Hello all, I don’t post much, but i enjoy reading everybody else’s. Thanks for all the information.
I’ve searched wedi to try to learn more about it, but I thought I would just ask…
Who likes it and why?
Who doesn’t like it and why?
I switched suppliers and they carry the wedi in stock, but not kerdi. So obvoiusly they are trying to sell me on the Wedi product. We have only done a couple of kerdi showers in the past so we are not “set in our ways”.
Thanks again.
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Replies
I've done one shower with the Wedi stuff. I used the pre-made base and curb, and a handful of the 3'X5' panels.
The Wedi product is a rubberized-cementitious coating on all sides of a 1/2" sheet of closed-cell foam. Theoretically, if the top coating gets knicked, the closed-cell foam will still hold water. And even if that fails, the bottom layer of rubberized cement will hold.
The pre-made base is more of that same design (presloped) with a drain that matches.
Like the "styrofoam" preslopes, the Wedi will get depressed (smashed?) if you kneel on it. It's not enough to worry about, unless you're using a small mosaic tile -- and even then, you can even it out with thinset.
All seams, edges, and corners get sealed with a urethane sealant. Sikkiflex is the product that the authorized dealer sold me. There are others that would work as well.
In addition, it is recommended that the seams and corners be reinforced with fiberglass tape. The authorized dealer handed me a roll of drywall mesh (or it certainly looked like it.)
And the panels get nailed up using a special washer. Using the washer helps create a "perfect" dimple, such that the only fracture to the waterproof layer is at the nail itself. You use urethane sealant over the nail&washer.
The advantage that I saw over kerdi is that the panels are rigid -- it's not like trying to wallpaper, its like hanging rock.
The disadvantage is that the panels are ridgid. And if your framing is not dead accurate, the corners will be a problem to match, seal, tape, and re-seal. The flexibility of kerdi can win in that situation.
I just did my shower with Wedi - loved it! Easy to work with, and they didn't bone you on the polyurathane caulk like I expected. The waterproof tape was really pricy though (6" wide, rubber imbedded in the middle), and it was probably overkill for my tub surround.
Tu stultus es
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.