Wednesday 30 November 2011

Intense Hands-on New Technology Product Training

Class of November 2011

Our first class has successfully graduated from LATICRETE's first training night held at our fantastic new Moorebank, NSW Training Facility.

Around the world LATICRETE places great importance on training our customers and we would like to thank Pierre and the team from Macarthur Tiles for attending.

Tuesday 29 November 2011

"Best product we have ever used"

Joe and Michael (tilers) at Ital Ceramics with
Vince (Ital Ceramics, black shirt)
 
Kody (VIC Technical Sales Rep) visited Ital Ceramics in Brunswick, Victoria. It was a great meeting, especially to hear how pleased their tilers were with SpectraLOCK Pro Grout. Joe and Michael did their first SpectraLOCK Pro Grout job last week and were quoted as saying, "It (SpectraLOCK Pro Grout) is the best product we have ever used". Great feedback for a great product.

If you would like more information on SpectraLOCK Pro Grout, click here.

Monday 28 November 2011

Dazzle Your Next Job!

LATICRETE SpectraLOCK
Dazzle in Pearl

A unique design component, LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Dazzle adds metallic and "Glow-In-The-Dark" enhancements to SpectraLOCK PRO Premium Grout. These high-end design elements offer limitless imaginative applications. Use Dazzle on walls and floors. Add a metallic look to plain tile and stone. Accentuate metallic tiles, glass tiles, mosaics, stone and listellos with Dazzling colour combinations. Use Dazzle in your pools and spas. Use Glow in your bathrooms, hallways and entryways. For use in interior and exterior applications on floors and walls.



 Click on images to enlarge

Friday 25 November 2011

Installation of Large Format Tile & Stone

18mm loop notch trowel with a medium bed mortar used for
large format tiles or stones.

Twenty to twenty five years ago choosing tile was simple. Floor tile was typically 200mm x 200mm and wall tile was 100mm x 100mm and there were a couple dozen options for color on the floor and several options for wall tile color. The old saying, “you can have any colour you want as long as it’s white” was not far from the truth. With the tremendous advances in technology and materials, the average tile installation is no longer average. For many years the tile manufacturing trend was to create a wider variety of textures and colours for stone; but more recently there has been a trend to manufacture and install larger and larger tile.

Large format tile was considered to be 300mm x 300mm and was on the cutting edge of technology. Now tile is available from 10mm x 10mm glass mosaic to 1220mm x 1220mm porcelain and larger.

Some advantages of having large format tile installed include;
  1. Narrow grout joints – rectified, large format tile allows for thinner grout joint widths
  2. Easier maintenance – it is typically much easier to clean the face of tile than it is to clean grout.
  3. Room size perception – the perception is that large tile makes the room in which it is installed appear larger
Consider three main issues when installing large format tile and stone:
  • Lippage
  • Thin Set Mortar Coverage
  • Curing / Protection

For additional information regarding this important subject read the complete technical data sheet. Click here to view.

Thursday 24 November 2011

LATICRETE Chemist Visits Chelmstone

LATICRETE R&D Chemist, Dr. Surendra Patel,
Chris and Craig from Artizan Stone

LATICRETE R&D Chemist Dr. Surendra Patel assists with an installation of Artizan Stone using LATICRETE products at Chelmstone in Brisbane.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Exterior & Interior Tile Walls - Methods & Details

Click on image to enlarge

This Technical Advisory deals with TCNA handbook listed & detailed methods for Exterior Walls and Interior Walls over Masonry or Concrete Methods and Solid Backing:

EXTERIOR WALLS (Ceramic, Porcelain and Glass Tile) - pages 127-130

These methods have the highest environmental rating – Res 6 / Com 6. However, bear in mind that waterproofing is not a requirement. If it desired, then it must be clearly specified. The exception is method W244E (cement backer board over wood or metal studs). A membrane is required in this method; however, its location (whether over the framing or directly beneath the tile over the face of the cement backer board) is left up to the design professional to specify. Our preference is to place the waterproofing over the cement backer board. In this location, it protects the fasteners and the connections to the framing. If a water resistive barrier is also required, waterproofing can still be applied over the face of the cement backer board.

