4 2018 | TECH T E C H A t e c h n o l o g y a n d t r e n d s r e p o r t f r o m t h e N a t i o n a l T i l e C o n t r a c t o r s A s s o c i a t i o n Production: Bart A. Bettiga, Publisher bart@tile-assn.com Lesley A. Goddin, Editor lesley@tile-assn.com Michelle Chapman, Art Director, michelle@tile-assn.com Mary Shaw-Olson, Advertising Sales mary@tile-assn.com Mailing Address: P .O. Box 13629 Jackson, MS 39236 U.S.A. Shipping Address: 626 Lakeland East Drive Jackson, MS 39232 Tel: 601-939-2071 Fax: 601-932-6117 Website: www.tile-assn.com www.tileletter.com NTCA would not be possible without the dedicated service of our board and committee members, and regional and state directors. Meet these dedicated volunteers by visiting www.tile-assn.com and clicking on About Us.You can also find information and a continually-updated list of Five Star Contractors at www.tile-assn.com – click on Find a Tile Con- tractor or Consultant. TRENDS AND TECH EDITORIAL POLICY: TRENDS and TECH are official publications of the National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. (NTCA). TRENDS provides a medium for expressing views and opinions without approving, disapprov- ing, or guaranteeing the validity or accuracy of any data, claim or opinion appearing under a byline, or obtained or quoted from an acknowledged source. Statements of fact and opinion are made on the responsibility of the authors alone, and do not imply an opinion or reflect the official position of NTCA. The National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. is an equal opportunity association and seeks to include qualified individu- als and businesses in all phases of its activities.The National Tile Contractors Association,Inc.does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability. The National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. seeks opportunities to include these groups in its programs and activities. EDITOR’S LETTER Lesley Goddin Welcome to our annual TECH issue! This, our fourth installment, focuses on the trends that are driving technology – and the technology that is evolving to meet style and instal- lation demands in our industry. We examine two challenging case studies that show how expert installers are wielding new installation technologies to provide superb results. One thing that comes across in both stories is that the tile products, the installation products, the manufacturer’s techni- cal support staff and the skilled tile contractor form a robust system of technology and know-how that gets the job done. Bart Bettiga’s story about training and education speaks to resources available in the industry – many through the NTCA – to fully equip contractors who are pursuing perfor- mance and excellence in their jobs. He also addresses efforts by the NTCA to recruit and train a new generation of installers and attract more creativity and qualified labor to this industry segment. Making her writing debut for NTCA in this issue is Stephanie Samulski, formerly with Tile Council of North America. Stephanie joined us in August as NTCA Director of Technical Services. Learn more about her role in Bart’s story, but suffice to say that she brings a tre- mendous amount of technical knowledge and prowess to our association and will share this expertise with readers in future issues. Contributing editor Louis Iannoco once again did yeoman’s duty in collecting, organiz- ing and writing much of the material in our product categories. This is no small task, and we’re grateful for his help in bringing you all this year’s cutting-edge information. Our categories change a bit from year to year, but it's interesting to watch the emphasis on the categories change and see stunning new trends popping up in different catego- ries. This year, industry experts talk the nature of membranes, evolving to multi-task; the renewed need for lippage control systems that large-format tile and even gauged porcelain tile panels mandate. Dust containment is its own category this year as instal- lation material manufacturers and tool manufacturers position themselves to produce materials and tools that are not just fast, well-performing, ergonomic and cost-effective – but in light of the recent OSHA ruling about respirable crystalline silica – that are safe on the jobsite as well. Three contractors have offered their perspectives in the aptly named “Contractor Perspective” blurbs – one each for backers, membranes and lippage sections. See how peers are approaching these categories and what they feel is important when navigating through new developments and using products that result. Got an opinion about a trend or a product you’d like to share? Contact me at lesley@tile-assn.com and get the discussion started in the pages of TileLetter. God bless, Lesley Goddin lesley@tile-assn.com “The art challenges the technology, and the technology inspires the art.” – John Lasseter Lou Iannoco