Bostik and Schluter partner in the EarthCraft/TecHome Showcase House at the 2007 Southern Building Show
By Marty Whitford, contributor
Photos courtesy of Seville Consulting
Green buildings clearly need not compromise. Case in point: the recently constructed “EarthCraft House” in the Morningside neighborhood in Atlanta. In June, this one-of-a-kind green residence served as the TecHome Showcase property of the year at the Southern Building Show/TecHome Builder Expo in Atlanta.
Among dozens of green building characteristics, the 4,300-square-foot, Tudor-style EarthCraft House is
outfitted from below ground up (a basement bathroom is just one of
the home’s five-and-a-half baths) with Schluter®-DITRA uncoupling
membranes, Schluter-KERDI waterproofing membranes, and Schluter shower
systems and metallic profiles.
An infill project replacing an existing pre-war house, the EarthCraft House adheres strictly to the established
principles of green building. Lead builder on the project was Carl Seville of Decatur, Ga.-based Seville Consulting. Seville received the 2005 and 2007 Green Building Advocate of the Year Award, and National Green Building Awards in 2004 and 2006 from the National Association of Home Builders.
Bostik and Schluter: fully compatible
Recognizing unmet marketplace needs, Middleton, Mass.-based Bostik Flooring Group and Schluter Systems L.P. of Plattsburg, New York, partnered several years ago to create a revolutionary new complete setting system for the tile installation industry.
The partners’ collaborative efforts and Bostik’s significant investments in research and development and product testing in late 2005 spawned Bostik’s Hydroment® DITRA-SET™ Thin-Set Mortar – the first Portland cement
thin-set mortar endorsed and warranted for installation of porcelain tile, as well as ceramic and stone, over Schluter-DITRA and Schluter-KERDI membranes.
“A leader in the North American and European tile markets, Schluter tested DITRA-SET with its proprietary
underlayments, particularly in porcelain tile installations, and granted Bostik alone the license to use the Schluter and DITRA trade names,” noted Phil Pitts, Bostik Flooring Group’s ceramic product manager.
“Obviously, a world leader like Schluter must be meticulous about
its selection of strategic partners,
particularly when it’s putting its brands behind – and membranes above – a new product such as DITRA-SET,” Pitts adds. “Schluter’s support of Bostik and our DITRA-SET thin-set reaffirms and strengthens both of our companies’ leadership positions in the flooring market.
“DITRA-SET Thin-Set Mortar is composed of select, proprietary
chemicals, carefully graded aggregates, inorganic adhesion promoters and
purified cements. It provides outstanding workability and durability, and superior bond strengths, in interior and exterior horizontal and vertical tile installations.”
Robert McNamara, Bostik Flooring’s
national sales and marketing
manager added, “Architects, designers, builders and tile installers alike can take
great comfort, knowing our alliance with Schluter has yielded a complete porcelain tile setting system in which they can have 100-percent confidence when using Schluter’s uncoupling
and waterproofing membranes. DITRA-SET eliminates the potential for finger pointing between manufacturers and contractors over the use of
incompatible porcelain tile setting
systems. DITRA-SET is fully compatible, fully warranted, and is backed by two world leaders – Bostik and Schluter.”
Tile it green:
materials contribute to eco-friendly project
- According to lead builder Carl Seville, of Decatur, Ga.-based Seville Consulting, the tile
installation portion of EarthCraft House project alone covered more than 2,100 square feet, including:
The mudroom and rear porch with 500 square feet of porcelain tiles set in an ashlar pattern;
- The kitchen backsplash with 10 square feet small stone tiles;
- The first-floor master
bathroom with 193 square feet of large alabaster stone tiles and small stone accent tiles;
- The first-floor office bathroom with 110 square feet of large ceramic stone tiles;
- The second-floor master
bathroom with 325 square feet of white large ceramic tiles;
- Two more bathrooms with a combined 135 square feet of large stone tiles and small
hexagonal stone tiles;
- The basement with 175 square feet of large alabaster ceramic tiles; and
- The laundry room with 160 square feet of large ceramic floor tiles.
In terms of setting materials, the EarthCraft House tile job used:
- 1,461 square feet of Schluter-DITRA
- 774 square feet of Schluter-KERDI
- 197 lineal feet of KERDI banding material
- 2 6 x 6 -foot Schluter-KERDI-Shower-ST trays/-SC curbs/and -SC ramps
- 3 4-foot-long Schluter-JOLLY profiles/curbs
- 2 nickel-finish Schluter-KERDI DRAINs
- A Schluter-KERDI-SHOWER-KIT
- 2 Schluter-Reno-V profiles measuring 8 lineal feet.
- More than 125 pounds of DITRA-SET and Hydroment grout
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Mission: green!
