the specific situation, and you can either add a product called Kerdi-board (a kind of foam panel) directly to the studs, or add the Kerdi membrane (a roll of a fabric-like product) to existing wall material like cement board or drywall. The system has seam tape and corners, the kit we bought came with the drain, and you can also get a pre-sloped shower pan if needed.

Our thoughts on the application

The reason we went with the Schluter shower kit this time over the Redgard we’ve used before is this is the first time we’re tiling an entire shower, floor and all. The last two times have been bathtub surrounds, and I wanted to use Schluter’s pre-sloped shower pan this time to avoid figuring out how to level and then slope a shower floor.

The Redgard process is really straightforward in that you just cement board and then paint on the Redgard, whereas the Schluter system was a little more complex, so points to Redgard for that element.

You need to use a specialized unmodified thinset with Schluter and even though I followed the directions on the bag, it didn’t end up being thin enough so by the time I finished adding the thinset to the bottom of the cement board wall, it was drying at the top and I was stressed out.

The guys on YouTube said to peel back the membrane every now and then to check for coverage and my thicc old thinset was not doing the job, so I ended up scraping it off and mixing another batch of thinner thinset  before continuing.

The kit comes with the banding for the edges, seals for the water valves and a drain which was really nice. Figuring out how to do a drain by myself would’ve been 10/10 intimidating, so I liked how easy to follow the Schluter process was.

The cost of shower waterproofing

Schluter is definitely the more expensive product. The shower kit we bought cost about $500 and it didn’t have all the things we needed – it had an extra curb but we needed more of the corners, another two rolls of the Kerdi banding tape for the seams, one more valve seal, and about four bags of thinset so in total we ended up spending about another $150 on the extras.

Redgard on the other hand is about $75 for a big tub that should be more than enough for one shower surround (we used one tub on two different showers). The cement board is about $10 for a 3×5 sheet, but for us, we had to spend that with the Schluter system too because we were building back up from the studs.

So which is better?

In a very diplomatic answer, I suppose it depends. For a beginner who’s done a few projects like patching drywall or replacing a light fixture and only needs to re-tile a tub surround, I’d probably start with Redgard because it’s so much more straightforward (and affordable).

But if you’re going to be rebuilding a whole down-to-the-studs shower or are more comfortable with remodeling, Schluter having a whole system and line of products is probably going to give a more consistent (and cleaner) result.

Looking back, I wish I had’ve just bought the Kerdi board for the shower surround rather than adding cement board and the membrane because that would’ve eliminated thinsetting all of the walls, but ya live and ya learn I guess.

I liked that Schluter’s system came with the drain and all the valve seals for extra peace of mind, and when it’s all waterproofed it’s a much smoother starting point for tile than the Redgard look. Though next time I’ll probably just buy the Schluter products a la carte rather than in the kit because we ended up needing extra of some parts but didn’t have enough of the others.

Either way, I’m so excited that we’re almost at the tiling phase of our bathroom remodel, and I can’t wait to put this waterproofed shower to the test (because we’ve been sharing a bathroom with two toddlers for a few weeks now and I’m sick of kicking toys to the side to shower in peace).

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