Aquatic Technology Pool & Spa, "Creating Water as Art."™

Aquatic Technology Pool & Spa, "Creating Water as Art."™
Pools as an art form - the way it should be!

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Glass tile failure - cracked and shattered

Thermal shock and expansion causes shattered, cracked and spalled glass tiles.


Many of the glass tile manufacturers have yet to produce products that meet the ANSI A137.2 performance standards.  

Why?  It is less expensive to simply replace any cracked tiles with new tiles, than it is to manufacture and perform testing to ensure compliance.  The manufacturers know that they can also deflect many failure warranty claims by blaming the installation process.  
They will quickly point out the installers failure to install expansion joints as the cause of any failure.  And the manufacturers will continue to refuse to produce products that are compliant with the standards they wrote.

Boyce & Bean glass tiles (manufactured by Crossville)

The ANSI standards state that any glass tiles that do not meet the thermal shock resistance standard, cannot be specified for use outdoors.  In fact, they are relegated to use in dry indoor wall applications only (kitchen back splashes and decorative walls).

The manufacturers want to have their cake and eat it to.... they refuse to create compliant products, but they will blame an installer for failing to comply with the installation standards.

Shouldn't glass tile manufacturers comply with their own industry standards?

Or be forced to stop marketing non-compliant glass tile as being suitable for outdoor and swimming pool applications?

 

Paolo Benedetti, SWD, Principal Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa www.AquaticTechnology.com International Swimming Pool Consulting and Design, Aquatic Consulting, Watershape Consultants, Expert Witness, Hydraulic Design, Landscape Architecture, Construction Management Office: 408-776-8220 Email: info@aquatictechnology.com Major Markets Serviced: San Francisco, Palo Alto, Atherton, Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Clemente, Pacific Palisades, Escondido, Scottsdale, Seattle, Phoenix, Tempe, Portland, Aspen, Vail, Park City, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Austin, New Orleans, Madison, Detroit, East Hamptons, South Hamptons, Cape May, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cherry Hill, Toms River, Salt lake City, Boise, Denver, Santa Barbaara, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Oceanside, Big Sur, Napa, Sonoma, Sausalito, Danville, Belvedere, Montecito, Palm Springs, Midland, Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Osaka, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Seoul, Sydney, New York, Tokyo, Cairo, Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Lisbon, Bonn.