CTEF Blog - About Tile Education and Installer Certification

Why should a tile installer consider becoming a Certified Tile Installer (CTI)? We asked the community to weigh in on Facebook, so you can read about some of their reasons - in their own words - for becoming certified and Qualified Labor.

This is a classic from 2018 that is as relevant now as it was then. You'll find the responses organized into 10 themes.

Sometimes, the best way to explain how important it is to work with a Certified Tile Installer (CTI) is to show you how not to install tile on floors, walls, and in showers.

This article focuses on a real-life situation where those doing the work (aka tile placers) clearly did not have the knowledge, expertise, or experience to deliver a high-quality tile installation. They were not CTIs.  Although originally published on 9/27/2016, it continues to speak directly and strongly about unqualified labor and the perils of poorly installed tile.

Let's explore this master bathroom installation to better understand what went wrong.

>> See Hiring a Tile Installer? Here's What to Look For.

Have you met Wally the Gator?

He's ferocious, looks ready to lunge at you, and his teeth come alive. He's also the most magnificent work of tile art you can imagine, and you might be the lucky one to take him home.

When you're hiring a tile contractor, you expect to have the work done right the first time. Unfortunately, you don't always have the benefit of seeing the contractor's work beforehand and realizing what you need to avoid (see How Not to Install Tile on Floors, Walls, and in Showers).

That's why we've put together these warning signs to help you avoid hiring a tile contractor who is poorly qualified and more of a tile "placer." (Definition: tile placer - a person who does not have the skills, knowledge, and experience to install the job correctly.)

That way, you can rest assured that the beautiful tile installation in your mind's eye has every opportunity to become reality and bring you delight for years to come.

Special thanks to Sal DiBlasi for basing a video on this article. ♥

As you might imagine, knowing how to hire the right tile setter is a big deal for homeowners and commercial owners. That's why we developed the homeowner's guide to hiring qualified tile installers, and we'll soon have one geared toward architects, designers, and other tile installation project specifiers. 

In fact, it's such a big deal that it regularly comes up as a blog article topic - for example, Mark Heinlein  NTCA Training Director and Presenter shared with us how to Qualify Your Tile Installation Contractor With These 5 Questions - as well as in comments and conversations. That's why we put together this blog article about two questions to ask.

Wondering how to best protect your marble tile? Consider a sealer and more specifically a penetrating sealer to keep your stone flooring looking beautiful.

To illustrate why here's a tile installation situation Mark Heinlein CTI #1112 and National Tile Contractors Association Training Director and Technical Trainer / Presenter recently addressed with the help of Scott Carothers.

A question that frequently comes up is how to become a tile installer.

It can come from someone looking to change fields or someone who wants to become a Certified Tile Installer and isn't sure what the steps are.

Unfortunately, there isn't yet an easy, set, defined career path for becoming a tile installer other than through a tile apprenticeship program or a vocational school, and that's why CTEF has expanded its tile installation training and education for 2023.

If you're asking how to trowel mortar when installing tile, realize that you are asking a fundamentally critical question. It's so critical that readers like you have made this CTEF Blog article the one with the highest readership since we originally published it on June 7, 2016.

You see, when thin-set mortar is incorrectly applied, the installation will many times fail. More likely than not, the tile will break - as you see in the image below.

Not a good situation for the customer and a terrible one for everyone involved in installing tile correctly.

Let's focus then on how to properly apply the mortar.

Are you a tile contractor? Do you have at least two years of experience as a full-time lead tile installer? By experience, we mean that you have full responsibility for substrate prep, and layout, along with properly installing underlayment, tile, grout, and sealant materials.

If yes, consider becoming a Certified Tile Installer (CTI).

If you're curious about tile installation certification and the benefits it offers homeowners, specifiers as well as tile installers, you'll want to watch "Certification in Action," a 6-minute video embedded at the end of this article.

The video answers questions such as:

• How do you choose a tile installer or contractor?
• How can you be sure the job will be done correctly?
• Why should you hire a certified tile installer?