The specifications guide

KEEPING UP WITH THE TIMES

By Dale Kempster

The TTMAC Specifications Guide 09 30 00 Tile Installation Manual revision – it  has been a long time coming, but the new 2012 – 2014 TTMAC installation manual has finally been released. Many of you may not have realized it, but this manual has been delayed by almost a year. Whether by coincidence, luck or somewhat by intention, the delay was a good thing.

First, it was only brought to our attention in the late spring of this year that the CGSB M75.1-88 (tile, ceramic standard) had been withdrawn by the Canadian General Standards Board and would not be replaced or revised. If our industry wanted to pursue this, we would be looking at about a $100,000 investment, as we discovered after making inquiries with the Standards Council of Canada.

The significance of this action is that we now do not have a standard to refer to for specifying ceramic tile, so it was decided by the TTMAC Specifications and Technical Research Committee that we will recognize the ISO Standards 10545, complemented by ASTM standards ANSI A137.1 for missing topics. The ISO 10545 is written for ceramic tile only and does not include mosaics, glass or stone tile.

Another aspect of the withdrawal of CGSB M75.1-88 is that testing for the COF (Coefficient of Friction) under ASTM C1028 for slip resistance is no longer recognized, and is being replaced by the Dynamic Coefficient of Friction (DCOF) test referenced in ANSI A137.1-2008 (Section 6.2) that uses a factory-calibrated, and -validated, portable testing apparatus called the BOT-3000 digital tribometer.

The BOT-3000 is a portable machine, which means it could be used for in-the-field testing. This is a service the TTMAC will offer once enough experience and history has been developed. As we have now acquired this testing apparatus, it will be posted in the near future on our website.

Also new to the revised manual will be the use and conversion of the ISO standards for mortars and grouts. In every detail, when the recommended ANSI mortars are called out, the equivalent (when possible) ISO standard will also be identified. This is not always easy as the ISO standards are all performance-based and actually almost allow users to create their own recipe for performance, depending on the environment the installation is being exposed to.

In addition, another reason for recognizing ISO standards is that Canada has been participating in the ISO TC 189 (ceramic tile) for over 10 years as a “P” member (participating), rather than as an “O” member (observing). Our ultimate goal is to eventually adopt the ISO standards as our own and discontinue our domestic standards where there is duplication.

Lastly, with all these changes that have been mentioned above, it became clear that we needed to make many changes and additions to the 09 30 00 master tile guide specification. Luckily, one of our members on the 09 30 00 committee happens to be a top specification writer: Keith Robinson of Design Dialog in Edmonton, who took this task on and we now have a master spec that has gone from eight pages to 20.

These are just some of the key changes and aspects of the new revised manual, but there are many others that you will just have to wait for until you get your own copy. Contact the TTMAC office at 905-660-9640, or go online at www.ttmac.com and order get your own copy to have the most updated tile specification guide 09 30 00 tile installation manual at your disposal.

This article was written by Dale Kempster, TTMAC Chairperson for Specification Committee.

The Terazzo, Tile and Marble Association of Canada was founded in 1944 to promote standardized installation techniques and to provide technical resources.