You've surely been in the position as a tile installer to deal with job site conditions that require the substrate (floors and walls) to be patched making it “tile ready”. No question, it's critical to get the substrate flat enough to accommodate tile. This is particularly true if the tile is large format.
Tile is a natural for radiant heating.
However, installing tile with radiant heating can get overwhelming when you realize that the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Handbook includes multiple methods that address this type of installation. The details vary somewhat depending on the structure you are working on and which type of heat source your radiant system uses - hydronic or electrical.
Fortunately, Mark Heinlein CTI #1112 and National Tile Contractors Association Training Director, Technical Trainer / Presenter shares his expertise in this article.
As a conscientious tile installer, do you take the time to protect bathroom fixtures before you start your installation?
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.
What does it take to ensure that you have a quality tile installation? Based on our experience, knowledge, and work with the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Handbook, we have identified ten requirements.
Note that these aren't all industry requirements. However, they all contribute to a quality tile installation.
Here they are.
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.
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.
How familiar are you with the ANSI Standards for the Installation of Ceramic Tile? (ANSI stands for the American National Standards Institute.) If you aren't, and you're in the tile installation business, it's time you pay attention. ANSI Standards are a tile installer's best friend!
If you're in the tile business, you're surely aware of how important it is to obtain the required mortar coverage.
And, you've probably noticed that achieving that coverage has become more challenging as tile sizes and the diversity in tile types increases.
Diversity is wonderful for enabling stunning tile installations. However, each of these products has different requirements in order to achieve the required mortar coverage, and that's where selecting the right trowel notch comes into play.
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.
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.
