Porcelain Predications - Preaching the lessons and principles of porcelain slabs

"In the beginning was the slab, and the slab was without flaw, and void of error; and upon the surface, there was the call for order.And the spirit of craftsmanship moved upon the face of the job site, and lo—there came forth the Word of the TCNA.And the Word became Standard, and it dwelt among us, full of guidelines and truth.From grout lines to gauge, from substrate to setting bed, the code was written so the laborer might not stumble." The Good Book, Chapter 1, Verses 1-3.

Have you ever wondered how the rules, the techniques, and the standards came about for working with porcelain slabs? In today's special episode, we learn from a key contributor, CTEF's own Scott Carothers. Having personally been taught by Scott multiple times over the years, this was a very rewarding episode in front of a live audience.

Like allergies making your nose sniffle, this episode brings a steady stream of useful insight from one of New York's finest installers of porcelain slabs. For Casavant Tile's Eric Tetreault, the drudgery of routine caused him to seek out the next big thing in construction. From tile to porcelain slabs and now SICIS Art Glass, finding the ability to perform in highly sophisticated situations makes the routine disappear. There were so many good topics, we plan on following up with a second episode! Enjoy this wonderful discussion on GPTP, Crossville Laminam training, and why digital templating can be a tool in your arsenal.

Always Be Closing. Perhaps you know this famous line from Glen Garry, Glen Ross. Well in this episode, David Sandana explains how he walked into Lutz Tile of Tacoma, Washington, for a bag of thinset but came out owning an entire tile store. This in-depth episode goes over much of what it takes to have a brick and mortar presence, selling materials to your competitors, and the challenges associated with getting a crew to install porcelain slabs. This was a fun one for sure!

For season 2's premiere episode, we wanted to start off strong. You can't get much stronger than speaking with the CEO of Laminam, Philip Eeles. With the residential market turning to porcelain, what decisions are important for a CEO to help push product awareness, handle growth, and find the right partners in the market? Mr. Eeles explains and gives additional insight from his experience showcasing at KBIS 2025, and why diversification is important for fabricators everywhere. This is an episode you don't want to miss!

For those that have been listening to our episodes you may have heard a reoccurring comment: find a good partner from the distribution world. In today's episode, we get to hear about what happens when the distributor of porcelain slabs cannot find a partner to work with. For Atlanta's Leo Chuahy of Prime Surfaces, having a million dollars of inventory had to make the tough decision: sit and wait for someone to start installing his inventory, or get out there and do it himself. Hear his rationale, the lessons learned, and how having the right tools matters to him.

We needed to apologize to our friend from Cincinnati. In one of our earliest episodes, we chose to interview Fred Wiedenmann from Telos Tile on the floor of Coverings. That episode holds the record for shortest discussion recorded. So we thought we needed to give him another chance to explain how his savvy business acumen has allowed him to be critical of his business model. Hear the difference between panels and slabs, if having a showroom is really worth it, and if having old guys hanging out at your business is a good thing.

You are not in a metropolis like LA or NYC. You have a couple competitors that already have quartz and granite figured out. Why not try something new and see if you can make it your speciality? For Eau Claire, Wisconsin's Luke Dillamon of Eau Claire Custom Stone, that was the situation he found himself. Small startup, in a smaller market, with an established competitor. Hear how his background made him unafraid to try porcelain slabs for countertops, fireplaces, and more in this, our 20th episode!

North Carolina is my home. I have moved here 3 times as an adult. It is a special place for me full of memories as I grew into a young adult, then into a husband, and into a spiritually minded man. So as North Carolina reels and begins the painful recovery process this week after Hurricane Helene, I thought I would talk a little about the damage done and the effects on the communities I know.

We will also discuss training and educational classes for porcelain slabs, plus the impact of taking on inventory, becoming a monogamous or polygamous installer, and if you should write that check for a $400k machine.

Tale as old as time, True as it can be, Barely even a trend, Then something breaks, Unexpectedly. No this is not the theme song to a Beauty and The Beast Tile Themed Reboot. Rather, that is the worry most general managers get as they take on their first porcelain slab job. For Florida's Shayne Hogenmiller of Southeast Stone, getting the call that Disney needed him to save the day as their Prince Charming was the moment he realized it was time to adopt porcelain into their large scale operation. From there, everything changed. Hear about the process of adopting it, understanding the impact of pricing, and how granite shop owners need to scale their businesses properly in this weeks longest episode to date!

Would you shut down your fabrication shop to travel coast to coast installing ventilated facades? For Florida's Bart Orzechowski of AGD LLC., his team of 60 employees travel coast to coast installing over 300-thousand square feet of ventilated facades. Hear how his crew started in New Jersey but now get called to handle high end work in California to the exclusive neighborhoods near Miami, and everywhere in between. Not to mention, he is on a 6 year project in Florida. This is a conversation you don't want to miss.