A note appears under membrane options; which mentions that local building codes should be consulted to determine if a water-resistive barrier (typically 2 layers of 15 # builders felt), waterproof membrane or vapor retarder membrane is required.

Some other notes of interest:
o      Not all bonding mortars are suitable for exterior use
o      Protection of installation may be required to prevent premature exposure of setting materials to moisture.

INTERIOR WALLS OVER MASONRY OR CONCRETE (Ceramic, Porcelain and Glass Tile) - Pages 131 – 133

As in the exterior details, a membrane is optional.
These methods have environmental ratings of Res 1,2,3,5 / Com 1,2,3,5. Therefore, only high humidity / heavy moisture (Res 4 / Com 4 – e.g. steam rooms) and exterior (Res 6 / Com 6) applications are excluded. The exception is W215 (Epoxy Spot Bond Method) which can only be used in dry areas (Res 1 / Com 1).

INTERIOR WALLS OVER SOLID BACKING (Ceramic, Porcelain and Glass Tile) - Pages 134 – 137

There are 3 methods in this section. As in the exterior details, a membrane is optional.

This section includes another example of the versatility within a given installation method. Methods W221 and W222 have environmental ratings of Res 1,2,3,5 / Com 1,2,3,5 with masonry backing (e.g. brick or block). With gypsum board or plaster backing the environmental ratings drop to Res 1, 2 / Com 1, 2 and drop further with wood backing to Res 1 / Com 1.

These methods can be suitable for exterior applications when flashing, waterproofing and appropriate material selection is considered. If used in exterior applications, certain notes / conditions will apply.

Method W223 (organic adhesive over solid backing) is only suitable for Res 1, 2 / Com 1, 2 interior only applications.

If you would like a copy of the TCNA Handbook click here to send us an email. If you would like a PDF efile copy of a Laticrete brochure on tile & stone Facades click here. For access to a comprehensive Tile & Stone Facades Technical Design Manual click here.

Tuesday 22 November 2011

iPhone & iPad & Android App

Click on image to enlarge
Click here to read more and to obtain the App

Laticrete & Innovation

Click on image to enlarge
Click here for more information about Laticrete Innovations
Click here to contact Laticrete and to be part of this

Friday 18 November 2011

LATICRETE Pty Ltd Holiday Schedule 2011


If you have any questions regarding this holiday schedule please email info@laticrete.com.au or call 1800 331 012.

Laticrete & Green

Click on image to enlarge
Click here for more information on Green Tile & Stone Installation Materials

Thursday 17 November 2011

An Interesting Book

Click on image to enlarge
An interesting book written by an interesting tiler
More info click here

Lunch Time On The Jobsite

Click on image to enlarge
An interesting use of a notched trowel.  Note the mustard bottle.

Interesting Interview

 Click on image to enlarge
Kirby Davis of Laticrete being interviewed during the first few minutes of this video at the Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo:

Kirby is part of the Laticrete SPD (Specialty Products Division) team promoting Laticrete MVIS mortars, products, technology for installing thin stone and thin brick veneers !

Check out www.laticrete.com/MVIS for more info regarding the Laticrete MVIS products

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Showing Our Support on Steve Irwin Memorial Day

Richard C. Wood (LATICRETE), Sandy Robertson (Oz Mosaics)
and Ken Fisher (LATICRETE)

Yesterday three representatives from LATICRETE Pty Ltd attended the very special Steve Irwin Memorial Day at Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast. The day was filled with inspirational conservation messages, fun, creativity and of course CROCODILES! Sandy Robertson, the mosaic diva from Oz Mosaics was creating another mosaic masterpiece with an African theme to coincide with Steve Irwin Day and also a new exhibit that has opened at the Zoo. Everyone was invited to participate on the day on the mosaic mural, and like the last mosaic mural created by Sandy for the Zoo, it has every ones love and creativity stuck onto the mosaic. Sandy was promoting her favourite LATICRETE product to everyone and anyone, 4237 Latex Thin-Set Mortar Additive (with many of the bright orange 4237 buckets on display!) 

