Test Dal Tile 1x1 mosaics
For Internal Use Only
Robinson Floor Test on TI Pro Board Project Number RLS 2271 Requested by Ken Barnum, Product Manager
Revision A
7/30/08
Steven Fine Senior Scientist LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Section I – Executive Summary Many Dal Tile distributors have started carrying a product called TI Pro Board. TI Pro Board is a plastic decking material for residential decks. It is designed to be covered with ceramic tile. Only Merkrete has a specification for tile setting materials over the TI Pro Board. The goal of this project was to develop a LATICRETE system for installing tile over TI Pro Board. A system consisting of LATICRETE® 226 Thick Bed Mortar mixed with LATICRETE 3701 Mortar Admix as a mortar bed, LATICRETE Hydro Ban™ as a waterproofing membrane, LATICRETE 254 Platinum as the thinset adhesive, and LATICRETE SpectraLOCK® Grout was tested and qualified. The system received a “Heavy Service” rating as per Tile Council of North America performance levels using ASTM C-627 Robinson Floor Test. This report will be forwarded to the Product Management Department so they can arrange to have a proprietary specification written.
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 2 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Section II – Goal The goal of this project was to determine the Service rating as per Tile Council of North America performance levels using ASTM C-627 Robinson Floor Test on the system of LATICRETE® 226 Thick Bed Mortar mixed with LATICRETE 3701 Mortar Admix as a mortar bed, LATICRETE Hydro Ban™ as a waterproofing membrane, LATICRETE 254 Platinum as the thinset adhesive, and LATICRETE SpectraLOCK® Grout installed on TI Pro Board.
Section III – Procedures 1. A wooden joist system consisting of 4 joists placed 16 inches on center was assembled on the Robinson Floor Tester. The joists were 2 x 4 lumber. See photo in Appendix. 2. The TI Pro Board was screwed to the joists as per the manufacturer’s directions. See the photo in Appendix. 3. The LATICRETE 226 Thick Bed Mortar mixed with LATICRETE 3701 Mortar Admix at a liquid to powder ratio of 0.1 was screeded into the TI Pro Board. See the photo in Appendix. 4. The mortar bed was allowed to cure overnight and LATICRETE Hydro Ban was installed. See the photo in Appendix. 5. 12 in. x 12 in. Dal Tile porcelain tile was installed using LATICRETE 254 Platinum at a water to powder ratio of 0.229. The grout joints were ¼ inch wide. See the photo in Appendix. 6. The grouts spacers were removed and the tile was grouted with LATICRETE SpectraLOCK® Grout. See the photo in Appendix. 7. The grout was allowed to cure 28 days. The Robinson Floor Test was run as per ASTM C-627.
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 3 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Section IV – Results TI Proboard Robinson Floor Test Cycle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7A 7B 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Type of Wheels
Total Weight per Wheel
Comments
100lbs
No damage
200lbs
No damage
300lbs
No damage
300lbs
No damage
100lbs
No damage
200lbs
No damage Broken wheel - impact to tile but no noticeable damage
Soft Rubber Soft Rubber Soft Rubber Soft Rubber Hard Rubber Hard Rubber Hard Rubber Hard Rubber Hard Rubber Steel Steel Steel Steel Steel Steel
300lbs 300lbs 300lbs 50lbs 100lbs 150lbs 200lbs 250lbs 300lbs
No noticeable damage Impact point and cracking on tile where wheel broke Increase cracking at impact No further damage No further damage No further damage No further damage Chipped tile at grout joint Piece of originally damaged tile missing Further opening of cracks
See Appendix for photo of broken wheel (7A) and chipped tile (14). Please note, it is very unusual to have a hard rubber wheel break. I believe the wheel was defective.
Section V – Conclusions The system received a “Heavy Service” rating as per Tile Council of North America performance levels using ASTM C-627 Robinson Floor Test.
Section VI – Actions This report will be forwarded to the Product Management Department so they can arrange to have a proprietary specification written.