Seville, with 28 years of design/build experience in residential custom remodeling, has served as a consultant, trainer and speaker on green building best practices, trends, and related obstacles and opportunities.
In fall 2006, Seville and company started deconstructing a dilapidated, 2,000-square-foot home on the site of what eventually would become the EarthCraft/TecHome Showcase House. All existing wood, brick and concrete was recycled or reused.
The mission: To build a five-bedroom, five-and-a-half bath, executive-style green residence that fits in an established
neighborhood without overwhelming adjacent homes. It was conceived from the beginning to conserve natural
resources, save energy, and improve its occupants’ health, while providing all of the
features desired by today’s homeowners. The project was so successful that passers-by thought this new house actually was a renovation of an original home.
Bostik and Schluter:
cornerstones of success
The EarthCraft House used
DITRA-SET, as well as Hydroment Sanded and Unsanded Grout, for all
vertical and horizontal tile installations. Hydroment 425 Multi-Purpose Acrylic Latex Admixture was added to the mix when using DITRA-SET over wood floors in the home.
“Bostik’s DITRA-SET thin-set and Hydroment grout, and Schluter’s DITRA and KERDI membranes, were the four cornerstones of the successful installation of more than 2,100 square feet of tile of various types and sizes in this EarthCraft House,” Seville said. “When one of your primary design/build goals is to help protect the planet, it certainly helps to have global leaders like Bostik Flooring and Schluter Systems on your side.”
Chris Daffer, Southeast territory
manager for Schluter Systems explained to Seville how “by using the Ditra membrane we could prevent cracking in the grout and tile and waterproof areas that would be exposed to
moisture, quickly, with lightweight
materials and with very little waste.” Not only that, but Schluter-DITRA uncoupling membranes, Schluter-KERDI waterproofing membranes, and “our complete shower systems and metal profiles, could help prevent mold and mildew as well as water leakage/loss,” Daffer said. That sold Seville on Schluter’s environmentally friendly flooring installation solutions for the project.
Bostik and Schluter were among 20 corporate sponsors that donated their tile installation solutions for the EarthCraft House, viewed by hundreds of design/build industry professionals bused in from the show, said Jeff Simeone, a Bostik Flooring territory manager who helped coordinate the supply side of the project for Bostik.
“Water won’t rain on
DITRA-SET’s parade”
Bostik’s Hydroment DITRA-SET is the perfect complement to Schluter’s products. It provided a premium
product with high performance across a range of varied requirements, such as a steam shower, exterior porch exposed to freeze-thaw cycles and interior floors installed over concrete and wood
substrates, Daffer said. Using just one mortar simplified the process for the tile contractor and reduced possibilities for mistakes, he said.
“Schluter Systems requires the use of unmodified mortars on top of impervious membranes because they do not need to dry out thoroughly before exposure to water, in fact, water exposure will contribute to the process of hydration which further enhances the strength of the mortar,” Daffer said.
According to the TCA Handbook by the Tile Council of North America, latex-modified thin-sets can take 14 to 60 days to dry properly. This time lag can significantly delay tile installations. Plus, few exterior projects can promise 14 to 60 days of straight sunshine, said Daffer.
“DITRA-SET has no latex, so
therefore it does not require substantial air/dry time before being exposed to water and/or moisture, and does not face increased risk of re-emulsification that many other setting materials might in such installations,” Daffer added. “Put simply: Water won’t rain on DITRA-SET’s parade. In fact, often times, water will even make the novel thin-set stronger.”
Set for success
Residential Construction Specialties (RCS) of Norcross, Ga., tackled the rear porch, mudroom, downstairs and upstairs laundry, and kitchen backsplash tile projects. Jim Cobb, RCS Flooring Specialist, says going green is now a requirement for builders.
“The people and products made this green building project go smoothly from start to finish, and the experience was worth its weight in gold — especially with more and more regulations, consumers and businesses all pushing builders and contractors to go green,” Cobb adds.”
Eagle 1 Tile & Renovations of Buford, Ga., handled the floor, wall and ceiling tile work in the EarthCraft House’s five-and-a-half bathrooms, which included steam showers.
“Believe it or not, before working on the EarthCraft House, I had never worked with Schluter-DITRA, Shluter-KERDI or DITRA-SET,” said Lonnie DeVall, Eagle 1 Tile Owner. “What a great opportunity as to pitch in on green building and see the Schluter and DITRA-SET products do their thing close up.
“We’re definitely going to be using a lot more of these materials in the future,” DeVall concluded. “Schluter’s uncoupling and waterproofing
membranes and DITRA-SET go together like peanut butter and jelly.”
(Ed. Note: for details on the EarthCraft House, see this month’s Keeping It Green on page 28).
