to slope to drain. As the ranks of competitors offering these products increased, and scrutiny with regard to prod- uct durability and performance intensified, the need for a more codified system of evaluating the products grew. Part of this increased scrutiny was also due to heightened marketing and sales efforts for these prod- ucts on commercial proj- ects such as hotel showers where architectural and design professionals raised concerns about durability, point loading, compres- sion, etc. Currently, there are no ANSI standards, or TCNA installation methods that address the needs of a contractor or architect seeking to ascertain perfor- mance variables amongst various foam tray offerings. The primary concerns are focused on these products’ ability to with- stand point loading and compres- sion forces that may occur during installation, as well as when the completed wet areas are put into service. Michael Zafarano, Project Architect, Station Casinos, observed, “Many of the foam pans and trays we review appear to be suited for residential projects, and we question the resilience and compressive strength of some of these products. Our projects demand these types of products will hold up in a demanding hos- pitality environment on a long term basis.” This growing awareness of the need to accurately identify the performance variables that may exist between different available products has not gone unnoticed by the industry. What’s needed is a way to standardize and identify acceptable levels of performance TECHNICAL FEATURE –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– A number of manufacturers provided a waterproof surface or membrane affixed to the substrate. In some cases, more compression-resistant, lightweight alternatives to foam were offered. 2002 saw the advent of a molded foam tray/pan from Europe that provided a sloped substrate for the installation of a ANSI A118.10 bonded membrane. 50 TileLetter | May 2018