I’ve go an old 19×23 ft patio (cement) and want to update its looks. It is 6″thick with wire reinforvcment and no way to get heavy equipment into the yard, so removal is really not an option I want to explore. What about using thin-set motor and laying an exterior tile over it? Would this hold up well in S.E.Michigan?
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Electric jack hammer , a sledge, a digging bar, and a wheel barrow will get rid of that! Removal is an option. You still might want to avoid it though. Jeff
"That's like hypnotizing chickens........."
Edited 4/27/2002 1:50:12 AM ET by Jeff J. Buck
Yes. but, and this is a big but. . . .
Water trapped in the grout, and resting on the slab will freeze and thaw and will expand and contract, busting loose most of your tiles. Therefore you need to accomodate that thermal expansion.
The Tile Council of America Handbook has some detailed drawings and specs for this precise application. Buy it for $5 and follow their guidelines.
Essentially, you need to have the slab pitched so that water gets off the patio and is not trapped. If the slab is not pitched, then I would use deck mud to pitch it, 1/4" per foot, 3/8" is even better. I would bond the deck mud to the slab. I would then install a product called TROBA from Schulter, which is essentially a plastic waffle mat that supports another mortar bed (your setting bed) and allows the moisture to drain from your setting bed.
Then tile as usual. I would pick some impervious tiles with a wide grout line. Consider using a trowel on or sheet type membrane to keep water out of the setting bed.
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1927