b'ASK THE EXPERTSAsk the Experts Q&As are culled from member inqui- Sponsored byries to NTCAs Technical Support staff. To become a member and make use of personal, targeted answers from Technical Support staff to your installation ques-tions, contact Jim Olson at jim@tile-assn.com.QUESTION something with thousands of years of I am a design consultant, workinghistorical reliability that goes through on existing nearly 100-year-old struc- several thousand degrees of heat, to tures. We need to be in complianceget produced.with current code for fi re separations one- and two-hour. ANSWERDuetothehistoricalaspectsofI can direct you to the 2018 edition some of the structures we cannot doof the Tile Council of North America much to the exterior but can enhanceHandbookforCeramic,Glassand fi Stone Tile Installation. re safety when doing alterations that affect the interior walls and fl oors. IntheTCNAHandbookyouwill Since the Space Shuttle uses ceram- fi methodRW800-18andasso- nd ic tiles on the outside of the hull tociateddescriptionsanddetailsfor preservethelivesofthecrewfromFireandSoundRatingsforWall theinfernore-entryheat,whycantAssemblies.Thismethodbeginson ceramic tile be a part of the fi re-ratedpage293andincludesavarietyof fl details and information on materialsoor and possibly ceiling assembly?and layers to design and construct fi re rated tile assemblies.Copies of the TCNA Handbook are availableforpurchasethroughthe NTCA store at www.tile-assn.com. I hope this helps!Mark Heinlein, NTCA Training DirectorThe intrinsic value added is we mayQUESTIONbe able to make the assembly thick- We are working with fl ooded storm ness narrower, thus keeping the fi victims from Hurricanes Harvey andrst fl Irma. The issue we are facing is thatoor and existing ceiling at the 7-6 minimum clear building code height.these homes were inundated with 3-8 Net results could be no fi re sprinklersfeetofwaterfor2-7days.category required, in certain situations, greater3 water, which includes sewage and fi othertoxins.Theinsurancecompa- re safety, lower cost for the upgrade and possible new avenues for upgrad- nies and the National Flood Insurance ingolderexistingstructuresusingProgram refuse to consider this fl oor-24 TileLetter | April 2019'