ᐅ Tiles on the terrace / patio

Hello everyone,

Our house construction is progressing well. So I’m starting to think about paving, the terrace, and related topics.

I would like to cover the terrace with tiles. I really like the barefoot feeling you get on tiled walkways in hotel resorts in Mediterranean regions.

Before I rush off to get quotes from tile installers, I wanted to briefly ask what I should watch out for and what experiences you have had.

I would prefer tiles with a slight texture. The entire surface will be fully waterproofed, so no sand in the joints.

Evolith schrieb:
what experiences you have had with this

That tiles can become very hot in summer

That also depends on the color.
In general, I had thought about that as well. However, when you look at older houses where the entrance or stairs are tiled, you’ll often see tiles coming loose. I’ve also seen this multiple times on terraces.
I can imagine that cracks may often occur if the ground settles even slightly over time, unless you build the terrace essentially on a second solid slab.
There are terrace slabs about 2-3 cm (0.8-1.2 inches) thick that feel like porcelain stoneware—have you considered those?

Tiles are not installed with sand in the joints; that method is used for paving slabs. Paving slabs are always frost-resistant here (if you bought some from Egypt, it might be different, haha). Tiles can also come in non-frost-resistant varieties (if they are actually meant for indoor use). Tiles are laid on solid substrates, terrace slabs (with air gaps) are sometimes installed on pedestals, and paving slabs are set on a sand bed.

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

Peanuts74 schrieb:
That also depends on the color.
In general, I had thought about this as well. But when you look at older houses where the entrance or stairs are tiled, you’ll find that the tiles often start to come loose. I’ve seen this happen quite a lot on terraces too.
I could imagine that cracks often occur if the ground settles even slightly over time—unless you build the terrace on a second solid “base slab.”
There are terrace slabs about 2-3 cm (around 1 inch) thick that feel like porcelain stoneware. Have you considered those?

I wanted to install beige tiles with a bit of gray mixed in, so dirt wouldn’t show immediately.
The temperatures should be moderate then. At least, I haven’t noticed any issues at 32°C (90°F) in Greece.
We would accept cracks and minor settling over the years. Knowing myself, I’ll probably be tired of this color after 20 years at the latest and want something new.

I haven’t looked into porcelain stoneware yet, but I will now. Thanks for the tip. Is it durable enough? I have a small 2-year-old elephant at home—though tiles probably have the same issues with that.

Floor tiles are often porcelain stoneware... The slabs I saw can also be installed on pedestals, meaning they are supported only at the corners, and I believe they are supposed to withstand 300 kg (660 lbs). I, weighing 90 kg (198 lbs), jumped next to the corner on one, and it held up...