Outdoor tiling · · Shane, Deluxe Tiling
How outdoor porcelain tiles should be laid (and why patios fail)
Outdoor porcelain is tough, but only if it is bedded, primed and laid to falls properly. Here is what good installation looks like.
Porcelain is a brilliant outdoor surface — dense, frost-resistant and easy to clean. But because it absorbs almost no water, it won't stick to a mortar bed on its own. Most failed porcelain patios come down to how they were laid, not the tile.
A sound, well-drained base
The ground underneath has to be compacted and stable, with a sub-base that lets water drain. A weak base moves, and the tiles move with it.
Primer on every tile
A bonding primer brushed onto the back of each tile is what makes porcelain grip the bed. Skipping it is the number one reason tiles lift or sound hollow.
Full bedding and falls
Every tile should be fully bedded with no voids, and the whole surface set to a gentle fall away from the house so rain drains off rather than pooling.
Lining up with the house
On the best projects, joints line up with the indoor floor and the doors, so inside and outside read as one space. That's the approach we took at The Tiled House, Burwood Park.