Ceramic tile panel construction

Claim 1

A lightweight prefabricated ceramic tile construction panel comprising a pregrouted tile sheet, a foam backer and a paper backing sheet, said tile sheet comprising a plurality of ceramic tile elements geometrically arranged to form a planar array, the edges of each said tile and having a beveled portion adjacent the front face thereof and a non-beveled portion adjacent the rear face thereof, the non-beveled portion of each said tile edge comprising a planar surface perpendicular to said rear face, the beveled portion of each said tile edge comprising a substantially planar surface intersecting said non-beveled portion surface and extending inwardly at an acute angle therefrom to intersect said tile element front face, the edges of adjacent tile elements abutting along the full length of their nonbeveled edge portions, elastomeric grouting disposed between and bonding the beveled edge portions of adjacent tile elements, said foam backer comprising a layer of rigid closed-cell plastic foam bonded to the rear face of said planar array of tile elements by a foamed in situ bond, said paper backing sheet being bonded to the rear surface of said foam backer by a foamed in situ bond.