ASK THE EXPERTS QUESTION I recently installed 2” x 2” sheet- mounted mosaics in a public park bathroom. During the tile instal- lation the general contractor pro- vided me with limited lighting. Electricians installed LED light fix- tures above and against the wall. During the installation, the own- ers of the facility were very pleased with how the product looked on the walls. But I noticed that with these very bright lights located directly over the tiles, you could see imperfections. Plus, shadows from the lighting made the tile job look like it was not done well, but when you ran your hand against the tiles you could feel that it was done properly. A couple of months later they contacted me for a meeting to go over the installation of the tiles because they felt it was unaccept- able. When I arrived the owners went over some of the areas and claimed that I did not do a good job. I did notice some tiles that needed to be replaced, but for the most part they were installed very well. I told the owners that I do not have a problem going over quan- tities that needed to be replaced and that I would take care of it; we even went to another facility where a different installer installed the same type of tile but the light in that room was not directly against the wall and you could not see the cast shadows – but when you ran your hand again the wall you could feel the imperfections. The bottom line is that the owners want me to replace the whole wall, which it is not necessary to fix the problems. I also documented dur- ing the process pictures that the drywall was not properly installed and leveled, and that was another reason for the imperfections. Can you provide to me or help me with some sort of literature or a reference to a handbook so I can protect myself from being taken to court, when clearly this is an issue because of the way the light- ing fixture is located and it's cast- ing shadows, making the installa- tion unacceptable. I did find some information about this topic but I do not know how to approach this to avoid court. Sponsored by Ask the Experts Q&As are culled from member inqui- ries to NTCA’s Technical Support staff. To become a member and make use of personal, targeted answers from Technical Support staff to your installation ques- tions, contact Jim Olson at jim@tile-assn.com. 22 TileLetter | May 2018