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 4 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Appendix
Joist System with Ti Pro Board Installed
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 5 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
TI Pro Board installed overhead view
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 6 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Mortar bed installed
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 7 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
LATICRETE Hydro Ban™ being applied
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 8 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Tile installed with LATICRETE® 254 Platinum
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 9 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Grout installed with LATICRETE® SpectraLOCK® Grout
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 10 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Broken wheel at Cycle 7
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 11 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Chipped tile at Cycle 14
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 12 of 12
Robinson Floor Test on TI Pro Board Project Number RLS 2271 Requested by Ken Barnum, Product Manager
Revision A
7/30/08
Steven Fine Senior Scientist LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Section I – Executive Summary Many Dal Tile distributors have started carrying a product called TI Pro Board. TI Pro Board is a plastic decking material for residential decks. It is designed to be covered with ceramic tile. Only Merkrete has a specification for tile setting materials over the TI Pro Board. The goal of this project was to develop a LATICRETE system for installing tile over TI Pro Board. A system consisting of LATICRETE® 226 Thick Bed Mortar mixed with LATICRETE 3701 Mortar Admix as a mortar bed, LATICRETE Hydro Ban™ as a waterproofing membrane, LATICRETE 254 Platinum as the thinset adhesive, and LATICRETE SpectraLOCK® Grout was tested and qualified. The system received a “Heavy Service” rating as per Tile Council of North America performance levels using ASTM C-627 Robinson Floor Test. This report will be forwarded to the Product Management Department so they can arrange to have a proprietary specification written.
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 2 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Section II – Goal The goal of this project was to determine the Service rating as per Tile Council of North America performance levels using ASTM C-627 Robinson Floor Test on the system of LATICRETE® 226 Thick Bed Mortar mixed with LATICRETE 3701 Mortar Admix as a mortar bed, LATICRETE Hydro Ban™ as a waterproofing membrane, LATICRETE 254 Platinum as the thinset adhesive, and LATICRETE SpectraLOCK® Grout installed on TI Pro Board.
Section III – Procedures 1. A wooden joist system consisting of 4 joists placed 16 inches on center was assembled on the Robinson Floor Tester. The joists were 2 x 4 lumber. See photo in Appendix. 2. The TI Pro Board was screwed to the joists as per the manufacturer’s directions. See the photo in Appendix. 3. The LATICRETE 226 Thick Bed Mortar mixed with LATICRETE 3701 Mortar Admix at a liquid to powder ratio of 0.1 was screeded into the TI Pro Board. See the photo in Appendix. 4. The mortar bed was allowed to cure overnight and LATICRETE Hydro Ban was installed. See the photo in Appendix. 5. 12 in. x 12 in. Dal Tile porcelain tile was installed using LATICRETE 254 Platinum at a water to powder ratio of 0.229. The grout joints were ¼ inch wide. See the photo in Appendix. 6. The grouts spacers were removed and the tile was grouted with LATICRETE SpectraLOCK® Grout. See the photo in Appendix. 7. The grout was allowed to cure 28 days. The Robinson Floor Test was run as per ASTM C-627.
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 3 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Section IV – Results TI Proboard Robinson Floor Test Cycle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7A 7B 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Type of Wheels
Total Weight per Wheel
Comments
100lbs
No damage
200lbs
No damage
300lbs
No damage
300lbs
No damage
100lbs
No damage
200lbs
No damage Broken wheel - impact to tile but no noticeable damage
Soft Rubber Soft Rubber Soft Rubber Soft Rubber Hard Rubber Hard Rubber Hard Rubber Hard Rubber Hard Rubber Steel Steel Steel Steel Steel Steel
300lbs 300lbs 300lbs 50lbs 100lbs 150lbs 200lbs 250lbs 300lbs
No noticeable damage Impact point and cracking on tile where wheel broke Increase cracking at impact No further damage No further damage No further damage No further damage Chipped tile at grout joint Piece of originally damaged tile missing Further opening of cracks
See Appendix for photo of broken wheel (7A) and chipped tile (14). Please note, it is very unusual to have a hard rubber wheel break. I believe the wheel was defective.
Section V – Conclusions The system received a “Heavy Service” rating as per Tile Council of North America performance levels using ASTM C-627 Robinson Floor Test.
Section VI – Actions This report will be forwarded to the Product Management Department so they can arrange to have a proprietary specification written.
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 4 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Appendix
Joist System with Ti Pro Board Installed
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 5 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
TI Pro Board installed overhead view
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 6 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Mortar bed installed
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 7 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
LATICRETE Hydro Ban™ being applied
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 8 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Tile installed with LATICRETE® 254 Platinum
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 9 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Grout installed with LATICRETE® SpectraLOCK® Grout
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 10 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Broken wheel at Cycle 7
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 11 of 12
7/30/08
For Internal Use Only
Steven Fine Senior Scientist
Chipped tile at Cycle 14
LATICRETE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
Page 12 of 12
