TCAA Tile Talk Monthly

September 2024

Using Foam Boards as Solid Backing Material

A suitable substrate is always necessary for a flooring project, but the same applies to interior wall installations as well.  The use of foam boards for solid backing under wall tile has become more prominent, often displacing cement and gypsum boards. Years of successful installations and word of mouth have led to the rapid growth of foam backers.  Read on for some background on the benefits of foam boards to decide whether to swap gypsum and cement with foam for your next project.

Benefits of Foam Boards

Traditional cement and gypsum boards are heavy, awkward, and require substantial fasteners to hold them in place.  Multiple trips from the truck to the jobsite are typically required.  Carrying them any distance also requires multiple people, and the risk of injury while carrying and placing them is real. 

Foam boards are lightweight and do not require multiple installers to transport them around the jobsite, and several boards can be transported each trip.  A typical, ½-inch thick 3-foot x 5-foot foam board weighs approximately 7.5 pounds, compared to 45 pounds for a similar size sheet of cement board.  In the unlikely event that one of the foam boards falls, the risk of injury or damage is minimal.

Foam backer boards also require few materials to install to the substrate.  Foam boards can be attached to wooden surfaces using the appropriate screws and washers every 12-inches, or they can be attached using an appropriate thin-set mortar, such as Schluter ALL-SET^®, with a square or U-notched trowel.  The boards are light enough to adhere to wood with either method, or a combination of both methods to ensure a more secure bond.

Cutting foam boards is also easier than cutting alternative materials, since the foam is lightweight and composed of extruded polystyrene foam.  For installations that require it, the boards can be sized appropriately using a utility knife, which installers generally have available in their pockets, or at least close by on the jobsite.  Another huge benefit of foam boards is that they don’t contain cement or fiberglass, which eliminates potentially being exposed to harmful dust particles and itchy glass strands during cutting and installation.  For proper instructions on cutting foam boards, such as the Schluter^®-KERDI-BOARD, refer to Schluter’s KERDI-BOARD technical data sheet.

New Foam Board Standard Now Available!

There is now a standard available that permits the inclusion of foam backer boards as alternatives to backer boards composed of other materials.  The new standard, ANSI A118.18, states that cementitious-coated extruded polystyrene foam backer board, such as Schluter’s KERDI-BOARD (when coated with appropriate thin-set mortar), is a suitable replacement for glass-mat gypsum backing panels (ASTM C1178), fiber-reinforced gypsum panels (ASTM C1278), non-asbestos fiber-cement backer boards (ASTM C1288 or ISO 8336, Category C), and non-asbestos fiber mat reinforced cementitious backer units (ASTM C1325) when used as a backer for wall tile in tub and shower areas.  Building codes and specifications that recognize these other materials can now reference ANSI A118.18 when foam boards are desired.  For more information on the new standard and other beneficial literature on this and other topics, refer to the 2024 TCNA Handbook for Ceramic, Glass, and Stone Tile Installation.

TCAA Announces

Lucinda Noel as the 2024

Carl V. Cesery Award Winner!

This prestigious national award is given by TCAA to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the ceramic tile industry.  Lucinda, having been an integral part of our industry for 45 years and serving on a number of industry groups and associations, is certainly well deserving of this award.

The award is presented as a five-inch bronze medallion created by Gilroy Roberts, the sculptor of the Kennedy half dollar.  Lucinda will be recognized and congratulated by her industry peers and friends at this year’s Total Solutions Plus annual ceramic tile conference in Boston, October 27-29, 2024.

            Congratulations, Lucinda!

TCNA Handbook 2025: New Guidelines for Recessed Showers, Movement Joints, and More

by: Ronald Schwartz, J. Colavin & Son, Inc.

The biennial meeting of the TCNA Handbook committee was held this year in Atlanta Georgia on August 14^th.  The committee, which is comprised of various tile and material manufacturers, contractors, labor organizations, architects/specification writers and special interest groups, meets every two years to discuss and vote upon changes to be made to the definitions and methods in the TCNA Handbook. TCAA’s representatives to this committee were present for the meeting. (Brad Trostrude (TCAA East) and Ronald Schwartz (TCAA West))

As a result of this meeting, upcoming changes to the handbook will involve revisions to the viewing of the finish product in both the Natural Stone Selection Guide and revisions to Finished Tilework.  Various TCNA methods in the handbook involving Foam Core Backer Board will see slight changes in sections such as definition, methods, and installations.

There will be a few other changes and clarifications to be made in the Wet Areas Guidelines section and Installer and Contractor Qualifications Guide section. Two topics that held a lot of discussion and changes are to Movement Joints and Recessed Showers. 

Proposals were made and received positively for the addition to the handbook to show methods of installation for Recessed Showers (sometimes referred to as step down showers).

Lack of Movement Joints in installations are still a major issue and perceived causes of failures in tile, glass, and stone installations.  There are to be modifications to the existing methods in the handbook with the possibility of the addition of examples of cove and corner transitions that had been removed from the handbook in 2017.

Among other modifications that were discussed, there were changes made to the materials that are currently shown and used at the weep holes of shower drains and the bond breaker at movement joints that contractors should make a note of to look for when the 2025 Handbook is released.

Overall, the meeting appeared to be very successful and addressed a lot of pertinent issues discussed which will have a positive affect for contractors.