Small outside step

[charlie1]

Going to be tiling small outside step (about 3m2 with 1 riser) anyway, it seems the current tiles have debonded from the concrete block due to water ingress and then frost has penitrated the concrete block, this has also started to clumble so i will need to reform it! Whats your methods of doing this? In the past I have used cement adhesive but I think this one will require some shuttering. I may also need to build a fall in the step to allow the water to run! For this I was thinking of using sand / cement and feather it off a timber runner at high end, prob about 10mm? for the 1.5m span?

 

[DHTiling]

My method would be to leave it till the spring

 

[charlie1]

I know where you are coming from but do you think a paying customer would take that advice seriously?

 

[DHTiling]

Yes they would .. from me anyway.. just told one last week..

 

[charlie1]

Why would you advise they wait so long? Obviously setting times can be more of an issue but that can factored in to price

 

[Dougs Third Go]

,,frost, ice, :smilewinkgrin:

 

[charlie1]

I am aware you cant tile on ice or frost lol.... Dave, you must have some very patient customers down your way!!

 

[DHTiling]

Why would you advise they wait so long? Obviously setting times can be more of an issue but that can factored in to price

Well , this time of year we have low temps and adhesive takes more than a few days to gain full structural strength.

So I advise my customers to wait till I can guarantee their job will stay put.

If you are confident that your job will survive , then bang em on.

Just saying how I do things , that is all


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dougs Third Go]

Charlie, I don't think we were talking about tiling onto frost or ice, but about the effects that frost or ice would have on the addy as night time, and even daytime, temps plummet at this time of year.

 

[charlie1]

Ive done many steps - mostly at this time of year, Tiles all seemed to me to be set solid and never had any call backs regarding tile failure! I am aware adhesive is taking ages to set properly just now but it gets there in the end, just a question of time. Its not the most plesant work at this time of year but we all have bills to pay

 

[Dougs Third Go]

Ive done many steps - mostly at this time of year, Tiles all seemed to me to be set solid and never had any call backs regarding tile failure! I am aware adhesive is taking ages to set properly just now but it gets there in the end, just a question of time. Its not the most plesant work at this time of year but we all have bills to pay

"set" and "cure" are two completely different things charlie, yes we do have bills to pay I agree, but i wouldn't take the chance of having to do the job twice with twice the outlay,,just my tuppence worth.

 

[DHTiling]

Ive done many steps - mostly at this time of year, Tiles all seemed to me to be set solid and never had any call backs regarding tile failure! I am aware adhesive is taking ages to set properly just now but it gets there in the end, just a question of time. Its not the most plesant work at this time of year but we all have bills to pay

Hey! if it works for you then god bless... but i have worked a lot of years to be able to do a job and then walk away with my head held high knowing it will stay put... all it takes is a frost a couple days later and bingo with have pop corn tiles.

 

[Alan M]

im not sure if this is relivent or not but a friend of mine had an area at the back of his house tiled about 4 or 5 years ago. it was a frost time of the year and the tiler put down a heated blanket with a stat and covered it in 8x4 sheets of poli iso insulation. and covered that in plastic to keep out the wet. he left that there for a week or so only exposing it twice a day to vent any moisture inside the plastic.
i dont know if it hepled or not but the tiles are still perfect

 

[kilty55]

hi charlie if you look in my albums there is a step i shuttered a while ago in there,also i wouldnt bother doing a step just now its just too cold imo i just put one off till next year

never really tried doing any steps after ocotober to be honest

 

[afright]

Why not bed the tiles with sand & cement have done loads of steps even thru the winter months never had a problem you can even use a small amount of rapid cement in the bed when finished fixing just cover with cardboard,this week I will be doing a 16m2 balcony with sand & cement and I know I wont have to worry about it being to cold,what do bricklayers do I dont think they shut up for the winter.as long as its covered no problems

 

[charlie1]

Dave / Doug... I take your points!

Kilty, I will have a look at your pics

Thanks for the idea Alanm, I do have a small fan heater in the van that I could use.

Afright, I was beginning to wonder what tilers do in the winter there untill you replied! Ive never worked with sand and cement before although i was talking to TF ED about the methods of dot plumbing / levelling! You see, Im not one of the old school fixers on here, only really used cement adhesives. I would like to learn this way though, i will be on youtube this evening!....at least i know i will have a job 12 months of the year ;-)

 

[Diggy]

S&C fixing is a great way to do falls , needs to be screeded and not dotted though. Screed down , sieve on neat cement , trowel lightly with a plasters trowel to bring up moisture this creates a good glue , lay on the tiles ( tap in slighly individually for intial contact ) , lightly brush on dry S&C mix , 16" beating blocks ( with rounded end ) to bed them in , wash off , let dry then grout.

Ah the good old days.

Diggy :0)

 

[White Room]

Could brush some sbr onto the back of the tile then push into the screed....

 

[Diggy]

No need tbh

Diggy

 

[steve187]

in the old days! we used semi dry sharp sand and cement screed, then a cement slurry on top, laid the quarries and then beat with a lump of 4x2, washed off and then sand cement grout a few days later. If a wet screed was used, then exactly as diggy posted above.


I would be with most of the previous posters and leave until the spring, i have just put off a 15 metre outside area due to frosts

 

[afright]

As I have said before theres no need to put it of till spring if covered,have done loads of steps & porches thru the winter months its only when its really bad that I would not fix, at the moment the weather is not that bad if you using sand & cement.