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.
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:
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.
Yes, there's a labor shortage out there. But that's not a reason for abandoning standards and hiring just anybody. You need Qualified Labor - especially when it comes to tile setters or installers. Why? Because tile isn't just a decorative layer in home or commercial buildings. It must meet specific standards so that it performs as it should over time.
A Certified Tile Installer hands-on test took place in conjunction with THASIE 2024 in Fresno, California. This article recaps the testing event and introduces you to those who participated. Thanks to Alice Dean, Top Floor Writer, you'll have a better feel for what motivated those who organized and subjected themselves to the toughest 25 square feet of tile you'll ever install.
CTEF has evolved the Certified Tile Installer (CTI) hands-on test with a transition from bullnose to metal transition profiles. In this article, I'll share perspective on the change as, by now, you may have seen and heard about it.
CTEF has a question for you: What made you the ceramic tile installer you are today? What unique experiences affected you in such a way that you embraced education and training to become a successful Certified Tile Installer?
Seriously, if you install ceramic tile, you have a story about your journey.
When you talk with others who are successfully earning a living in the trade, they too have a story. It may be completely different than the pathway you followed, yet equally valuable.
Fred Hueston, President and Founder of Stone Forensics, recently published Why It Is Important to Hire a Certified Tile Installer, Including CTEF Certification. Have you read it?
The article is so powerful that - with Fred's permission - we are sharing highlights with you here.
Certified Tile Installer Mike Corona says,
You don't become a tile installer or a business owner overnight. It takes time, enthusiasm, pride, reliability, respectfulness, a willingness to learn, and dedication. No two jobs are the same; each one has its own unique nuances. As a qualified installer, you need to be able to communicate how to deal with those nuances and qualify yourself to not only meet but exceed expectations. Being qualified will exponentially increase your value and you will have endless opportunities.
Mike Corona CTI #923 Corona Marble and Tile
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The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF) provides education and installer certification for professionals working in the ceramic tile and stone industry.
The CTEF Certified Tile Installer (CTI) program is the only third-party assessment of installer skill and knowledge that is recognized by the tile industry.