It was a fantastic day, and we can't wait to see the finished African themed mosaic mural finished and on display at Australia Zoo. Thank you to Sandy and her team for making us so welcome, and making it a very special day.

Monday 14 November 2011

Art Mintie Presents at Total Solutions Industry Event

Art Mintie, LATICRETE Global Technical Support

Art Mintie, Director of LATICRETE Global Technical Support, makes a presentation on the evolution of the technologies of tile and stone grouts at tile industry event Total Solutions in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Followed by hands on demonstrations of various grout materials.

Friday 11 November 2011

Ken Visits Tilers Express

Mick - Tilers Express Coorparoo, Qld
One of the many LATICRETE customer appointments today to see how products are selling and performing. Ken had a great meeting with Mick from Tilers Express in Coorparoo, Qld.

Thursday 10 November 2011

Rick Demonstrating LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Grout

Rick C. Wood - LATICRETE Sales & Marketing Consultant
Rick has the attention of the tile shop onlookers in Victoria as he demonstrates the ease and versatility of LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Pro Premium Grout.

LATICRETE SpectraLOCK PRO Premium Grout has all the great features of LATICRETE SpectraLOCK PRO grout – colour uniformity, durability and ease of installation – with enhanced performance. LATICRETE SpectraLOCK PRO Premium Grout is Stainproof†, so it’s even easier to maintain. The improved "non sag" formula is even easier to install while providing attractive, full grout joints.

Would you like to see a LATICRETE product demonstration? Contact marketing@laticrete.com.au

LATICRETE Appoints Fred Gray as Technical Services Manager

Fred Gray - LATICRETE Technical Services Manager
LATICRETE, a world leader in the manufacturing of innovative systems for the installation of ceramic tile and stone, has appointed industry veteran Fred Gray to the position of Technical Services Manager for Australia. Fred's primary focus is on educating the tile and stone industry on the most up to date and leading edge methods of installation systems available from both Australia and globally.

Fred joins LATICRETE with more than 25 years of experience as a builder specialising in tile and stone installations systems and 20 years of experience with LATICRETE products and this familiarity with the profession and the LATICRETE System provides a strong foundation for his new position.

In maintaining his primary focus on education the stone and tile industry on these leading edge methods, Fred will be developing and implementing training programs, Seminars as well as offering personalised specifications and job review services.

This fits with the LATICRETE mission of "Maintaining our global Leadership in high quality, innovative installations systems for ceramic tile and stone"  and ensuring our customers' expectations are meet. Fred's access to our global partners, R&D personnel and a commitment to continuing professional development will ensure the most up to date technical advice and solutions are available.

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Glenn Visits Stone Merchants

Glenn's eye-catching LatiVan!
Glenn Mannix who is the Technical Sales Rep for NSW region spent the morning visiting stone merchants in his LatiVan.

Hot Weather Tiling and Grouting

Conventional Portland cement based tile & stone installation mortar beds, thin-set adhesive mortars, PC/Sand based grouts, cement renders, screeds & plasters and stuccos are often permanently damaged when subject to hot, dry temperatures or dry environments immediately after installation. 

High temperatures remove the water content of the mortar required for proper Portland cement hydration, curing and strength development. 

In addition, rapid drying often causes adhesives, grouts & mortars to crack, crumble or lose bond. Waterproofing membranes, anti-fracture membranes, epoxy adhesives, epoxy grouts, epoxy waterproofing membranes, underlayments and most other tile & stone installation products will also be affected by hot working temperatures.

Flash setting and reduced working time can result. It is important to note that surface temperature is more important than air temperature. Therefore be sure to be aware of and monitor the surface temperature of the installation.

Click here for additional in-depth technical information regarding this subject.

