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This is my very first post in this community 
I have two patios where I am planning to lay tiles. I have been following many youtube videos and instructions on internet and it seems like it is doable by myself ( little help from my wife). I would really like to try myself and give it a go. Any suggestion would be nice before starting. I have attached images of my two patios. And also if you can suggest me what type of tiles are best suitable for such case. I believe timber decking is going to be expensive in this case.
After some gap in our renovation tasks, my wife and I finally laid tiles on our front porch. Following are the outcomes (not in sequential order):
Above images are before and after image.
This is our every first tiling job done on the house. We wanted to lay from long time ago, but my father passed away and we had to hold this job. He had a wish to help me with this, but he could not make it.
Lesson learned: clean the tiles (and mess) as you go, otherwise it could be very messy and there will be no clear gap between tiles to fill the grout.
Preparation is the key. As you can see there is a fine line on the floor that separates two distinct areas on the floor. As we laid the tiles, we found out that the two floors are not on the same levels, which ultimately resulted on elevation of tile on the particular area.
I should say this is not perfect job but we are very happy with what we have got here. My wife is happy. Happy wife, happy life.
We learned a lot from this job and we still have 2 more patios to do and we are hoping this time it will be easier and more perfect than before.
Hello @Sugar
Thank you very much for sharing your fantastic patio tiling project. I'm sorry to hear that your father passed away and did not get a chance to help you with the tiling. I'm sure he would have been very impressed with the results that you have achieved.
I take it that you are still wating for the tile adhesive to dry off before putting the grout on? Just remember that the same rules apply for grouting and that is to clean as you go. This will save you from having to remove dry grout from the surface of the tile.
Again, thank you for sharing such a wonderful project.
Eric
@EricL @MitchellMc Here is another tile project done on a different patio. I am thrilled with this outcome and looks far better than before. Here are some Before and After images.
BEFORE
AFTER (And or DURING)
TIPS ( I am not a professional tiler, and what I have achieved may not look 100% perfect, but I am happy and thought of sharing what I little know about it.)
- Always place the tiles on the floor to plan how you want to lay the tiles. I left the small cuts to run along the corners and close to the walls. This is because something the patio ( or the surfaces) are not perfectly rectangular or square.
- You can finish the easiest part first and leave the edges for later to do it. However, make sure the dimension are correct and the tiles are following the straight lines.
- Do not worry about cleaning (perfect) the floor while you are doing it, you can use mop the floor and clean it later on also. I cleaned this floor in 10 minutes with the mop.
- I chose whitish tiles, and I get a lot of reflection as the sun sets on this side of the house. So be careful on choosing the color also, depending on the sides of the house. Also these tiles are a little bit slippery and now I am worried about rain. I am going to use this product for the safety:https://www.bunnings.com.au/dta-1l-anti-slip_p6820943 @EricL @MitchellMc Please let me know if you know any good products.
Wow, that area looks fantastic now @Sugar! The transformation from the before to the after images is impressive.
Planning the layout by placing tiles on the floor beforehand is a smart approach, especially for irregular surfaces. I love how you've been able to complete a wonderful project and also share valuable feedback from the experience you've gained along the way. I'm sure any of our members considering a similar tiling project will appreciate your knowledge.
The DTA 1L Anti Slip would be an appropriate product to increase the slip resistance of the tiles.
Many thanks for sharing your results, and I can't wait to see what project you tackle next.
Mitchell
