TCNA Announces ANSI Thin Tile Standards, Accreditation of Labs

Orlando, FL, April 5, 2017—More than four years of cross-disciplinary industry collaboration and 4,000-plus hours of research from the TCNA Laboratory Services team have culminated in today's announcement of two new standards: ANSI A137.3, the American National Standard Specifications for Gauged Porcelain Tiles and Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels/Slabs, and its companion, ANSI A108.19, Interior Installation of Gauged Porcelain Tiles and Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels/Slabs by the Thin-Bed Method bonded with Modified Dry-Set Cement Mortar or Improved Modified Dry-Set Cement Mortar.

In addition, the TCNA announces that the International Accreditation Service (IAS) has accredited the Laboratory Services department of the TCNA in all of the methods the lab submitted to IAS. 

Currently known in industry parlance as the "thin tile" standards, the standards use the term "gauged" to cover a range of precise thicknesses that can carry different loads and be used in different ways, taking a similar approach to standardized wire gauges and gauged sheet metal. Two classes of gauged tile products are defined---- those for wall applications from 3.5 to 4.9 mm and for floor and wall applications from 5.0 to 6.5 mm.

ANSI A137.3 standardizes the minimum required properties for the products themselves and ANSI A108.19 standardizes the methodologies for installing the products in interior installations by the thin-bed method with specific mortars.

These standards, developed for the benefit of all tile consumers, are the result of a multi-year consensus process of the ANSI Accredited A108 Standards Committee, which maintains a broad and diverse group of participants reflecting stakeholder interests in all aspects of the tile industry.

A free download of a preview copy is available from TCNA beginning today, and a professional publication of both standards will be available for purchase from TCNA in July. 

In addition, the TCNA announced that the IAS, a non-profit, public benefit corporation and internationally-recognized accreditation body based in the United States, has accredited its Laboratory Services department in all of the methods the lab submitted to IAS. Forty-five separate methods were submitted, including those most central and relevant to tile and installation materials testing.

This accreditation underscores the Lab's acquisition of numerous "seals of approval" from a panoply of North America's largest corporate entities following evaluation based on their individual standards and practices.

The accreditation comes at a time of exponential growth for the TCNA Lab. The department's revenues have more than tripled in over the past five years, which Bizzaglia attributes to the lab's results-driven professional environment, a recommitment to customer care and customer service, an expanded sales effort, and, as he says, "a little bit of luck."