explained how the product was made, how it should be handled in the field, and how it should be installed. Fast forward to Coverings 2018 in Atlanta, where Crossville and MAPEI were at it again, as they have been for 12 consecutive, major trade shows. Crossville’s Noah Chitty and MAPEI’s Dan Marvin presented updated PowerPoint slides that have their roots in that 2012 presentation but have seen many changes. Gone are the slides that say “there are no standards.” Now, Noah and Dan get to quote from product standards (A137.3) and installa- tion standards (A108.19) that were voted into existence in 2017. The tiles themselves must meet certain criteria for strength, durability, and how well the mesh is attached if there is mesh. Troweling tech- niques, embedding techniques, coverage requirements, and prod- uct handling all have standards now. Instead of telling the audi- ence “this is what we think,” Noah and Dan now get to say “this is what the tile industry agrees is the right way of doing it.” After the PowerPoint portion of the Coverings presentation, there was an added bonus; the entire audience stayed to see a live dem- onstration of two panels being installed on a wall and one on the floor. With the help of Raimondi (tools) and MLT (lippage tuning devices), the audience was able The installation of large-format tile presents a unique set of challenges for installers. Demands upon the set- ting mortar require a product that wets out the back of the porcelain tile or stone as well as the substrate. The mortar needs to produce superior bond strengths while delivering the deform- ability to accommodate a higher degree of expansion and contraction resulting from larger tile sizes. MAPEI’s Thixo Technology LHT mor- tars exceed these large-and-heavy-tile installation requirements with prod- ucts that perform multiple functions. Thixotropic formulations allow MAPEI’s Ultraflor™ Plus, Ultraflex™ LFT ™ and Ultraflex LHT to be used as both stan- dard thin-set mortars and large-and- heavy-tile mortars with non-slump per- formance. Ultraflex LFT and Ultraflex LHT mortars also meet ISO non-sag performance requirements for vertical applications. All three LHT mortars hold ridges when larger-sized trowels are used, providing maximum support and coverage. For more information on MAPEI’s thixo- tropic mortars, visit www.mapei.com. THIN TILE –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 98 TileLetter | September 2018