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I first started dreaming about creating a Front Porch Statement that complimented our front facade over 4 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
Materials
Tuscan Path Charcoal Porcelain Paver
Tuscan Path Taupe Porcelain Paver
Tuscan Path Sand Porcelain Paver
Davco UltraFlex Ceramic Tile Adhesive
DavcoWhite Santized Colour Grout
Dunlop 1L Natural Grout Sealer
Hydrochloric Acid
Tools
Rubber Mallet
Towel
Ryobi Drill
Drill Mixer
Adhesive Spreader
Safety Glasses
Wheel Wire Brush
Steps
Step 1
- Measure the area you want to pave to calculate the amount of materials you will need to use
- Select the tiles you want then get to work smashing up the tiles, ensuring your 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
- Clean the area that your working on
- 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
- 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 in 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)
- 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
- Let the adhesive set for a few days before moving onto the next step
- 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
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 Pave isn’t meant to be perfect, enjoy it’s perfectly imperfect finished look
Following these steps will help you create a beautiful and unique crazy paving area
Enjoy your project!
Step 2
This is where the Front Porch started
Step 3
The during process
Step 4
With the first section laid we spent over four hours fitting every piece in, this made it so much easier when it came time to add the adhesive
Step 5
Once all the tiles where stuck to the concrete we needed to grind the excess adhesive from the top of the pavers, this is where my big tip came in - clean your pavers with a damp sponge as you add the adhesive
Step 6
I add the grout with a dry process (instructions for this process in step one)
Step 7
The finished product is beyond my wildest dreams. Absolutely over the moon with how it turned out
Brilliant job. I'm a big fan of crazy paving @EleventhCoastal. We have a 50s-era home so we have a crazy paved fireplace as well as our front verandah.
Thanks for sharing plenty of detail so others can tackle their own crazy paving project. I'm sure your work will inspire others.
Jason
