If you spend enough time on tile-related social media, you will eventually come across rants about ceramic tile quality and some version of, "this tile is junk."
Brad Denny
Recent Posts
Trade shows can sometimes blur together. Booth numbers, bright lights, handshakes, quick conversations in the aisle. But every once in a while, a week stands out for the right reasons.
TISE 2026 was one of those weeks.
Thanks to the Coverings community and the Coverings Cares program, CTEF received $5200 in 2025. As you might imagine, CTEF is extremely grateful to Coverings, the global tile and stone experience, its longtime supporter, as well as the exhibitors and attendees who attended the latest event in Orlando, FL.
Are you familiar with the Coverings Cares program? If not, we'll explain in this article.
CTEF is extremely grateful to Coverings, the global tile and stone experience and longtime supporter of CTEF, and its new initiative. As a result, I'm excited about telling you more.
Here's the TL;DR on why we're grateful and excited.
The roadmap to becoming a tile installation professional isn't easy. That said, CTEF is actively developing training to help you each step of the way as I detail in this article.
CTEF has evolved the Certified Tile Installer (CTI) hands-on test with a transition from bullnose to metal transition profiles. In this article, I'll share perspective on the change as, by now, you may have seen and heard about it.
CTEF has a question for you: What made you the ceramic tile installer you are today? What unique experiences affected you in such a way that you embraced education and training to become a successful Certified Tile Installer?
Seriously, if you install ceramic tile, you have a story about your journey.
When you talk with others who are successfully earning a living in the trade, they too have a story. It may be completely different than the pathway you followed, yet equally valuable.
