How to Tile onto an Outdoor Concrete Slab in Michigan
- 1). Select tiles for your patio that have slip-resistant properties. Slip-resistant tiles have rougher surfaces than standard tiles, which prevent them from becoming too slippery when they get wet, which happens when it rains or snows. Slip-resistant patio tiles are usually well-labeled, and can be found at home-improvement stores.
- 2). Tile the outdoor patio in warm weather when temperatures will remain above 50 degrees throughout the entire drying process. Depending on where you live in Michigan, this eliminates much of the year, and gives you a tiling window from late spring to early fall. Also choose a cloudy day, without direct sunlight, which may cause the adhesive to dry too quickly and make the tiling process more difficult.
- 3). Check the levelness of the concrete slab and level any problem areas. To check the levelness, lay a flat board on the concrete at one corner and move it all the way across the concrete in both directions. If you find any areas in the concrete slab where the concrete dips below the board, mark it with chalk, fill it with concrete epoxy and sand the epoxy down to level with the slab surface. Give the slab 24 hours to dry.
- 4). Make a chalk line for your first row of tiles. Measure the width of one tile, such as 12 inches, in from the edge at one corner of the slab and mark it, and then measure the same width in from the corner at the other end of the slab and mark it. Snap a chalk line between these marks.
- 5). Mix up a batch of tile mortar following the directions on the packaging. Mix only a small amount at a time to prevent the mixture from drying out. Spread mortar along the slab down the line you made, but only put down enough mortar for the first 3 or 4 tiles. Put the first tile at the corner, place a tile spacer next to the first tile and lay down the second. Then move the tile spacer to the edge of the second to lay down the third.
- 6). Continue adding mortar and tiles all the way down the row with the tile spacer separating the tiles. Then then lay the next row by the first, using the tile spacer to make space between the first and second rows and all of the tiles in that row. Go all the way across the slab in this fashion until the entire slab is tiled.
- 7). Mix up a batch of epoxy grout according to the directions provided by the manufacturer. Spread grout over the tile, making sure that it fills the spaces between the tiles completely, and remove any grout from the surface of the tiles with a dry cloth. Allow the grout to dry for 24 hours and then wipe all of the tiles off with a wet cloth to remove any residual grout.
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