Tile Partners for Humanity Houston SuperBUILD Project

Tile Partners for Humanity recently completed its largest project to date – tiling 34 Habitat homes in Houston, Texas – thanks to the generous donations and participation of individual members of the industry.

TPFH is a partnership between the tile industry and Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization working to eliminate substandard housing around the world. TPFH works within the industry to raise awareness of Habitat and to solicit donations of tile, installation materials, tile tools, cleaners and sealers, installation labor, and installation training for volunteers and homeowners.

Industry members donated tile, installation materials, tools, cleaners and sealers, installation labor and training to tile 12,000 square feet in 34 homes built by Houston Habitat for Humanity this spring. The affiliate built a total of 38 homes as part of the SuperBUILD project, held in conjunction with Super Bowl XXXVIII, which took place on February 1, 2004 in Houston.

“Houston Habitat for Humanity is very fortunate to be working in partnership with Tile Partners for Humanity in the effort to eliminate substandard housing,” said Houston Habitat Interim Executive Director Evan Harrel. “We are extremely grateful for the donation of material and labor that will provide ceramic tile for the homes of so many Habitat families. Additionally, we appreciate that our families have the opportunity to learn the ceramic tile installation trade.”

Master Tile donated in excess of 14,000 square feet of tile for the project. LATICRETE International, Inc. and Texas Cement Products, based in Houston, each donated 7,000 square feet of installation materials, including thinset and grout. North American Tile
Tool Company donated 34 buckets of new tile tools, one for each house, to the project. Aqua Mix donated grout sealers and tile cleaners for the full project.

TPFH partners also donated labor to install tile in all 34 homes and worked with homeowners and Habitat volunteers to teach them how to install tile. PJK Ceramic Tile & Marble, based in Houston, donated labor for a total of 9,640 square feet in 24 homes. Charlie Juhl, also in Houston, donated labor for 1,300 square feet in five homes. LATICRETE donated labor for 1,040 square feet in four homes. North American Tile Tool Company donated labor for 260 square feet in one house.

“The Houston community has supported Master Tile for over 50 years, and we are excited to help Habitat with such a worthy project,” said Jim Bauer of Master Tile. “We appreciate the opportunity to give something back to our community through Tile Partners for Humanity.”

Through installation training and interaction with industry professionals, TPFH partners hope to increase the number of volunteers who can donate labor as well as interest volunteers and new homeowners in a career in the industry. A handful of SuperBUILD homeowners and volunteers expressed interest in continuing their training and exploring job opportunities within the Houston-area tile industry.

Victoria Wright of LATICRETE coordinated her company’s involvement in the project, including the donation of labor and installation training. This marked her second project with TPFH and her company’s fifth project.

“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 hopes to give to the Houston community, especially these young people who might yearn to learn a trade. I'm honored to be a part of this,” she said.

NATTCO President and CEO Brian Turner donated two days of labor with his wife Gillian, also of NATTCO, to install tile in Houston. They taught Tracy Scoby, a new homeowner, to tile his kitchen with tools donated by their company. Scoby and his new next-door neighbor, Robert Jones, both expressed interest in entering the industry after working with the Turners, LATICRETE’s Wright, and local volunteers Pavel Rusek and Todd Hudson.

TPFH pledged to provide a total of $1,250,000 in materials and labor to Habitat for Humanity projects over five years, or $250,000 a year. In its first year, 2003, TPFH partners EXCEEDED that goal by at least $100,000. The majority of the donations went to Habitat stores, where materials are resold and their profits used to finance new Habitat construction. TPFH’s primary goal is to put materials in Habitat homes, not stores, and is working to solicit materials appropriate for construction in addition to resale. Habitat homes require simple, basic ceramic or porcelain tile that is neutral in color and without excessive pattern. In 2004, several partners have already donated materials for new homes, including for the SuperBUILD in Houston, Texas.

For purposes of the pledge, Habitat values all donations at retail value according to the communities where the materials are consumed or where the labor is utilized. TPFH partners are able to claim a tax deduction for their donations that is valued at the cost of materials for donations to Habitat stores and up to twice that value, under Internal Revenue Code 170e3, for donations to active projects.

TPFH is guided by seven industry organizations whose representatives sit on its board of directors, including the Ceramic Tile Distributors Association, Ceramic Tile Education Foundation, Ceramic Tile Institute of America, National Tile Contractors Association, The Tile Doctor, Tile Council of North America, and Tile Heritage Foundation.

TPFH formed in December 2002 and accepts donations of tile, installation materials, tile tools, cleaners and sealers, labor, and installation training for Habitat projects. TPFH is supported exclusively by industry donations and accepts donations of financial support for its operations and communication efforts.

For more information on TPFH or to make a pledge, please visit www.tpfh.com.

Reprinted with permission of Slippery Rock Gazette

Bill Rivas and Jack LeBlanc of LATICRETE install tile in the Lopez home.

Cynthia Bradley hands tiles to David Rodriguez as he tiles her new kitchen.

NATTCO's Brian Turner shows new homeowner Tracy Scoby how to spread thinset with a NATTCO notched trowel.