Bringing Together Tile Contractors and Stone Fabricators

The Stone Shop in Ankeny, IA, recently hosted a free workshop with Roberto Colonetti on the proper ways to cut, handle and install gauged porcelain tile panels.

Roberto Colonetti hosted a free workshop at The Stone Shop in Ankeny, IA, at the end of November, which was attended by professionals from all over the U.S.

Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels- GPTP — Since a lot of fabricators are starting to get requests for GPTP in bathrooms and kitchens, most of the workshop focused on how to handle, cut, transport and install the large-format materials.

Adam Christiansen adheres large-format panels to shower walls — Adam Christiansen (right), technical sales manager at Nero and owner of Advanced Flooring, LLC, in Lawrence, KS, led most of the hands-on demonstrations during the two-day workshop. He adhered large-format panels of Dekton by Cosentino to three separate shower walls utilizing three different adhesives — Bostik’s Bosti-Set, Laticrete’s 257 Titanium and Ardex X 77 — to show how each performs.

There are various tools to lift GPTP, including the Superlift from Montolit Tiling Tools (shown), which was used during the workshop. In order to ensure safety, at least two people are required to lift one of these panels; three to four people are recommended.

Workplace safety in the tile industry — One of the most important takeaways during the informative workshop was workplace safety while handling these larger-than-life materials. To install one GPTP, at least two people are required.

On November 21 and 22, 2019, renowned porcelain artist, Roberto Colonetti, hosted a free workshop at The Stone Shop in Ankeny, IA. Colonetti, who is known for his innovative installation techniques, specifically with porcelain vanities, is a current Australian resident who travels to countries all over the world to give hands-on demonstrations of his methods.

Thanks to more than one dozen sponsors — Atlas Plan, Architectural Granite & Marble, Ardex, Breton, Cercol, Cosentino, DeFusco Industrial Supply, Helix Professional Tools, Laticrete, Metro Porcelain, Midwest Tile, Montolit Tiling Tools, Nero, Porcelain Mafia — as well as The Stone Shop, whose employees have been implementing Colonetti’s techniques for quite some time, the workshop was realized.

We began by observing Colonetti's innovative way of constructing porcelain vanities, with an in-depth demonstration using XPS foam backer board from Nero and 6-mm-thick gauged porcelain tile panels (GPTP). Attendees were fascinated by the unconventional method, which is tried-and-true. Many of the people I spoke with said it was the first thing they were going to experiment with when they got back to their shop.

From there, we delved into all things GPTP — from proper transportation to recommended installation methods. Utilizing various transporting and cutting tools from Montolit Tiling Tools, including the Superlift, Flash Line and Table-One, fabricators learned how to correctly handle, cut and transport the large-format materials, which are gaining a lot of traction in both the stone and tile industries.

There were also several hands-on demonstrations of various adhesives that were created specifically to bond this type of material to walls and floors, since its properties vary from that of natural stone or standard-size porcelain/ceramic tiles. Adam Christiansen, technical sales manager at Nero and owner of Advanced Flooring, LLC, in Lawrence, KS, installed an entire shower using three different products — Ardex Americas’ X 77, Bostik’s Bosti-Set and Laticrete’s 257 Titanium — on 126- x 56-inch pieces of Dekton by Cosentino. Attendees were able to compare and contrast the different formulas, which was interesting to observe.

After applying the adhesives, Christiansen demonstrated two ways of adhering the large-format tiles to walls to ensure total coverage. First, he utilized a Battile thumping suction cup from Montolit, which is a lightweight, battery operated handheld tool that sends vibrations to remove any air bubbles from behind the tile’s surface. He also demonstrated how to use a beating block, which is a large rubber paddle that completes the same function as the thumping suction cup, without the advanced technology. “This thins the thinset and makes it more fluid so it can truly bond to the wall,” Christiansen said.

On the second day, we explored the capabilities of Breton USA's Combicut DJ/NC 550 with 8-mm-thick Dekton by Cosentino using two different types of blades that were created for gauged porcelain tiles and other ultra-compact surfaces — Tenax's Dekton blade and Helix Professional Tools' Helion 3 blade. The blades were run at varying speeds and pushed to their limits on the CNC machine to show how they perform.

Meeting all of these fabricators who are now working with tile and wanting to educate themselves about the proper techniques and installation methods is not only refreshing, but a good sign of industry growth.

Heather Carter is the former editor of TILE. Before her position at BNP Media, she was the associate editor for the Sun newspapers in central New Jersey. Heather graduated with a BA in journalism from Rider University in 2011.