46 2017 | TECH LEVELING ––––––––––––––––––––– Rich Morse, product marketing manager Stabila www.stabila.com Remodeling shows feature endless possibilities in kitchen backsplashes, custom showers and baths utilizing specialty tile products. These custom tiles require a lot of layout to make sure you maintain proper borders, and equal margins and reveals. The industry has relied on standard-size levels for years using means and methods to do the job. The most- performed leveling and plumbing method is manually sliding your level along to extend your control and hoping your control points line up around the room. This process has now been made easier with special- ized levels and lasers. Brett Fleury, product marketing man- ager, performance flooring USG www.usg.com The three most common myths about gypsum underlayments are that they are weak, chalky or hard to use on the job. The key thing to note here is that manufactur- ers have made many improve- ments over the years to fix this, and because of these efforts, gyp- sum underlayments are becoming a favorable material builders turn to for their projects. The material requires less preparation, has excel- lent flow properties, can be poured deeper, and offers potential for bet- ter crack resistance. Some products made with FGD gypsum can reach 90% recycled content and achieve higher compressive strengths than other materials. SUBSTRATE PREPARATION PRODUCTS CRACK ISOLATION ––––––––––––– Ardex 8+9™ Rapid Waterproofing and Crack Isolation Compound can be used on all common substrates in commercial and residential applica- tions prior to the installation of tile or stone. Designed for use in show- ers, kitchens and for exterior manu- factured veneer stone installations, Ardex 8+9 can receive tile in just 90 minutes. Ardex 8+9 offers crack isola- tion up to 1/8” (3 mm), flood testing in only four hours and a 25-year war- ranty on two-coat applications every time. www.ardex.com LATICRETE® 125 Sound & Crack Adhesiveisacrack-prevention/sound- isolation adhesive mortar designed to achieve high Delta IIC ratings and independently tested to ASTM E2179. While simultaneously protecting the surface finish from any cracking in the substrate, it also provides sound- transmission protection. Equipped with lightweight technology and rein- forced with Kevlar® to provide maxi- mum strength and durability, 125 Sound & Crack Adhesive is able to take the place of costly, time-con- suming thin-set, membrane or mat combinations and allow for a more cost effective tile and stone installa- tion. www.laticrete.com LEVELING PRODUCTS––––––––––– LATICRETE® NXT™ Level is a cement-based underlayment for use in leveling inte- rior substrates, including con- crete, vinyl tile, cement terraz- zo, exterior glue plywood, cement mortar board, cement backer board, ceramic tile and stone. NXT Level produces a flat, smooth and hard surface for the installation of finished flooring. The NXT Level formula is a fac- tory-prepared blend of cement, aggregate and other materi- als to produce a flowable, fast- hardening underlayment that can be distributed via pour or pump. Common applications include inte- rior thin bed floors and renovations. www.laticrete.com NAC’s Moisture Lock 101® is a clear, water-based, chemical hard- ener for porous and cementi- tious substrates that reacts with the free lime and calcium carbonate in concrete to fill and seal pores and capillaries to harden and dust proof surfaces. It maximizes the coverage of NAC primers by sealing the substrate and minimizing absorption, and con- tains 0% V.O.C. content. Moisture Lock 101 will not salvage honey- combed or structurally unsound surfaces, but is an effective solu- tion to harden and seal patching/ leveling compounds, moderately hard concrete, mud beds, gypsum/ gypcrete, and lightweight concrete. www.nacproducts.com Substrates ® ...sets standards