How do I wrap steel posts in alfresco area with tile?

JRJS

Hi! Has anyone tiled the steel posts in their alfresco area? Timber seems like a lot of maintenance so I was considering using timber look tiles. 

I also want to use the same tiles for cladding a portion of my house as a feature (covering existing cedar cladding that has been painted). 

Would appreciate advice and idea of how much it would cost for a post 2.5 m high!

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @JRJS. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about tiling.
 

Tiling directly onto steel posts or cladding boards isn't ideal, as you'll struggle to find a tile adhesive that reliably bonds to metal, and timber cladding tends to move and flex with temperature and humidity changes—making it a poor base for tiling.

The best solution in both cases would be to first install fibre cement sheeting. For your steel posts, you can fully clad them with fibre cement boards, screwing the sheets directly into the steel frame. Once that’s done, you’ll have a stable, tile-friendly surface to work with. For the painted cedar cladding, you'd do something similar—screw fibre cement sheets over the existing boards to create a rigid, non-flexing base before applying your tiles.

This approach gives you the solid foundation needed for tile adhesives to work effectively and will give a much longer-lasting result.

For a 2.5m high steel post, you can expect to spend around $80 to $160, depending on your choice of materials. Fibre cement sheeting to clad the post will cost about $30 to $50. Timber-look tiles will add around $20 to $55, depending on the style and price per square metre. You’ll also need exterior tile adhesive and screws, which will cost roughly $20 to $35 combined. If you want to finish the edges neatly, aluminium tile trim may add another $10 to $20.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell