tation, then your project becomes a roll of the dice. Thus far, in every legal instance I have participated in, they have prevailed. Have had a few court cases where they used a local customs and prac- tices; haven’t seen a win using that defense so far. Only speaking of my own experiences. Have a case going right now that will be another test of the “that’s just the way we do it, sorry it didn’t work out” versus standards. Ashley Andrews, Andrews Quality Construction, Macon, Ga. – Coming from an installer's standpoint I see these standards as methods that are proven to perform to an expectation that I can guaran- tee nationwide. If I follow all guide- lines and instructions then I am assured that my project will suc- ceed for the long term anywhere in North America. This assurance gives me confidence that I can then pass on to the customer. With all that being said, I recently installed some subway tile manufactured in America with the “meets ANSI standards” mark and it was some of the worst tile I’ve worked with in a long while so I guess these standards are not foolproof or perfect. Still much better than nothing. Dave Gobis That is a good example of how you could have put them to work. You have recourse if they say it meets a standard and it doesn’t. Going to look at one of those Friday. Tim Christopher, Tiles and Tiling Association of Australia; Modern Aspect Tiling and Stone – The U.S. appears to have some of the best standards in the world and is a level to aspire to for other countries. Here in Australia, our standards are very outdat- ed. This makes things difficult as there are little or no guidelines on some products and situations. Having no overriding guidelines doesn’t serve the installer or the consumer. Craig Harimon, Craig Harimon Tilesetters, Omaha, Neb. – The fact that we have a set of industry- wide recognized standards is one of the necessary ele- ments to our future growth as a “pro- fessional” trade. Like the standards, the above sentence says exactly what I wanted it to exactly the way I wanted it said. They are written in a special- ized format that pose a barrier to many trying to understand. It has just occurred to me that a truly beneficial course that the NTCA could add to its NTCA HOT TOPICS ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 68 TileLetter | October 2018