b'Mortars and groutsInnovative technology offers ease, speed and lower costs for installersWith large-format tiles and porcelain slabs proliferating, large-and-heavy-tile (LHT) mortars continue to be essential materials, controlling shrinking, and offering non-slump and non-sag properties that make installation easier. Thinset mortars that are part of a complete system offer confidence and the knowledge they are developed to work with other installation components and materials. The word for grout these days is higher-performance, with high-performance cement grouts offering improved color consistency, no efflorescence, and overall higher performance properties. Ready-to-use grouts offer elevated chemical and stain resistance, as well as ease of installation, and their higher cost is offset by the speed of installation, no sealing needed, and lower amount of grout required to get the job done. MORTARSinstallation and contain increased adhesion properties to Tom Carroll prevent the mortar from sagging and hold tiles in place Senior Product Manager during vertical applications. The continued education and Parex USA awareness of LHT mortars are assisting installers to make Noteworthyadvancementsforthese a more common part of the installation.the installation of large-format tileSome of these mortars contain formulas to reduce dust andnaturalstonearethecon- providing cleaner work environments, easier mixing and tinued development of Large andspreading designed for the tile installers.HeavyTile(LHT)mortars.When typicalthinsetscure,theyareSean Gerolimatosinclined to shrink because the dis- Director of Research and DevelopmentplacementofwatercausestheSchluter Systems L.P.Tom Carroll mortartoretractandeitherpullIt is important to view thin-set mortar as a part of a away from the tile causing unevencompletetileinstallationratherthanasastandalone coverageandhollowspots,orphysicallypullthetilecomponent. In this regard there is a move toward devel-down while it hardens causing tile-to-tile lippage. Newly- oping and presenting thinset as part of a complete sys-formulatedLHTmortarsareformulatedtocontrolthetem, such as optimizing it to set between porcelain tile amount of shrinking that occurs during the curing pro- and waterproof substrates and enhance system perfor-cess, allowing the tile to stay in position. These LHT mor- mance. Some manufacturers are standing behind these tars are formulated with non-slump features to withstanddevelopments by offering enhanced warranties for instal-movementoflargerandheavierweightedtileduringlations that use a complete system from a single provider.542020|TECH'