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Schluter Home Additions & ADU: The San Antonio Owner’s Guide
If you’re planning a home addition or ADU in San Antonio with Schluter waterproofing and uncoupling systems, full installed projects run $45,000 – $130,000 for additions and $90,000 – $220,000 for a complete ADU. That’s the honest range we quote from, and it covers Schluter DITRA underlayment, KERDI membrane, KERDI-BOARD, and the Schluter trim profiles that hold the whole waterproofing system together. Most owners reach out to us after a failed part throws a wrinkle into an otherwise moving project: a cracked shower pan that leaked before tile went down, a shower curb that wasn’t flashed correctly, or a DITRA seam that lifted and now the tile is sitting on a membrane that isn’t doing its job. We stock common Schluter replacement parts in San Antonio and can usually get the uncommon ones in fast.
Here’s the straight version of what you’ll find below: which Schluter parts actually matter for additions and ADUs, what fails first and why, what it costs to fix or build it right the first time in San Antonio, and when you’re better off calling us than trying to wrestle a membrane yourself. Sawyer Remodel San Antonio is an independent contractor, not a Schluter dealer or affiliate. We install their systems because they work, and we fix them when a prior install didn’t hold.
Which Schluter Models This Applies To
Schluter doesn’t make “home addition” parts as a kit. What they make is a system: DITRA and DITRA-HEAT uncoupling membranes, KERDI waterproofing membrane, KERDI-BOARD building panels, and the metal edge profiles (SCHIENE, RONDEC, QUADEC, DECO) that finish and waterproof tile edges. A San Antonio addition or ADU with a new bathroom, wet bar, or kitchen floor is pulling from this roster. The part that usually needs attention depends on where the failure happened.
For showers and wet areas: KERDI membrane at seams and corners, KERDI-KERECK corner pieces, KERDI-DRAIN or the newer KERDI-LINE linear drains, and KERDI-BOARD panels. For floors: DITRA or DITRA-HEAT mats, plus the KERDI-BAND used to seal seams at transitions. When you call us about a “failed Schluter part,” we ask two questions: what tile surface is failing, and whether you know the original install date. That tells us whether you’re looking at an old-style KERDI (pre-2010, orange membrane with visibly different fleece) or the current generation. The old stuff had a thinner fleece lamination, and in humid San Antonio summers, we’ve seen it delaminate at seams where a diyer skipped the required 2-inch overlap. Newer KERDI-200 still requires the same overlap, but the fleece bonds more aggressively to thinset.
The OEM-vs-aftermarket decision for Schluter parts is easy: use OEM. Schluter’s warranty only applies when the entire system is Schluter, including corners, band, and drain assemblies. Aftermarket “equivalent” membranes exist, but mixing brands voids the Schluter warranty and eliminates the reason you paid for this system in the first place. We stock OEM Schluter DITRA, KERDI-BAND, KERDI-KERECK, and common SCHIENE and RONDEC profiles on the truck for most San Antonio service calls.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Schluter Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Tile is cracking in a straight line along the floor: That line usually follows a DITRA seam. If the seam wasn’t sealed with KERDI-BAND or wasn’t pressed fully into thinset, the decoupling membrane isn’t decoupling anymore. The tile is now riding a rigid seam instead of floating over the subfloor.
- Grout keeps cracking in the same spot in a shower corner: Movement at the wall-to-floor junction means the KERDI corner piece either wasn’t installed or was installed without proper embedment. Water is working behind the tile, and the visible crack is only the first symptom.
- Musty smell near a bathroom in your addition or ADU, but no visible leak: Water is trapped behind the KERDI or KERDI-BOARD, sitting against the studs. In San Antonio’s humidity, that trapped moisture breeds mildew quickly. By the time you smell it, you’re likely replacing substrate, not just membrane.
