Patio- Tile Floor

When I decided to redo our patio, I figured I’d go big and redo the floors too. Today I’m going to share with you how we (my husband and I because my hubby did most of the work) tiled the patio. Tile is a doable project to take on and is a great way to totally change a space.

tile selection

Here’s the thing I didn’t realize- since the patio is right off the pool, I needed to be picky about the material I used. I picked a tile but then saw that it got super slick when wet (which is a terrible idea for next to the pool). For pool decking, concrete, unglazed tile, pavers, stone, hardwood, and brick are preferred.

So I looked at more tile and noticed that each one has a rating for COF. The Coefficient of Friction (COF) of a tile is a measure of the “slip resistance” of a tile. The higher the rating, the more slip resistant it is (which might be something to consider in a bathroom too).

Essentially, I looked for tile with a higher COF so it’d be safe. I ended up selecting this tile based on, yes, the look, but also the function. The COF on the tile I choose is greater than .79 and is skid resistant. PLUS my landlord likes it too! AND there are 80+ 4-5 star ratings on it on Overstock.

I love that the tile I choose looks like cement tile, but isn’t as hard to install. Cement tile is a super popular look right now, but there’s a bunch more steps to get it in and upkeep after its in. Oh, and it is crazy expensive. Anyway, I am thrilled with my porcelain tile selection! A huge thank you to Overstock for having such a good tile selection so I could find the perfect fit!

One thing to note, when buying tile you should buy 10% extra to account for cuts and damage. That’s what I did, BUT I should have bought 25% extra since this tile has a pattern. So do that if you go for a patterned tile too 😉

Here’s how I put it in:

supplies

 

clean off patio floor

Obviously, the first step is cleaning off the floor. Taking off the furniture, sweeping and mopping. This could also be considered the easiest step 😉

dry fit tile

Dry fitting the tile is always the step that I think should be quick, but usually isn’t. Essentially, we lay out the tile and figure out a pattern that’ll work. We also see at this point how square the walls are. These patio walls are super angled and this is when we found that out. If you have any type of pattern in your tile, decide now how it will do together.

level ground

In the success of a tiling project, this is the most crucial (especially for floors). We did two things to make the crooked floors level- first, we used a chisel and hammer to knock off any parts that were higher than the rest of the floor. Second, use a layer of tile adhesive to raise up and low spots. Let dry.

start tiling in the middle

Now that the floor is prepped and you know how your tile is going to go in, its time to begin actually tiling! It usually works best to start tiling in the middle of the space. To make sure the tile ran in straight lines, we first put down a chalk like in both directions.

Next, use the flat trowel to lay down the tile adhesive. Go back over it with the notched trowel. Finally, place your tile down. Wiggle it until it is straight and then place spacers between each tile so the lines are nice and straight. We did 1/8″ spacing between our tiles. Work from the middle and use full tiles until you get where you need to cut the tile.

finish laying the tile on the edges

Let’s be honest, you’ve done the easy part of laying the tile. Now its time to make cuts with the tile saw. What we did was find a start point, mark your tile for that spot, make a cut and then lay it down dry. Once all of the cuts are done, butter each piece of tile with tile adhesive and lay it down. This portion took 2 full days of labor. I’d forgotten how long tiling takes, so I thought I’d add that in to give you realistic expectations.

clean tile adhesive off

The first time I laid tile, I wasn’t as careful about cleaning up the tile adhesive that always gets on the top of the tile and between the grout lines. The problem with that is that when the grout is laid and dries, you will see the adhesive and it just looks messy. So learn from my mistake- it’s best to use a wet rag and clean up the adhesive quickly after the tile is laid. We also used a grout saw to get out the harder to remove adhesive.

grout

Now its time to put in the finishing touches! Mix the grout in the small pail with water. You’ll want the consistency to be like pancake batter. Use the flat trowel to slop the grout on the tile and then use the float to push the grout into the lines. Put any extra grout back into the pail and repeat until the floor is grouted.

Wait 20 minutes for the grout to dry and then use a wet sponge in a large bucket of water. Clean off the grout with the sponge and you’re done! I split the floor in thirds and did three rounds of putting down grout, cleaning it up, and then moving on to the next section. That way I could also fix any air bubbles or areas I missed with grout from the previous area.

This step took me about 4 hours and I was so ready to be done at the end! This was the first time I used knee pads when grouting and I LOVED having them! For me, that was a good $10 investment.

after

Here is a before and after video with the big changes we’ve made on the patio:

Ok friends, this is week 5 of the One Room Challenge, which means that next week is the grand finale! I am so excited to get the space all styled up and looking amazing. Until then, here’s a few sneak peeks of how the patio is looking so far.

Tile isn’t the cheapest or easiest update you can make to your house, but its an amazing investment that will instantly upgrade the room! I hope these tips have been helpful in case you want to tile your floor. You can do it!
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