In the early days of tile installation, there were no tile spacers as we know them today. In those times on a wall tile installation, various thicknesses of rope or twine were placed on the top of the installed tile prior to running the next course. The following day, the rope or twine was carefully removed, cleaned, and returned to the toolbox for the next job. Another form of spacer came with the box that held the tile at no additional cost. Clever installers would cut a small strip of cardboard, using it as a spacer or shim to bring the joints into alignment.
The early plastic spacers consisted of crosses or tees that were placed into the grout joint at the corners of the adjacent tiles. Today, spacers come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes to meet the needs of the installer. A rather new addition to this market has been the horseshoe spacer that comes in a variety of thicknesses to meet the specified joint width. These spacers have gained significant popularity since they are easy to use and remove.
The interesting thing about all tile spacers is that there are no American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards for the size, shape, quality, or thickness of spacers, nor are there any installation standards. Likewise, the NTCA Reference Manual offers no guidance on the topic. It is up to the installer to determine how, when, and where to use them.
Using tile spacers works well until someone handles them inappropriately. Such was the case for Aryk Snowberger of Snowbee Custom Tile of Canton, Ohio. Here is his story.
“I was hired by a construction company to tile a basement bathroom floor that required driving an hour and 15 minutes each way! The entire job was subbed out, so many companies were on hand to complete the project. I tiled the approximately 40-sq.-ft. bathroom floor on a concrete slab using the grid pattern for a balanced layout, using 1/8″ horseshoe spacers with 1/4″ perimeter movement joints.
“I finished the install on a Monday and returned Thursday morning expecting to be in and out in about three hours for prep and grouting,” he continued. “I walked into the house and before the door was shut, the homeowner exclaimed that another contractor broke off all my spacers flush with the tile!! I stood there and nervously laughed like, ‘Nah man, no way.‘ The way the homeowner led me down those stairs made my stomach drop because he had this brisk pace, and I just knew he was right!! He showed me the floor and I had no choice but to keep it cool. Deep down I wanted to have a meltdown, but I assured the homeowner I’d figure it out. I sent a video to the contractor who hired me (this was our first job together), explained the situation and got to work!
“A sparky on site saw my troubles and offered the skinniest needle nose pliers at his disposal, which worked faster than using a utility knife,” he said. “It was awful!! The horseshoes were all broken off flush to the tile face, with most of them embedded in thinset, making them difficult to remove. There was one severely-chipped tile that had to be pulled and replaced prior to grouting.
“My three-hour estimate turned into about a five- or six-hour ordeal. I requested an additional $180 for my efforts, which was very reasonable considering the circumstances, and the contractor promptly awarded me another lucrative project so that all worked out.
“Apparently, the subcontractors on the job had never seen horseshoe spacers and thought they were clips (lippage control devices),” he said. “On a 9″ x 9″ x 1″ thick ‘encaustic-like’ tile there was no need for clips. But even after breaking off a few spacers, you’d think the sub would realize he’s making a mistake and maybe make a phone call to the GC. But no, they needed to get a shower door kit installed quickly.”
This unfortunate part of Aryk’s story is that there was no reason for the other subcontractor(s) to destroy his work other than pure carelessness, cluelessness, and/or a lack of respect. Aryk did not find out how or why the spacers were broken off, but these horseshoes are extremely durable and would be exceedingly difficult to break off flush with the tile. We will never know. The only plausible thought was that the shower door subcontractor installed the door kit from the bathroom side of the opening and walked on the horseshoe spacers, breaking them off.
Spacers vs. lippage control devices
Since we are talking about horseshoe spacers and lippage control devices (LCD), it may be wise to pass along a few words of wisdom. The purpose of LCDs is to bring the surface of one tile into alignment with the adjacent tile. They work well for their intended purpose. However, it may be best not to use them as a tile spacer.
According to the ANSI standard A137.3 for Gauged Porcelain Tile and Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels/slabs, the installation section A108.19-14.2.7 states, “Insert the appropriate grout spacers as the second gauged porcelain tile or gauged porcelain tile panel/slab is being placed, and once the same embedding procedure is accomplished, place the lippage control caps, and then cinch down the caps tightly to bring the adjoining edges in to alignment.”
This advice tells us to use the LCD for aligning the tile surface and use the separate spacer for the desired grout joint spacing. The reason this is important is that if the LCD is used as a spacer and thinset mortar is tightly packed on either side, the action of kicking off the post can pinch the edge of the tile, resulting in a chipped tile.
Be careful. Use the correct tool for each process and eliminate the task of replacing a tile.
Scott Carothers
Scott Carothers is the Acdemic Director for the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF) and is responsible for the creation of the Certified Tile Installer (CTI) program, and is involved in the creation of the Advanced Certifications for Tile Installers (ACT) program as well as providing training to others in the tile industry.
Carothers has been involved in the ceramic tile industry for nearly 40 years and was the owner of a successful retail and installation firm prior to CTEF. He has served as President and Chairman of the Board of the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA), Chairman of the NTCA Technical Committee, was named the NTCA Tile Person of the Year in 2005, and the NTCA Ring of Honor recipient in 2013. He is a voting member of the ANSI and the TCNA Handbook committees.
