Almost everyone who has installed or helped to install porcelain or glass mosaic tile has had to correct the age-old problem known as thin-set mortar squeeze-up between each tile.
Grout goes in the grout joints and sealant goes in the locations designated as movement accommodation joints by the design professional or engineer, but sometimes it doesn’t work out as planned.
I understand the techniques required to be successful when heat welding and the on-going challenges locating trained installers qualified to heat weld, however, it’s just as important to use skilled installers when cold welding a seam.
Many times, when ceramic tile is installed, we, as installers, may not use all of the tile industry standards to our best advantage. These standards can be the installer’s best friend when assisting the consumer, whether residential or commercial, in deciding the grout joint size and pattern.
The standards found in the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) A108.02 document provide the installation method standards used to provide a good looking and long-lasting tile project. When they are followed, the job is headed for success, but when they are not followed, it may be doomed from the beginning.
Heat welding is extremely popular and often required in vinyl sheet applications in laboratories, clean rooms, and medical environments such as operating suites and patient rooms.
The tile industry has established installation standards in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) documents to guide all involved: the design professional, the general contractor and the tile installer.
There are many factors that contribute to the ability of a tile to permanently bond to the substrate, including substrate preparation, proper selection of setting material, environmental conditions during installation, application of bonding mortar and embedment of the tile.
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