Addressing Indoor Air Quality (VOC's)

Noble receives calls concerning whether our sheet membranes produce off gases which can affect indoor air quality. The answer is no. Noble sheet membranes have no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The same is true for NobleBond Adhesives. NobleSealant 150 has less than 1/2 the maximum VOC level allowed under the California Standard which is the most stringent in the land.

Noble Company is a member of the USGBC and committed to producing products that contribute to sustainable design by lasting and performing.

Waterproofing Wide Areas

Our Tech Department get calls routinely from people wanting to use NobleSeal®TS to waterproof showers that are more than 4' wide. NobleSeal TS is 5' wide and while that is wide enough to cover a floor and provide a suitable upturn at the perimeter for many showers, here are some options if you need more width:

1. Use 6' wide NobleSeal CIS. It is basically the same sheet as TS but wider.
2. If that's not wide enough, create whatever width you need by seaming sheets of TS or CIS with NobleSealant 150.

NobleSeal sheet membranes provide permanent solutions for your shower waterproofing needs.

Coverings 2013 Wrap--Up

With its inaugural placement in Atlanta the Coverings Trade Show gave attendees fresh new products and displayed the resilient and dynamic nature of our industry.  The show was spread across two halls in the Georgia World Congress Center, and brought in more than 900 exhibitors from across the globe.  Noble was excited to not only exhibit with our NobleSeal sheet membranes (for waterproofing, crack isolation, & sound reduction) and the latest in drain technologies (FreeStyle Linear Drains, Thin-Bed Drains), but to assist industry partners with new programs, designer showcases, and contractor installation demonstrations.  Noble provided materials for the new A.C.T. program (Advanced Certifications for Tile Installers) which addresses current technical installations including: shower pans, sheet membranes, and much more. Noble also provided materials for the Installation Design Showcase, and was thrilled to have the skilled artisans of Collins Tile and Stone create the beautiful installation shown below.

We took part in the NTCA Contractor Tours and spoke with many new contractors about the features and benefits of the NobleSeal membranes, Noble Niches, and our FreeStyle Drains. Lastly, we put Eric Edelmayer, Dir. of Contractor Services, and Dean Moilanen, National Sales Manager, in the spotlight on the installation stage where they performed several demonstrations of our FreeStyle Linear Drain system alongside of our NobleSeal TS waterproofing. Great job by all of the Noble Team!

We are looking forward to 2014 where Coverings will be headed to the Las Vegas Convention Center! Dates: April 29 - May 4, 2014.  Visit the Coverings for more details as they become available.

More “Growth” in Noble Niches

Noble's NEW Tall Niches

Noble Company has expanded the popular and easy-to-install Noble Niche collection to include two sizes of Tall Niches.  The 31-1/2” and 48” Tall Niches are a response to the growing need for more storage space for bulky health and beauty products in showers.  

The Tall Niches are a simple open design which allows tile contractors to install tile, stone or glass shelves at custom increments rather than at a fixed height. Another great option for these Niches is to install horizontally as well as vertically.  

As with all Noble Niches, the Tall Niches are waterproof and ready-to-tile – eliminating critical and time consuming steps like seaming and waterproofing.  The exaggerated corners simplify the installation of square tile, and a “flangeless” design makes installation easy.  Niches fit standard 2” X 4” walls and mount flush with ½” backer board.  Contact your local Noble Distributor for pricing and availability.

NobleSeal SIS Acoustical Testing - ASTM E2179

ASTM E2179 is an acoustical test that is supposed to measure the effectiveness of sound reduction membranes.  It was developed to alleviate confusion caused by variables in IIC (Impact Insulation Class) testing such as ceilings with special isolation clips, double layers of gyp board ceilings, etc. 

ASTM E2179 testing requires testing IIC for the bare, concrete floor with no ceiling, and then testing the assembly with tile and the sound reduction membrane.  Values at 16 frequencies are compared and the delta or improvement is calculated.  Theoretically, it provides a method for estimating IIC of a finished floor by adding the delta value to a project's bare floor IIC. 

However, there are a few things that should be noted:

Delta values can be exaggerated when tile is thin-set to loose laid sound reduction membranes.  For example, the delta for NobleSeal SIS increased by 6 when tile was thin-set to loose laid SIS.  

Actual IIC/FIIC values are typically higher than the theoretical estimates. 

Therefore, while delta values can be useful, it is prudent to closely review test reports when evaluating products.  There are many resources available including contact numbers for manufacturers.

NobleSeal TS Steamroom Detail - Update

The image below is a new steam room detail that shows NobleSeal TS bonded to the floor, and the front (tile) side of walls and ceilings.  This is a change from previous details that showed TS  behind backer boards on ceilings. 

 

We made this change to align our steam room detail with TCNA guidelines that show bonded membranes on the front side of substrates.  We are confident in the ability of the membrane to support tile as long as it is properly bonded with a suitable latex-modifed thin-set and allowed sufficient time to cure. 

 

Installations following our old detail performed well in steam rooms around the country for many years.  We do not consider these installations to be problematic.  

 

Extraordinary CPE Solutions

Noble products are used daily in numerous projects such as showers, spas, steam rooms, exterior plazas and decks, as wells as interior residential and commercial floors. Our Tech Staff has walked customers through hundreds of build-ups and configurations for each of these applications, and can probably install our products in their sleep. But one of the key areas where Noble excels is the once in a lifetime projects those projects where there is no road map and the architect and/or owner are laying everything on the line to make a bold statement. Here is where Noble has been a key player and has been able to showcase the unparalleled performance characteristics of our products. Here are just a handful of our unique projects where Noble has had the opportunity to contribute.

The Million Dollar Mosaic Floor
There are those owners who you know may be a bit particular about an installation, and then there are the owners who will go to great lengths to ensure that every detail and variable is thought out and attended to. Steve Wynn is one of the latter individuals. His properties undergo years of design and planning with nothing left to chance. When it came down to the details for Botero, the restaurant dedicated to artist Fernando Botero in the Encore property, Wynn had decided to make a statement with a luxurious million-dollar hand cut mosaic floor by SICI the world leader in mosaic art. The floor had to stand up to the relentless traffic and the underlayment system had to protect this installation for a lifetime. NobleSeal CIS was chosen and specified for its outstanding performance to ASTM C 627 (Robinson Test) and ANSI A118.12 (crack isolation standard) standards. Today, Botero's mosaic floor still is as stunning an element within the restaurant as the art.

The 250' Water Feature
When the City Center project in Las Vegas set out to create the largest exterior water feature along the Western USA, there weren't similar projects to evaluate and use as a template. There were several factors that went into the product selection of Noble Deck, exterior waterproofing sheet membrane, for this application:

• The success of the Noble Deck installations within Las Vegas.
• The ability of the product to meet and exceed the high performance parameters of ASNI A118.12
• Assurance that the product could withstand thermal movement and be able to span the saw-cut joints in the substrate.

Once again the performance of a Noble CPE membrane gave the engineers and contractors the confidence that Noble Deck would provide long-term protection for this application.

Protecting Irreplaceable Treasures
What do you say when you are asked to provide a solution to protect national treasures? Absolutely! Our CPE products have a reputation for lasting the lifetime of installations, and that's the reliability that this project required. This facility will preserve and restore hundreds of thousands of reels of film upon its completion. The storage and working environment must provide protection against moisture, and this critical area is where Noble CPE membranes can provide one of the lowest moisture/vapor transmission rates in the industry.

Whats next for our CPE solutions? We'll keep you posted! If you have a project with special requirements, contact our Technical Support staff.