b'TECH TALK TECH TALK notonlytobondadjacenttilesto is sponsored by oneanother,butalsoabsorband disperse some of the tension caused by the expansion and contraction of tiles and substrates. Although grout should not be used as a standalone waterproofi ng measure, it does dis-play repellent properties, that when compromised in a wet application, ARDEX X 90 OUTDOOR MicroteC3can lead to other failures. In other Rapid-Set,FlexibleTileandStonewords, if the joint width is not fi lled Mortar offers maximum weatherproofproperly, maintained properly, or of protectionagainsttheharshestsuffi cientwidth,thenfailuresmay elementsforoutdoortileandstonebe inevitable. As such, butt-jointing installations. Featuring a revolutionarytechniques should never be used. weatherprooftechnology,thetileANSIindustrystandardsfortile and stone mortar is formulated withare written in such a way to account specialty,high- for both manufacturing and installa-p e r f o r m a n c etion tolerances to mitigate potential ARDEXcements,failures and set expectations of what polymersandthe end result may look like. When going against industry standards and/m i c r o f i b e r s .ormanufacturersrecommenda-Itdeliversfulltions,failuresmayincludeexces-protectionagainstsiveappearanceoflippage,crack-theharshesting,warping,bondfailures,water weather conditionsdamageandtentingfromtension. and maximum levels of ef orescenceProvided that the manufacturer and/resistance for exterior tile and stoneor distributor that the tiles were pur-installations.ItsustainsthehighestchasedfromfollowANSI,ISOor levels of freeze thaw resistance, testedotherindustrystandardsformanu-at 150+ freeze thaw cyclessevenfacturing,thenitcanbepresumed timesgreaterthanANSI118.15 standard requirement of 20 cycles. It also features outstanding rapid-setting properties,evenattemperaturesas low as 40F. For more information, visitwww.ardexamericas.com/product/ardex-x-90-outdoor.Manufacturers sort tiles by caliber. Tiles of the same size are closer in caliber.78 TileLetter | November 2019'