BUSINESS TIP ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Mapeguard® WP 200 is a thin and flexible, two-sided, nonwoven, polypropylene fabric, used for both waterproofing and crack isolation under ceramic, porcelain and natu- ral stone tiles. The laminated fabric webbing is uniquely designed to ensure solid adhesion of mortar to the membrane, the substrate and the finished floor covering. Mapeguard WP 200’s low perm rating perfor- mance is ideal for vapor protection in showers and wet areas. Mapeguard WP 200 provides reliable waterproofing in damp areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms and steam rooms. Additionally, its low perm rating performance is ideal for vapor pro- tection in showers and wet areas. Mapeguard WP 200 is part of an advanced four-part system that includes sealing tape, collars, and inside/outside corners to ensure a smooth installation. www.mapei.com make $30,000/year – which are said to be a far cry from elevator installers and repairers at $80,000 annually, or construction and build- ing inspectors at $55,000. The upshot of the story was that location (workers in urban centers generally command higher wages than those in rural settings) and the skill/training level of the workers are the two main factors in high- er paying positions, which David attributed to roles like supervisors, engineers and inspectors. However, some TileLetter Weekly readers took umbrage at how tile setters were characterized and how figures may have been obtained including small sample sizes (15 for cement, concrete and terrazzo work- ers, 19 each for brick masons, block masons and stonemasons and carpet, floor and tile finishers and installers). “I dislike this occupational study and the way they group tile setters in with carpet/flooring. It requires greater skill to be a hard tile setter than it does to be a resilient/carpet installer,” said Rod Owen, of NTCA The BLS statistics paint a different picture of tile and marble setter wages. 32 TileLetter | June 2018