Tile in Specialized Application Areas

Click on image to enlarge
Technical Support for Tile in Specialized Application Areas
Click here or call toll free in Australia: 1800 331-012

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Tile & Stone Installation Systems

Click on image to enlarge
Comprehensive Architectural Technical Brochure - Tile & Stone Installation Systems
Click here to request a copy

LATICRETE Announces Kody Fashik as Technical Sales Rep for Victoria Region

Kody Fashik, VIC Technical Sales Rep

Kody brings to LATICRETE more than a decade of hands-on experience within the tile industry. Most recently, he was Show Room Sales Manager for Signorino Tile Gallery in Richmond, Victoria, spending that time working with designers and architects throughout the state. Prior to that, Kody spent nine years working as Managing Director in his own tile and stone supply company, Pacific Tiles, which consisted of four stores across the state of NSW. The company won 2 Masters builders awards in 2005 and 2006 in the National Building awards for houses Pacific Tiles completed.

"LATICRETE are renowned as the Market Innovator around the world in the stone and ceramic installation sphere, so when a position opened in the Victorian Market, I jumped at the chance," exclaimed Kody.  "I have always believed that LATICRETE were the sleeping bear in the Australian market, and there are interesting times and opportunities ahead, I couldn't resist  the urge to be part of that, and contribute in a positive way."

Kody, who studied Commerce and Business at University, brings with him a wealth of knowledge, as well as experience working and contributing to the tile and stone industry as an owner, supplier and sales representative.

Stainproof Grout

Click on image to enlarge
Better Quality & Performance Grout
40 bright, bold, vibrant colours
Reduce Complaints & Callbacks
Click here for more info & to watch an installation video

More Dazzle - Gold & Pearl

 Click on image to enlarge

Monday 7 November 2011

Immediate Openings Nationwide


Endless Design Opportunities with LATICRETE® SpectraLOCK® Grout Dazzle

LATICRETE® SpectraLOCK® Grout Dazzle (Glow-In-The-Dark)

Dazzle adds metallic and “Glow-In-The-Dark” enhancements to LATICRETE SpectraLOCK PRO Grout. These high-end design elements offer limitless imaginative applications. For use on walls and floors. Add a metallic look to plain tile and stone. Accentuate metallic tiles, glass tiles, mosaics, stone and listellos with dazzling colour combinations. LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Dazzle provides a unique design element for pools and spas; and use Glow in your bathrooms, hallways and entry ways. A unique design component, LATICRETE® SpectraLOCK® Grout.

Friday 4 November 2011

Another LATICRETE Facility Gains ISO 9001 Certification


The ISO 9000 family of standards relates to quality management systems and is designed to help organizations ensure they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders (Poksinska et al, 2002 [1]). The standards are published by ISO, the International Organisation for Standardisation, and available through National standards bodies. ISO 9000 deals with the fundamentals of quality management systems (Tsim et al, 2002 [2]), including the eight management principles (Beattie and Sohal, 1999;[3] Tsim et al, 2002[2]) on which the family of standards is based. ISO 9001 deals with the requirements that organisations wishing to meet the standard have to fulfill.

Third party certification bodies provide independent confirmation that organisations meet the requirements of ISO 9001. Over a million organisations worldwide [4] are independently certified, making ISO 9001 one of the most widely used management tools in the world today. Despite widespread use, however, the ISO certification process has been criticised[5] as being wasteful and not being useful for all organisations.[7]

Info from Wikipedia. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_9001:2008

PermaColor - Incredible PC Grout Performance

Incredible grout with incredible performance

    Consistent Color
    Mixes With Water Only
    Ideal For Floors and Walls - Joint Widths of 1.5 to 12 mm
    Inhibits Mold and Mildew with Microban®
    Improved Stain Resistance For a Cement Based Grout
    Interior and Exterior Applications
    Residential and Commercial
    Conforms to ISO 13007 (CG2WA) and EN 13888 (CG2WA) classification.

