Question re: outdoor deck tiling

[pknox]

I just moved into a condo with a concrete steel reinforced and railed 2nd floor deck. The deck has a few cracks and some erosion around the metal flashing. I've been told tiling is best done with limestone tile suitable for outdoors (it does have great temperature variations in Nashville). I don't know how much work should be done about the surface (must I power wash?), do I need to fill the cracks, and is this a task for a novice or should I find soemone to do it for me? If I get someone to do the work, what's a fair price? Help, please.

[Sponsored Links]

[Davy]

Hello pknox, I take it the deck isn't very big. You can use a membrane over the cracks unless they are real small. I wouldn't use limestone on it, go look around at some porcelain tiles, they will hold up better. Power washing may not be needed if the deck is clean. The price is hard to say without knowing the sq ft.:)

[John Bridge]

Welcome aboard, Knox. Please give us a first name. :)

[pknox]

Thanks for the input on tile choice. The decks approximately 21'X8'. I'd like to make it a weekend project but I'm not confident that I won't be biting off more than I can chew. I've done interior floor tiling on a wood subfloor but never tried to tile outside on top of concrete. Any recommendations are appreciataed.
Pam

[John Bridge]

Pam, thanks for giving up the name. We try to be personable around here. :D

I've got a feeling this job is more than a weekend if it's done right. What's on the walls above the deck? Stucco? Wood siding? How far above the deck does the wall covering stop?

Not trying to be a pill here. Just trying to help. :)

[pknox]

Thanks John
The walls are wood siding with the siding stopping about an inch above the deck. The outside edge of the deck has a metal railing with posts into the concrete about every five feet.
My sense is it's definitely more than a weekend for a novice; hence I'm asking for advice from the experts.
Pam

[John Bridge]

Pam,

You could simply tile over the concrete using modified thin set (Versa Bond from Home Depot, for example). You could cut around the posts and run the tile up to the edge of the deck. It's hard for us to visualize. We're thinking about jobs we might have run into.

On the other hand, if you have cracks that amount to something, you should take some other measures before tiling. There are a number of crack isolation products out there. I often use Protecto Wrap. It's convenient and available most everywhere.

http://www.protectowrap.com

And you would not tile right up to the wall. You would instead leave a quarter-inch gap and fill it with caulking.

[pknox]

Thanks John
This is really helpful. I know how difficult it can be without a visual. Just don't have a digital camera to helpo out with a photo,. Your recommendations will let me at least ask the correct questions locally.

[e3]

IS there living space below??slope?membrane needs to be tucked behind the siding. the rail screws will need to be sealed, thought given to how you want the edge detail. see nobledeck at www.noblecompany.com

[KChurch1]

Do you know what has caused the cracks? Are they stress cracks? Does the deck flex at all? We just looked at a couple of decks in Brentwood the other day.... exisiting tile.... the grout is cracked from one end of the deck to the other.... some kind of movement going on under there.
If the cracks are just the normal cracks from shrinkage, the crack isolation membrane should do the trick.