Masonry Magazine October 1992 Page. 46
IS THINNER BETTER?
Continued from Page 26
Expanses of tile and marble, lightweight deflecting substrates, cold joints and control joints that are not aligned with the tile expansion joints, resilient bonding mortar, soft crack isolation systems, thin flooring materials, textured surface and the 4200 pound scrubbing machine bouncing across soft expansion joints. Who needs to do a Robinson floor machine test? It is being done by the maintenance crew every night! The heavy machine over the lightweight flooring system will find every piece of unbonded tile or marble, every soft crack isolation area, and almost every other thing that the contractor did or that can happen to a floor.
Maybe thinner is better for Tommy Lasorda but, it's a disaster for tile and marble over the lightweight substrates using the resilient setting materials for heavy duty commercial flooring.
In my opinion, it's time for tile manufacturers to consider making 56" to 34" thick materials and time for architects to follow Marble Institute of America recommendations to use 4" thick marble for commercial floors. The added thickness would go a long way toward correcting the cracked mall tile and marble floors. The "good old days" may not have been so great, but before Slimfast, at least God, Grout and Gravity were on our side. Without gravity and what with all of the grout problems, that leaves most of us at His mercy for survival. But remember, the Lord helps those who help themselves. Go on record if you anticipate a problem. CYA W P! If you didn't write it you didn't say it!
Mango
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RETROFIT TIES
Continued from Page 18
Stress are the result of poor design, poor workmanship and/or a lack of details during original construction. Wall flashing, vents for veneer walls, wall ties and control joints are a must to avoid many problems in a relatively short period of time.
TOOL OF THE TRADE
Continued from Page 20
and aluminum. He also says Pugel's wrong.
"Accuracy in levels is as good or better than ever," he says. "Levels that were typically marketed twenty or thirty years ago actually had vials that were less sensitive than ours.
"At the same time, we try to make things as good as we can for the price. It's value that we're after. The retailer wants to get certain price points. We have to build in as much quality as we can to hit those price points."
Empire, Pugel says in reply, still makes wood-frame levels and advertises them near the front of its catalog as "rich in tradition, handmade with pride." The most exacting workers prefer them, he says, because they can be read easily and stand up to weather better.
But Wright predicts that improved plastics and structural foam-and the growing concern about the rain forests that provide much of the wood-will turn wooden levels into antiques.
Levels must meet the minimum requirements of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, formerly the National Bureau of Standards. But those guidelines are fairly loose.
"A lot of carpenters in our union will use aluminum or plastic," says Bill Roehr, a carpenter and business representative for the Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin District Council of Carpenters. "The big problem today is that everyone's pushed, and the quality goes down a little bit. Most people don't care what they get as long as it's done on time and at or below cost."
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46 MASONRY-SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1992