Who Sets the Industry Standards?
by Bob Sanelli

In these competitive times, industry standards are weak at the best stretch of the imagination. The focus of the consumer is cost to the detriment of quality. In earlier times in a healthy economy, there was fair competition and the quality of work insured a good industry standard in the construction industry.

What happened ?
What a change in today's market. Everyone is budget conscious to a point that the standard is CHEAP. Who do we blame ? The consumer in a short sighted approach shops for the best price. The best price is not the best value. The standard should be to receive the best product for a fair price. The cheap price will cost more in the long run. However, the speculator who builds to sell for a quick profit may only want to run with a quick return and leave the problems behind.

I remember when the architect was the King. He consulted with the best in the business, he hired a knowledgeable and capable consultant/specifier and a designer to coordinate the finishing touch. He was part of the contractor, subcontractor and product selection. He/She received a fair fee that included site inspections. The architect/specifier today is asked for the cheapest price to produce a minimal requirement.

Roulette Canadian Style
The consultant's opinion quite often is not taken and after pricing has been completed, the roulette game begins. In the game of negotiating the cheap price, everyone involved becomes a victim. The only survivors might be the ones that escaped with the fast buck. Unscrupulous entrepreneurs may even go bust rather than honour commitments and warranties.

Where do we go from here ?
The construction industry must re-evaluate responsibilities. Codes of ethics and building codes must be respected. The construction associations and trade associations can play the major role. Once the specifications and drawings are in place the quality control process begins. I believe that all associations can set standards. All trade associations should produce technical standards and specification guides. All trade workers should be certified as well as the trade contractors. Associations should control their members by monitoring the quality and product of work performed and that installations meet the industry standards recommended by the association. Third party inspections should be a part of the specification.

Terrazzo, Tile and Marble Association of Canada (TTMAC) is working on a draft that would meet the above standards. TTMAC provides a good service to the industry, produces specification guides, inspection services and technical information. Competent inspections should be carried out at every stage of construction. It is ridiculous to wait until the job is completed and then look for mistakes, errors, omissions and workmanship deficiencies.

Specifications and drawings should be reviewed by those qualified prior to completing the package. Inspections should be carried out to ensure that the specified products are being used and properly installed. Where possible, warranties and guarantees should be in place with proper insurance that they will be protected with proper funding for the time period duration.

Associations should police their members and ensure that they will abide by the rules and by-laws of the association. The time has come for everyone in the construction industry to rekindle the team approach. The quality of work lives on regardless of the cost. A cheap installation will always cost more in the long run.

It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation and one bad job or mistake to ruin it.

Why Be a Member of TTMAC
By Joe Papais

Why be a member of TTMAC? To me the answer is obvious!

TTMAC provides national infrastructures that allow like-minded companies or individuals a unique opportunity to join and actively present and promote the quality products, technology, workmanship, specifications and ethical standards forming the strength of our industry, now and for the future. Indeed, fees and time spent in Association activities are a small price to pay for the many benefits and services that flow to a TTMAC member.

As a member of TTMAC a special status is recognized. TTMAC members are industry leaders and stand above the non-member competition. To realize fully the benefits of membership, participation is important. It is important to work together for a better industry and be prepared for the future.

Why join the TTMAC?

Because membership means:

• Integrity, strength of numbers and bonding with other members.
• Direct access to new technology and product information.
• Offering top value guaranteed workmanship and products to customers.
• Be part of the gold standard of our industry!
• Recognition and listing in the Membership Directory and Buyers Guide and web site.
• Referral Service and increased business.
• Conventions, seminars and workshops.
• Networking with like minded individuals and corporations that are the best in the industry.
• Access to a global market place.
• Information through magazine, newsletters, bulletins and personal contact.
• Opportunity to assist and obtain specification guides and research material.

Why specify and use a TTMAC member?

TTMAC stands for quality!

Its membership is comprised of contractors, suppliers and professionals who are closely scrutinized for experience, integrity and financial stability. The construction industry can be confident that those members belonging to TTMAC are competent and experienced providers of products and services for the terrazzo, tile, marble and stone industry.

Joe Papais is President of Star Tile, in Vancouver, BC. Joe worked for many years as an apprentice and a tile setter and has been involved in all aspects of the tile and marble industry. Star Tile became a member of TTMAC in 1976. He has been on the Board of Directors for many years. In 1989/90 he served as TTMAC President. Joe is also Chairman of the Membership & Members Services Committee, serves on the Certification Committee, Local Chapters/Affiliation Committee and on the Inspection Committee. In May 1995, Joe along with other dedicated individuals established the first Tile, Terrazzo & Marble Training School of B.C.

Designing with Porcelain Tile:
Get to Know the Product

By Patti Fasan

Porcelain tile is one of the fastest growing categories in the ceramic tile industry, especially in North America. It has enjoyed such a meteoric rise in popularity that many consumers and designers are narrowing their choices to porcelain tile for every installation. And, although there are many varieties of porcelain tile on the market, which all have different properties, it is often wrongly assumed that all porcelain tiles are identical.

