Expert Answers in Standards

ANSWER - First of all, per industry standards hollow sounding tiles are not considered a defect per-se.  Although a hollow sounding tile, or a portion of a tile sounding hollow, can possibly be a symptom…

ANSWER - Tile having a hollow sound is not considered a defect in itself.  It can be a symptom of a defect.  There are many reasons why a tile can sound hollow.  It could be…

ANSWER - Per ANSI A108.10 Installation of grout in Tilework, it says that all grout joints shall be uniformly finished. Cushion edge tile shall be finished evenly to the depth of the cushion. The grout…

ANSWER - First of all you need to make sure that the substrate to which you will be adhering the tiles are suitable for the application.  In bathrooms you want to use materials that are…

ANSWER - The standards for Quartz Stone or Engineered Stone, which is a man-made product that generally is made up of about 90% quartz with resin, are currently the same standards as for natural stone.…

ANSWER -  Industry standards require tile floor surfaces in areas that are subject to being wet must have a slope to drain of 1/4 inch per foot.   So if  water is getting into your screed…

ANSWER -  Adhering a tile using a spot bonded method ,  where the installer typically applies a spot of cementitious thin-set adhesive in the four corners of the tile and at the center of the…

ANSWER - Unfortunately it is difficult for consumers to determine how to select qualified tile installers.  Most installers haven't had any formal education on how to install tile nor do they know what the industry…

ANSWER - What they did is called spot bonding, which is against industry standards unless the adhesive is an epoxy on an interior wall application over cementitious backer board application. It does no good skim coating…

ANSWER - The tile industry standards say that grout joints should never be less than 1/16" wide, and tiles should never be butted up to each other.  It is recommended that the grout joints be…