I have a small concrete patio area ( 3Mx2M) which I painted with a
'Garage Floor Paint' a couple of years ago. Not a Good Idea !
Moisture has caused patches of the paint to flake off leving unsightly
gaps.

Problem One : What is the best way to remove the rest of the paint ?

Problem Two : My preferred option is to tile this small patio - what
sort of tiles should I be looking for and is it a difficult job (
Cutting problems etc )?

I live in Southwest Scotland so frost in winter could be a factor.

Any ideas/advice much appreciated.

KentishDen wrote:
I have a small concrete patio area ( 3Mx2M) which I painted with a
'Garage Floor Paint' a couple of years ago. Not a Good Idea !
Moisture has caused patches of the paint to flake off leving unsightly
gaps.
Problem One : What is the best way to remove the rest of the paint ?

Pressure washer?

Owain

"KentishDen" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a small concrete patio area ( 3Mx2M) which I painted with a
'Garage Floor Paint' a couple of years ago. Not a Good Idea !
Moisture has caused patches of the paint to flake off leving unsightly
gaps.

Problem One : What is the best way to remove the rest of the paint ?

Rather big for paint stripper. Try a hot air gun and a scraper.

Problem Two : My preferred option is to tile this small patio - what
sort of tiles should I be looking for and is it a difficult job (
Cutting problems etc )?

What type of tiles do you want? I have tiled my patio with slate, concrete
not being my favourite material from the aesthetics point of view.

Other stone, such as marble, granite and limestone is available. I'm not
too knowledgable about other forms of tiling, the man made stuff.
You will need a diamond wheel flatbed tilecutter to cut stone, you can get
one
for about £40 or so I believe.

There is a certain amount of skill involved in tiling a patio, I have to
say, but
unless you have no diy aptitude, then give it a go. You can use tile cement
or
mortar, mortar is cheaper. If you use mortar then use plasticiser, either
the
proprietary stuff or PVA. PVA also helps 'stick' the tiles down, though it's
not
really necessary for a patio. The plasticiser will help you bed the tiles
down
into the mortar, otherwise it can 'lock up' before you've pushed the tile
into position properly. The plasticiser allows mortar to flow out from
beneath
the tile as you tap it down, you will need to get the mortar consistency
just right,
with enough water and plasticiser to allow easy adjustment.. A solid bed of
mortar is preffered to the 'five dot' method.

You can buy 5mm tile spacers to go between the tiles. Make sure the tile are
following the desired pattern as you go along, use a metre rule or long
straight edge for this. It can help to draw the pattern out on the patio
before
you start. Put a slope on the patio to allow water to run off, 1:60 is ok.
The
slope should run away from the house. Use a spirit level as you go along
to keep the slope of the tiles level from side to side, and sloping away
from the house. Use the spirit level as a stright edge to get tiles level
with each other.

Finally, grout the tiles with a proprietary exterior tile grout, mortar is a
little coarse
for that job.

That's the way I did my patio anyway. Wear gloves, cememt is caustic. Clear
up
cement stains etc with a damp clean sponge as you go along.

I live in Southwest Scotland so frost in winter could be a factor.

Don't use terracotta then. Of course, there are other tiles than just
stone, you
can get setts, concrete tiles ( not my favourite ), quarry tiles ( dunno if
these
are good for outside ), and fired ceramic tiles. Perhaps someone else can
advise on these. Yopu may not need a diamond wheel tile cutter on thin
cermamic
tiles, one of those splitter tool might be ok. Mix all tiles up before you
use them to
randomise colour variations.

Andy.

KentishDen wrote:
I have a small concrete patio area ( 3Mx2M) which I painted with a
'Garage Floor Paint' a couple of years ago. Not a Good Idea !
Moisture has caused patches of the paint to flake off leving unsightly
gaps.

Problem One : What is the best way to remove the rest of the paint ?

Pressure washer, good 150 bar one. Possibly caustic soda and much
care.


Problem Two : My preferred option is to tile this small patio - what
sort of tiles should I be looking for and is it a difficult job (
Cutting problems etc )?

Dose it abut a wall?

I live in Southwest Scotland so frost in winter could be a factor.

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies.
Yes, the patio has external house walls on two sides.
I will start with my hot air gun, I think and see how it goes. The
paint is soft and very flaky so the gun should be effective, I think.
The advice re tiling is very comprehensive - thank you Andrewpreece.