Guest Blog Post By: University of Ceramic Tile and Stone (UofCTS)

At Coverings this year, one of the most important things that you will learn during the live session of the course, How to Get Tile and Stone Specifications Working with Architects, is Tracking and Protecting the Specification! #Coverings2025 #UofCTS 

You can Sign up here for the UofCTS live course at Coverings this April.

Reminder! The first 20 people to sign up will get a free copy of the Workbook (a $75 value).

Remember these Key elements when protecting your specification:

The Owner Has the Final Say!

• The owner of a project, whether a commercial or residential project, makes the final decisions.  If the owner is convinced your product is the right product, then no one can change your specification. Don’t take this relationship for granted. 

The Tile/Stone Subcontractor Has Discretionary Choice!

• In the tile and stone industry, the tile subcontractor/installer has a tremendous amount of discretionary choice. Most of the time, if your specification isn’t adequately protected, the tile installer can easily substitute lower priced products to increase their profits.  In competitive bidding, the installers have to price their work as low as possible, and then hope if they get the job they can use alternates to increase their profits.  The installers can say that their substitution is of equal quality, or better, even when it is not.  The architect normally isn’t knowledgeable enough to determine otherwise.

The General Contractor Has Influence!

• The general contractor (GC) is the orchestrator of the project, and the contractor who ultimately is responsible if the subcontractors don’t perform their work correctly as they are hired by the owner.  So, the GC has an incentive to hire good quality tile installers, but they are also greatly influenced by saving money and tend to want to go with the low bid.  In theory, the rule is that the GC picks the best qualified low bid to perform the respective work.  So, they need to vet the bids to make sure the tile installer is qualified to perform the installation, and that the tile contractor didn’t make any mistakes in their bid causing it to be unrealistically low. 

The Architect and/or Designer Have Important Roles in the Process!

• Architects and Designers are not just involved in the design of a building. As licensed professionals they can also be responsible for a certain amount of oversight on projects. Their role is important in every stage of the building’s construction, from the initial concept to the completion. They are motivated to maintain the specification as much as possible to see their initial vision come to life.

Create value for your customers by educating them! No better way to follow your specification from start to finish. See you at Coverings!