Have a comment ? Email me;Hugh Scott's Blog Response's.

By Hugh Scott Owner of Indiana Floors LLC.com

Greetings. If you are on this page you are trying to understand why a company that was the leading internet supplier of Schluter System has removed the line.

As you all know we sold Schluter for many years. We single handed brought the price of Ditra and Kerdi down to a level that "everybody" Could afford it.
Before we came to the scene you all were paying an outragous price for Schluters products, this was kept in check by Schluter with agreement called MAP(Manufacture Advised Price).
This in nothing more than a legal shield to keep the term "Price Fixing" from coming into play.That is because price fixing is illegal.
We have fought Schluter for every inch of ground we gained, they insisted we keep the price high and we said NO!
Before us, Ditra and Kerdi was only available in full rolls, we brought Sq Foot Pricing to the market. The shower kits and over 100% Markups
Many retailers complained to Schluter, many Tile Suppliers like Dal Tile complained on us, We withstood the storm for 3 years.

We remove Dal Tile from our list of suppliers last year after the local manager committed a Antitrust/Breach of Contract violation against Indiana Floors LLC on a large Motel project.
I had bid a Comfort Suites in Jeffersonville Indiana through Dal Tile. The local manager Rick Just went behind my back after the bid was in and sold the tile directly to the motel for less than what he had quoted me.
Attention: Installers/Retailers Be-aware Dal Tile does this all the time! We are not the first and we will not be the last!

We are removing Schluter because they have chosen to give Dal Tile Full distributor rights and remove it from all the little guys that made thier name coinside with Ceramic Tile
We also have heard of three major failures, two in our area and one in Ohio.
Schluter contested them both one was because Schluter's Systems rep Eric Williamson offered the wrong advice that led to the floor failure.
The other two Schluter claims were installer error yet no error was found. It seems there is never error with Schluter..... hmmmm..... there was never error with Madoff until he....made off....
Dal Tile was purchase from Armstrong by Mohawk Industries, Schluter has contracted with Dal- Tile to push all the smaller suppliers out of the market.....so when you buy Mohawk products you are supporting conglomerate of suppliers pushing a monoply.
How nice of them to do this right before the holidays.
I wonder how many homes will have less of a Christmas because Mom or Dads job was cut due to Schluters Greed?
Do they care..... not one lick. so that means Mohawk does not care either.
I have found emails from Mohawks top lawyers that state they are fully aware of what Schluter is doing and they support them 100%!
You will never see Mohawks products on this website as long as they support Schluter.
Prior to this I spoke at length with Schluters Lawyer, CJ Madonna. He made it clear that Schluter does not support the installer or the homeowner as they claim. He certainly does not support me, and I support you getting the best price available!

He can be reached here cmadonna@schluter.com for comment. Or you can call Schluter Systems here to lodge your complaint. Tel.: 1-800-472-4588
They are only concerned with getting top dollar for thier products.We cannot be a party to this.
Schluter imposed a price increase in a market that is over taxed and in recovery from offeneses imposed on them by companies with Schluters agenda; to milk a bleeding cow.
I think it is time to call for a national Boycott of Schluter, Dal Tile and Mohawk Industries!

Stay tuned I have to go attend one of my daughters seventh birthday party !
This blog is just getting started................

11.04pm: Home from the party. While sitting at the table watching my daughter open her presents I got an email from Ebay.
It seems the our new line Provamat and Provaflex that we picked up to replace the Ditra has created such a stir at Schluter they told CJ Madonna to have the line line remove from my ebay Store.
They falseified information to Ebay and claimed to to own the Provamat and then removed it for a Copyright Violation !
They removed 5 items of the Tile Uncoupling Membrane and 3 of the Waterproofing, 8 In total.
WOW! They must really feel threatened by a Superior Product. I will let Provamat lawyers fight with them on this one.
All I can say is If you purchase Schluters products you are supporting this Gestapo Mentality.
If you buy Dal Tile you are supporting what Schluter is doing to you...the public....
If you buy any Mohawk Flooring product you are supporting what Dal Tile and Schluter are trying to acheive, you decide it is your money.
One thing you will find on this sight is honesty and clear cut facts. We do not back down to bullies and we will not be silenced.
Stay Tuned, lets see what tomorrow holds.

Monday Dec 7 2009

Monday has come and gone we are still fighting with Schluter trying to understand why they claim ownership to our new line Provamat.
We have turned it over to Provamats attorney, I wonder what they will do?

Thank you for your orders today and Kudos to you that mentioned my blog.
It seems somebody has to stand up for our rights!

Tuesday Dec 8 2009

Tough day, spent half the day telling customers that we dropped Schluter Systems line, and why. The other half trying to break a fever.
I cannot remember what half came first.

