How to lay tiles over concrete remains of garden bed?

[Lucinda_dJ]

Hi,

I am looking for some guidance on my outdoor project. We had to remove a retained garden bed to get a heat pump fitted and are now left with a space we are trying to make look nice. There is a raised drain and various pipes we have to be careful of. Originally we thought it was all soil so I had planned to aggregate and sand then tile but I have dug down and found we are on a concrete slab here. 

I can’t get the same tiles that are currently on the patio so I thought I make it deliberately different and bought travertine meshed backed tiles but I’m not sure what I need to do to get it to the right surface to lay these.

 

There seems to be a hole where you see the dip in the ground aswell that doesn’t seem to hit concrete.

im not clear if I can concrete over where there or if I need to do something with the weird hole or try and take up the rest of the mortar and get it as flat as possible. I am also cautious that this is right next to my house wall so I don’t want to risk water pooling.

Going around in circles any help would be greatly appreciated.

[EricL]

Hello @Lucinda_dJ 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's marvellous to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about tiling over concrete.

I suggest using Bastion 20kg Floor Leveller to level the area, this will provide you with a nice flat surface from which you can tile upon. My best advice is to try and find out how much concrete do you need to settle into. Once the concrete cures, please make sure to give it an extra one week. Just to make sure that there is no residual moisture left behind. 

If you need further assistance please let me know. 

Eric

[Lucinda_dJ]

Thanks for your reply, can I check can this go straight over what’s there at the moment eg some soil,mortar and cement or do I need to try and get it down to concrete as much as possible?

The area is around 4sqm and I’d guess maybe 10mm deep any idea how many bags I’d need?

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Lucinda_dJ,

You'll be fine going over what is there.

Was that 0.4sqm or 4sqm? From the image, it looks like quite a small space, not four square metres. I'd pick up five bags for the area pictured and then return the ones you don't need.

Mitchell

[Lucinda_dJ]

Great thanks Mitchell. Sorry recalculated its 250cmx90cm but then the heat pump is on a 60x60 concrete tile so approx 2sqm. Appreciate the guidance

[MitchellMc]

I'd go with the five bags @Lucinda_dJ. It's better to have a couple of spares that you can return than having to run out to Bunnings mid-pour to get more. 

Mitchell

[Lucinda_dJ]

Yes, will do thanks.

[Lucinda_dJ]

Hi Mitchell just looking to buy now and it says its only for internal use? Is there one thats for external?

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Lucinda_dJ,

Sorry about that. You could use either Lanko 20kg 173 Floor Leveller or concrete. These self-levellers are really designed to go over a concrete sub-structure, so you might be better off going with straight concrete to infill the area.

Mitchell