QUESTION

Installation Guidelines for Ceramic Tile and Natural Stone - How do I know whether my tile installer is installing my tile correctly so it will perform well and last?

ANSWER

ANSWER - You as the owner need to either hire a qualified third party tile quality control company such as Ceramic Tile And Stone Consultants (www.CTaSC.com) or you need to be the quality control inspector yourself.

You have to get the data sheets of all the products being used to include the tile data sheet, the thin-set data sheet, the backer board data sheet, the floor warming data sheet, the waterproofing data sheet, the grout data sheet, the sealant (caulking) data sheet, the sealer data sheet, etc.  Then you need to read the data sheets to make sure the installer is explicitely falling the data sheets.  If the installer doesn't follow the product data sheets and industry standards then any warranties become void.

In addition to that here is CTaSC's Installation Guidelines that you can use to help you better understand how a ceramic tile or natural stone should be installed.  Good Luck.