–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– HOT TOPICS The Mosaic Expert from Beno J. Gundlach, accord- ing to Rocky Garvey of Rock Solid Flooring, Inc., Plainfield, Ill., “has worked great for my company, for decora- tive mosaic strips that are never the same thickness as the field tile.” For Zach Hoffman of Access Granite in Atlanta, Ga., nothing would get done without tape and level – closely followed by his Speed Square, he said. He added, “Power tools obviously include the wet saw, but my grinder becomes more important when the saw has to be far away or if any polishing needs to happen.” Zack Bonfilio of American Tile & Remodeling in Dedham, Mass., couldn’t get along with- outhisvest.“My vest is my best tool because it keeps all my tools handy,” he said. Stephen Belyea, owner of JSG Tile & Stone in Weymouth, Mass., has an interesting take on essential tools. “Does social media count?” he asked. “It’s an invaluable tool. Between the NTCA page and Tile Geeks, I can get the answer for almost any problems that arise. Having the access to reps and all that knowledge is great.” And Damian Arine of Sun Country Customers in San Ynez, Calif., admitted, “I know. Cheap. But the most essential and necessary tool I have is the fac- tory reconditioned Ryobi ZRP742 Tough Tunes 18V Radio/Charger.” Indeed – music makes the world go round. And of course, no tool story can be complete with- out the mention of the Back Butter Buddy, which saves wrists and time when back buttering large format tile. Ergonomically engi- neered, it fits atop a bucket! What contractors want Contractors listed out a number of items they’d like to see available in the industry: • Better dressing stones for smooth- ing cut edges of glazed ceramic • Better drill bits for porcelain • Better wet saws. Joe Lenner of Joe’s Tile in Bensalem, Pa., “Wet saws drive me insane. There’s always something to compromise on, such as weight, water spray, accu- racy, longevity, power, etc. I feel it’s the tool we all use that’s really lacking.” • A deposit and signed contract. Lofthouse said he won’t set tile without these. TileLetter | April 2017 85