Queenstown · Wānaka · Central Otago
Outdoor, decks & pools
Outside, water gets under the floor. The whole job is giving it somewhere to go.
What is included
External-grade membrane and drainage detailing — water gets under an outdoor floor; the job is to give it a way out.
Falls away from the building, set out with a laser level before tiling.
Slip rating belongs with the tile, so it is decided before the tile is bought. Tell us the selection and we will tell you straight if it worries us for where it is going — a beautiful tile at a pool edge can be a liability.
Movement joints sized for the thermal range an outdoor floor actually sees, which is far wider than anything indoors has to cope with.
Flexible, external-rated adhesive and grout throughout.
Why this costs what it costs
Outdoor failures are drainage failures
Almost every lifted outdoor tile comes down to water that got in and had nowhere to go. Building the drainage path costs a day. Not building it costs the terrace — and it will not show until the second or third season, long after the job looked finished.
Movement is real and it is seasonal
The joints that look like an unnecessary line in the floor are the reason the field does not tent in February. Fewer joints looks better on day one and only on day one.
Questions
- Can you tile over an existing concrete patio?
- Often yes, provided the slab is sound and has fall. If it holds water or has live cracks, tiling over it transfers the problem to the new floor. We check before quoting.