Scott Conwell, FAIA, FCSI, LEED AP’s Post

What a great experience at Coverings this week in Atlanta with our industry partners Tile Contractors' Association of America (TCAA). We delivered a panel presentation on Tile Essentials 101, demonstrated skilled installation of tile with the Advanced Certifications for Tile Installers (ACT) mockups, participated in important ANSI and other technical committee meetings, learned about new and interesting products, reconnected and made tons of new friends, and picked up some wristbands along the way! I’m proud to be a part of North America’s largest tile and stone conference. #Tile #Coverings24 #Coverings #WhyTile Why Tile

Consider the sparkle of the mosaic tile ceiling, the elegance of the large format wall and floor tile, and the subtleness of the porcelain tile linear drain grates in the women’s hot tub area at Chicago’s recently completed Life Time Fitness facility at One Chicago. These materials stand out not only for their beauty and ease of maintenance, but also for their outstanding workmanship. They were installed International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers tile setters and finishers with Diverzify for a general contractor Power Construction and owner with a very high bar for quality. International Masonry Institute is featuring a panel discussion with the project’s construction team at our Chicago Tile Expo on May 2. This event is free for qualified design and construction professionals, and it comes with lunch and 2.0 HSW learning units. More information and registration at https://lnkd.in/gWqfvs49. #Tile #ContinuingEducation #WhyTile Why Tile

Many thanks to the ITA Miami Italian Trade Agency (and their promotional partners at AIA Chicago) for hosting a delegation of US architects and designers to Salone del Mobile. I was honored to be among the delegates and benefited from seeing the spectacular exhibits and spaces, particularly those that used tile and stone in traditional and innovative ways. I also enjoyed meeting my A&D peers and discussing their views on materials and design... I feel like I made some new friends along the way. An amazing experience all around! And to view the historic architecture of Milan and her surrounds was the icing on the cake.

In my previous post entitled “No Birdbaths" ( https://lnkd.in/g88q5Kx8 ), I talked about the 1/4 inch per foot* slope required of floors in wet areas like showers and pool decks, highlighting the importance of qualified tile installers in the successful delivery of compliant floors. But just how do these installers achieve such precise slopes? There are a couple techniques commonly used to achieve slope in floors. Perhaps the simplest is the use of a prefabricated underlayment board manufactured with the prescribed slope. These devices work well for smaller standard square or rectangular showers that have a single drain in the center. These boards still need to be waterproofed and tightly tied into the rest of the shower assembly. The classic method, and perhaps most suitable for complex shower configurations or larger areas with multiple drains, is to pull, or screed, a thick sand and cement mortar bed, commonly called “mud,” tapering the mortar bed with the required slope to drain. Installing mud floors is a skill taught in the tile apprenticeship program of International Masonry Institute, and it is also a specialty skill area in the industry-wide ACT certification (Advanced Certifications for Tile Installers). No matter what means they use to achieve slope, you can be sure that BAC tile installers are trained and often certified in mud floor installation, and able to provide a floor with positive and continuous slope to drain. *Always follow national and local codes and manufacturers’ recommendations. #Tile #Watertight Why Tile #Slope #Pitch

We’re getting the band back together! Alena, Ryan, and I have served on tile education panels before, and this year Coverings has given us 90 minutes to talk about “Tile Essentials 101: A Comprehensive Guide for Specifiers and Retail Sales Professionals.” If you’re attending Coverings, North America’s largest tile and stone exhibition, in Atlanta April 22-25, check us out. Our class offers an essential roadmap for architects, interior designers, and retail sales professionals delving into the fundamental aspects of tile selection and specification. Understanding the diverse applications of tile – ranging from wet areas, floors, and outdoor spaces to walls, countertops and beyond – is pivotal. Participants will grasp the nuances in tile selection by unraveling installation requirements, with an emphasis on proper grout selection, use of multiple samples and accurate square footage estimations for success. Explore the network of resources available for novices in the field, from human expertise to essential documents, to help facilitate informed decisions and specifications. Discussions will also revolve around optimizing tile selection for any design, while stressing the essential role of qualified labor in ensuring a successful installation, underscoring the significance of skilled professionals in executing your design vision. Visit https://lnkd.in/dE_zFZtQ for more info on our session. And if you haven’t yet signed up to attend Coverings, it’s not too late. Register for free with the promo code IMI24 at https://bit.ly/IMI24. #Tile #Education #WhyTile Why Tile #Coverings

Responsible building product manufacturers demonstrate the environmental impacts of their products by reporting what goes into their materials and how toxic those ingredients are. This reporting should be transparent, accurate, and it should follow a standardized format so specifiers can make well-informed decisions on material selection. This year, Tile Contractors' Association of America (TCAA) is rolling out a 6-part series in their e-newsletter, TCAA Tile Talk Monthly, about reducing our carbon footprint by using tile, a series which I’m proud to have contributed to. Visit https://lnkd.in/gp3NH_dF to read the second installment which addresses some of the basic approaches to building material transparency. #Tile #Sustainability #Decarbonization #BuildingMaterialTransparency #WhyTile Why Tile

Chicago Board of Trade at the golden hour. Enough said. #UseNaturalStone #ChicagoArchitecture

The recently completed Life Time Fitness facility in Chicago is an example of a challenging but well executed ceramic tile project featuring 75,000 square feet of tile in a newly constructed residential high-rise. There were over 50 types of tile on the project representing multiple sizes, applications, and setting methods. International Masonry Institute invites you to attend a panel discussion of this project with team members from Power Construction, Diverzify, and BAC Local 21 Tile Setters. Panelists will discuss some of the unique challenges of the project include the owner-supplied tile, the ambitious installation schedule, the coordination with other trades, the complex swimming pool, and drainage requirements in wet areas. The panel discussion is part of IMI’s 2024 Tile Expo (2.0 HSW LUs) taking place May 2 in suburban Chicago. Receive 2.0 AIA HSW LUs as you learn about the latest trends and technologies in designing with tile. In addition to the case study, you can participate in an interactive tour of tile training and certification mockups as we discuss critical points of large format tile, membranes, showers, and other specialties. There will be hands-on opportunities for those who want to pick up a trowel. Lunch is included. More information and registration at https://lnkd.in/gWqfvs49

Many commercial and residential projects attempt to maintain the look of masonry while achieving perceived cost savings by using thin adhered brick, stone, or manufactured stone. Adhered veneer can be a viable alternative to anchored veneer in certain applications, but only when designed and installed correctly. Interestingly, the tile setting trade, closely allied to the bricklaying trade, has well-established standards, design practices, and construction techniques that have resulted in successful exterior installations for decades. Due to the similarities, the masonry industry is beginning to adopt many of the design and installation methods used for tile, bringing a parity to these systems and a unified set of information for both designers and installers. In an effort to highlight the similarities, Sunup Mathew and I recently wrote a paper published by The Masonry Society (TMS) in the Proceedings of the 14th North American Masonry Conference (14NAMC) that compares the design and installation methodologies for adhered masonry and tile. #Masonry #Tile #AdheredVeneer #ThinBrick