Archaeologists have uncovered a rare 1,600-year-old mosaic with imagery from the Trojan War underneath a building in Rastan, Syria. Businessmen from the Nabu Museum in Lebanon had purchased the property on which the building sits and donated it to the Syrian government. Syria’s General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums was excavating the building, which itself…
The Tile Council of North America (TCNA) is proud to announce the revised ANSI A137.3 American National Standard Specifications for Gauged Porcelain Tiles and Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels/Slabs – 2022 publication. This standard is available now from TCNA and includes new specifications for 2 cm gauged porcelain tile pavers. The Importance of the Standard 2 cm…
Archaeologists excavating a construction site in London have uncovered a rare mosaic floor dating to ancient Rome. It’s not uncommon to uncover Roman ruins and artifacts in South London, where the Roman city of Londinium was located. (The Romans ruled Britain from the first to the fifth century and founded the capital of Roman Britannia…
UPDATED 4.12.2022 In response to information from industry colleagues in Ukraine, the North American tile industry launched a fundraiser to support Save the Children’s humanitarian efforts in the region. Save the Children is a top-rated global humanitarian organization that has been working in Ukraine since 2014. TILE$4UkrainianChildren is an industry-wide fundraiser co-sponsored by: Tile Council…
For the first time ever, manufacturers of hard flooring materials have standardized criteria they can use to communicate possible areas of use for flooring based on the slip resistance characteristics of their products. ANSI A326.3 is the American National Standard Test Method for Measuring Dynamic Coefficient of Friction of Hard Surface Flooring Materials. The standard…
The Tile Council of North America (TCNA) released the innovative, first-ever Material Ingredient Guide at Coverings 2021, a collaborative resource that provides the following for materials used by North American tile, mortar, and grout manufacturers: Details about material ingredients Thorough health assessments Steps toward material ingredient transparency for manufacturers to share their products’ content and…
In the weeks preceding Coverings ’21, we explored trending tile styles that we highly anticipated seeing in-person at the show: large hexagon tile, assorted aggregates (terrazzo) tile, green tile, XXL tile, and biophilic styles. Instagram style influencers did not disappoint with sneak peeks at what were indeed this year’s hottest trends on the show floor. Likewise,…
Thanks to advances in porcelain tile manufacturing, tiles as large as 6 feet x 12 feet and as thin as 1/8 to 7/32 inches are available. These tiles, known as gauged porcelain tile panels/slabs, are surprisingly lightweight given their size. The tiles’ lightweight nature, paired with the availability of stronger mortars due to advances in…
Excavations have uncovered an intricate Roman mosaic floor a few metres underneath a vineyard in northern Italy. Traces of an ancient Roman villa were first discovered near the town of Negrar di Valpolicella nearly a century ago in 1922. Attempts to uncover the villa continued over the decades, with a new round of excavations beginning…
You may know that ceramic tile can be used just about anywhere inside and outside your home or business, but even we were surprised to learn that tiles are now flourishing on the seafloor as a solution for coral restoration. Mass Destruction of Coral Reefs Calls for Innovative Problem-Solving Hong Kong’s Hoi Ha Wan Marine…
A new study, conducted by CNA Risk Control, could help lead to the reduction of slip and fall accidents in America by managing slip and fall risks on hard surface floors. The study, featured in the current issue of Risk and Insurance took place over the past 12 months. It addresses slip resistance and maintenance…