Click here to read more about PermaColor grout

Want a bag to try for yourself ? click here: hbrothberg@laticrete.com

Thursday 3 November 2011

Mike from Tileworld showing his best seller of the week!

Mike - Tileworld

LATICRETE MultiMastic is Mike's best seller this week. Not only is this a fantastic adhesive, it comes in the most attention grabbing pink packaging!

LATICRETE MultiMastic is a white one pot adhesive, designed for interior installations of ceramic tile on both wall and floors. Recommended for use over plasterboard, cement sheet, render and concrete. MultiMastic is a special no slump formula that allows the tiler to hang a tile without the need for spacers. Meets and exceeds the requirements of a D1TE Classification.

Tile Guy Goes Fishing In Mexico

Click on photo to enlarge
Went fishing down to Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco, MX) last weekend with brother John. The beer was cold, the weather was perfect and the fishing was good. I have attached a couple of pictures of a 155 lb. black sea bass we caught. Enjoy!

Bill Moody
Desert Mountain Tile & Marble Inc.
Phoenix, AZ 85040 USA

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Tile & Stone Design Manual in eBook Format

Laticrete Offers the First Installation Manual in an eBook Format

Laticrete has launched another industry first with the introduction of an eBook version of the Laticrete Tiled Steam Room & Steam Shower Technical Design Manual. 

Available from the Apple iBooks store, the Amazon Kindle store and at www.laticrete.com/manuals. The manual is formatted to be compatible with virtually all eReader devices & software including the iBooks® app from Apple®, the Amazon Kindle™ and the NOOK™ from Barnes & Noble.

Developed by our technical support specialists at Laticrete as another free service to benefit the industry at-large, we plan to shortly roll out the entire series of Laticrete Technical Design Manuals in eBook formats offering a fast, easy way to reference and store complete design, detailing & specification information for tile and stone installations in a number of uniquely challenging settings.

Quality Policy & Mission Statement

Laticrete Quality Policy:

At Laticrete QUALITY is the foundation for Customer Satisfaction. We are committed to meeting the needs and expectations of our customers. QUALITY is a continual process of improvement encompassing our Quality Management System, Research, Manufacturing and Customer Service.

Laticrete Mission Statement:

Maintain our Global Leadership in high quality, innovative installation systems for ceramic tile and stone

Green

Laticrete was the first manufacturer of tile and stone installation materials to earn and offer the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute’s (GEI) certification. Based on criteria used by the U.S.EPA, OSHA and the USGBC’s LEED-CI program, the GREENGUARD certification provides you assurance that the specified Laticrete Products & Systems meet appropriate indoor air quality standards for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including formaldehyde.

More info here:

http://www.laticrete.com/architects/green_leed.aspx

Laticrete Opportunites

 Click on images to enlarge

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Laticrete Australia in the Tile + Stone Annual

Click on image to enlarge

Free Grout

FREE Grout for your sample boards, Mockups & Displays

Don’t BUY grout – take that money and make more sample boards …!  Make your sample board budget “go further …!”

We will supply No Charge Laticrete grouts to you for your sample boards, concept boards, showroom displays, trade show exhibits – For all of your Grout needs …!

And, we will supply you with “Peel & Stick” Grout Color selectors so that you have pressure sensitive label grout color swatches for your sample boards, displays and mockups.

Interested ?  Send an email to marketing@laticrete.com.au

OK, What Is It ?

Our Message

Call us for Innovative Tile & Stone Installation Systems.  Call us for in-depth technical support.  Call us for answers to your tile & stone installation questions.

Stainproof Grout


Recent tile forum posting by tiler:

"Many of you know I have been an adamant supporter and fan-boy of Spectralock. So much so, it is the only grout I have used on my projects for the last several years. I spec it on the jobs I bid and I don't leave it up for discussion. If they want me to do the job its part of my "recipe" for successful installations so its a take it or leave it proposition. I have never had a problem selling a customer on the cost once they know the benefits and frankly, over the lifespan of a job, epoxy is waaay cheaper than cement grout once you factor in maintenance and labor."