While outdoor landscape design may be great additions to the home’s exterior, it may be tricky if the landscaping project involves sloped surfaces. This is especially true for homeowners that want to utilize the specific sloped area, lay down flooring materials over it, and transform it into a functional outdoor space. 

When it comes to choosing flooring materials, outdoor porcelain tiles are the best options on the market. These weather-resistant materials have been tested for durability. For one, when installed correctly, they are resistant to cracking in cold weather. Moreover, they work well in areas that receive direct sunlight, as they are resistant to fading. They would make great additions to one’s sloped area—as long as the installation is done right.

If you have an outdoor sloped area that you plan to landscape and install outdoor porcelain tiles on, there are some things that you need to consider. 

What You SHOULD Do For Outdoor Porcelain Tile Installation on Slopes

To start, let’s first look at the things that homeowners need to do prior to proceeding with outdoor porcelain tile installation on sloped surfaces. 

• Calculate the area to be used. 
• Prepare the surface. 
• Lay out the outdoor porcelain tiles prior to installation. 

Calculate the Area to be Used 

The first thing to be done is to mark the specific area, which includes the slope and other non-sloped parts. Adding specific markings to the edges can help with calculating the specific land area to cover with outdoor porcelain tiles. 

To calculate the area, just take note of the width and length of the space. Then, you may multiply the two with each other. If the surface is not straightforwardly clear, especially if a slope is present, the whole area can be chunked into smaller squares or rectangles. From thereon, you can calculate each unit separately. 

Placing actual string barriers can help with identifying the area, calculating the number of tiles to be used, and laying out tiles before installation. Tiles like the Porcea Ash Timber have 40x120 cm dimensions. By knowing the entire floor area, you can already compute the number of tiles you would need to fill the entire designated area. 

Prepare the Surface 

Prior to outdoor tile installation, it is important to ensure that the surface is ready. Especially for raw soil slopes or other areas, it could be necessary to dig a little, smooth the area out, fill the area, or level it out. 

For one, a specific area should be designated for drainage. This area should have a smooth and nice slope so as to avoid drainage issues when the work is finished. Typically we recommend a 2% slope for proper water management.

It may also be necessary to fill the area. For the outdoor porcelain tiles to be evened out, filling and flattening out the soil can be done. Deep holes could also be filled using repair mortar. 

Leveling the floor may also be necessary. To proceed with this, the ones working on the project can make use of leveling compounds that are meant to be applied on uneven surfaces. 

After all, nobody wants their outdoor porcelain tiles to go to waste. Despite how beautiful and sturdy outdoor porcelain tiles like Porcea Ash Timber are, it is important to ensure that the surfaces they are applied to are ready for their installation. From the very start, the job must be done right. 

Lay Out the Outdoor Porcelain Tiles Prior to Installation 

Laying out the outdoor porcelain tiles prior to installation allows you to get a glimpse of the finished product before it is actually done. By doing so, homeowners get to see how it looks and provide room for feedback even before the final output is there. 

Homeowners could even try out various patterns. It can help in evaluating which patterns work well with the allocated space. 

Moreover, it also helps see if the tile count is enough to cover the full area. Doing so prior to the installation can help save money and time. 

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What You SHOULDN’T Do For Outdoor Porcelain Tile Installation on Slopes 

While all of these things need to be done for outdoor porcelain tile installation on slopes, there are also some things to avoid in outdoor porcelain tile installation on sloped areas. Failing to avoid these may result in inconvenient and costly mistakes. Here are some of them. 

• Poor surface preparation 
• Mismatched trowel size or tile size
• Wrong tile adhesive usage 

Poor Surface Preparation 

As mentioned earlier, it is important to prepare the specific surface before proceeding with outdoor porcelain installation. Failing to do so can be one of the biggest mistakes in outdoor tile installation. 

Any bumps, unevenness, or empty spaces may result in an imperfect output. It can be extremely inconvenient and bothersome if these complications surface after the tile installation. This is especially true for outdoor projects that involve sloped areas. 

Mismatched Trowel Size 

If you want to use 60x90 cm Porcea Amalfi or 90x90 cm Porcea Crema Antico, it is important to ensure that the trowel utilized for these tiles is appropriately selected. For larger tiles, it is ideal to have a deeper thinset. This can be achieved by using a trowel that has deep notches. Using such a trowel will enable adjustments while the tiles are being laid out. 

Using large format tiles can be tricky on sloped surfaces as well. It is better to select a smaller format Porcea Stone outdoor porcelain tile such as 30x60 cm or 60x60 cm when trying to manage various slopes in a project. Using a wet-lay method is the best method of installing Porcea Stone for a long-lasting installation and typically helps reduce challenges of various slopes.

Wrong Tile Adhesive Usage 

The specific adhesive to use for tile installation must depend on the type of tiles. There are some adhesives that are specifically designed to be applied in outdoor settings. In fact, some are specifically designed for premium porcelain tiles or natural stones.

Using the wrong tile adhesive may affect how secure the tile’s bond with the backer board is. Because of this, tiles may become loose over time, which may then lead to replacement or repair issues that could have been prevented. By using the right tile adhesive, such a bothersome issue can be avoided. 

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Porcea Stone Is Here For You 

All of these tips can help you move forward with your landscaping project on sloped surfaces. More so, Porcea Stone is here to help you. 

Porcea Stone outdoor porcelain tiles are among the best outdoor flooring materials that you can use for virtually any landscaping project, including ones that involve sloped areas. Contact us to let us know how we can help you elevate your outdoor space.