Are you wondering how to leverage your Certified Tile Installer (CTI) status in your business? This well-earned professional distinction offers tile installation professionals many benefits as Mark Heinlein, National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) Technical Trainer and Presenter and CTI #1112, explains in this article.
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.
Do you remember the incredibly beautiful Mosaic Flag crafted by Angie Halford Ré, owner of Unique Mosaics, and donated by Ron Nash, President of Laticrete? CTEF sold raffle tickets and the drawing took place at Coverings 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. After several months of working through logistics, we are so pleased to share with you that the Mosaic Flag has found a home at VFW Post 9400 in Phoenix, Arizona!
A heartfelt Thank You from all of us at CTEF for being part of the 2022 NTCA Matching Grant Campaign!
Or, Why You Should Always Work with Qualified Tile Installers
Did you get to tour the Tile Installation Experience at Coverings 2018? Whether you did or didn't, here's your chance to review and appreciate what makes working with Qualified Tile Installers truly unique - in terms of best practices you can expect and bad practices you will want to avoid.
We've even included a Facebook Live tour with Scott Carothers that Floor Covering Installer magazine conducted during Coverings.
Although from 2018, this article is sure to put tile installation excellence into perspective.
There's no denying that without companies like Tile ProSource to support CTEF, the Certified Tile Installer program would not be what it is today.
The CTI program requires hands-on testing locations around the country, not just in Pendleton, SC where CTEF is headquartered. Furthermore, in addition to the hands-on test itself, the program includes an orientation the evening before the test, not to mention cleanup.
So committing to being a CTI test location host means you're willing to give up a good bit of space for some serious tile installation action over more than a day.
In the case of Tile ProSource in Tennessee, the owners not only generously offered CTEF warehouse space but also treated everyone involved in the CTI test to a tile-themed feast. Plus, they've also added to their online checkout process an option to donate to the CTEF Mission!
If you've been reading the articles on this blog, you're familiar with the importance of carefully planning your installation ahead of time, and ensuring that you've obtained approval on a mockup from everyone involved - architect and/or designer, general contractor, and, of course, the owner - before you start installing.
In case you still don't believe that it matters, this article is for you.
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.
I hope you don't use spot bonding or "five spotting" when installing ceramic tile. It's a problem that's high on the list of failure questions received by the CTEF offices when things go wrong.
It’s also one we featured at Coverings 2018 in the Installation Experience Hall of Failures.
In case you didn't read How to Correctly Trowel Mortar When Installing Tile? or you still think it's okay, let's review in detail why you need to eliminate even the thought of using spot bonding for your ceramic tile installation projects.
