CUSTOM Anchors Large Format Tile at New Seattle Landmark

Located in downtown Seattle with easy access to public transportation, Stadium Place West holds the title of the largest transit-oriented development on the U.S. West Coast.  The Wave,  its glass-walled, 26-story condo tower, was named “best new development: high-rise of 2014” by Multi-Housing News.  With a site overlooking the Seattle Seahawks stadium, a walkability rating of 94/100 and off-the-chart design credentials, this iconic new tower at Stadium Place West offers utterly unique urban living.

When it came to selecting an installation system for the on-trend tile in the 330 luxury condos, the design and construction teams had a unanimous decision: Custom Building Products. Based on the quality standards of the products, service and system warranty, a complete CUSTOM system was chosen for this new construction Seattle.

The Stadium Place West project was designed by award-winning ZGF Architects. CUSTOM’s RedGard® Waterproofing and Crack Prevention Membrane is the firm’s “basis of design” for specifying waterproofing of wet areas. RedGard was applied in all bathrooms with two 30-mil coats in showers providing a moisture vapor barrier that exceeds TCNA standards for even the high-humidity conditions found in continuous-use steam showers.

For a luxury high-rise, sound attenuation in tiled areas was a foremost concern. Project Architect Tobin Thompson chose EasyMat® Tile & Stone Underlayment with SoundGard® technology to mitigate the effects of sound transmission through tiled floors.  EasyMat offers high and credible sound reduction, crack prevention up to 1/4″ and is 25 times lighter than traditional backerboard.  A peel & stick version of the mat was used at this jobsite to further speed the installation process.  Spec Writer Marc Chavez shared that the architectural and technical team at CUSTOM “has been very helpful in getting things done throughout all phases of the construction.”

Setting the 70,000 square feet of tile was awarded to contractors Western Tile & Marble of Bellevue, WA.  ZGF specified a 12″ x 24″ porcelain tile for the floors and walls of the penthouse bathrooms for a unified look that extends the already generous space. Western Tile used ProLite® Large Format Tile & Stone Mortar because it delivers high bond strength in a lightweight formula with excellent handling characteristics. ProLite can be applied in a wide variety of floor and wall tile installations as it will not sag, slip or slump, even with large format or heavy tile.  A lighter weight 30 lb. bag of ProLite covers the same area as a 50 lb. bag of typical mortar, making this product a natural choice for high-rise construction.

Bathrooms receiving a 12″ x 12″ porcelain tile on the floor were also set with ProLite mortar.  Walls and tub surrounds were designed with a smaller ceramic tile and installed with VersaBond® Flex Fortified Thin-Set Mortar.

Grouting on all floors of the project was completed with Prism® Color Consistent Grout.  Prism is a lightweight, polymer-modified cementitious grout that will not color shade, mottle or effloresce within the grout joint, regardless of temperature or humidity.  Fast-setting Prism creates dense grout joints from 1/16″ to 1/2″. Like all CUSTOM grout solutions, Prism is available in 40 designer-inspired colors to enhance any type of tile.  The contractors at Western Tile filled movement joints with Commercial 100% Silicone Caulk, which remains permanently flexible, even in submerged conditions.

Natalie Seal, Project Manager at Western Tile, said her team is very familiar with the CUSTOM system of products installed and that, as always, “all of the products performed great, with no issues and no surprises so the job stayed on track.”

ProLite mortar is a part of CUSTOM’s environmentally responsible Emerald System™ line of products.  These products incorporate recycled content and go beyond current standards by addressing key issues of sustainable building.  Emerald System products assure common  regulatory agency compliance and the program offers Carbon Offset Credits to the project that help reduce the impact to the environment.

Formulated with CustomLite® Technology, ProLite is 40% lighter than traditional mortars, meets ANSI A138.1, and like other Emerald System products, can contribute toward earning LEED points. The Wave at Stadium Place West expects to receive a LEED Gold rating and using these lightweight tile installation materials was a part of this green building goal.

CUSTOM is honored to be trusted with supplying the tile installation materials at this very special new construction.   Football fans, be on the watch for views of The Wave during televised Seattle Seahawks home games.

Location:

Seattle, WA

Year Completed:

2014

Architect:

Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects, LLC, Seattle, WA

Contractor:

JTM Construction, Seattle, WA

Tile Contractor:

Western Tile & Marble, Bellevue, WA

CBP Architectural Consultant:

John Gallup, CTC, CSI, Architectural Services Rep.; Rob McCall, Territory Manager; Tom DeNure, Regional Technical Representative