Wenesday Dec 9 2009

Long day, got up late, got to work late stayed late.Still fighting the fever.
We added an shipping discount to the cart very similiar what we went through in our attempts to keep Schluter happy. I spent 1,000.00s of dollars and 100s of hours updating the site shopping cart to comply with Schluters MAP demands.
The good thing is it will apply to many points on the sight where the manufactures attempt to keep the prices looking like they cannot be haggled with.
It tough being the only out there making a stand against the monopolies of the world.
If American and Canadian companies had less greed in thier plans and more customer sastifaction on thier minds it would boost the consumer confidence level and draw the crowds.
The order for our newest product is growing. The Provaflex is a superior product in all ways. The over laying mesh offers a stablity that ditra or the others will never have. The best part is you can use modified thinset. This makes it worthwhile.So many times I have had to advise my clients that modified thinset would void the Schluter warranty and it will.
The Provamat and the Provaflex both can be done with modified thinset, no more tile falling off the wall, no more negative hype, no more holes in your shower pans. You see I know, it has happened to me.
The Provamat Shower Kits are really moving,they ony come in 48"x48" for now, but we are working to include a tray for 32x60 - 36x36 as well as 72x72. The drain system is much easier to work with than Schluter's and has drain cover insert that is adjustable instead of floating.
The more I look at the Provamat Kit I realize that Schluter has forgotton to update thier products to meet the needs of the up and coming tile-setters and the many Do-It-Yourselfer's that are on the scene.
It is important to stay abreast of the publics needs.
It is more important to keep prices at a level that everybody can afford.
It is 1:00am my time so I have to sign off and get some rest. All those watching this blog, thank you for your support.

Thursday Dec 12

Sold more Provamat today, keep it coming! You guys are really great.
The most important thing is you are getting the point and the word is getting out on the net.
Schluter is trying to squash the competition still yet by trying to control prices and information.

Friday Dec 11 2009

Honeydo day

Saturday Dec 12 2009

Getting some negative feedback from a few people they are being told be Schluter to keep drinking the Kool-Aid.
We will not!
The Provamat and ProvaFlex is the best choice. Use modified thinset.

Sunday Dec 13 2009

Got busy doing the honeydo things around the house, new insulation under the crawl space.
New Konecto in our upstairs bathroom. I removed the exist tile floor I had installed prior to picking up the Schluter line.
The heat system in floor had caused the expansion of the concrete and it had cracked up, this is what Uncoupling Membranes like ProvaFlex are designed for. Had I known about it years ago when I installed the floor I would have used it.
The wife wants Konecto instead of tile, I have two walls that are marble and we think the Sierra Westwood by Konecto is the best choice.
My wife is tired of the grout joints and the cleaning thereof, not very sanitary.
Since the Konecto is waterproof and can be laid over the heated floor it will work great.
I am taking pictures to document the process and offer a visual install guide. I will post them on a Konecto Blog next week.
Got an email from another guy with problems on his Ditra job, Schluter said he used outdated thinset...."Outdated Thinset"
That is a new one! Guess what Schluter told him....."Installer Error"
I wish I could blame all my problems on the installer.... Oh! I am the installer!
Wake up People/Installers, you have no support with Schluters stuff, your warranty is not worth the paper it is printed one from what we have seen.
It is always "Installer Error" it seems, with Schluter Systems.

Keep the emails coming!

Saturday Jan 1 2010

Happy New year to all!!
Back in the saddle after a few days off with the family.
Over the weekend I had an interesting call from a tile setter up north.
He had a Kerdi job falling off the wall on him, when he went to Schluter about guess what they said? you guessed it! "Installer Error".
"WOW"
This is getting predictable!.
It is "Installer Error" or "Error by the Installer" these seem to be Schluters choices when a warranty issue will arise. No wonder they can have so few claims, it is never the product or install advice...... ever......
Put down the Kool-Aid and back away slowly.

Talked to another guy, he said he called Schluter to find why he could not find it anywere at a fair price. They directly told him they are encourging price increases from the few suppliers left with it.
This is called Price Fixing and it is illegal, but these companies word thier demands in a manner where the obligation to increase prices fall on the supplier. Thus they avoid the pitfall of legality while still bringing a fixed price to market.

For Dal-Tile to participate is no suprise, for Mohawk to play this game is bad for thier business as they just entered the Ceramic Industry, they have more to loose with the carpet and hard surface.
Once thier consumer base finds out they are supporting a company that doing what Schluter has done, then they will start falling short.
They have lost my business, I will go out of my way to avoid purchasing from Mohawk. If I had million dollar legal team I would post the comments from Mohawk to Dal-Tile that shows they are full aware of what Schluter is doing and they support it.

