At Kitchen, Bath & Home, we believe that ongoing education is a part of delivering better remodels. So, when Schluter Systems invited us to attend their Innovation Workshop, we jumped at the opportunity. If you’ve spent any time around tile work or home remodeling, you know there’s one particular shade of orange that represents the Schluter Systems company. For years, I thought of Schluter as being “the trim company” –the people who make those clean metal profiles that finish off tile edges and transitions. After attending their two-day workshop, I realized I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Schluter isn’t just a company that makes tile trims. It’s exactly what the name says: “a system”. Every product, from the waterproof membrane and shower pan to the drain, thin-set mortar, and profiles, is engineered to work together. When you install the entire system as intended, you end up with what I believe is one of the most well-engineered waterproofing systems I’ve worked with. Seeing everything come together completely changed the way I think about building showers.

Day One: Getting Our Hands Dirty

This wasn’t one of those workshops where you sit in a classroom for eight hours straight looking at PowerPoint slides. We spent almost the entire time building.

Stick with me while I walk you through this one paragraph recap of Day 1. Here goes…After a brief introduction, we broke into small groups and built a complete shower from the ground up using the Schluter System products. We installed the Kerdi waterproofing membrane using Schluter’s all-set thin-set mortar, installed one of their pre-sloped foam shower pans, built a shower bench out of Kerdi-Board, and finished everything off with one of their prefabricated shower curbs.

Actually getting our hands on the products made a huge difference. Reading installation instructions is one thing, but installing the entire system yourself gives you a completely different appreciation for how well everything works together. One product that really stood out to me was the Kerdi-Board.

If you’ve ever carried sheets of Hardie Backer or cement board around a jobsite, you know how heavy and awkward they can be to handle. Kerdi-Board is incredibly lightweight, making it much easier to carry, cut, and install. What impressed me even more was how versatile it is. Instead of installing cement board and then waterproofing it, Kerdi-Board, acts as both your substrate and waterproofing solution. When installed correctly, it will protect the wall assembly from moisture intrusion that contributes to mold and mildew. Building a shower bench was also much easier. Rather than stacking bricks or framing a bench with lumber and then waterproofing it, you simply build the bench out of Kerdi-Board. That means fewer materials, faster installation, and a lot less wear and tear on your body.

Day Two: Curbless Showers Made Simple

The second day focused on something I’ve always thought was one of the more difficult parts of bathroom projects – designing and building a curbless shower. Traditionally, I viewed a zero-threshold shower as a task that required careful planning, modifying the subfloor, making sure your slopes are perfect, and hoping everything drains the way it’s supposed to.

Schluter simplifies that process by offering integrated drain systems and pre-sloped shower pans. Because the foam pans are lightweight and easy to trim, they can be customized to fit rooms that aren’t perfectly square without sacrificing proper drainage. After building one myself, I realized that with proper planning and the right products, curbless showers are much more straightforward than I assumed.

Besides creating a clean, modern appearance, curbless showers are an excellent option for homeowners who want to age in place. Eliminating the curb makes entering and exiting the shower much safer and improves accessibility while also giving the bathroom a high-end aesthetic.

Don’t Build a “Frankenstein Shower”

One phrase my instructors kept repeating throughout the workshop was, “Don’t build a Frankenstein shower.”

In the tile industry, a Frankenstein shower is exactly what it sounds like: a shower built by piecing together products from several different manufacturers. Maybe it’s a Schluter shower pan with another company’s waterproofing membrane and a third-party drain. While that might seem like a way to save a little money, it creates unnecessary risk. Those products were never designed or tested to work together, and mixing manufacturers may void product or labor warranties.

After spending two days learning how thoroughly Schluter engineers and tests its complete system, this made perfect sense to me. Every component has been designed to complement the others, and when you use the entire system together, homeowners receive a lifetime warranty on their shower space. If you’re investing in a premium waterproofing system, it only makes sense to use the complete Schluter System.

The Biggest Lesson I Learned

As impressive as the products were, my biggest takeaway wasn’t a membrane, shower pan, or drain. It was Schluter System’s commitment to educating the professionals responsible for installing their systems correctly.

The company invests an incredible amount of time and money into training installers, dealers, designers, and contractors. These workshops aren’t cheap to put on, yet they continue to offer them because they understand something very important: the best products in the world are only as good as the people installing them.

By teaching contractors how to install the system correctly and certifying its installers, Schluter helps ensure their products perform the way they were designed.  That means fewer failures, fewer warranty claims, happier homeowners, and installers who have confidence in the products they’re using. That’s not an expense; it’s one of the smartest investments a manufacturer can make.

What does this mean for our homeowners?

At the end of the day, attending workshops like this isn’t just about earning another certification; it’s about gaining the education and expertise to provide a better experience for our clients.

Being Schluter trained means we know how to properly manage the installation of a complete waterproofing system the way it was designed. That gives our clients added confidence that their shower is built using proven methods and backed by one of the strongest warranties in the industry.

I also plan to use what I learned to run our job sites more efficiently. By using Schluter’s complete system and following their best practices, we can avoid unnecessary variables, keep projects moving smoothly, and deliver a high-quality shower that’s built to last.

For our clients, that means greater peace of mind, lasting performance, and confidence that their investment was built to perform for years to come.