This project was a porcelain patio we installed in Waterloo, Ontario. The product featured here is Thundercloud from Porcea Stone in the 24″ x 48″ format.

We began this project by tearing out this existing on grade deck followed by a 10 inch excavation. What our 10 inch excavation does is it allows us to is install an 8 inch base followed by a 1 inch bedding layer and then the porcelain itself is 1 in thick. In our climate we need to at least have a 6-in and then we like to go a little bit further with that and install an 8-in. After excavation we can pack the subsoil and we amend it with a Portland cement along with 3/4 clear Stone on top of that. What this does is it helps to soak up the moisture that is within our clay subsoil and this helps the bearing capacity of that subsoil. 

After compacting our subsoil we install a non-woven geotextile throughout our entire project. This nonwoven separates our base material from our subsoil preventing any migration between the two. It also promotes drainage as water can freely drain through this nonwoven geotextile. After our geotextile is installed we then start to build up our base material in this case we’re using an open graded base. Open graded base is excellent because it allows water to drain freely through it there’s no fine material like sand mixed into it so this allows that water to pass freely through. This reduces the effects of freeze thaw Cycles at this base because there is no water that’s held in it. It is also better for reducing the amount of ants or weeds that can grow in your joints. 

Open graded base is a 3/4 in clear chipped Stone with HPB or 1/4 in clean stone as the betting layer that is 1 in where the porcelain is installed on top of. In the middle of our base we install a biaxial geogrid this is a mesh like material that helps to interlock the aggregate within its openings. This adds stability to our base with this lockup of the aggregate. 

While we install our base we usually do it in 4-in lifts install 4 in we compact it we lay out our biaxial yogurt and then we put another 4 in on top and then we can packed it again. This ensures that we have good compaction throughout the entire project. We can then start to screed our HPB bedding layer. We lay out our screed bars which are our guide for that bedding layer we put HPB in between and then we start to scrape it back level. 

We cannot install porcelain directly on top of our HPB along the outside edges and this is where porcelain installation varies from paver installation. On the outside edges for 2 ft and three to four inches past the final porcelain piece we install a trass bedding material. Trass is a cementitious mixture that we add to the HPV with water and mix it thoroughly followed by screeding it much like we would with HPB. We then back butter our porcelain with an alert and this is what adheres that porcelain directly to our trass bedding layer. Trash remains permeable in this application while also becoming as rock solid as concrete. The remainder of our porcelain is installed on top of the HPV but we still back butter them with a Type S mortar mix and place them into the HPV. Failure to install porcelain like this will cause the rocking and back and forth movement of that porcelain as you walk over it as well as a very Hollow sound as you walk on those larger format porcelain slabs. 

We installed this project in a staggered running bond pattern that means that those porcelain pieces are running horizontally but every other row we cut a half piece so that they are staggered much like a brick pattern. Followed by laying the porcelain we then install a semi-permeable compound. This is installed wet so we pour it out of the bag immediately add water and start to sweep it around the entire patio. This is the perfect application to use this with our basement material being open graded meaning all that water that lands on the surface will continue to flow through to our base material and out following the slope of our excavated soil. Do we still add a 1/8 of an inch per foot slope on our patio. 

At the end of every project we dress up the edges as we always need to excavate 6 in past our final paver to give a solid platform for a patio to lay on.