The ProVa Systems sales are showing there is a cheaper alternative, and it will not fall off the wall!

Jan 6 2010

Schluter is at it again, they stepped into our ebay site today and removed all the ProVa Mat items claiming infringment.
Be-aware installers this is who you are dealing with.... a bully company who will stop at nothing to control a market.
They want no competition whatsoever.

Jan 31 2010

The BULLY Corp Schluter has had us suspended from ebay for 3 days for selling the ProVa Mat as an alternative to kerdi.
This company will stop at nothing to bully the little guys.
All you installers tuned in here, watch your back if you deal with Schluters Gestapo.
They want no dissent!
Seems like things have not changed much in Germany.
A foreign enity is bullying an American Owned and operated business selling products made in North America !
I wonder if they plan to finance a new Berlin Wall?.
In the words of Brad Pitt: "I want 100 Nat-zi scalps."

Feb 1 2010

We got our first hate mail today! Two months of emails in agreement with our stand and this is our first negative reply.
A flooring retailer In Rhode Island, Dennis Desjardins,he said he thinks Schluter has the right to price gouge and he thinks whoever had failures because they followed Schluters instructions are dummies that cannot read.
I emailed him back explaining the modified Vs unmodified, he replied he only read two lines of my reply.
Who are the dummies... the ones that cannot read or the ones that refuse to read?
You decide.

Feb 20 2010

We heard today of another person having problems with Kerdi sticking the wall in her shower so we tracked down the complaint and followed the advice from the guy that wrote the kerdi book. At no point did he blame the product or the thinset he blamed the customer.
We know the problem was the unmodified thinset but nobody will tell her that.... why?
I use to post on this guys site but now he has his moderaters leave vile messages about me and then blocks me from telling the truth about what Schluter is doing.
Have they been brainwashed as well.... you decide.
One thing he failed to tell her what he told many of us a long time ago.

This is a excerpt right from his site:
John Bridge 08-03-2002, 08:49 PM "Cxxx, You're right. It really doesn't matter what you get on the Ditra. Nothing bonds to it anyway."
He knew this back in 2002! Yet he promoted the Ditra full force knowing it's weak link.

This is why ProVa Mat has an overlying mesh!

We also found this post
Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington
Re: kerdi membrane
"According to John Bridge you can use Versabond, which is modified but not highly so. Apparently the highly modified materials will not cure because the membrane does not absorb any moisture, whereas typical CBU or mortar beds do. Bear in mind that you need to follow the instructions to have a warranty. I am about to do my first Kerdi install and will use Versabond because of the reasons you mention."

I wonder when they started drinking the Kool-Aid from Schluter and threw out thier own common sense.
It seems they still had it when this was posted in 2004, I guess Schluter got to them !
They are telling you to use products that work, except the products they are telling you to use will void your warranty!
Kinda oxmoronish if you ask me....
Let me ask you two things.
1) Is Thinset is either modified or unmodified, not "slightly" ?
2) If Schluters thin set is "slightly" why is it outrageously more than "Full Modified"???
It would seem to me that it would be less than full modified thinset since is "slightly modified" and unmodified thinset is only $6-7.00 per bag. You know the amazing thing is they are still trying to tell us that drywall and concrete board is impervious..... maybe a lesson in physics is in order.
Here is my post from One Project Closer concering modified thinset. This is great new site without moderaters with thier own agenda.
My post is at the bottom, you will see a few post of people with problems and few from the Schluter drinkers.

Indiana Floors LLC.com responds... February 6th, 2010 2:21 pm
It does take longer to cure about 12-24 hours total. But after spending 28 years in the trade that is much faster than the three days it took mudset shower pans to set. When we would install a mudbed it took 24 hours from start to finish, then we let it set for 48 hours, we then came back and poured a 5 gallon bucket of water through to find any low spots, if their were low spots we did the prep and then waited another 24 hours before we started the tile. You have many things at work when you are dealing with a concrete base product.
1. Curing, concrete does not dry it cures, do you realize that in the Hoover Dam there is concrete that has not cured yet and it was finished in 1935. What is our hurry? Must we compromise speed for quality.
I am safe in saying there was no umodified concrete in Hoover Dam, the concrete was modified with Fly Ash.
2. Latex additives: Latex Modified concretes are use in high strength flexible applications, like bridges,buildings.roads etc, It gives concrete strength but takes away the brittle component.
The LMC is proven to be superior in its corrosion resistance compared to conventional concrete.
At our last Schluter seminar before we dropped the line, the question was posed: “Your product is so expensive how do we justify the cost to our clients?” The answer given: “Tell them to use unmodified thinset.It is cheaper”
So now your are being told by Schluter to use an inferior concrete application just to show a lower cost because their price is so high. We cannot agree with type of business marketing, it is much easier to be truthful.

