In message
, Lee
Nowell writes
On Jul 14, 2:32*pm, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:
Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi,

We have a room with bifold doors opening out onto a patio area. *We
are looking at flooring materials and was thinking of using cream
60x60 porcelain tiles both inside and outside so it looks like a
continuous space when the doors are open.

I am a little worried that having the tiles outside would be a mistake
as they would be slippery when wet as they don't absorb any water.
The tile companies say it is fine provided you don't have the polished
type and some of the more textured ones are suitable for swimming
pools so must be ok. *We borrowed a couple of matt tiles and tried the
water test and to me, they were slippy enough for someone to fall.

Indeed. So is a plastic bath, and bathroom tiles, And I had three
cracked ribs to prove it..

So are a bag of kids marbles, a banana skin, a pet cat.. so what?

I guess the thought is that going out on the patio when it has been/
is raining would be dangerous. At least with more traditional patio
slabs, they absorb the water and water can seep between them (unless
you completely seal the gaps). With tiles, since they are not porous,
the water will sit on top and therefore make it more dangerous/ slippy
even with the run off. I guess the question is, how much worse is it?

We laid some 30x45 porcelain floor tiles from Wickes on our kitchen
floor a couple of months ago and they are definitely non-slip, even when
a significant spillage occurs. It was a non-negotiable requirement when
the tiles were chosen - we took a sample tile home and tipped water on
it to check it. We also left blobs of cooking oil, red wine, vinegar,
and other stuff that I cannot recall on the sample for 12 hours to check
for potential staining before deciding that it was a sensible buy.

Exterior adhesive and grout is easy to come by - I use Mapei which is ok
for swimming pools so it should be fine for a patio.

I am planning on tiling our terrace area next year. The only problem
with porcelain floor tiles is that they are slow to cut using a tile
bench saw.

--
Robert