Traditionally, Tech Talk is a place to bring information of specific, practical tips for day-to-day tile installation. But this installment will focus on the technical work that goes on behind the scenes in the TCNA labs, which impacts test- ing, standards and other aspects of tile and associated products that contractors work with every day. This information was made public at Coverings in April. TCNA Lab active in new gauged porcelain tile standard When ANSI A137.3-2017 and A-108.19-2017 were approved recently, their 32 cumulative pages represented many hours of work on behalf of “thin tile” advocates across the globe. The science behind the standards, meanwhile, was provided by a tightly knit group based out of Anderson, S.C., who logged approximately 4,000 hours over six months to make the standard a reality. “While a number of folks in the industry were absolutely critical in spearheading the thin tile project, and in keeping it moving forward at an incredibly rapid pace, there’s no question our lab played a deci- sive role in its eventual composi- tion,” said Eric Astrachan, execu- tive director, Tile Council of North America (TCNA). “In fact, our lab plays an integral role in the devel- opment of many of this industry’s standards – thin tile is just the lat- est example. We couldn’t develop consensus as we do today without the lab leading the way through their R&D efforts. We’re very proud of the work they do.” “Standards development is a challenging and interesting cross- disciplinary project for our staff,” said director of Laboratory Services Claudio Bizzaglia. “We have a standards team that attacks each particular standards project we work on, and then, depending on the nature of the project, we pull in specific additional staff members, depending on their specialties. The standards we’ve worked on recently or we’re working on now include a new surface abrasion Taking a look at the testing behind the tech: TCNA Lab and its contribution to the industry Sponsored by TECH TALK –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 52 TileLetter | June 2017