Morrocan Encaustic cement tiles

[dobragol]

Hi Guys

I have a general question regarding fixing "moroccan cement tiles " outdoors.

Used those tiles many times before internally both on floors and walls but now been asked to tile

4m x 1m section on garden brick wall , and was wondering what would be the best option to

prepare the wall before tiling in your opinion ?

Anyone done it before on outside wall ?

Regards

Damian

 

[Concrete guy]

Before tiling anything I'd check if they can cope with British Weather, particularly frost.

 

[dobragol]

As far as I'm concerned customer has been advised that they are suitable to lay outdoors in UK.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

'as far as your concerned' seems a rather unusual statement for something that could come back and bite you as the installer!
I doubt if any amount of sealing will protect neat cement from discolouration and the effects of freeze/thaw.
Of course this may not be a long term project and just something for a garden show type of installation.

 

[Concrete guy]

As far as I'm concerned customer has been advised that they are suitable to lay outdoors in UK.

It would be prudent to check this yourself either with the manufacturer (if possible) or the supplier if the manufacturer is not accessible.

I'd be inclined to do this simply to cover my own butt.

 

[dobragol]

Hi Guys
Did check this with three different manufacturers / suppliers in UK and they all saying those
tiles can be used outdoor but you are right Timeless John the colours on tiles will fade and those tiles are subject to cracking and chipping during winter months ( also confirmed with suppliers ).Customer is beware of those issues
but would like to create unique feature wall in her garden .
It wouldn't be a problem installing them on floor but brick wall is something I never done before and not sure how to prepare this for tiling hence the question .

 

[Concrete guy]

You're not going to be able bond tiles directly to a brick wall in a way that will last beyond one season. What you are proposing (or what your customer is asking for) is exterior cladding. So I'd be inclined to "clad" rather than "Tile".

I would fix a moisture resistant cement board to the wall mechanically using an aluminium frame (or similar) then tile the board. The framework acts as a decoupler and removes the issue of moisture seeping down behind the tiles and "blowing" them from the face.

Aquapanel make an outdoor cladding board which may or may not be suitable for this purpose (I've not read the full spec), here's a link to their PDF specification sheet.

[DLMURL]http://www.aquapanel.com/media/109139/AQUAPANEL_Cement_Board_Outdoor_Climateshield_EN.pdf[/DLMURL]

 

[Mr Tiler]

You're not going to be able bond tiles directly to a brick wall in a way that will last beyond one season. What you are proposing (or what your customer is asking for) is exterior cladding. So I'd be inclined to "clad" rather than "Tile".

I would fix a moisture resistant cement board to the wall mechanically using an aluminium frame (or similar) then tile the board. The framework acts as a decoupler and removes the issue of moisture seeping down behind the tiles and "blowing" them from the face.

Aquapanel make an outdoor cladding board which may or may not be suitable for this purpose (I've not read the full spec), here's a link to their PDF specification sheet.

[DLMURL]http://www.aquapanel.com/media/109139/AQUAPANEL_Cement_Board_Outdoor_Climateshield_EN.pdf[/DLMURL]

could he not just glue and mechanically fix a moisture resisistant board to the wall rather than frame it off?

 

[Time's Ran Out]

We've tiled many shop fronts onto brick or render using X7 and IMHO the direct method is far better than adding an intermediary decoupling!

 

[Mr Tiler]

x7? sounds like a weber product? is it? lol

 

[dobragol]

Thanks ATSDiamondTools .
I had similiar thoughts about fixing some sort of cement board suitable for outside use but never thought about fixing aluminium frame ,will look into Aquapanel specs as well as other manufacturers .
Thanks again .Damian

 

[dobragol]

Would you recommend render the wall first if the bricks are out of level by few inches ?
it's very old garden wall and tiling directly it's not an option in my opinion

 

[Mr Tiler]

a few inches? ddaaaayyyymmmmmm!

 

[Concrete guy]

Would you recommend render the wall first if the bricks are out of level by few inches ?
it's very old garden wall and tiling directly it's not an option in my opinion

I think that would be overkill, you could space the frame with shims.

If it's that wonky I'd make a stand alone frame then offer it up to the wall (maybe in sections depending how big it is) then fix with brackets and true it all up as you go.

The idea of the cladding is removing a wet trade step which means you can build and tile without having to wait for things to dry/set.

 

[dobragol]

Hi ATSDiamondTools
rendering idea was regarding Timeless John post about tiling directly onto bricks.
still thinks yours is quite interesting and makes sense creating garden feature wall,
will investigate more and see what client thinks

 

[widler]

I don't see why you can't render and tile it as normal ?( well normal like using 'external tiling products'

 

[dobragol]

Hi widler
of course it can be done , it's one of the options , it would only take longer ( for customer) as render needs to dry first before starting the tiling .
trying to get few opinions and decide what's best to do