Tile Industry Kicks off 2012 Show Season at Surfaces

Crowds were strong at the Noble booth as Surfaces 2012 concludes.

Surfaces 2012 saw what appeared to be increased traffic this year versus 2011. Noble had on display the FreeStyle Linear Drain, Noble pre-formed shower niches, Noble pre-formed shower benches, as well as Chloraloy shower pan liner and the complete line of NobleSeal sheet membranes. The first two days had great activity, but the final day was much slower. Perhaps Las Vegas took its toll. Mandalay Bay Convention Center was an excellent venue.

2012 AHR Expo

The plumbing and HVAC markets are alive and well at the AHR Expo held this week in Chicago.  Noble Company's booth is busy with visitors.  Products on display are the complete NoBurst and FireFighter antifreeze product lines as well as popular plumbing products:  Chloraloy shower pan liner, NobleSeal TS and the FreeStyle Linear Drain.  Visitors from around the country visited the booth, with the strongest segment coming from the Midwest.  The expo runs through Wednesday.

Why FreeStyle Linear Drains Are The Best Choice

FreeStyle is the only linear drain with a clamping collar for a bonded waterproofing membrane.  This ensures a watertight connection with the membrane.

  

Freestyle linear drains are made from single piece of plastic.  A flat bottom simplifies installation and a low profile makes them  ideal for barrier free applications.  Competitive models are made from stainless and are "V" shaped (so leveling is required).  

And, FreeStyle will drain 45 gallons of water per minute.  That’s 3 to 4 times more capacity than other drains. 

Check www.noblecompany.com  for more information.

Update from the JLC Live Northwest show

Though Portland Oregon is filled with freezing fog, the Oregon Convention Center is beaming with Contractors and Architects and Designers. It's a span of talent that would impress anyone. From the regular remodel contractor to large general contractors from as far as California's Bay area. The 2011 JLC Northwest Show had an impressive turn out of people who were truly interested in learning about what new developments were happening in the construction. Noble's FreeStyle Linear Drain and ProBase were hits, but more importantly everyone wanted to know what sets our sheet membranes apart from everyone else. The efforts of all who assisted in the booth this year were able to answer questions to hundreds of individuals. It's a great prelude to next year.

Update: Installation Procedure of NobleSealant 150

Recently, Noble Company determined that it was advisable to change installation instructions for NobleSealant 150. Our testing indicated that a single 3/16" bead of NobleSealant 150 was superior to two 1/8" beads. The procedure follows:

1. Overlap sheets 2" and mark
2. Apply a single 3/16" bead of NobleSealant 150 3/4" from the overlap
3. Press sheets together to spread the bead.

Spread rate (coverage) for NobleSealant 150 with a single 3/16" bead is the same as for two 1/8" beads (40 linear feet per tube).

Noble Company does not consider this a critical change. While a larger bead is easier to control, two 1/8" beads have produced reliable waterproof seams for years. Labels and literature will be changed to reflect the new procedure.

Architectural Reps for Hire

Architectural Rep Jim Caron, is shown here presenting the CEU "Recent Developments in Waterproofing" to interested architects and specwriters during a lunch and learn session in Tampa, Florida.

Jim Caron of Architectural Promotion and Services, and Fred Jackson of Estudio Group are available to architects and designers nationwide who are interested in continuing education credits or just helpful, topical lunch and learn information. Subjects include waterproofing, crack prevention, and sound reduction under tile floors. Contact Noble Company for details.

Noble Deck Travels to Guam

 

Bob Stark, owner of Sunset Tile & Marble in Honolulu, Hawaii, will often go the extra mile to take care of a good customer. When he started working with a large developer/builder in Guam, Bob had no idea he would wind up traveling to the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean.

When a large multi-family project in this far-flung U.S. territory needed waterproofing and crack isolation, one of Guam’s largest builders looked to Noble Company for sheet membrane solutions. In turn, Noble Company reached out to their long-time independent distributor in Hawaii, “Sunset Tile & Marble”, and owner, Bob Stark, to work with this builder in Guam. Bob, has a long history of doing business in Guam, and has traveled there in the past to work closely with contractors and architects.

Noble Deck is a CPE sheet membrane, designed for waterproofing and crack isolation in exterior environments. Noble Deck can offer primary waterproofing performance, and is rated for use over occupied space. Noble Deck also meets and exceeds the “high performance” criteria of ANSI. A118.12, (for crack isolation). This exterior sheet membrane is bonded to concrete substrates, using exterior-rated polymer-modified thinset, or NobleBond EXT.

The installation crews for the Guam project were made up of construction workers and installers brought in from the Philippines, and needed some training prior to the full-scale production getting underway. With more work on the horizon with this builder, Bob made the decision to get on a plane and get over to Guam to make sure the installation crews were up to speed.

It was rainy…it was hot…as Bob would say, “a three shirt day”. None the less, the crews were eager to learn, and soon production was ramping up. There were some tricky details and penetration/flashing conditions. The use of NobleSealant 150 and prefabricated inside & outside corners made these the details more user-friendly.

Three days later, Bob was back on a plane to Honolulu, and this project was well under way.

For more information on Noble Deck and other Noble Company products, go to http://www.noblecompany.com/.