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 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132J J Those of you who know me know I am not a tree-hugger, but I also believe that we should be responsi- ble stewards of our environment. At our house we put the recycle bin out at the curb full of plastic and paper and we also collect aluminum cans. As a tile contractor, how can we create a sustainable jobsite? We can use our water more wisely, we can recycle the cardboard and paper we use, we can tile with recycled materials and mortars and grouts that have some recycled contents as well. These are all good ways to be sustainable, but as a tile contractor, there is one thing we can do that I consider the ultimate in sustainabil- ity. And that is to install tile correctly the first time. When we install tile correctly the first time we have cre- ated a finish that can last 30, 40, 50, up to and over 100 years. The life- cycle cost of tile is the lowest in the flooring industry when installed cor- rectly. By not having to replace poor or failing tile installations we save valuable resources like new tile, new mortar and new grout. It also means we are not trucking in additional materials, which saves fuel. Tile is also the most environmen- tally friendly flooring finish.Tile itself contains no VOCs, and tile mortars usually do not contain VOCs either. This means that the interior air that our customers breathe is cleaner and better for you than most of our floor- ing competitors' air. Tile is also more hygienic than carpet, as fluids do not absorb into porcelain tiles like they do with car- pet. I have seen tile finishes that are being developed that actually kill bacteria and make our air cleaner. These technologies can be used to make a great product even healthier. When I speak to architects, I explain to them that if they want truly sustain- able projects, then the tile needs to be installed properly. As I explain to our members, we make the most money and have the least amount of head- aches when we install tile properly. You don’t have to be a tree-hugger to help the environment. By using qual- ity, qualified labor and a little com- mon sense, you can go a long way in protecting both the environment and your bottom line. Regards, James www.artcraftgmt.com PRESIDENT’S LETTER James Woelfel 16 TileLetter | August 2016