Patio Pattern & Stairs

An attractive border pattern can make an otherwise plain patio pop with a little excitement.

Tiling over Old Tiles & New Concrete

The front Terrazzo Patio was extended with concrete. The Terrazzo tiles could be simply tiled on top of once they were suitable prepared. The thick and solid Terrazzo tiles were roughed up with a grinder and then Mapei Eco Prim Grip sealer was applied. This primer sticks to almost anything, dries quick and provides a lot of grip for the cement glue due to the sand grains mixed in with it. A 300mm grey tile was used with a pattern tile of the same size for a border. Getting the tiled surface flat proved to be time consuming as the cemented side of the patio was a different height and gradient. A great deal of glue was necessary where the new concreted patio extension met the old terrazzo tiled patio. Another complication was that the horizontal Terrazzo tiles overhung the vertical tiles on the sides and so a great deal more glue was used (along with tile off-cuts) to fill the space. Nevertheless the finished product looked very good. Aluminium trim was used to protect the leading edges.

300mm tiles neatly fitted across the 900mm wide stairs.

Two uneven surfaces tiled evenly.

The Terrazzo & Concrete Surfaces

Concrete slab to extend Patio also needs to be tiled. Unfortunately it is not quite level or on the same incline.

Roughing up and priming

Terrazzo needs roughening up and priming using Mapei Prim Grip. This stuff can even stick to glass and is impregnated with sand for an excellent roughened surface for the glue to adhere to. The Concrete can be primed with a standard latex primer.

Gluing tiles to Patio

Using Davco SMP Evo cement based glue which has very high bond strength and is excellent for wet areas and outdoors and is designed for high grade porcelain or marble etc. Many tilers do not like it because it does not fluff up so much when mixed because they want to do the job as cheaply as possible. However I prefer my jobs to last. The customer chooses the tiles and the look that they are after for the price they are willing to pay. But I want to ensure that the tiles stay put and require the least maintenance etc.

On this job it was a mission to get everything flat. The pictures do not sure the large vertical gap (about 20mm) between the concrete and terrazzo tiles. Neither do they show the different inclines between these two surfaces. These factors greatly slowed down the tiling. However the finished product was a nice even tiled surface. 

Gluing Tiles to Stairs & Patio Sides, then Grouted

The Terrazzo stairs had a horizontal overhang of about 20mm over the steps riser. This vertical gap of the riser needed to be filled with roughed up tile offcuts and glue in order for the new riser tile to fit securely. There were also tiles around the edge of the patio that had the same gap and required filling.

Once all the tiles were glued, the job could be grouted.