PENDLETON, SC -- The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF) recently announced that it is now offering the “Fundamentals of Thin-Bed Knowledge” (FTBK) guide to anyone associated with the tile industry, at no cost.

This guide -- along with the Certified Tile Installer “Field Manual for Thin-Bed Installation of Ceramic Tile” and associated tests -- has become the industry standards for the professional development of tile installers and others involved in the sale, specification, prep, installation and service of ceramic tile.

Free access and distribution of this guide has been made possible through an ongoing contribution from Jason Goldberg, founder and CEO of America’s Floor Source, Retail Lead Management and TraLaMa.

“We need more people than just installers to be knowledgeable about ceramic tile,” said Goldberg. “Everyone from salespeople to estimators to construction managers must have a strong understanding of what it takes to do tile correctly. Otherwise, jobs go wrong and the reputation of the whole industry suffers.”

Mark Heinlein, training director at the NTCA, added, “Tiling ain’t easy. A successful installation requires everyone in the chain to have a thorough understanding of the entire process, including the roles of every other person along the way.”

The CTEF aims to improve the tile industry through education, training and participation in the development of nationally recognized standards and methods. With the inclusion of the distributor and dealer networks, the CTEF will be able to reach the people who will benefit greatly from this newfound knowledge.

“This new program will enable all of us to reach more people through new avenues,” said Scott Carothers, director of certification and training at the CTEF. “In doing so, we’ll create a more knowledgeable support system, which will substantially reduce the number of expensive tile specification and installation failures. These failures, which should not be occurring, give the entire tile industry a ‘black eye’ and can cause potential tile-using clientele to consider other possibilities. But with more people using the FTBK guide, there will be more tile installations being properly specified and installed correctly the first time, encouraging consumers to purchase more tile in the future.”

To obtain free access to the FTBK study guide, tile and flooring professionals can visit www.CeramicTileFoundation.org and click on the red “FTBK” button.

Additionally, through the CTEF website, FTBK students can use their newfound knowledge from this guide to complete an online test (for a $99 fee) and earn a Certificate of Completion as a FTBK industry professional.