Need to rehab my 40yo concrete patio, pavers vs porcelain tile

[kevreh]

After being in our house for 18 years and never really liking our patio, this will finally be the year we replace it. You can sort of see it in my thumbnail.

In some places its cracked pretty bad and some sections settle over time. We've paid to have it mud jacked (limestone slurry iirc) a couple times. So going over it with something isn't an option. Also one area (near the shallow end) collects water and the pressure cleaner supply pipe has a crack. Both issues could be fixed by removing the concrete.

I've settled on pavers or porcelain tiles. The tiles are about 3/4" thick and come in different sizes, most commonly 24"x24". The impression I'm getting is their quite a bit more. Start at $10/sf. Which makes sense due to being more resistant than pavers. Interestingly for the tiles you can use a compacted base then support them with those plastic, adjustable pedestals. But for @400sf the pedestals alone would cost more than $1k. Other likely method for the tile is compacted base, then 1" sand.

Pavers are more common, easier to get, and cheaper from what I can tell.

Does that sound right? Am I missing an option?

Thanks....
Kevin

 

[kimkats]

Kevin will you be taking up the concrete? It sounds like you are but want to make sure.

 

[SunnyP2000]

two of my friends did porcelain tile . attached are some pics. they were installed just like pavers. i am also getting them installed in few months. btw these were installed 2 years ago.

 

[Snoobug]

Very pretty! I take it, it's not slippery with wet feet? We are debating whether to go pavers or concrete right now.

 

[SunnyP2000]

Very pretty! I take it, it's not slippery with wet feet? We are debating whether to go pavers or concrete right now.

not slippery at all. i actually have few tiles sitting outside and tested myself . tiles don't weather like pavers either.

 

[kevreh]

Kevin will you be taking up the concrete? It sounds like you are but want to make sure.

Probably, but not a given. Since a few sections tend to settle over time the right way would be to remove all concrete. But expensive. I could put porcelain over the concrete, follow the joints between the slabs, and just have those sections mud jacked in the future, like I have in the past.

But since I want to replace the coping too this would be an issue with the concrete and pavers getting too high For the new coping. I want to keep the waterline tile as is.

two of my friends did porcelain tile . attached are some pics. they were installed just like pavers. i am also getting them installed in few months. btw these were installed 2 years ago.

Very attractive solution! Porcelain has many benefits. Very tough. Please share how they prepped the base, what thinset and grout they used If you know. Also what brand and price/sf. Pavers are easier to find as landscaping supply places sell them.

Thanks!

 

[kevreh]

Very pretty! I take it, it's not slippery with wet feet? We are debating whether to go pavers or concrete right now.

Some porcelain is shiny because their glazed. That’s for a shower wall. Outdoor tiles have more of a fine sandpaper feel. If you go with pavers ask if they use polymeric sand, which won’t come out as much as plain sand.

 

[SunnyP2000]

Probably, but not a given. Since a few sections tend to settle over time the right way would be to remove all concrete. But expensive. I could put porcelain over the concrete, follow the joints between the slabs, and just have those sections mud jacked in the future, like I have in the past.

But since I want to replace the coping too this would be an issue with the concrete and pavers getting too high For the new coping. I want to keep the waterline tile as is.



Very attractive solution! Porcelain has many benefits. Very tough. Please share how they prepped the base, what thinset and grout they used If you know. Also what brand and price/sf. Pavers are easier to find as landscaping supply places sell them.

Thanks!

tile link material cost is around $7 to $10 sqft
i have attached link to outdoor pavers they used and what i will be using. their are few ways to install but they have installed over concrete base and sand set just like pavers. they also used polymeric sand for joint. both have been installed for few years and have gone through few seasons (also snow and ice) and no issues thus far.

 

[Snoobug]

Some porcelain is shiny because their glazed. That’s for a shower wall. Outdoor tiles have more of a fine sandpaper feel. If you go with pavers ask if they use polymeric sand, which won’t come out as much as plain sand.

