CTEF Blog - About Tile Education and Installer Certification

The 2024 CTEF Online Auction is over, and we can't thank you enough for being involved and helping CTEF raise $18,862.00!

These funds are critical to supporting the invaluable work CTEF does through its tile installation certification programs and continued education programs.  

Are you getting ready to stock up on tile installation tools, products, and materials? If yes, please mark your calendar for the December CTEF Online Auction.

Are you familiar with the NTCA Reference Manual? It's an invaluable tool for the tile industry and a well-respected companion document to the TCNA Handbook for Ceramic, Glass, and Stone Tile Installation and ANSI standards. 

Here's an interview with Bart Bettiga, Executive Director of the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) so you can learn more.

What are your top tips for becoming a CTI? 

The CTEF Certified Tile Installer program is regularly described as the toughest 25 square feet you'll ever have to tile. It's intense, but not impossible if you're prepared.

To that end, here are our 15 top tips for success, including advice from Mark Heinlein CTI #1112. We invite you to share yours and we'll add them to the list.

Should tile installers become certified? If you are serious about your calling as a tile installer, yes, you should become a Certified Tile Installer (CTI).

If you aren't, chances are high that you aren't reading this article or even asking yourself the question.

Did you know you can find free online prep courses on the CTEF website so you can start preparing to become a Certified Tile Installer?

Here's what: If you're wondering what it takes to become a Certified Tile Installer (CTI), you've come to the right place. We have created an eight-video online prep course that illustrates tile installation best practices expected of Qualified Labor. 

How well do you prep substrate for tile? Do you take the time to check it out before you start installing tile?

The quality of the tile work that the consumer sees on the surface is only as good as what is underneath. This seems to be a simple statement, but if the appropriate prep work is not completed, the final appearance may not be acceptable, not to mention that it may lead to failure.

Do you have questions about the CTI and the ACT certification programs?

The blog article titled "Should Tile Installers Become Certified?" generated robust conversation on the CTEF Facebook page when it was published. It also raised questions that need to be addressed about the qualifications for:

• The Certified Tile Installer (CTI) program 
• The Advanced Certifications for Tile Installers (ACT) program.

Imagine being a member of the CFI (Certified Flooring Installers) and taking the CTI (Certified Tile Installer program). Talk about a ground-breaking event!

Flooring and tile are distinct given unique installation requirements for floors and walls. That said, many flooring installers must be proficient in the full range of product options. If they're going to be certified for flooring, they may also want to become Certified Tile Installers.

Thanks to Roland Thompson from Thompson Flooring Installers and Leslie Del Pozo from QEP, that possibility became a reality in this first-ever CFI CTI hands-on test event. It took place in Frederick, Maryland. 

Jason Montgomery was the Evaluator for this CTI hands-on test.

Do you know how to install glass tile correctly? After all, it's beautiful and on-trend which usually means that customers will ask you about it for kitchen backsplashes, bathrooms, and showers. As you might imagine, when installed correctly, this stunning product provides years of enjoyment. 

At the same time, if you - as an installer - haven't done your homework, you'll wish you had never heard of it!