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 844 2016 | TECH T E C H A p r o d u c t a n d t r e n d s r e p o r t f r o m t h e N a t i o n a l T i l e C o n t r a c t o r s A s s o c i a t i o n Production: Bart A. Bettiga, Publisher bart@tile-assn.com Lesley A. Goddin, Editor lesley@tile-assn.com Michelle Chapman, Assistant Editor, Production Manager/Designer, Advertising Sales michelle@tile-assn.com Mary Shaw-Olson, Advertising Sales mary@tile-assn.com Mailing Address: P .O. Box 13629 Jackson, MS 39236 U.S.A. Shipping Address: 626 Lakeland East Drive Jackson, MS 39232 Tel: 601-939-2071 Fax: 601-932-6117 Website: www.tile-assn.com www.tileletter.com NTCA would not be possible without the dedicated service of our board and committee members, and regional and state directors. Meet these dedicated volunteers by visiting www.tile-assn.com and clicking on About Us.You can also find information and a continually-updated list of Five Star Contractors at www.tile-assn.com – click on Find a Tile Con- tractor or Consultant. TRENDS AND TECH EDITORIAL POLICY: TRENDS and TECH are official publications of the National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. (NTCA). TRENDS provides a medium for expressing views and opinions without approving, disapprov- ing, or guaranteeing the validity or accuracy of any data, claim or opinion appearing under a byline, or obtained or quoted from an acknowledged source. Statements of fact and opinion are made on the responsibility of the authors alone, and do not imply an opinion or reflect the official position of NTCA. The National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. is an equal opportunity association and seeks to include qualified indi- viduals and businesses in all phases of its activities.The National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability. The National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. seeks opportunities to include these groups in its programs and activities. EDITOR’S LETTER Lesley Goddin As science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke aptly stated, advanced technology is a bit of magic. We see the stuff of this today – surface treatments, glazes and inkjet printing processes for tiles that replicate anything from lace to wood with perfect authenticity or quirky artistry; tiles that are thinner than the diameter of a pencil; mortar that can bend and flex…the list is endless. Our industry truly is a marvel of advanced engineering that provides a spectrum of amazing surfacing materials, setting materials, tools, and accessories with which to make projects more enduring and better performing, while streamlining the process for the installer. The magazine you hold in your hands pays homage to this. Welcome to the 2016 repeat performance of our TECH issue of TileLetter. NTCA debuted this publication in 2015, and it’s back this year by popular demand. Overall, this issue takes an in-depth look at new technologies and advances of a range of product categories: substrate preparation; electric floor warming; shower systems; mortars; grout; tools, accessories, and apps; and this year we added a sustainability category. Within each category, you’ll find manufacturer comments about the direction the cat- egory is taking and what advances we can expect to see emerging over the next year. As an adjunct to each category, we present a range of new products that demonstrate these cutting-edge advances. And in many categories we include comments from contractors and installers working in the field. These give a view on what REALLY works and what doesn’t by those putting them to the test on the job – and occasionally ideas for improvement. In addition to our category content, we have a cover feature by TEC about the expan- sion of The Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis, Ind., and a collection of stories that sup- port the advance of technology and standards in our industry. Kevin Fox, Methods and Standards Committee chairman discusses the development of some new submissions and additions to the 2017 TCNA Handbook for Ceramic, Glass and Stone Tile Installation. Crossville’s Noah Chitty updates us on the latest in the quest for product and installa- tion standards for gauged porcelain tile, the tile formerly known as large thin porcelain tile. NTCA president Bart Bettiga uses his Publisher Letter to report on the first-ever Installation Summit, held in Dallas at the beginning of August, which brought together 70 representatives from all flooring installation sectors (25 from tile and stone alone!) to put their heads together about what is being called an “installation crisis” – particularly quality work and lack of experienced installers. Something that’s new for this year is the Regional Sales Snapshot, where several major suppliers share information about what is selling in their region, in terms of setting mate- rials, tools and tile and stone products. We’re grateful to everyone who shared their wisdom and perspectives in this issue. We hope it’s a useful reference document for the entire year to come, and brings technologi- cal magic within reach for your upcoming projects. Think of something you’d like to see in the 2017 edition? Send your ideas to me at lesley@tile-assn.com. God bless, Lesley “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke