Section 1: Introduction

1.1 Preface

LATICRETE International, Inc., a world leader in the manufacturing of ceramic tile and stone installation systems, has long recognized the need for a technical design manual to provide guidelines and recommendations for the design, specification and installation of tile in veterinary/animal arts/kennel applications Unique demands placed on veterinary/animal arts/kennel applications require specialized tile installation materials. In keeping with our position as an industry leader, LATICRETE International is publishing Animal Health and Wellness Facilities Technical Design Manual to provide information and guidelines to architects, design professionals, tile installation professionals, and the tile distribution industry. It is the goal of this manual to provide the necessary information to help ensure a proper and long lasting tile installation in an animal health and wellness environment.

1.2 Overview

The ceramic tile industry has the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Handbook for Ceramic Tile Installation which provides the guide for installation practices. This is an outstanding reference manual which provides information for approximately 100 different types of tile installations and associated applications. For a broad range of applications this information is beneficial and accepted by architects, specification writers, general contractors, and tile contractors.

In a perfect world, tile installations would be the same no matter where the application was going to be placed or for what purpose it would be used. Swimming pools, showers, lobbies, veterinary clinics, commercial kitchen floors, exterior decks, and other tile installations would be easy and straight forward. But, this is not a perfect world and tile installations are definitely not all the same.

The TCNA Handbook provides information for ‘Interior Floors – Chemical Resistant’ installations and states that these should be used for areas “where moderate chemical exposure and severe cleaning methods will be used, such as in commercial kitchens, dairies, breweries, food processing plants, etc…” While it is true that these TCNA references should be used in the areas designated, it does not address all of the areas where these application types are best suited.

One such application would be areas where animals have a constant presence and where they are liable to do just about anything. These areas include veterinary clinics and hospitals, kennels, dog grooming establishments, laboratories, pet stores, animal science facilities, and any other area where animals are a continual factor. At any given time these areas can be exposed to dog or cat urine (or any other kind of animal), animal feces, blood, saliva, diarrhea, vomit, chemicals, claws, foot traffic, dirt, water, cleaners, drugs, children and who knows what else. These areas are only taking into account the lobby and examining rooms; you also have x-ray developing rooms, staff lounges, grooming rooms, bathrooms, kennels, and possibly a laundry. This is a very diverse environment, and not friendly for many types of flooring! If installed correctly, and taking into account the extreme environment, then tile can certainly be the answer. Keep in mind that this is an inhospitable environment and that the rules are different when compared to a “normal” tile installation.

1.3 Why are these installations different?

As stated earlier, floors and walls in veterinary clinics, animal hospitals, kennels, etc. are consistently exposed to a wide variety of matter to which a typical tile installation would rarely or never be exposed. Anyone who owns, or has owned a pet, and visits a veterinarian is well aware of the fact that many animals will urinate as soon as they enter the building. Whether this is out of reflex, fear, the need to “go”, or another factor is inconsequential; it is a fact. So taking into account the urine, heavy traffic, and other conditions that the floors and walls see, and couple that with the fact that urine and other matter may sit on the floor for quite a while until it is washed, you can begin to see the problems.

Portland cement grout can easily be stained when animals urinate, vomit or defecate on the floor. The pH of the discharged matter can also play a significant role in the long term performance of the grout. While the pH of urine can range from slightly alkaline to slightly acid, it is typically neutral, the same cannot be said of vomit. Vomit can contain significantly high levels of acid; and cement products do not do well when exposed to acids.

So far we have only talked about exposure to animals and the problems inherent with this exposure. Veterinary labs, clinics and hospitals can also have x-ray developing rooms, dog grooming facilities, surgical rooms, employee lounges, and kennels. Each area has there own unique characteristics, chemical and material exposure, and cleaning procedures. The variety of cleaners, chemicals and other matter is wide ranging and the exposure of these materials is typically frequent.

1.4 Radiant Heating in Animal Boarding Facilities

A growing trend in the animal health and wellness field is Pet Hotels. More and more facilities are opening up around the world that caters to caring for pets in a more upscale manner than a kennel or boarding facility. These pet hotels provide personalized care, individual rooms (some with radiant heated floors), exercise sessions, veterinary services, grooming, and more. The care and comfort of animals is the primary concern of these businesses and some will go to extreme measures to make your pet happy. Included in this design manual are several execution statements for electric radiant heat floors in Pet Hotels (please see Section 6.3 for more information).

Choosing the right setting tile setting materials, including LATAPOXY 2000 Industrial Grout, is very important in a pet hotel environment because of the high turnover of different species and types of animals. Germs and diseases can be spread easily if incorrect setting materials are used and poor continual cleaning and maintenance procedures are not followed.

1.5 Why Use LATAPOXY® 2000 Industrial Grout?

The industry has long looked to epoxies to provide the solution to the large number of potential problems that a veterinary floor or wall can face. But not all epoxies are the same; certain epoxies have cement present in them and these may not be the right type of material when exposed to acids for extended time. Other epoxy grouts are susceptible to degradation by bacterial attack, steam cleaning or strong acid or chemical exposure. The only true answer is an industrial epoxy grout that is manufactured to withstand the most harsh installation environments. LATAPOXY® 2000 Industrial Grout is the solution.

One of the major reasons to use LATAPOXY 2000 Industrial Grout is for health concerns. Not only the health of the animals, but also the health of the people present in the building. Let’s remember what comes in contact with a typical veterinary hospital tile installation; urine, feces, blood, diarrhea, vomit, and more. Many of the animals brought in for veterinary care are sick, and like humans carry any number of germs; and germs are transferable and lead to sickness in other animals and humans.

What happens when a sick dog vomits on a tile installation that has cement grout? Hopefully, someone will be along shortly to clean up and sanitize the area! But, the fact that cement based grout is absorptive (up to 7% absorption rate) means that some of the vomit can soak into the grout before it is cleaned. A short while later another dog smells the area in question and its nose touches the grout. Have some of the germs now been passed to this dog? It is a possibility!

LATAPOXY® 2000 Industrial Grout is a very dense, hard grout that has an extremely low absorption rate (<.16%). This means that any liquid that comes in contact with the grout will stay on top of the grout until it is cleaned. If cleaned and sanitized quickly then there is far less chance of the germs being transferred via contact or eventually getting airborne.

LATAPOXY 2000 Industrial Grout will also stand up to the myriad of chemicals and cleaners that are used in this environment. This grout is also highly stain resistant and the color would not be affected by any of the normal matter that would come in contact with it in a veterinary atmosphere.