CTEF Blog - About Tile Education and Installer Certification

Here we have a pyrite wall failure. What do you think it teaches about proper tile installation?

On this blog, you read about best practices for quality tile installations and how Certified Tile Installers (CTIs) go about installing tile. You've also heard them refer to having their work taken apart and inspected as part of the CTI hands-on test.

That same approach is how Mark Heinlein CTI #1112 and Robb Roderick  CTI #727 troubleshoot tile installation issues in their role as National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) Technical Trainers. In this article, they respond to a failed installation of pyrite tile on a wall.

How addicted are you to quality tile installation?

As you might imagine, at the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF), we are completely addicted to quality tile installations. In case you aren't sure what that is, it's the kind of work that takes beautiful ceramic materials and transforms them into spectacular and useful kitchens, bathrooms, floors and walls that delight and perform as promised and expected indefinitely into time.

Lippage occurs entirely too often, making three specific hazards way too prevalent, and definitely ones you should avoid. More specifically,

• The hazard of having tile installations rejected,
• Creating serious injury hazards,
• Hazardous and objectionable visuals that affect everyone involved

In addition to considering Tile Apprenticeships and Vocational Schools, have you thought about using your expertise and local knowledge to help get tile setting included in the SkillsUSA competitions?

Are you familiar with the Global Monumental Hand-Print Tile Industry Mural Project?

It's a massively big project, conceived by the Tile Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to research and the preservation of ceramic surfaces. The mural honors all who participate in and contribute to the tile industry; it also supports Tile Heritage's vital tile industry archiving work. 

Will you participate? 

Are you familiar with Total Solutions Plus (TSP)? It's a yearly event that brings together the ceramic tile industry to network and learn from one another. It's also a testament to the high level of collaboration that exists within the entire industry.

No wonder you see "Partners in Progress" prominently highlighted!

Are you involved in apprenticeship programs, vocational and/or trade schools for tile installation help? If your answer is no, why not?

Let's discuss the present and future of tile and the need for Qualified Labor.

Are you familiar with Tile Money? Created by tile contractor Luke Miller, this podcast/YouTube channel is all about helping other tile contractors run a successful and profitable tile business:

"Tile Money is the source of business knowledge and advice for today’s Tile Contractor."

If you've spent any time in the tile industry, care deeply about quality tile installation, and embrace installing tile according to industry standards, you will have heard of Scott Carothers, director of certification and training for the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF).

And, if you follow the CTEF Blog, you’re surely familiar with the ‘Ask Scott’ article series. 

However, if you're new to tile and just exploring tile installation certification, Scott is someone you will soon encounter and quickly appreciate for his deep knowledge, high standards and intense passion. Not to mention his firsthand involvement in certification, both for the Certified Tile Installer (CTI) program and the Advanced Certifications for Installers (ACT) program.

>> See What Types of Tile Certification Does CTEF Offer?