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Schluter Bathroom Remodeling: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
A Schluter bathroom remodel in Fort Lauderdale typically costs $9,000 to $28,000 installed, depending on shower size, tile choices, and whether we’re pulling the old pan or working with an existing Schluter-KERDI tray. We stock full Schluter systems and components locally, and we can usually start a Schluter shower rebuild within a week of your free estimate. Most homeowners call us after discovering water where it shouldn’t be: grout that stays dark after it dries, a musty smell behind the vanity, or tile that flexes underfoot near the drain. The culprit is almost always a failed waterproofing layer, not the tile itself. In a humid coastal climate like Fort Lauderdale’s, that failure turns into mold and framing rot faster than you’d think.
Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale is an independent remodeling contractor. We install and repair Schluter waterproofing systems but we’re not affiliated with Schluter Systems. Trevor Nash, our owner, has been working with Schluter products since the KERDI membrane was a niche product most South Florida tile crews had never touched.
Which Schluter Models This Applies To
Schluter makes several waterproofing lines, and the right repair depends on which one is behind your tile. The KERDI membrane is the sheet-applied polyethylene waterproofing fabric most Fort Lauderdale bathrooms built in the last 15 years use. KERDI-BOARD is the rigid foam backer panel, often paired with KERDI membrane at the seams. DITRA is the uncoupling mat for floors, and DITRA-HEAT adds electric warming. The KERDI-SHOWER-KIT, with its pre-sloped foam tray and KERDI-DRAIN, is what most homeowners mean when they say “Schluter shower.” Older kits use a stainless steel drain grate; newer ones offer the adjustable KERDI-DRAIN with a square or linear grate cover.
Identifying your system matters before any replacement happens. If you still have the original box or receipt, the model number is printed on it. If not, we identify the waterproofing during a site visit by checking the exposed edges at the shower curb or behind the escutcheon plate. Here’s the compatibility gotcha we see constantly in Fort Lauderdale: KERDI membrane must be installed with unmodified thin-set mortar to bond properly. Some contractors use modified thin-set because it’s stickier out of the bucket, and six months later the membrane peels off the wall like a Post-it note. We use Schluter’s specified unmodified mortar, period. That one spec decision is the difference between a shower that lasts 25 years and one that fails after two.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Schluter Bathroom Remodeling Is Failing
- Grout stays dark after the shower dries. That dark channel isn’t staining; it’s moisture trapped behind the tile because the waterproofing layer has a gap or a pinhole in a seam. If the darkening spreads over weeks, the framing behind it is already wet.
- A musty smell near the shower or tub that doesn’t clear. That odor is microbial growth in the wall cavity. In Fort Lauderdale’s humidity, it starts within weeks of a waterproofing breach and gets worse with every shower.
- Loose or flexing floor tile near the drain. The foam tray under a KERDI shower can compress or shift if the subfloor was not level before the tray went in. A tile that moves when you step on it means the assembly below has a void.
- Cracked grout or hairline cracks in corners and curb lines. Schluter systems are built for slight movement, but if the membrane wasn’t lapped at the correct 2-inch minimum at the curb, water gets through at change-of-plane joints. Corners are the first place we find failures.
- Water stains on the ceiling below a second-floor bathroom. By the time a leak telegraphs through drywall, the waterproofing has been failing for a while. This is the one that usually turns a $3,500 repair into a $18,000 remodel, because the framing and subfloor need to be dried out or sistered.
See the difference
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After
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Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
A full Schluter bathroom remodel in Fort Lauderdale runs $9,000 to $28,000. The spread comes down to three things: shower footprint (a 3×5 alcove shower costs less than a 5×6 walk-in with a bench), tile material (porcelain is $4-$8 per square foot installed, natural stone doubles that), and what we discover when the old tile comes off. If the framing is solid and the subfloor is level, you’re on the low end. If we’re replacing rotted studs and sistering joists, the price climbs. You’ll know before we start, not after.
Every Schluter job includes the written price before any work starts: the membrane or board, the thin-set, the drain assembly, the tile, the grout, the labor, and the haul-off. The number we hand you on day one is the number on the invoice. We don’t play the “oh, that’s additional work” game when the wall is already open. If the installed system fails inside 365 days for any reason, our Done Right Promise means we come back and fix it at no charge. That’s in writing, every time.
DIY or Call Us?
Some things are safe to check yourself. Read your water meter before and after a two-hour window with no water running: if it moves, you have a leak somewhere. Check the caulk line at the shower curb. None of that replaces a proper diagnosis when the waterproofing behind the tile is compromised. The honest truth is this: waterproofing is one of the few parts of a bathroom remodel where a small mistake gets sealed inside a wall and runs quietly for a year before the damage shows. If your tile moves, if the grout won’t dry, or if the ceiling below is stained, call us. We’ll diagnose it, hand you a written price, and if it’s not an emergency, you can go have lunch and think about it.
Tell me what you need, I’ll tell you what it costs, then we’ll get it done. That’s how every Schluter job starts at Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale.
FAQs
Installed correctly with unmodified thin-set and proper seam laps, a Schluter KERDI shower assembly lasts 25 to 30 years in Fort Lauderdale’s climate. The waterproofing membrane doesn’t degrade; failures come from installation errors, not material age. We also install Cambria, Silestone, and KraftMaid products in bathrooms, but the waterproofing layer underneath is what determines how long it all holds together. If your shower is more than a decade old and shows no signs of failure, the system was done right. Call (754) 551-2922 if you want us to inspect it before you start a cosmetic update.
It depends where the failure is. A membrane lap at a corner or curb can sometimes be repaired with a KERDI patch and proper unmodified thin-set bond. A failed seam behind five feet of tile cannot be patched reliably; the tile in that plane has to come off to do the repair correctly. We won’t sell you a patch that will fail again in a year. Call (754) 551-2922 and we’ll tell you straight what’s fixable.
A typical 3×5 Schluter shower rebuild in Fort Lauderdale takes five to seven working days from demo to final grout, including 24-hour cure windows for the thin-set and grout. Larger walk-in showers with benches and custom niches run seven to ten days. You’ll get a defined arrival window before we start and a job-site clean-up every day. Call (754) 551-2922 for a written timeline on your specific bathroom.
Yes. Our Fort Lauderdale crews carry KERDI membrane rolls, inside and outside corner pieces, KERDI-BAND, KERDI-DRAIN assemblies, and unmodified thin-set standard on every Schluter job. Backordered specialty items are ordered the day you sign. We can typically begin a Schluter repair within a week of your free estimate. Call (754) 551-2922 to set up a walkthrough.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale at Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