April 20th 1 2010

In the words of Armen Tavy of Tavy Tile Spacers, he is my friend that makes the spacers we sell:
"An improperly moderated message board is like a barroom brawl."

More hate mail: This guy, a tile setter with (14 years in the trade) from Colorado posted on a board instead of confronting me head on, I see that a lot on Johns Bridges board. (I will not post his business name as I would not want to scare any of his clients off even though he tried to do that with me.
All of our Schluter failures are documented and logged including the ones that happend to me.
They spout off about someone they do not know and have never done business with, and product they have never used. These are the Kool-Aid drinkers each time they post comments I try to reply in open forum and the cowards (Moderaters) on the John Bridge board will delete my post and make false statements about my business.
I have file full of private messages from their moderators cussing me out and calling me names, how infantile.
I have had to contact the Texas Attorney General twice and file complaints for slander/libel against John Bridge and his minions.

Here is my reply;

Hi Matt, Hugh Scott here, just wanted to drop you a line after finding an inaccurate post concerning me you posted on JBs board. You speak about people bashing and how you do not like but you take no thought about bashing someone you have never met nor have had any business dealing with.
Kind of cowardly to me since you are hiding behind JBs board and they delete every post I put up. I have never seen so many suckups in my life. The term is; "trademark" for the keywords kerdi and ditra and and let me clue you in on something else, Schluter is not made in Canada or North America and you know that.
You sir are intentionally misrepresenting the truth, it is all made in Germany.
ProVa Mat and ProVa Flex are both made in Canada and the shower extensions and curbs are made in the good old USA
The quote from John is in the direct context I meant it. Nothing does stick to ditra.
I was installing ditra and was the nations premier internet reseller of ditra for over two years. You buddies at Schluter burned a bridge with us and over 130 national suppliers because they got a big promise from Dal-Tile whom is owned by Mohawk. I hope they like what they wound up with. They increased prices and that should bother you, unless of course you are no concerned about your clients.
We in the industry get bothered by antitrust and price fixing schemes, I assume you do not and it is"Okay" for Schluter to violate international and federal law because you guys like this or that.
When you began in the trade I already had 11 years under my belt I have 28 years in this trade, I am a second generation flooring installer. 2 short years ago I was pulling thinset out of my fingernails everynight and recoveriing from lime burns after doing large tile jobs.
I put my time in, perhaps before you dog somebody out you should find out a little bit about them first.
When you critize me you are going against the very trade you are apart of.
I showed proof on JBs site of the jobs that failed, they deleted my post, they are bought and sold by Schluter and it sounds like you are too.
Lets look up the word spam and you will find you are using that out of context as well.
We have seen large scale failures, I blame the suggested use of unmodified thinset, the ditra concept is sound and the ProVa Flex is a very well made alternative product for less money.
It is better designed due the the overlaying mesh. We have not had one problem with it
I would love to see you when you have a Schluter job fail and they blame you or the thinset as they do on every claim we have found.
Your day is coming you will cross the bridge I crossed, and if you are willing to take thier word for it after they tell you the thinset was outdated...then you have partaken of more of the Kool-Aid than I thought.
I have reports from 4 clients of the failure of Kerdi just this year, one is two much, agian it is not the kerdi it is the use of unmodified thinset.
ProVa Mat and ProVa Flex supports the use of modified thinsets. Schluter does not, they want you to buy "thier slightly modified Thinset" at twice the price
Do me a favor, be a man and if you want to reason this out, contact me direct like man, instead of hiding on JBs board.
I am always here and I have sold and installed more ditra and kerdi (much to my dismay) than you will possibly ever see in your short 14 years in the trade.
Bold is a man when he has no critics....
Stand on your own don't sit around and be a follower.
Rank and file is just that; Rank in file. If your a follower that is all you will ever know, you seem smart, be a leader and get off Johns back, walk your own walk, trust me they care not one wit about you or what you do, just like Schluter. You are # on a board and if you step out of line their little egomanic mods will set you straight.
It suprises me how much you think Schluter cares about installers, talk about gullible, just wait until your first claim...it will be an eyeopening experience

______________________________-

And we roll on... I apologize for not keeping this blog up on daily basis but we have been so busy selling ProVa System I have not had much time. We also did a sight update you may see the changes around you here.
Being a webdesigner, a tile flooring installer and a retailer in three states takes more time than I have. I have even put up a cot in my office for those late night website updates.
Hugh
I say again: In the words of Brad Pitt: "I want 100 Nat-zi scalps."