Porcelain Tile on Outdoor Patio?

aquabliss

aquabliss

Well-known member
Has anyone done this?  I have wood/plank tile in my downstairs living area and I?d really like to extend it to my patio.  A couple of landscape designers I met with said ?don?t do it, it will be way too slippery?.  However in my house this tile is not slippery whatsoever ? even when I spray it with water its really not too slippery.  It has some texture to it which helps with grip.  I?m sure stone is better for traction but I?d really like to do this.  I?m getting turf and not real grass so I wouldn?t have to worry about sprinklers hitting it, and I don?t think I?ll be out there running around with the kids when it?s raining. 

If anyone has tried this and regretted it, please let me know.
 
One of the neighbors has that wood looking porcelain tile in their front courtyard, I like how it looks.
 
I think the slippery part actually comes with wearing worn sandals or shoes... Can get quite slippery.
 
Is this the same tile that can shave knee caps?  The next American Ninja Warriors episode will be shot in Aqua's backyard :)
 
ps9 said:
Is this the same tile that can shave knee caps?  The next American Ninja Warriors episode will be shot in Aqua's backyard :)
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LOL, ya same one - gonna be shavin caps both inside and out.  I really like the look of it though and it's quite affordable (at least the material)
 
I also want to do this, but also got the response "no, because it will be too slippery". We have a dark color wood looking tile and the only reason i'm not pushing for this is because of water spots that I see between the sink and stove. It's so visible, and when it dries it leaves a mark. I can just imagine outside when it rains or when the sprinkler hits it,  or even when dust settles on it, the marks it will leave will drive me crazy. I do however really like the look though.
 
I'm interested in porcelain tile as well, primarily for maintenance reasons as I don't want to deal with sealing/maintaining travertine pavers.

I went to the website that Inc recommended on another thread:http://www.msistone.com/porcelain-tile/

For porcelain tile, most of their products have a coefficient of friction rating of 0.6.  Travertine is 0.7.  From what I understand, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires at least a 0.5.  So it seems like porcelain tile would be ok for a patio area?

Does anyone else have any advice regarding the pro's/con's of travertine vs. porcelain tile vs. brick pavers vs. concrete?
 
akimyai said:
I'm interested in porcelain tile as well, primarily for maintenance reasons as I don't want to deal with sealing/maintaining travertine pavers.

I went to the website that Inc recommended on another thread:http://www.msistone.com/porcelain-tile/

For porcelain tile, most of their products have a coefficient of friction rating of 0.6.  Travertine is 0.7.  From what I understand, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires at least a 0.5.  So it seems like porcelain tile would be ok for a patio area?
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Here's an porcelain tile might works for you.  Its Q-Stone series from Proenza Tiles.  It 12"x24" in size, can be used for both indoor and out door, it has a textured surface mimic nature stone and gave pretty good friction.  You can check it out in Magnolia Plan 3 model home, they used it both indoor and outdoor, and also in one of Marigold's model home.http://www.stonesource.com/porcelain-selector/provenza-q-stone

You can also find something similar in one of these tile stores. http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,11551.msg226038.html#msg226038

Here's some photo from the Magnolia and Marigold model home
 

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akimyai said:
Does anyone else have any advice regarding the pro's/con's of travertine vs. porcelain tile vs. brick pavers vs. concrete?
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Here's just some thoughts on the material.

Porcelain tile by it self is extremely low maintenance but the grout is where stain or crack might happen.  If you use porcelain tile out door, you will need to have a rebar concrete sub base/slab to prevent crack in the grouts and maintain proper stabilization.  You will also need to seal the grout (if the grout is wider than 1/16") every so often with sealer that works for the outdoors.  The cost of doing porcelain tile outdoor certainly will be more expensive than doing it indoor because you have to do concrete sub base  on top of the cost of porcelain tile. 

Travertine tile looks fantastic but it may require more maintenance.  Both travertine tile and the grout need to be sealed regularly and it also need rebar concrete sub base just like porcelain tiles.  If you chose tumbled travertine tile, you don't have to worried too much about slippery issue when it is wet, the pitted surface provides pretty good friction.  Travertine tile outdoor will be one of  the more expensive option but it will definite looks amazing. 

Concrete probably the less expensive option but the issue with the concrete is cracking.
NYT said:
There are two types of concrete: concrete with cracks and concrete that hasn't cracked yet.
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You can do scoring to minimize the cracking but it still will occur. 

Concrete or brick pavers are both attractive and cost effective.  You don't need concrete sub base and in general, pavers are only slightly more expensive than the concrete but more durable and no special maintenance needed.  Here's good read about concrete vs pavers.http://www.greenspirelandscaping.com/truth.asp

I just had my landscaping done recently and I end up using travertine tiles.  We really like the look of it.  Thanks to IP's small yard, the cost of doing travertine tile with concrete sub base is actually affordable.  So far no maintenance issue yet. 

 
Thanks for the great advice, Inc.  You've talked me out of porcelain tile.  I went to go look at Magnolia plan 3 and the patio tile didn't look so great anymore... you could see dirt and water stains all over the patio.  I think travertine would hide these stains better.

