we are not crying wolf,” he said. “We are looking for a quick and as painless resolution for all. But an uninstalled tile is their problem. This is why we order extra and do mock ups in some cases on new tiles we have not seen before.” Jeremy Waldorf, Legacy Floors in Howell, Mich., said, “It’s not truly possible, in my experience, to safeguard against substandard tile by going to the distributor and inspecting the tile in advance. The warehouses aren’t really set up like that, and even if they were there are way too many selections and not enough time. Often you can’t tell there’s something wrong until your layout runs off, you start see- ing excessive lippage, or tiles start breaking funny while you’re cut- ting them.” Bradford Denny, Nichols Tile & Terrazzo, Joelton, Tenn., added, “We greatly rely on our distribu- tors to be looking out for the qual- ity of the mate- rials. If we can’t install it, they really can’t sell it. Additionally, it is a huge help when they educate the consumers in advance about the importance of choosing tiles that meet standards.” Stay ahead of the job; request technical information before starting a project when working with unfamiliar suppliers or owner-supplied material; and clarify that num- bers for the project are based on it meeting standard Staying ahead of the job means having everything you need at your disposal to launch into the project full speed ahead. As the subhead says, that means ensuring you have technical information on the project and materials and that the tile meets the standards for the application. Sanders recommended trouble- shooting in advance by having dis- tributors send over tile cut sheets, SDS sheets, and manufacturers’ installation sheets during the bid- ding process – or getting them as soon as selections are made before ordering. “Look at them and look for problems,” he said. “Understand the tile types and their limitations.” Denny added, “We try to cir- cumvent this on the front end of a project. Working with reputable distributors can alleviate much of the problem, but when working with unfamiliar suppliers or install- ing owner-supplied material, we request all technical information in advance of starting a project, and any numbers given for the project are based upon it meeting the standard.” HOT TOPICS ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 50 TileLetter | April 2018