62 2017 | TECH PVC pan liner to this drain system on every residential shower. At this time, we’ve done approximately 50 of these drain systems and couldn’t be happier about it. There is a little more labor and time needed to install these systems due to mortar beds, thinsetting the membrane to the mortar bed, letting the mortar “set” for 24 hours, then flood testing. If installed correctly, this is a no-brainer for a tile contrac- tor, builder, or homeowner. The value in the system is that water never reaches the mortar bed as it does with PVC liners. Therefore, there is no musty smell coming from your shower or mold creeping up your shower wall due to water not getting out of the pan. Even if a traditional PVC pan liner is installed correctly – pre slope, protected weep holes, etc. – water will always be soaked into the mortar bed. With an average of two to three showers per day, there is no way that all of that water can escape the four small weep holes that fast. So, for the time being, the bonding flange drain systems are the cream of the crop. If you are still using PVC pan liners, give this system a try. I think you will see the value. Shower Systems Mortars Much like many other products and categories in the floor covering industry, mortars have gone through seis- mic changes in recent years, mainly in trying to keep up with the growing popularity of large-format tiles, thin tiles as well as porcelain panels. These advanced devel- opments are designed to create the perfect bond, thus avoiding cracked tiles or the dreaded hollow spots. Manufacturers of the latest, state-of-the-art mortar offerings have triumphed with products that provide an easier spread, are much more lightweight than in the past and feature much faster cure times. As you read through the comments below, as well as the new products section, you’ll learn about what is now available to make your individual projects a much easier task to complete with higher-performance results. —Louis Iannaco Dan Marvin, director, technical services Mapei Americas www.mapei.com Large and Heavy Tile (LHT) mortars are really displacing thinsets as tiles continue to grow in size. While the “stays where you put it” technology of thixotropic mortars is great for traditional thickness tiles, the new gauged porcelain (formerly called thin tile) formats require a creamier consistency that allows the air to move out from under the tile and less overall water that needs to exit from under the tile. Tom Plaskota, technical support manager H.B. Fuller Construction Products www.hbfuller-cp.com Gauged porcelain tile panels/slabs and large heavy tiles continue to grow in popularity. Installation of these large thin or heavy tiles is challenging. New mortars are being developed and introduced to reduce the difficulties of proper installation. There are new additives that allow mortars to offer fast-setting proper- ties with extended pot life and open time. The installer gets a mortar for- mulated for large tiles but still easy to use. Current mortars offer excel- lent non-sag/slump properties, and some feature enhanced properties to minimize the need for back but- tering of the large tiles. As the uses for gauged porcelain tile panels/slabs expands to include countertops, ceil- ings, columns in addition to floors and walls, manufacturers will con- tinue introducing specialized mortars to facilitate the new uses. Eric Kurtz, market manager, hard- wood, resilient and surface prepara- tion systems Bostik www.bostik.com Roughly 30 years ago, porcelain tile was the new rage of the tile indus- try. Today, gauged thin porcelain tile panels have become extremely popular for numerous reasons, in particular because they offer so many new unique design options. This newer category of high-tech- nology tile products clearly needs state-of-the-art installation materi- als and proper training. With the recent release of the new ANSI standards for thin porcelain tile panels, installers – and their cus- tomers – have a clear understand- ing of this tile, its unique format and its mechanical properties. Now it’s up to manufacturers to develop unprecedented installation systems to keep up with this ever-develop- ing product.