Now you've got  thinking about concrete pavers instead.  Have you heard anything about Belgard Mega-Lafitt?  It's made to look like flagstone and the pictures look pretty good too:http://www.gopavers.com/pavers-collection/belgard/belgard-mega-lafitt/

They have it at qwerty-approved Go Pavers for only $13.52/sq. ft.  It seems more economical than natural stone and more durable too without the maintenance headache.  Any negatives?
 
For outdoors, I would go with pavers... you can repair/replace in case of cracks and it provides good drainage.

For those looking for more of wood/qwerchete-type look, I would go with these from GoPavers:

IMG_9842_16.jpg
 
akimyai said:
Thanks for the great advice, Inc.  You've talked me out of porcelain tile.  I went to go look at Magnolia plan 3 and the patio tile didn't look so great anymore... you could see dirt and water stains all over the patio.  I think travertine would hide these stains better.

Now you've got  thinking about concrete pavers instead.  Have you heard anything about Belgard Mega-Lafitt?  It's made to look like flagstone and the pictures look pretty good too:http://www.gopavers.com/pavers-collection/belgard/belgard-mega-lafitt/

They have it at qwerty-approved Go Pavers for only $13.52/sq. ft.  It seems more economical than natural stone and more durable too without the maintenance headache.  Any negatives?
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that is a nice looking paver.

i dont know about any negatives, but i do like the flexibility that pavers provide. my wife is wondering about installing a fountain (im in the process of talking her out of it, hopefully), but it will be really easy to pull up the pavers, install the fountain, and put the pavers back down.
 
Go Pavers is a rip.  They list the prices on their website, then they come out to bid the job and it's tremendously higher than their listed prices and they give you some run around about dirt removal or huge extra cost for wall footing, etc.

Their work may be good but don't expect the pricing you find online.  I had their superstar Kobe Dan come out and give me a bid... He was definitely planning to line his pockets with the extra $ he was charging me. 
 
akimyai said:
Thanks for the great advice, Inc.  You've talked me out of porcelain tile.  I went to go look at Magnolia plan 3 and the patio tile didn't look so great anymore... you could see dirt and water stains all over the patio.  I think travertine would hide these stains better.

Now you've got  thinking about concrete pavers instead.  Have you heard anything about Belgard Mega-Lafitt?  It's made to look like flagstone and the pictures look pretty good too:http://www.gopavers.com/pavers-collection/belgard/belgard-mega-lafitt/

They have it at qwerty-approved Go Pavers for only $13.52/sq. ft.  It seems more economical than natural stone and more durable too without the maintenance headache.  Any negatives?
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I notice the same thing with porcelain tile outdoor too, it is just hard to keep it spotless.  One of the Mendocino's model home have that Provenza W-age cross cut wood ring looking tiles both in and out doors.  The out door tiles show dirt and debris very well and it loos dirty all the time; and this is the model home where cleaning crew constantly doing house keeping.

Pavers are my first choice of outdoor hardscape material and I have not aware of any negatives.  Not familiar with them but that Belgar - mega lafit paver looks great.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
@aquabliss:

Did you end up with a paver company? Who did you use instead of GoPavers?
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Not yet but I need to pick a landscaper within a week or 2.  I have it narrowed down to 2 or 3.
 
So I went to the two places that Inc had recommended on another thread to look at patio material.

Cougar Stone in Placentia (where Jefferson Rand gets their stone) is like a giant outdoor stone yard.  They only carry flagstone (no travertine).  They have some displays of finished product, but mostly it is just giant heaps of stone without any real organization.  After a while, they all looked the same.  The salesman wasn't that helpful.  He told me to just look at a book on a table.  The only thing he did, however, was to bash travertine and ranted about how horrible it is... slippery, porous, will crumble, etc.  I asked him, well then why do all of my neighbors have it?  He said they will have major problems in 5 years.  It seemed like he had an axe to grind, because he muttered something about travertine being dumped by foreign countries into the US market.  When I asked about his product (presumably American?), he said quartzite requires no maintenance and will last forever!

I left and then went to MS International in Orange.  It was a completely different experience, and  I highly recommend visiting this place.  Firstly, the place was packed.  I had trouble finding parking.  They have an indoor showroom, with large displays of travertine, marble, sandstone, etc.  In another room, they have all types of tile, countertops, backsplashes, etc.  Outside, they have slab after slab of prefab countertops.

I was about to leave when I saw a sign for outdoor landscaping.  I almost totally missed it because to get there you have to pass through a locked half-door.  It looks like you are not allowed to go through (because you pass through offices and a break area) but it is totally ok.  You pass through a large building full of granite slabs, and then outside they have multiple displays of patio material with fountains, ponds with koi, pools, decks, etc.  Don't miss this part.  It is really interesting.  You can see how all the material has held up over time after being exposed to the elements.

After seeing all of this, however, I am still undecided about what material to use for my patio.

I like the look of travertine, but don't want to deal with the maintenance.  Concrete pavers look good too, but I heard those have to be maintained as well (refilled with polymeric sand every few years).  I also don't want to deal with the weeds growing though the pavers.  So that basically leaves flagstone, which the Cougar Stone guy said is maintenance-free but the Go Pavers website said that is not the case:http://www.gopavers.com/flagstone-mega-lafitt/

So now I'm totally confused.  I'm looking for patio material that will require the least maintenance as possible.  Any opinions?
 
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