Another Season

It is time for yet another season in our world. As we move from summer to fall and then onto winter, I want to take just a moment to remind everyone that with the changing weather comes changing installation conditions. There are several important items for everyone to remember about the proper installation of ceramic tile anytime, but especially during the change of seasons.

First of all the single most ignored instruction is to bring the products and supplies to the job site early and allow them to acclimate to the building environment. Whenever there is a large difference of temperature between the warehouse and inside of a installation site this becomes critical. Without this important step materials will change and move AFTER the installation and cause serious issues for the tile assembly. Moving from warm summer type weather to cooler fall weather is when this issue is most seen in the claim reports.

Next, don't forget the proper steps in installation of a backer board panel. First and foremost step is to properly lay out the panels on the floors or walls. There is a big difference when doing a wall installation as the panels need to be butted together over the studs (still leaving an expansion gap for spacing in each corner) for nailing purposes. On floors it is MANDATORY that all backer board panels have space between each panel and ALWAYS space around the perimeter walls. ALWAYS! This space is in addition to any required expansion or movement joints that the specific job may require due to other issues. This is also the number one cause of failure in most tile installations.

On floor applications it is also necessary to provide a "leveling Bed" of setting materials under the backer board. This is due to the irregularities of the sub floor (building codes allow slight differences in height) and the entire installation depends on the board being flat and fully supported in a level plane to work properly. Almost without exception board manufacturers ask for a 1/4" x 1/4" square notched trowel to be used so that you end up fully covering subsurface irregularities.

Another important step is to use mechanical fasteners (usually screws are preferred over nails for the holding power) and proper lengths and spacing. Many people get confused here, they believe the leveling bed above is an adhesive bed and nothing further is required, but that is a false belief and leads to quick failure of the ceramic tile assembly. Most manufacturers instructions call for the screws to be no more than 4-6" apart on the edges of the panels and 6-8" apart on the center (or field) of the panel. Saving a few cents on screws or a few minutes by not using them will cost you much more in the long run with the job fails.

Final step before installing the tile is to tape all of the seams of the panels. I realize many folks ALWAYS skip this step, but those are the same folks who never understand why the grout cracked or the tile cracked on the job in the perfect pattern of the backer board panel below. Remember the purpose of a backer board is to proved a flat, FULLY supported surface to install the tile - and it cannot be fully supported if you leave a 1/4 space between each panel as required and then don't fill that using fiberglass mesh tape.

By actually reading the label and manufacturers instructions specific to the backer board panel you are installing you can follow their specific instructions and be assured of a successful and long lasting installation. Failure to do this generally leads to some type of dissatisfaction, either on the part of the installer or later on the consumer who ends up living with a poor quality installation.

Steve