Our landscaper uses polymeric sand. He also is certified with Unilock and says those pavers are not slippery.

 

[kevreh]

tile link material cost is around $7 to $10 sqft
i have attached link to outdoor pavers they used and what i will be using. their are few ways to install but they have installed over concrete base and sand set just like pavers. they also used polymeric sand for joint. both have been installed for few years and have gone through few seasons (also snow and ice) and no issues thus far.

Thanks for the link. MSI makes a lot of nice looking porcelein slabs. I would probably go with a compacted base and sand. You can also use those plastic adjustable pier things, which are interesting, but not cheap. (Eterno SE2 Adjustable Pedestal Support 2)

 

[Metal]

two of my friends did porcelain tile . attached are some pics. they were installed just like pavers. i am also getting them installed in few months. btw these were installed 2 years ago.

Thanks for posting these pics! Very interested in more info on the tiles that have the browns and greens in them? Do you know the name and if they were placed on sand or concrete? I tried to zoom in and see what kind of grout they used..hard to tell, almost looked like there wasn't any in there? Sand? If you can supply any more info it would be really appreciated!

 

[SunnyP2000]

Thanks for posting these pics! Very interested in more info on the tiles that have the browns and greens in them? Do you know the name and if they were placed on sand or concrete? I tried to zoom in and see what kind of grout they used..hard to tell, almost looked like there wasn't any in there? Sand? If you can supply any more info it would be really appreciated!

they both used msi surfaces , joints have poly sand and they were installed on 4 inch concrete with sand just like any other pavers. one used Beton grey and the other used golden white. golden white has greens and browns in them, when I was looking for samples i went to whole bunch on mason yards that carried them and looked at samples. took few pics of samples which I'll attach.

 

[Metal]

they both used msi surfaces , joints have poly sand and they were installed on 4 inch concrete with sand just like any other pavers. one used Beton grey and the other used golden white. golden white has greens and browns in them, when I was looking for samples i went to whole bunch on mason yards that carried them and looked at samples. took few pics of samples which I'll attach.

Thank you so much for posting this info, I really appreciate it. We really like the MSI porcelain tiles, there are some great choices. Let me ask you a few final questions, if you have any insight I am all ears. A few things Im worried about: we have lots of curves on our gunite free form pool and deck and cutting porcelain on a curve can be challenging (lots of chips etc)..any thoughts or experience with that? Also, how is the porcelain doing in the heat? Do you have to wear sandals? Finally, what climate is this in...we are in Virginia and get have lots of freezing ice cycles, worried water will get in between grout lines, freeze, and pop/damage the tiles.

 

[SunnyP2000]

Thank you so much for posting this info, I really appreciate it. We really like the MSI porcelain tiles, there are some great choices. Let me ask you a few final questions, if you have any insight I am all ears. A few things Im worried about: we have lots of curves on our gunite free form pool and deck and cutting porcelain on a curve can be challenging (lots of chips etc)..any thoughts or experience with that? Also, how is the porcelain doing in the heat? Do you have to wear sandals? Finally, what climate is this in...we are in Virginia and get have lots of freezing ice cycles, worried water will get in between grout lines, freeze, and pop/damage the tiles.

no issues with curves as long as installer knows what to do. its just like cutting tile. if you are in virgina your weather is same as us , no issues with snow , freeze /thaw. we walk barefoot with no issues even in high heat. i have attached 2 more pics which has curves , you can see how they cut the tile.

 

[Metal]

no issues with curves as long as installer knows what to do. its just like cutting tile. if you are in virgina your weather is same as us , no issues with snow , freeze /thaw. we walk barefoot with no issues even in high heat. i have attached 2 more pics which has curves , you can see how they cut the tile.

Thanks for the reply and pictures, that is really helpful. I think we just made the decision to go with Arterra tiles thanks to your pictures nd recommendations. Your pool looks great!