The full range of porcelain tiles is somewhat complex but a clear understanding of the different terms that identify each composition will not only simplify the selection process, it will ensure that the tile chosen is appropriate for the job. Tracking the genesis of porcelain tile production is the easiest way to identify each type and understand where, when and how it should be incorporated into the overall ceramic tile design.

Certainly, some general concepts apply to all porcelain tiles. A standard description would characterize it as having a dense impervious body, usually produced by the dust pressed method, and having extremely low porosity. Twenty-five years ago at the inception of modern porcelain tile, the industry referred to one product only as porcelain tile, since only UNGLAZED porcelain, generally with a natural surface, was in production in the early years. The original terminology required no additional defining adjectives other than salt & pepper, to describe the multi colored or granite-like look or solid describing any single color tile. The term porcelain was simple, easily understood, and the original product quickly established its value in commercial specification.

Porcelain, in that early, unglazed form, was conceived and developed to satisfy the rigors of demanding environments: exterior applications, heavy pedestrian and vehicular trafficked floors, areas subjected to excessive water penetration or temperature fluctuations, and places where damage from aggressive chemicals or acids were likely. In order to create the unique inner microstructure of porcelain, high quality raw materials and specialized production techniques are required. The pore structure is critical to achieving; good color development, mechanical strength, and stain and frost resistance. The design community particularly appreciated the extremely hard, unglazed tile's natural deep abrasion and slip resistance.

To achieve specific technical objectives, initial porcelain production suffered from a lack of aesthetics. The unglazed surface also required a higher level of maintenance and its limited surface patterning offered little soil hiding ability.

Polishing of the unglazed tile was soon adopted into the process as the resulting high gloss finish added sophisticated textures to an otherwise limited design selection. Unfortunately, surface polishing opens the closed pore structure of the porcelain body and polished porcelains are more susceptible to staining because dirt gets trapped in the opened surface pores. For this reason, particular care must be taken when using a contrasting grout color with polished porcelain tile or when selecting a light or lightly patterned tile. Sealants or other pre-surface treatments can prevent this problem as long as routine re-application of the protective treatment is maintained.

Over the past twenty years, many decorating techniques have been developed to add depth, pattern, texture and natural variation to unglazed porcelain tile. All of these treatments are incorporated into the homogeneous body, maintaining the commercial benefits of each tile while improving its visual impact and increasing soil resistance. Soluble salts, double loading and multi-pipe are just a few of the techniques now used to create natural veining effects. Dry powder applications allow granules and flakes to be imbedded into the body, and micronized powder creates intricate travertine-like patterns. Newer hammered and flamed surface textures heighten dimensional interest; more closely mimic natural stone; and enhance slip resistance. All of these decorative effects have increased the application range and added to the visual appeal of unglazed porcelain tile.

In the past five years, the compelling desire for richer patterns and additional designs led to the introduction of glazed porcelain tile. It is only with the thin layer of glaze that the industry is capable of creating the virtually limitless array of design and color familiar in other traditional ceramic tiles. While the application of aesthetic glaze effects on porcelain tile captured the interest of residential designers, it also created dramatic changes in the physical characteristics of the tile. Most notably, the glaze compromises natural slip and deep abrasion resistance of the tile and can reduce its resistance to chemicals and acids.

This new addition to the porcelain family also led to some confusion because it does not necessarily meet the performance requirements for challenging commercial applications and, there, it blurred the previously understood concept of what a porcelain tile was. In glazed porcelain, the glaze hardness or abrasion resistance now determines a tile’s suitability to specific environments and use, and some glazed porcelains should only be used in light or moderate traffic areas. Thus, glazed porcelain tile intended for floor use must be carefully evaluated based on its PEI (Porcelain Enamel Institute) test classification. In many cases, it should also be compared, on a level playing field, with other traditional ceramic-bodied tile. Consumers who insist on using porcelain tile for every application should realize that they may actually add material and installation costs to a project unnecessarily.

When selecting any of the various types of porcelain tile, it is essential to specify the correct installation materials and methods. By ISO definition, glazed and unglazed porcelain must not have more than 0.5% water absorption. This low porosity presents a challenge to bonding and requires a premium two-part acrylic/latex enhanced mortar system. To ensure the ANSI required 80%-95% adhesion (interior-exterior or shower areas, respectively) back buttering is also strongly recommended.

Knowing why porcelain was conceived and how it evolved should encourage us to question its appropriateness for every application and to understand that different types of porcelain tile will perform differently. In fact limiting our choice to any one type of tile will severally restrict other reliable solutions given the tremendous variety of quality ceramic tile products on the market. No single tile is perfect for every job-the key to selecting any type of tile for a project is to match the attributes of the tile to the desired aesthetics, performance, maintenance and budget. Remember; there is a tile for every use and a use for every tile.