- Shower drain flange is loose or the grate sits proud of the tile: The KERDI-DRAIN body wasn’t bedded in mortar properly, or the fleece wasn’t bonded at the drain. This is a common failure point in ADUs built by generalists who didn’t read the Schluter install spec.
- Edge profile is pulling away from the tile at the floor transition: SCHIENE or other profiles are installed while thinset is still workable. If the thinset skinned over before the profile was set, the anchoring leg has nothing gripping it. The profile pops loose, and then water gets a direct channel under the tile edge.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
If you’re replacing a failed Schluter part inside an existing San Antonio addition, expect to pay $450 – $1,800 for most isolated repairs depending on scope: a re-sealed DITRA seam runs on the low end, a full shower pan tear-out with new KERDI runs toward the high end. If we’re building the addition or ADU from the start, you’re in the $45,000 – $130,000 range for an addition and $90,000 – $220,000 for a full ADU, and Schluter material cost is a small line item inside that number. What drives the price: whether we’re pulling tile to expose the failed membrane, whether the substrate (plywood or drywall) is water-damaged and needs replacement, and how much of the Schluter system has to come out to do the repair correctly.
Every repair or new install includes the written price before work starts, the parts, the labor, and our 365-Day Done Right Promise on the workmanship. That means if the Schluter repair we did fails within a year, we’re back out to make it right. We write it down, on every job. Luca Romano does a final walkthrough on every Schluter-related installation personally. The craft comes first. Everything else follows.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely check the visible things: popping a loose edge profile back with thinset is cosmetic patchwork, not a repair, and won’t hold. Confirming whether grout lines are cracked is diagnosis, not a fix. That’s where DIY should end for Schluter work. The problem with any membrane repair is that the failure you can see is usually not the only failure. If one KERDI corner failed, the person who installed it probably made the same mistake on every corner. Finding out means pulling tile, which is loud, dusty, and slow work.
And here’s the thing no video tutorial tells you: if you open a shower or wet wall yourself and put it back together wrong, you’ve now created a new leak and likely voided any warranty path. A botched membrane repair behind a tile wall can run five figures to fix by the time mold and framing damage show up. We’re not saying this to scare you off. We’re saying it because we’ve fixed enough DIY membrane failures across San Antonio to know exactly how it goes. If you suspect a Schluter part has failed in your addition or ADU, call us at (432) 547-6806 and we’ll come look. The estimate is free, and you’ll know exactly what’s wrong before any tile comes off the wall.
FAQs
A properly installed Schluter system should outlast the tile on top of it, typically 30+ years. The failure we see in San Antonio is almost never material breakdown; it’s install error at seams and corners, usually showing up within the first 3 to 5 years. If your membrane failed early, it was a lamination or thinset embedment mistake, not a product defect. Call (432) 547-6806 and we’ll confirm what happened.
Sometimes, if the failure is at an exposed seam or edge and the surrounding tile is still bonded, we can open that targeted section, replace the KERDI or KERDI-BAND, and patch it in. If the tile has already cracked or the substrate is water-damaged, a patch won’t hold and you’re replacing that section of tile and membrane. We’ll tell you which one you have before any work starts, and the written price won’t change at the invoice.
Most isolated repairs take one to two days, depending on whether we need to open a wall and how much tile comes out. A full shower pan rebuild is more like two to three days, plus cure time for thinset before you tile. For a complete addition or ADU build, plan on 4 to 12 months. For an exact timeline on your project, call (432) 547-6806 and we’ll give it to you in writing.
We stock DITRA, DITRA-HEAT, KERDI membrane, KERDI-BAND, KERDI-KERECK corners, and common SCHIENE and RONDEC trim profiles on the truck for San Antonio service calls. If you need a less common profile finish or a KERDI-LINE drain in a specific length, we can usually have it in 2 – 3 business days. Call (432) 547-6806 and we’ll confirm what’s on hand before we schedule.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner, Sawyer Remodel San Antonio at Sawyer Remodel San Antonio, serving San Antonio and nearby areas.
