Do you build a tile installation mockup for your customers? If you don't, we strongly encourage you to consider doing so.
Here's why.
Are You Inspired by Tile?
We are and that's why we're excited to join in on the National Tile Day celebrations by sharing with you highlights from current tile trends.
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. ♥
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.
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.
Have you heard? CTEF will raffle off a stunning original American flag mosaic designed by the award-winning Angie Halford Ré during Coverings 2022, and donated by Laticrete's Ron Nash, both based in Utah.
We caught up with both to learn more, and encourage you to purchase raffle tickets!
Ceramic tile is infinitely versatile. It is also sustainable. And, in the case of the Spa Lobby created during Coverings16 Installation Design Showcase, it is also the stuff of healing environments that engage all five senses. That's thanks to inspired design from Healing Environments and expert tile installers.
In this article, we connect with Susan El-Naggar, ASID, NCIDQ, LEED Green Associate. co-founder with her husband Tarik El-Naggar, AIA, of architecture and interior design firm, Healing Environments to learn more about the experience of bringing together inspired design with expert tile installation.
Close collaboration between design and tile installation teams matters intensely as we are discovering from connecting with the Coverings Design Installation Showcase participants. In the case of Architecture is Fun's Boutique Hotel X Lobby, it also makes for a fun and playful environment given the bold use of wood plank tile in a herringbone pattern.
>> Synergy Between Ceramic Tile Installation and Design? Critical Says Alena Capra
>> When Expert Tile Installers and Designer Create a Retail Space at Coverings16
>> Thin Tile Installation Expertise Creates Clubhouse Bar & Lounge
Thin porcelain tile in large-size panels enables beautiful installations. However, gauged porcelain tile panels or slabs - as thin porcelain tile is now known as - requires specialized knowledge and expertise as you will learn from this interview with Dan Welch, President, Welch Tile and Stone, a second-generation tile, stone, and terrazzo installation company based in Kent City, Michigan.
During Coverings, the largest tile & stone exhibition in North America, the best and most expert tile installers collaborate with the most talented architects and designers to demonstrate what's possible in a tile installation. Depending on the venue, that process unfolds over the few days of the show.
During Coverings 2016, Artcraft Granite, Marble & Tile Company, a third-generation family business, teamed up with Designer Alena Capra, principal of Alena Capra Designs and the Coverings Industry Ambassador, to create a magnificent retail space for the Installation Design Showcase (IDS).
