Official partnership between the tile industry and Habitat for Humanity International
 
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I think this partnership will help us educate our affiliates across the country to the importance of building a house that is usable by the families and which, by its very nature, will be easy to clean and the families will be able to keep clean at a very minimal expense.
-- Millard Fuller, Founder and President, Habitat for Humanity International

Houston Habitat for Humanity SuperBUILD XXXVIII
(Texas, March 2004)

Laticrete donated its 254 Platinum Multipurpose Thinset Mortar and SpectraLOCK grout to cover 6,900 square feet of floor tile in 23 homes as part of Houston Habitat for Humanity’s SuperBUILD XXXVIII project. TPFH partners worked to tile a total of 34 homes through the project. All of the Laticrete products included Microban, an anti-microbial additive. The Laticrete team tiled four homes and included Technical Service Representatives Victoria Wright of Texas, Jack LeBlanc of Louisiana, Bill Rivas of Georgia, Mark Brooks of Texas, and Phil Ryan of New Jersey, Senior Research Chemist Andrew Szczepaniak, and Senior Applications Specialist Jeff Micalizzi.

From Victoria Wright, technical sales representative for Laticrete in Houston, Texas:

“I think some people think tile setting is simple, but I believe it's truly a skilled art, one of the ancient trades that is still passed on from master to apprentice. This craft is something of what LATICRETE International shared with the Houston community, and I was honored to be a part of that. We were able to work with members of YouthBuild, a community group working to teach at-risk youth construction trades while they work toward higher education; InnerChange, a local prison partnership offering members a chance to learn construction trades; and of course the homeowners, who worked hard building their new homes. The beautiful thing is that several of the homeowners are now considering entering the tile trade because they recognize the opportunity to improve their professional lives.”

 
Bill Rivas and Jack LeBlanc of Laticrete install tile in the Lopez home in Houston, Texas.   Laticrete’s Andrew Szczepaniak visits with a PJK tile setter as they grout the entry in a home in Houston, Texas.
     
 
Laticrete’s Jack LeBlanc explains tiling techniques to volunteers from InnerChange, a Houston-area prison group that worked to help tile the Houston homes.  

Laticrete’s Phil Ryan shows Fatima Abuti and her sister, Kim, how to grout and clean her new tile floor.
     
 
Members of the PJK crew visit with Victoria Wright of Laticrete.   New homeowner Tracy Scoby, Laticrete’s Victoria Wright, TPFH's Ally Fertitta, and YouthBuild's Cristopher Zuniga grout Tracy Scoby's bathroom.
     
 
Ten-year-old Deondra Owen, a volunteer, mixes grout with Laticrete’s Jeff Micalizzi.   Victoria Wright of LATICRETE visits with the niece of new homeowner Veronica Arce on the porch of the Arce home.