CASE STUDY
Project
Beverly Hills Medical Center
General Contractor/Structural Engineer
ZDX Industries - Santa Monica, CA
Architect
Kanner Architects - Santa Monica, CA
Tile Manufacturer
Cotto d’Este
Accent Tile: Ceramiche Caesar AEssential
Tile Dealer
SpecCeramics, Inc- Fullerton, CA
Featured Products
ARDEX 8+9™ Waterproofing and Crack Isolation Compound
ARDEX X 77™ MICROTEC® Premium Thin Set Mortar
Challenge
•35,000 square-foot installation area
•Exterior building façade rehabilitation
•1,000 ultra-thin porcelain tiles (3.5mm and 5mm)
Situation
The Beverly Hills Medical Center’s exterior façade was covered with 3’ x 3 3/4’ granite slabs mechanically
affixed to the building. The building owner decided to renovate the interior and exterior of the building with
porcelain tile. For aesthetic purposes, the porcelain tiles chosen for the exterior cladding were very thin 20” x 40”
that were just 5mm thick, and 40” x 96” only 3.5 mm thick. The tiles were to be placed over the existing granite slabs. The new 3.5 mm tiles were extremely delicate and the
installation had to cover 1/4 inch expansion joints between each granite slab. This thin body porcelain tile over tile
exterior cladding installation was one of the first of its kind in North America. SpecCeramics, Inc. recommended
ARDEX products for this job because of the extended open time of ARDEX X 77™ MICROTEC® Premium Thin Set
Mortar and the flexibility, adhesion and outstanding bonding properties of ARDEX 8+9™Waterproofing and Crack
Isolation Compound. One thousand new tiles were to be installed with no room for error.
ARDEX Sales Professional Mike Taylor worked with ARDEX Technical Field Representative Dave McAnlis and
consulted with the ARDEX Technical Department to provide product recommendations for this technically
challenging installation. To promote adhesion and flexibility, ARDEX 8+9 was used to prime the back of the
large tiles. After the ARDEX 8+9 dried, each tile was back buttered with ARDEX X 77 and installed into troweled
ARDEX X 77 over the existing granite slab. The extended 60 minute open time of ARDEX X 77 was of paramount
importance in this installation because it allowed installers enough time to fully back butter, place and adjust the
oversized tiles as needed.
ECB™ Anti-Fracture Membrane, a National Applied Construction (NAC) Product, was used to prime the 3’ x 3’
granite slabs and bridge the 1/4” expansion joints. A joint warranty was offered by National Applied Construction
(NAC) Products, Inc. and ARDEX covering the installation for 20 years. ZDX Industries were extremely impressed
and pleased with the performance of ARDEX 8+9 and ARDEX X 77 in this very demanding installation environment.
CS137 (9/13)
Solution
Beverly Hills, CA
Beverly Hills Medical Center - Beverly Hills, CA
888-512-7339
www.ardexamericas.com