CTEF Blog - About Tile Education and Installer Certification

For Dave Karp CTI #220, becoming a Certified Tile Installer (CTI) meant standing out as a professional tile setter. Not only did it provide him with enough confidence to open his own tile shop - Tile Fusion - but it has also set him on a path that allows him to hone his high-end, detail-focused residential tile installation business.

Dave is next in the CTEF Blog series about Qualified Labor  based on articles in TileLetter.com. 

>> See Certification: a standard to validating professionalism, skills and willingness to excel

Thanks to tile industry leaders like Harold Yarborough, President and CEO of D&B Tile Distributors in Florida and member of the CTEF Board of Directors, CTEF is able to bring to life and grow its mission and tile certification: 

Edwardo Martinez CTI #1239 describes becoming a Certified Tile Installer as, “I did it backwards. No studying, no prep work. I filled a spot last minute. I did it to test my skill and knowledge.”

He is next in the CTEF Blog series about Qualified Labor  based on articles in TileLetter.com. 

>> See Certification provides confidence; shows commitment and excellence

Why should we discuss tile trends on a blog that focuses primarily on tile education and installer certification? Because they really matter.

Shon Parker CTI #999 compares becoming a Certified Tile Installer to going to college for computer programming and obtaining a degree. It increases your worth to employers and clients and signals your commitment to learning everything you can about installing tile correctly the first time. 

Shon Parker is next in the CTEF Blog series about Qualified Labor  based on articles in TileLetter.com. 

>> See CTI exam tests and teaches Hawthorne Tile’s project manager Shon Parker learns from the Certified Tile Installer evaluation

John Cox, President of Cox Tile (pictured in the image above on the far left), is the Technical Consultant to the Coverings Installation Design Showcase. 

First launched at Coverings 2008, the Installation Design Showcase or IDS features the live installation of tile in several professionally designed vignettes. Although planning and preparation begin several months before the show, the big deal about the IDS is that installation must be completed before the end of the Coverings exhibition, in time for review, admiration, comments, and celebration.

Tile industry teamwork is what powers so much of the awareness of quality labor and the importance of tile industry installation standards and best practices.

Not only do  you see it happening within the Top Tile Associations and Organizations, but you see it regularly in action when hands-on Certified Tile Installer (CTI) evaluations take place, starting with the tile companies that host the evaluations.

What's certainly true about a tiny house is that, by virtue of its size, it brings you closer to nature. Imagine taking that one step further based on how tile inside the house mimics nature. That's what the Vitruvian, a tiled tiny house created during Coverings 2017 in Orlando, captures based on the vision of designer Nikki Vega from BlueTreeHome based in Orlando. She specializes in tiny homes.

Nikki teamed up with the installation team from J & R Tile, Inc. for the live installation of tile in a tiny house on the Coverings show floor during the annual Installation Design Showcase.

Tile in a tiny house is a natural choice for anyone who admires how versatile and sustainable tile is. It's also a must for those participating in the live installation of tile in three tiny houses on the Coverings show floor as J&R Tile did during Covering17 in Orlando, Florida.

We are frequently asked why someone who has been laying tile for twenty or more years should bother becoming a Certified Tile Installer.

>> See Certification: providing a bridge to the larger tile community for Charles Nolen, Miller’s Flooring America