Bette has launched BetteAir, and claims it to be the world’s first shower tile made of glazed titanium steel. Heralded by Bette as a milestone in bathroom architecture, the tile shower tray integrates so perfectly the seams are hardly noticeable. What’s more, the floor-level installation of the shower tile is a real revolution, as it can also be glued directly to the screed like a conventional tile.
The shower surface – made of glazed titanium steel – is designed to become an integral part of the bathroom floor. The pure design of BetteAir combined with revolutionary installation technology means the German bathroom manufacture is able to term BetteAir a shower tile.
Made of durable and easy to clean, glazed titanium-steel, Bette has reduced the height of the BetteAir shower tile to an unbelievable ten millimetres, which roughly corresponds to the thickness of a large-format tile. The precise corners also fit perfectly into the tile grid, with their radius of only eight millimetres.
Designer Dominik Tesseraux (Tesseraux & Partner, Potsdam) sums up the revolutionary development: “BetteAir has all the advantages of a tile without its disadvantages. With the shower tile, the floor of the shower is immaculately beautiful, free of joints and thus absolutely hygienic and easy to clean.”
Flat, flatter, BetteAir
In the 1970s, shower trays were still up to 30 centimetres high. Over the decades, they gradually became flatter, but it wasn’t until 2006 that Bette succeeded in creating the first shower area made of glazed titanium steel, BetteFloor. The BetteFloor ushered in a new era of jointless, floor-level showering.
Now BetteAir goes a step further and completes the evolution of shower trays to shower floors. It is hardly possible to create a shower area that is flatter, at least if the water is still to run off cleanly. The minimum installation height of BetteAir is just 99 millimetres.
To achieve this, Bette has also rethought the waste, and enlarged it to 200 millimetres. All that is visible is a circular, three-millimetre gap in the middle of the brilliant surface, through which the water drains. The drainage capacity of 0.6 l/s is more than sufficient, even for opulent rain showers. The glazed waste cover is absolutely flat, so that no difference between it and the surrounding surface can be felt or seen. The waste cover can also be easily removed for cleaning, although there is not much to clean, as the waste is designed to be self-cleaning and to prevent hair from getting caught in it or in the pipe-work.
Revolutionary installation
A real revolution is the floor-level installation of the BetteAir shower tile, which can simply be glued to the screed like a conventional tile. To achieve this, Bette has further developed its proven solution of the Minimum Support and Installation Box, so that it can be used for the floor-level installation of BetteAir. The BetteAir is supplied largely pre-assembled and ready for installation. For bathroom fitters and tilers, this ‘plug-and-play’ solution means significantly less effort in installing the shower and reduced coordination between the trades – and so time and cost savings. Those who require even more flexibility during installation can install BetteAir using the tried-and-tested BetteInstallation System Universal.
Many colours, formats and options
The BetteAir shower tile is available in eight sizes from 900 x 900 to 1400 x 1000 millimetres. This means that shower areas can be created in many dimensions, from the small standard format to the XL area for maximum showering pleasure.
To ensure that BetteAir blends seamlessly into all surroundings or stands out from them in contrast, the shower tile is available in a choice of 31 colours, including popular sanitaryware colours, exclusive matt colours and a special effect colour. On request, BetteAir can also be equipped with an anti-slip surface, either with BetteAnti-Slip Pro, or the new BetteAnti-Slip Sense for gloss colours, which offers even greater slip resistance.
BetteAir is also supplied as standard with basic sound insulation for quiet showering. If it is professionally installed using the minimum support and installation box, the sound level is only 19 dB(A), which more than meets the increased requirements of sound insulation level 3 of VDI 4100 and is certified by DEKRA. This reduces the sound to a whispering level, which makes it ideal for use in flats or other buildings were sound minimisation is required.
Installation
The installation steps for the floor-level installation of BetteAir are revolutionarily simple. The BetteAir installation box is glued onto the unfinished floor, the installer’s new pipe-work is connected to the pipe-work already provided within the box, and the cover is put on the box to protect the contents during the installation of the bathroom floor. The insulation is put in place, and the screed is applied. The box is then cut to the same level as the floor screed and the sealing frame is glued to the box. (The sealing frame with is integral fleece is compliant with DIN 18534-1 standards, certified by KIWA) The sealing compound/liquid latex is then applied over the surface and up to the edges of the box and over the fleece, to complete the waterproofing seal. The temporary box cover is removed, and the waste unit is connected to the pipe-work in the box, the BetteAir is glued down, the tiles are laid, and the edges are sealed with silicone – finished!
Dimensions
BetteAir is available in the following sizes: 900 × 900 mm, 1000 × 900 mm, 1000 × 1000 mm, 1200 × 800 mm, 1200 × 900 mm, 1200 × 1000 mm, 1400 × 900 mm and 1400 × 1000 mm. The rim height is 10 mm for all formats, the corner radius R8 and the diameter of the outlet 200 mm. Overall, installation heights from 99 mm are possible.
Colours
Sanitaryware colours: White, Pergamon, Manhattan, Bahama Beige, Edelweiss, Jasmine, Ebony, Carneol.
Exclusive matt colours: 22 colours from deep black to grey and beige tones, to matt white.
Effect colours: Blue Satin
Options: BetteGlaze Plus, BetteAnti-Slip Pro (evaluation group B according to DIN 51097), BetteAnti-Slip Sense (evaluation group C according to DIN 51097).
And for the BetteAir
