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 128may not hold up over time. For better results, protect the installa- tion from direct sunlight by tent- ing. Cold temperatures present the opposite problem. Optimal tem- peratures are between 50-70 degrees prior to install, and for 48 hours after. Don’t install if freezing is imminent or cannot be protect- ed against. Whenever installing in cooler temperatures, be sure to keep the extended cure time in mind during and after installation. 4. Achieve proper coverage If you’ve prepared your sub- strate, selected the proper mortar and taken climate into account, you’re ready to begin troweling. Remember, average contact area for tile should be at least 80% generally and increases to 95% in exterior, shower, or wet-area installations. Natural stone, how- ever, requires a contact area of 100%. Back-buttering is usually a good idea to achieve 100% coverage for large and heavy tile, especially with natural stone, but it does add installation time. Manufacturing guidelines help an installer choose the trowel size that will help ensure proper coverage, making back-buttering unnecessary. When setting large-format tiles with an LHT mortar, larger trowels are needed to apply enough bond- TECH TALK –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– When setting large-format tiles with an LHT mortar, larger trowels are needed to apply enough bonding mortar to achieve mortar coverage requirements. 76 TileLetter | January 2017