Joe Grady, author of Ceramic & Stone Close-Up, is internationally respected for his floor covering expertise — particularly in the areas of adhesives, installation and moisture-related problems. During a career that spans more than 30 years, Joe has worked for the W.W. Henry Co. and A.Z. Bogert Co., and served on numerous industry committees. He currently works with Advanced Testing Services in Fullerton, CA, as an expert on flooring problems.
The sales trend in distressed wood floors is nothing short of phenomenal. Demand for this texture and classical look has prompted many producers to handcraft distressed flooring products in their business locations. The resulting products are then marketed under the brand names chosen by these producers.
This article may be brief. But that's not to insinuate that the information covered herein is not of extreme importance relative to ceramic tile installation. I urge you to thoroughly digest the topics I raise. Hopefully, you'll learn a thing or two that will help you avoid costly callbacks in the future.
A few years back, we addressed the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) Specifications for the Installation of Ceramic Tile and covered the topic of membranes. Included in the discussion were trowel-applied, liquid and sheet membranes. At this point of time in our industry, membranes are well accepted and, in most cases, understood by the trade.
The Tile Council of America’s (TCA) new 2003-2004 Handbook for Ceramic Tile Installation is the 41st edition of the venerable publication. Included in this latest handbook are 14 new installation methods. In this article, I’ll endeavor to bring you up to speed on some of the more noteworthy changes in installation methodology.
The Tile Council of America (TCA), National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) and Ceramic Tile Institute of America (CTIOA) are responsible for a number of advances in our industry. Together, these organizations have done much to standardize tile installation methods in use today.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I should address wood flooring problems in this article. Some of these problems I have written about before, while others I’ve not mentioned previously deserve their 15 minutes of infamy.
Increasingly, we are being asked to do PKs -- an acronym for “product knowledge” -- as an aid not only for distributor salespeople, but for contractors and architects as well.
It seems that every month or so, a new product appears on the market that promises either to assist us in our installations, make life easier, or help us to avoid costly callbacks and repairs. All such improvements are welcome. But often, these new products make our choices more difficult.
Over the years, I’ve seen my fair share job failures. In this article, I’ll discuss a few of the insights I’ve gleaned from such situations. Hopefully, they’ll help you avoid similar problems.