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J&R Tile, Inc. is clearly, a very unique company as one of the 50 National Tile Contractor Association (NTCA) “Five-Star” tile installation specialists in the U.S. In 2021, family ownership of this 38-year-old firm changed hands to the second generation. New owner, Erin Albrecht, is insistent that every single project J&R Tile takes on is handled with integrity and total professionalism. This includes using top-of-the-line installation products that are readily accessible and making sure her team of installers is 100% knowledgeable with how to best utilize them.

“People tended to say it looked more like a spa than a fire station, and that was our intent,” said Cesar Garcia of DSA Architects about when visiting Bexar County Fire Station. “The building needed to be a place where the firefighters wanted to be. These first-responders deserve a facility where they spend half of their time away from family.” Photo courtesy of Bostik (Click on the image to enlarge.)

An opportunity recently came up for J&R Tile, where Albrecht’s team was called upon to install large-format tile, including gauged porcelain wall panels, at two major San Antonio fire stations. “We worked early in pre-construction with DSA Architects (De Munbrun, Scarnato Associates, Inc.) that had the vision of not just using sustainable products, but ones that made sense for the form and function of the project with anti-microbial porcelain products, as well as grout and adhesives that would have a system warranty with Bostik,” said Albrecht.

“People tended to say it looked more like a spa than a fire station, and that was our intent,” said Cesar Garcia of DSA Architects about when visiting Bexar County Fire Station. “The building needed to be a place where the firefighters wanted to be. These first-responders deserve a facility where they spend half of their time away from family.”

“We did a lot of things differently here at the fire station,” explained Triniti Vigil, J&R’s director of field operations. “In the wet areas, much of the tile used was large-format gauged porcelain panels, for both walls and floors.”

The installation team from J&R Tile relied on Bosti-Set™ for gauged porcelain panels from Bostik to achieve a successful outcome. Photo courtesy of J&R Tile (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Erin Albrecht added, “We first reached out to Bostik, because we were really interested in various projects they were doing in the tile community with their new technology of Bosti-Set™ for gauged porcelain panels, which we often install at J&R Tile. Frankly, there is no way that we could have had the efficiency that we did if we had used another product rather than Bosti-Set, and also, their single-component grouts, TruColor® RapidCure™ and Dimension® RapidCure.”

Bosti-Set is a one-component, non-sag, easy-to-trowel adhesive that is specifically formulated for the installation of thin gauged porcelain tile panels on interior, vertical surfaces or countertops. Photo courtesy of J&R Tile (Click on the image to enlarge.)

“Because Bosti-Set is a single-step product, I don’t have to worry about errors,” said Vigil. “It was as easy as opening up another bucket, applying and then moving on. Our crew didn’t have to overthink it. And we have no failures in the field.”

Kevin Clarkson is the Fire Chief of District 7 Fire Rescue in the San Antonio metroplex. “The second fire station was a much larger station than the original one,” he said. “It represented a sizable investment for the community, and we wanted to make sure this investment would last. In particular, the bathrooms and bunkrooms had to be very comfortable for our 12 firefighters. After all, we’re going to be using this station for years and years to come.”

“It seemed as if it were a ‘first’ for everyone who saw the systems that were going into the showers and the countertops,” said Garcia. “Response was very positive.”

“Conceptually, the large-format tile on both floors and walls with minimum grout joints with the same assembly components and grouts is now a concept for fire stations that will be built after this initial one,” said Erin Albrecht, owner of J&R Tile. Photo courtesy of J&R Tile (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Albrecht added, “Conceptually, the large-format tile on both floors and walls with minimum grout joints with the same assembly components and grouts is now a concept for fire stations that will be built after this initial one. Any time our installation team learns a new skill, we consider that a success here at J&R. They’re growing professionally, we have more to offer our customers and clients, and we’re excited to see what Bostik comes up with next.”

Bosti-Set is a one-component, non-sag, easy-to-trowel adhesive that is specifically formulated for the installation of thin gauged porcelain tile panels on interior, vertical surfaces or countertops. This adhesive has a rapid set feature in which you can install tile and reposition the tiles for up to 30 minutes with no slip or sag. With this revolutionary adhesive, it is only needed to be applied to the back of the tile, which saves time for the install, compared to the conventional application of thin-setting the wall as well as the tile.

Bostik’s TruColor® RapidCure™ grout was also used for the project. Photo courtesy of J&R Tile (Click on the image to enlarge.)

“Our team really enjoyed working on these J&R Tile projects,” said Adam Abell, Bostik’s senior marketing manager – surface preparation & tiling products. “Across the board, all of those involved were positive, insightful and really ‘into it.’ It was great to see our customers work with Bosti-Set as the solution for large-format gauged porcelain tile and hear them tell us that Bostik continues to provide the time-saving solutions that they appreciate.”