More than four years of cross-disciplin- ary industry collaboration and 4,000-plus hours of research from the TCNA Laboratory Services team have culminated in the announcement at Coverings of two new stan- dards: ANSI A137.3, the American National Standard Specifications for Gauged Porcelain Tiles and Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels/ Slabs, and its companion, ANSI A108.19, Interior Installation of Gauged Porcelain Tiles and Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels/ Slabs by the Thin-Bed Method bonded with Modified Dry-Set Cement Mortar or Improved Modified Dry-Set Cement Mortar. Currently known in indus- try parlance as the “thin tile” standards, the standards use the term“gauged” to cover a range of precise thicknesses that can carry different loads and be used in different ways, taking a simi- lar approach to s t a n d a r d i z e d wire gauges and gauged sheet metal. Two classes of gauged tile products are defined – those for wall applications from 3.5 to 4.9 mm and for floor and wall appli- cations from 5.0 to 6.5 mm. ANSI A137.3 standardizes the minimum required properties for the products themselves and ANSI A108.19 standardizes the meth- odologies for installing the prod- ucts in interior installations by the thin-bed method with specific mortars. These standards, developed for the benefit of all tile consum- ers, are the result of a multi- year consensus process of the ANSI Accredited A108 Standards Committee, which maintains a broad and diverse group of par- ticipants reflecting stakeholder interests in all aspects of the tile New ANSI Gauged Porcelain/“Thin Tile“ Standards debut at Coverings Sponsored by TECH TALK –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 54 TileLetter | May 2017