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Exteriors Design Dilemma Gardens

Help! Porcelain tiles outside - facts v fiction

6 years ago

Hi. We’ve ordered some lovely large outdoor porcelain tiles from Mandarin Stone. They’re 900 x 450mm.
Our tradesperson has let us down the day of the job because he said he doesn’t dare cut the porcelain anymore because it’s a lot harder.

Can anyone tell me if this is true and how the job differs from laying regular stone? We bought porcelain because we heard it was better and easier.

Since he cancelled, we are getting all kinds of conflicting information from other trades people, including some quoting twice as much, twice as long, some saying it needs sealing, some saying it doesn’t, some saying it need a screed, some saying it’s fine on a wet dry mix. Your knowledge would be much appreciated.
Below is an image of what we would eventually like and the current state of the job.

Thanks

Featured Answer

PRO

The London Tile Co.

6 years ago

Vitrified porcelain should not need sealing as it is non-porous, however, if you are installing it on a wet bed the underside will need to be coated in a primer as it will not stick properly without it. A solid base is more suited to porcelain as you just need a suitable adhesive, just like you would indoors. Alternatively, porcelain can be installed onto a pedestal system, although this is usually used on balconies and terraces.

They are right that porcelain is extremely hard but with the right tools, it can be cut quite easily. Perhaps it would be worth contacting tilers rather than landscapers as they might be more comfortable working with porcelain? Let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks PWJ Architects Ltd for sharing our blog post.

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Comments (11)

PRO
PWJ Architects Ltd
6 years ago
Good afternoon Sara,

You may find the following blog post useful...

https://www.londontile.co.uk/blog/2018/03/why-choose-porcelain-paving/

Towards the end of the page there is a section on how to install porcelain paving.

We hope this helps.
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belindacarrie
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I have had first hand experience of light coloured porcelain tiles . I have 2 patios. They were laid incorrectly - the fall was too shallow . This means water stands and won’t drain. You MUST make sure the fall is right both cross and longitudinal and that there is somewhere for the water to drain . Thankfully the designer and gardener have agreed to redesign and replace 25 sq metres at their cost but it’s all been very stressful. Aside from that the tiles are filthy as the dirty water just gets walked in. If we had to keep them we’d have to karcher every day just to keep them clean. If I were you I’d send them straight them back and get a porous stone . Suffice it to say we are having the whole lot replaced with porous stone /grout/gravel and planting to take up the water. There are lots of u tube videos about how to lay this stuff but in my experience you need someone who has laid a lot of it and I think they are few are far between
My advice - don’t touch it
Good luck
PRO
Active Builders London ltd
6 years ago
Hi

you could screed or use specialist levelling compound to get the required slope and then lay the tiles with some external.grade adhesive. It's not complicated job for experienced tiler.
susanglascoed
6 years ago
Why don't you contact Mandarin? They are experts in flooring, know their business inside out and in my experience, have always been extremely helpful. Besides, it's not in their interest to have any negative publicity.
J C
5 years ago
Just as a tip for cleaning once fitted, we spoke to Silverland Stone who have a fantastic outdoor showroom which gets a lot of foot traffic and their outside porcelain looks great even after years of being laid there. I asked them if they used a jet wash or anything and they said no, they use a wet steam cleaner which works wonders.
PRO
Development and Project Services
5 years ago
no issues with porcelain tiles laid large patio for my daughter in Clapham looked class with the sleepers and raised beds.
Anthony (Beano)
5 years ago
Funnily I’ve ordered about 90sq mts and doing it myself, I’m using the supports system, leaves you a 2mm spacing between the tiles and you can lay them flat as they drain down the 2mm edge gap, I’m coving all my house drains with them too as you can just lift them up to access any part underneath you want! Not a cheap system though!
PRO
Earth Designs Garden and Build London and Essex
5 years ago
We use porcelain tiles now in most of our garden designs. As long as the ones you have purchased are exterior use (20mm thick) they should be fine. They are perfect for outdoors as they are super tough and don't need sealing.
J C
5 years ago
You can use exterior ones which are 10mm thick, and they would still take weight of a truck over them, as long as laid correctly on good substrate.
PRO
SPD Ltd
4 years ago
How do you think the prices of porcelain paving are best value?

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