How concerned are you with protecting your tile installations from the horrors of bond breakers? If you're serious about it, you will spend time inspecting and preparing your substrate so as to prevent any situations from developing. Yes, substrate preparation includes determining whether the floor or wall surface will be bondable and, most importantly, this needs to be completed prior to installing tile.
How prepared are you for installing Large Format Tile (LFT) or Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels (GTPT) and ensuring you have a surface that is adequately flat? It's a big deal and worth considering before you get started.
Are You Inspired by Tile?
We are and that's why we're excited to join in on the National Tile Day celebrations by sharing with you highlights from current tile trends.
Not only do retailers such as Avalon Flooring value Certified Tile Installers, but, in becoming certified, tile installers can gain more and better customers. If you're not certified, what are waiting for?
When you install tile, do you ensure that you have enough mortar to accommodate inherent (actual) tile warpage associated with large format tile?
Tile sizes are changing; getting larger, longer and proportionately having more inherent warpage. Likewise, changes are being seen in tile installation methods, using thin set and large and heavy tile mortars to accommodate tile warpage.
Let's review what's involved.
To borrow from the original Fab Four, money won't buy you tile certification. Rather it's your experience and skill as a tile setter that allows you to validate your tile installation skills as a Certified Tile Installer.
That's according to Mike McLawhorn CTI #188 and Territory Sales Manager for HB Fuller.
Mike is next in the CTEF Blog series about Qualified Labor based on an article in TileLetter.com titled Mike McLawhorn: CTI credentials are confirmation of tile setter knowledge that money can’t buy.
What does it take to ensure that you have a quality tile installation? Based on our experience, knowledge and work with the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Handbook, we have identified ten requirements.
Note that these aren't all industry requirements. However, they all contribute to a quality tile installation.
Here they are.
I certainly hope you don't ignore grout manufacturer directions which just about guarantees that your tile installation will fail. In fact, that's true for just about all the products tile installers use. For the sake of this article, though, I'll focus on grout and more specifically High Performance Cement Grouts.
Here's why you need to take the grout manufacturer's directions seriously.
It's a brand-new year and an ideal time to make tile installation resolutions for 2019. If you're already in the know, consider these a refresher. And, if you're new to the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation and the Certified Tile Installer Program, then consider this your introduction to a bold, new standards-based, methodical approach to installing ceramic tile.
Yes, there's a labor shortage out there. But that's not a reason for abandoning standards and hiring just anybody. You need Qualified Labor - especially when it comes to tile setters or installers. Why? Because tile isn't just a decorative layer in home or commercial buildings. It must meet specific standards so that it performs as it should over time.
