Current guidelines for writing soft flooring specifications leave room for interpretation, from each user and the personal network of experts they consult for answers. The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) developed the 4-C’s (see the Construction Product Representation Practice Guide) to ensure effective communication of any specification.

To commercial and residential building owners, water damage from interior leaks is an out-of-sight, out-of-mind problem until they see evidence such as a water spot on a ceiling. For the flooring contractor that failed to seal openings in flooring material around plumbing fixtures, for example, the damage is also out of sight and out of mind—until they hear from an angry building owner with an immediate callback demand.

Have you encountered a situation where your grout became soft, powdery, discolored or cracked shortly after installation? Perhaps you were installing with a very absorptive tile such as an unglazed ceramic, terracotta, or porous stone. 

Glass tile can bring a unique aesthetic to a variety of commercial and residential projects. However, achieving a successful installation with glass tile requires careful product selection and installation techniques. Follow these 5 steps, and you’ll be on your way to a beautiful and long-lasting installation:

This course covers the challenges of installing large format tile, and provides recommendations and precautions to prevent issues both when installing, and for the life of the application.

Losing a bid can be frustrating. In this article, Luke Miller of Tile Money provides some simple tips on what to do when you don't get the bid and steps to take in your follow up process. 

Surface preparation is one the most important variables in floor construction profitability. To help control this variable and increase margins, TEC® has compiled the following best practices.

Every year, flooring installation product manufacturers (including TEC) are promoting their new green messaging. They use phrases including “LEED v4 VOC Emissions,” “CA 01350.” They state their products meet “UL Greenguard Gold,” “MAS Certified Green,” or “CRI Green Label Plus” guidelines. Whatever happened to the simple VOC Content paperwork for job submittals?

Do you consider yourself a salesperson? Many contractors do not, in fact most people agree that they do not want to be “sold to”. Even when we go shopping for something we want, as soon as the salesperson approaches us, what do we tend to do?

There are a few, incorrect myths floating around when it comes to using grout, especially since new products are now available to meet industry demands around tile and flooring. Let’s break down the top ten myths around mixing grout. 

Minimizing operating costs to make every project more profitable requires a commitment to continuous improvement. You can make many big and small moves that make a difference, but your mindset matters most. Committing to constant scrutiny of your business and continuous improvement has to happen before anything else.