Booked my CTI exam for 8 weeks out. I've got 9 years of tile work including showers, large-format, and exterior installations. The hands-on portion doesn't worry me. The written exam is what I'm focused on because it covers standards and specifications I know in practice but not always by the book.
The ANSI/TCNA standards are the core of it — A108, A118, A136, the Handbook. I'm working through those systematically but there's a lot of material and not all of it is equally weighted on the exam.
Substrate preparation questions seem to come up a lot based on what I've read from others. Deflection limits, flatness tolerances, crack isolation — that's stuff I deal with daily but the specific numbers and references are what I need to nail down.
Any suggestions on which ANSI standards to prioritize? I don't have unlimited time and I want to study smart.
Deflection limits (L/360 for ceramic, L/720 for large-format) are guaranteed to appear. Know the thresholds and what you do when a substrate doesn't meet them. That's a practical question they ask in written form.
The NTCA training modules pair well with the standards reading. They explain the why behind the specifications in a way that makes memorization easier. Free to access if you're a member.
A108 is the foundation — know it thoroughly. A118 covers mortar and grout specs, which shows up in material selection questions. The Handbook is more of a reference but the sections on substrate prep and waterproofing are worth reading carefully.
9 years of experience means you already know the right answer for most practical questions — you just need to learn how the standards phrase it. The gap between doing it right and being able to cite the standard is the whole prep challenge.