Tile is not waterproof. Neither is the grout. Shower water gets through both little by little, and by the time the stain shows up on the hallway wall it has been leaking for months.
That is why a properly built tiled shower has a waterproofing membrane underneath the tiling, on the floor and on the walls. It is never seen, and it is the only thing that really stops the water.
How far do you have to waterproof?
The whole shower tray floor and the walls of the shower area up to showerhead height as a minimum. If the bathroom is small and there is a bathtub or a lot of splashing, it is worth doing the whole bathroom: the material is cheap compared with opening up a wall two years later.
Which membrane to use
- ECODRY50 / DRY50 (0.52 mm) — the standard for bathrooms. Thin and flexible, it barely raises the level.
- ECODRY50 TACK — the self-adhesive version: you peel off the film and lay it, no bucket of adhesive. It needs PRIMER TACK primer.
- DRY40 — the most economical option for a simple renovation.
The steps
- Prepare the substrate. Sound, clean and with residual moisture below 3%.
- Sort out the corners first. The preformed corners and the perimeter tape go on before the large sheets. It is the opposite of what seems logical, but that way everything overlaps in the right order.
- Seal the pipe penetrations. Every pipe that goes through the membrane gets its own sleeve.
- Lay the sheets on floor and wall, overlapping.
- Tile straight on top with tile adhesive.
See it on site
The shortcut: kits with the membrane already welded on
The trickiest point in a shower is the joint between the membrane and the drain. The DRY50 Sumi Flat Luxe and DRY50 Lineal Flat kits come with the membrane heat-welded to the drain at the factory. You fit a single piece and that joint stops being a risk.
Do you need to be a professional?
No, and you do not need any certificate. The only thing we ask is that you do not improvise in the corners: use the preformed pieces. If you have doubts about your particular bathroom, call us and we will go over it with you before you buy.
See everything for bathroom and shower · Call us on 951 207 299
