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tips for applying substrate with trowel

Tech Tip – Troweling

Troweling? Form matters. Holding a thin-set trowel at a 90° angle vs. a 45° angle increases the height of the trowel ridges by almost 30%! This translates to better adhesion and greater contact area between the tile and the substrate.

TEC tip - water droplet test

TEC Tip – Water Droplet Test

Here’s a new tip from the TEC team – when determining how to prime your substrate, you can perform the ASTM “Water Drop Test”. Drop some water on your substrate, then time it for 60 seconds. If the water soaks into the substrate completely in 60 seconds, it is absorptive and needs a primer. If […]

hot weather grout tips

Top Tips for Hot Weather Grouting

On a hot day, freshly mixed grout can dry more quickly than expected. In addition to making it a rushed job to finish before it hardens, grout that dries too quickly tends to be weaker and more likely to crack. Use the following tips from TEC Installation Systems when grouting in the heat of summer. […]