patio tile pedestals

[lizzie]

Hi 

 

has anyone used the pedestals to lay their patio. I want porcelain tiles for easy maintenance and the inside outside look and these little pedestals seem to be the laying method of choice on the tile websites.

 

My garden man says you cant beat a wet mix whatever you are laying. I quite like the idea of air flow up to the timber frame (doing level inside/out no step) but I'm not sure if these little plastic feet are actually as wonderful as they say. Certainly seems a very easy way to lay a patio.

 

Thanks for any input.

[Ferdinand]

2 hours ago, lizzie said:

Hi 

 

has anyone used the pedestals to lay their patio. I want porcelain tiles for easy maintenance and the inside outside look and these little pedestals seem to be the laying method of choice on the tile websites.

 

My garden man says you cant beat a wet mix whatever you are laying. I quite like the idea of air flow up to the timber frame (doing level inside/out no step) but I'm not sure if these little plastic feet are actually as wonderful as they say. Certainly seems a very easy way to lay a patio.

 

Thanks for any input.

#

Define pedestals? Do you mean "patio feet" or something else?

 

I previously posted here and mentioned it when we were talking about ramps. 

 

I have my patio on these, and I love 'em.

 

There is a cost vs tile size tradeoff, and if you are using porcelain tiles you will need to know about the centre bearing weight or have a substrate. Will it crack when your large friend trips over and lands bottom-first? Or if a table falls over or someone drops a breezeblock?

 

They are 2-5 ukp each, depending if you want something like a pad or something that goes up and down 200mm. It needs a firm base - I already had a slab that was too low.

 

My patio is just loose supported Council slabs which now have moss in all the gaps, and should Roland or Reynard take up residence I can just lift them with a bar and clean house with a jetwasher.

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited July 12, 2017 by Ferdinand

[Trw144]

I have porcelain tiles laid for our patio - they are 11-12mm thick and I would nt be confident of them taking the weight if they were only held up on the corners by these plastic feet (my tiles are 900 x 900 though so maybe less of an issue on smaller tiles)

Edited July 12, 2017 by Trw144

[lizzie]

11 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

#

Define pedestals? Do you mean "patio feet" or something else?

 

I previously posted here and mentioned it when we were talking about ramps. 

 

I have my patio on these, and I love 'em.

 

There is a cost vs tile size tradeoff, and if you are using porcelain tiles you will need to know about the centre bearing weight or have a substrate. Will it crack when your large friend trips over and lands bottom-first? Or if a table falls over or someone drops a breezeblock?

 

They are 2-5 ukp each, depending if you want something like a pad or something that goes up and down 200mm. It needs a firm base - I already had a slab that was too low.

 

My patio is just loose supported Council slabs which now have moss in all the gaps, and should Roland or Reynard take up residence I can just lift them with a bar and clean house with a jetwasher.

 

Ferdinand

 

I had woried about residents! Think wet mix might be it then.

[Ferdinand]

1 minute ago, lizzie said:

I had woried about residents! Think wet mix might be it then.

 

Sounds a good idea. Patio feet are excellent - the ones I have can support a couple of hundred kg each - but a touch niche.

 

F

[lizzie]

22 minutes ago, Trw144 said:

I have porcelain tiles laid for our patio - they are 11-12mm thick and I would nt be confident of them taking the weight if they were only held up on the corners by these plastic feet (my tiles are 900 x 900 though so maybe less of an issue on smaller tiles)

You are confirming my worries... I am looking at 600x600. I was told the 2mm needed  a concrete base with expansion joints and then tiles laid with adhesive. How did you lay yours please

[Ferdinand]

@lizzieHow much height do you have to add with your concrete base?

Edited July 13, 2017 by Ferdinand

[Mr Punter]

I have used the adjustable feet on a roof terrace with 600 x 600 x 20 porcelain.  Look fantastic.

[Ferdinand]

@lizzie

 

Hope you are still reading this thread.

 

Just a note to think carefully about the future of your concrete slab and what you put in there.

 

Even if staying as a patio I would run a couple of ducts to convenient corners and leave voids under a couple of tiles they run to (think about support), which means that you can set up power for eg patio lights later without extensions, or should you put a garden pavilion or conservatory (some can go straight on a slab) on it later you have infrastructure routes in place.

 

Also it could be a good place to put any extra insulation sheets left over (or rubble). Both are probably cheaper than concrete.

 

And a membrane - cheap to do and useful later if you need.

 

There will be a happy medium somewhere.

 

F

[lizzie]

5 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

@lizzie

 

Hope you are still reading this thread.

 

Just a note to think carefully about the future of your concrete slab and what you put in there.

 

Even if staying as a patio I would run a couple of ducts to convenient corners and leave voids under a couple of tiles they run to (think about support), which means that you can set up power for eg patio lights later without extensions, or should you put a garden pavilion or conservatory (some can go straight on a slab) on it later you have infrastructure routes in place.

 

Also it could be a good place to put any extra insulation sheets left over (or rubble). Both are probably cheaper than concrete.

 

And a membrane - cheap to do and useful later if you need.

