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Kia ora guys,
I'd love some advice on how to tile our outdoor patio space using sand for compacting.
The space is currently partially tiled using river pebbles, however, we want to re-tile using sand (as this is better for drainage and easier on our feet). We also have a limited budget, so don't want to go down the concrete route.
Half of the area is a concrete slab (under the existing tiles), the other half is soil.
Advice on how to compact the soil, and how to navigate adding a layer of sand would be much appreciated!
Cheers,
Minu
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Minu. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about paving.
I'm sure you'll find @Adam_W's article on How to lay paving for a path useful. Right up until laying the bricks is the same for your project, except you'll be laying spaced pavers and backfilling around them with river pebbles. As mentioned in his guide, you'll need to remove some soil from the area before compacting with roadbase and/or sand. A mechanical compactor will be your easiest option, or you can use a Trojan 205mm All Steel Tamper if you're looking for a bit of a workout.
Once you've gone through the above guide, please don't hesitate to post any questions you might have. We're here to help and can't wait to see your finished project.
Mitchell
Thanks heaps Mitchell, appreciate your quick response!
I have a few clarifying and follow-up questions as we've been getting conflicting advice from different people/places on how best to lay tiles on sand (please note the advice you provided above suggested we were paving using river pebbles). Please see some photos for progress on this space!
My partner and I cleared up this area and put up boundaries and weed mats.
Our proposed next step is to put a layer of base course and then tamper this down. At this stage, we're hoping to level this out with a minimum 2% gradient so any water build-up runs off away from the house (given this patio is surrounded by three walls). Then we'll line this area with SureTex Geotextile (which we hear is good to keep the structural integrity when paving on sand - but do you think we can omit this or is it necessary?). Then we'll add a layer of paving sand and tamper this down before laying the tiles.
Does this sound correct to you? Above you directed me to go view a video by Adam, this was helpful thanks, but a little different to our area, so just wanted to make sure our approach is correct).
Thanks heaps,
Minu
Hello @Minu
Thank you so much for the photo updates. It's great that you've received spot-on advice from my colleague @MitchellMc. I know that it feels like the Geotextile will not be serving any purpose, but believe it or not, it is the key to the longevity of your installation. Geotextile allows water to pass through but prevents soil or sand from getting through. It prevents the sand from being carried away in heavy rain. You can imagine if there was no Geotextile, the sand would slowly be eroded away.
A good technique when installing Geotextile is to let it go up the boundary by about 30mm. This will serve as a border for the sand and prevent it from being dragged away by rainwater.
Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your tiles laid out and ready to use.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Hi @EricL and @MitchellMc
Thought I'd share a couple photos from our patio glow-up (compared to how it all started if you look at the photos above)! Thanks so much for all your advice along the way, we really appreciated it!
Next step - adding some plants from Bunnings and getting a pizza oven!
!
Bravo @Minu! That looks spectacular! I'm really impressed with your efforts, and I trust you're too.
Many thanks for coming back to us with your results. I can't wait to see your next project.
Mitchell
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