Crazy paving front porch

[EleventhCoastal]

A crazy paved front porch using Tuscan Path porcelain pavers.

• The project
• Steps
• Tools and materials
• More paving inspiration for your home

The project

I first started dreaming about creating a front porch statement that complimented our front facade over four years ago whilst we were still building. I spent countless hours imagining how to do this only to realise it was always going to be a Crazy Paved Dream.

It’s honestly amazing what you can create with vision, sheer grit, hard work and determination. What was once a dream is now a reality and it’s fair to say we are obsessed.

Following these steps will help you create a beautiful and unique crazy paving area - enjoy your project!

Steps

Step 1

Measure the area you want to pave to calculate the amount of materials you will need to use. 

Tips:

• Wear gloves to protect your hands while working with the pavers, adhesive and grout
• Take your time to fit the pavers together like a puzzle for the best appearance
• Crazy paving isn’t meant to be perfect, enjoy its perfectly imperfect finished look.

 

Step 2

Select the tiles you want then get to work smashing up the tiles, ensuring you're wearing safety glasses and have a towel or cloth over the paver to a) protect it from rubber marks, but b) protect yourself from any flying bits. Make sure you smash a few pavers into smaller pieces to fit into all the gaps of the big pieces.

Step 3

Get to work laying all of your broken pieces of pavers, if your using several colours ensure that you spread them evenly across the space, this is the magical part of the project because it gives you an indication of how amazing it will look.

Take your time with the laying process, you may find the pieces don’t go together like a puzzle but this is where those little pieces will come in handy.

Step 4

Grab your drill and mixer bit, make the adhesive ratio using clean water, go by the instructions for this and start with a little less water so you don’t end up with a running mix. My biggest suggestion when using multiple colours, lay the tiles one-by-one, by not only applying the adhesive to the ground, but also the individual pieces. Another suggestion is to make sure to wipe over your pavers with a wet sponge if you have any adhesive on the top side (it will save so much time later).

Let the adhesive set for a few days before moving onto the next step.

Step 5

When the adhesive is dry enough you can grout one of two ways, I chose to use process one.

Process one: Dry grouting - slowly tip out your dry grout mixture from the babe and sweep it into all of the cracks and grooves making sure that you go over each area several times so the grout fills the spaces, then with your hose head on mist, hold your hose high so the water softly hits the grout and allows the water to soak through (do not use a heavy setting otherwise you will wash the grout away completely).

Process two: Wet grouting - follow the instructions on the bag but ensure you use clean water, slowly work the grout into the cracks in a circular motion and then go over the area with a damp sponge to clean excess of the pavers.

Allow this to settle and if needed go over areas that need a little extra grout. Give the grout a few days to settle and dry fully before giving the area a coat of clear sealer.

Step 6

The finished product is beyond my wildest dreams. Absolutely over the moon with how it turned out.

Tools and materials

Materials used in the project:

• Tuscan Path charcoal Porcelain paver
• Tuscan Path taupe Porcelain paver
• Tuscan Path sand Porcelain paver
• Ceramic tile adhesive
• Colour grout
• Grout sealer
• Acid.

Tools used in the project:

• Rubber mallet
• Cloth
• Drill
• Drill mixer
• Adhesive spreader
• Safety glasses
• Wheel wire brush.

More paving inspiration for your home

Bunnings Workshop member Minu undertook this patio makeover with new paving as an affordable and simple way to spruce up a small area.

Experienced contributor Marty used charcoal-coloured paving and river pebbles to produce a low-maintenance area a side paving project.

Get more inspiration from our collection of Paving ideas for outdoor entertaining areas by Bunnings Workshop community members.

[Dave-1]

Morning @EleventhCoastal 

Seriously wish Id seen something like this a year ago! lol I stripped back my patio and repainted it. But yours is so much nicer, seriously worth the effort you have gone through. Had you done tiling of anything before?

Its stunning and keeping it mind for when I get my handrails up, might still do it as it looks that good! You have inspired me.

Dave

[Old-gal24]

OMG @EleventhCoastal 

Not sure how long ago you made this post, but WOW, I just adore the amazing outcome you have had.  Many thanks for sharing.  This may just be my next big project after the ones I have on my to do list now.. *(which will take me up till next year).

You have given me the inspiration to tackle something like your project after reading through you well laid out instructions.

Cheers

This Old-gal