 

There will be a happy medium somewhere.

 

F

I am still reading thank you......been busy on site rain pouring through roof boards. Frame was only finished by MBC on Tuesday and the rain has hardly let up since.  BTW my internal floor (slab with uf heat in)  is very uneven and that is shown up by the standing water not in puddles but lakes, cant tile straight on that going to be costly to get level I think.

 

Thanks for the tips on the patio, have noted.

[IanR]

12 minutes ago, lizzie said:

is very uneven and that is shown up by the standing water not in puddles but lakes, cant tile straight on that going to be costly to get level I think.

 

But how deep are the puddles? it can look a lot worse than it is once there is water sitting on it. Did MBC have any trouble levelling the sole plate?

[lizzie]

18 minutes ago, IanR said:

 

But how deep are the puddles? it can look a lot worse than it is once there is water sitting on it. Did MBC have any trouble levelling the sole plate?

I have no idea. MDC did slab and frame. I had floor tllers out for a quote last night and even before they had seen the water in some rooms they said the slab was not flat.  They showed me with a piece of wood and they also showed me where the internal walls are off the floor at by quite a few mm one end and flush to the floor at the other. I know nothing about floors but once they pointed it out you can see it. I think it is going to take a lot of self leveller to get it flat for tiling.

[lizzie]

Just now, lizzie said:

I have no idea. MDC did slab and frame. I had floor tllers out for a quote last night and even before they had seen the water in some rooms they said the slab was not flat.  They showed me with a piece of wood and they also showed me where the internal walls are off the floor at by quite a few mm one end and flush to the floor at the other. I know nothing about floors but once they pointed it out you can see it. I think it is going to take a lot of self leveller to get it flat for tiling.

Sorry puddles are quite deep in places, on the piece of wood he used to show me he could get a finger under the middle when the two ends were flat on the floor and the wood was straight so it wasnt that.

[IanR]

Across the whole slab +/- 5mm height difference should be able to be accommodated by the follow on trades. If there are big changes within a small area then it may be more difficult.

 

When I walked up to mine after the first rain my heart sank as there was a giant puddle in the middle of the lounge area. By the time I was standing in it I realised it barely went up the edge of the sole of my trainers. (mine is not an MBC slab)

 

A finger thickness within the "length" of a piece of wood does sound a little more serious.

 

Did the SE specify a general flatness for the slab, or was there anything specified for the power-float finish? If you have a spec, then maybe MBC are on the hook for levelling it.

 

Its flatness should definitely be able to directly take a tiled finish, so MBC should really fix it.

[lizzie]

1 minute ago, IanR said:

Across the whole slab +/- 5mm height difference should be able to be accommodated by the follow on trades. If there are big changes within a small area then it may be more difficult.

 

When I walked up to mine after the first rain my heart sank as there was a giant puddle in the middle of the lounge area. By the time I was standing in it I realised it barely went up the edge of the sole of my trainers. (mine is not an MBC slab)

 

A finger thickness within the "length" of a piece of wood does sound a little more serious.

 

Did the SE specify a general flatness for the slab, or was there anything specified for the power-float finish? If you have a spec, then maybe MBC are on the hook for levelling it.

 

Its flatness should definitely be able to directly take a tiled finish, so MBC should really fix it.

Thank you. Yes I think we need to look at it and talk to MBC. Its supposed to be level and ready for tiling directly on to it. I cant remember what our quote said about the slab but I certainly uderstood it would be ready to be tiled.  We have a further complication in that now the internal walls are up the soil pipes have been put in the wrong places and the slab is going to have to be dug up around them and pipes adjusted...we have wall hung w.c.'s going in and the soil pipes have ended up 300mm out into the room, no way to make that work without serious slab adjustment.

[IanR]

Ahh... that sounds a bit of a mini-disaster. High lighting it on this forum does seem to get MBC's attention, so my guess is that it will get fixed.

Edited July 14, 2017 by IanR

[Barney12]

We have considerable issues with our MBC slab. It's FAR from level and most certainly isnt "ready for tiling" and will need a lot of remedial work. 

I would suggest you talk to them as in my experience they are receptive to issues. 

In my view the reputation MBC had on this forum has been tarnished by an increased use of subcontract labour. BUT, I still rate them as a supplier as they are incredibly responsive and have a desire to put things right. 

[lizzie]

10 hours ago, IanR said:

Ahh... that sounds a bit of a mini-disaster. High lighting it on this forum does seem to get MBC's attention, so my guess is that it will get fixed.

fingers crossed!

[lizzie]

36 minutes ago, Barney12 said:

We have considerable issues with our MBC slab. It's FAR from level and most certainly isnt "ready for tiling" and will need a lot of remedial work. 

I would suggest you talk to them as in my experience they are receptive to issues. 

In my view the reputation MBC had on this forum has been tarnished by an increased use of subcontract labour. BUT, I still rate them as a supplier as they are incredibly responsive and have a desire to put things right. 

Think we have agreed for them to come back and sort out soil pipes. Not sure about levels yet, fingers crossed we can sort something