Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124TECH TALK Wood plank tiles present their own set of installation requirements to main- tain their unique aesthetic. As many installers know larger tiles are prone to crowning. Furthermore if the sub- floor is not flat it will accentuate the tiles imperfection leading to lippage. TEC EZ Level Premium Self Leveling Underlayment is fast-setting and helps avoid these problems. Wood plank tiles also require a mortar with high bond strength. Formulated for time-sensitive installations TEC Ultimate Large Tile Mortar passed rigorous ASTM C627 Robinson floor testing enabling it to be specified for heavy commercial environments. It also exceeds ANSI A118.4 and A118.11 shear bond speci- fications. For faster-tracked projects TEC Fast Set Ultimate Large Tile Mortar is ready for grout in just three to four hours. Be sure to offset wood plank tiles at 33 to help minimize crowning and lippage. www.tecspecialty.com pre-fabricated and delivered ready to install Figure 1. In our design practice we avoid any manufactur- ers system that allows field fabrica- tion of such precision wall systems. The cutting of each panel many with unique and precise dimen- sions and the precision required for drilling and setting mechanical anchors Figure 2 dictates that the majority of porcelain panels be pre- fabricated under controlled factory conditions to deliver a high-quality durable wall system. Many tile contractors are already familiar with large-format thin tile a.k.a. LTPT or gauged large format porcelain tile and understand the specialty equipment and training necessary for proper delivery han- dling and installation of such pan- els for interior walls and flooring. Depending on the size of porcelain panels used in exterior rainscreen walls such equipment may also be necessary in addition to specialty hoisting sub-frames and lift equip- Fig. 2 Precision attachment detail for lower portion of panel allowing for expansion contraction and structural movement 64 TileLetter June 2016