HOW TO LAY PORCELAIN PAVING

If you’re looking to re-design your garden with something that will wow your family, friends and neighbours, porcelain paving is what you need.

They are hard-wearing, have a high resistance to frost and moss and they look fabulous.

Porcelain slabs can be a bit trickier to lay than other slabs so here’s a guide on how to get the best results.

Preparing your base

A good groundwork is essential to securely hold your paving. When mixing your mortar porcelain requires more cement than other paving slabs so you’ll need to mix 4 parts sand to 1 part cement. Also, to ensure no surface water is carried, install your paving at a slight gradient of 1.80.

When your base is ready you should prime your slabs. This is because porcelain is non-porous and doesn’t stick to the mortar base as easily as other slabs.

Just paint the reverse side of the slabs with a primer that will create a strong bond that will secure your slabs for a long time.

Laying your slabs

Now that your slabs are primed and the base is ready you can start to lay your slabs.

Working with one slab at a time, lay your fresh mortar and position your slab into position, one corner at a time to get an accurate placement. Don’t lay a bed of mortar for all your slabs at once as the mortar will be dry before you actually get some of them laid.

To secure your paving slab gently tap with a mallet – 100% of the slab should be in contact with the mortar bed to ensure a secure placement. Make any adjustments quickly as the mortar will dry and make it impossible to move. Use a spirit level to check the slab is level before moving onto the next paving slab.

Whatever pattern you choose to go for, ensure a 5mm gap between each slab. This will be filled with jointing compound once all the paving slabs are placed and secured. You can brush away any excess compound once all gaps are filled.

Leave to dry for 24 hours and if rain is forecast cover with a tarpaulin.