Exterior Driveway Tiling or Epoxy Coating

[DrewM]

Hi Guys,  

 

I am hoping someone can provide some direction in how to go about tiling a small driveway.  

 

Some brief information; brought a property that has a small area (approx. 32 m2) concrete driveway/parking area, half undercover, that is on a slight grade to the roadside. The property is about 5-6 years old, and the concrete base is in ok condition, no major cracks, just general ageing. We have a small sedan car, and one motorbike.  

 

Now I want to improve the look of it, and thought of 2 different approaches; either tile, or epoxy paint / epoxy coating.   I don’t want to use paving bricks (to thick, not keen on that look) and I believe ceramic isn’t an option due to its lack of strength in comparison to porcelain. After watching youtube and reading some UK/Australian, I have come away with the following;  

 

1. Porcelain tiles are stronger and more practical for outdoors and to support loads like a car, but needs to be at least 20mm thick.  
2. If you are using a mortar base, then you need to apply a primer slurry to the back of the tile to enable a bond due to the non porous nature. 
3. If you use a mastic adhesive, then the primer slurry is not needed.  
4. Mortar bed to be at least 30mm-40 mm.  
5. You need to have every 3-4 meters an expansion joint (caulking material).

 

Questions;  

1. I have found online a supplier in Pattaya with 14mm thick porcelain tile (WDC?), will that be ok to use.  
2. Homepro have porcelain tiles but at 8mm, are they ok to use.
3. I haven’t found any mastic adhesive here, only mortar. Which means I need to find a primer slurry, and I can’t find that online here. Can anyone point me in the direction to find primer slurry? Or if what I read is incorrect, and I don’t really need one.  
4. The porcelain tile needs to be slip resistant (R11/12?), so I don’t slip walking on it when wet / traction for the car to be reversed up the grade. Is this correct ?  
5. My two neighbours have tiles on their driveway, I think 250x250mm or 300x300mm and they are grooved. Is this my only option, when it’s a driveway? I have seen some pretty nice photos of driveways, without it being grooved. 
6. I have been quoted 450 bht m2 without the tile, everything else is provided. This seems like a fair price ?  

 

I have included a picture of a porcelain tile i found in Megahome, my driveway, and a picture an example of a tiled driveway from a UK site. 

 

If not tiling, has anyone used epoxy painting or coating on their outside driveways ? and what was your experience with it ? and cost ? Seen some decent examples. Will attached a photo too.  

 

Any information would be really helpful. 

[LS24]

Check with the tile supplier for the point load capacity of the tile in question. Take the known mass of the vehicle + passengers and any luggage, then divide by 4 + 20% to get a rough approximation of mass per wheel in kg.

 

The point load will be given to you in kilopascals (kPa) most likely or kiloNetwons (kN). you can easily convert.

 

A plasticised adhesive must be available somewhere. I have never looked for it in Thai Watsadu, though.

 

Epoxy is not a set and forget cover. It will need refinishing every 4 years or so depending on sun. The existing concrete will need to be ground back / chemically etched before an epoxy can be applied. No idea on price in Thailand, though.

 

[DrewM]

2 hours ago, LS24 said:

Check with the tile supplier for the point load capacity of the tile in question. Take the known mass of the vehicle + passengers and any luggage, then divide by 4 + 20% to get a rough approximation of mass per wheel in kg.

 

The point load will be given to you in kilopascals (kPa) most likely or kiloNetwons (kN). you can easily convert.

 

A plasticised adhesive must be available somewhere. I have never looked for it in Thai Watsadu, though.

 

Epoxy is not a set and forget cover. It will need refinishing every 4 years or so depending on sun. The existing concrete will need to be ground back / chemically etched before an epoxy can be applied. No idea on price in Thailand, though.

 

Thanks for the info. Looked in Homepro and Megahome, couldn't find the mastic adhesive, and i did ask the sales team with no luck. Im sure it must be here as well. 

[LS24]

https://tha.sika.com/en/davco/tile-adhesive/cementitious-tileadhesive/davco-ultraflex.html

 

Tghere you go.. Reach out to Sika Thailand and find where they stock it or get a special order from Thai Watsadu. I have used the Ultraflex on several large projects over the year and find it has great slump characteristics and is suitable for really humid conditions. And it adheres.

Let us kjnow how you get on with it. Other's will no doubt gain from your search for it.

[DrewM]

18 hours ago, LS24 said:

https://tha.sika.com/en/davco/tile-adhesive/cementitious-tileadhesive/davco-ultraflex.html

 

Tghere you go.. Reach out to Sika Thailand and find where they stock it or get a special order from Thai Watsadu. I have used the Ultraflex on several large projects over the year and find it has great slump characteristics and is suitable for really humid conditions. And it adheres.

Let us kjnow how you get on with it. Other's will no doubt gain from your search for it.

Much appreciated. I went to megahone and they had some Sika products, mainly mortar though. Will contact them direct. 

[transam]

Tiles bedded with cement mix, paints of any sort don't last. My drive and walkways are all tiled with basic non-slip tiles on cement, still OK after 16 years, but the key is the drive base thickness, so there is no cracking with heavy rides. 

[Rimmer]

We wanted stamped concrete but back then no one would come down from Bangkok to do it so we tiled the entire drive and parking area, I think they put 5 cm of cement down first, I made them do break lines because its such a big area.

 

Fifteen years no problem

 

[DrewM]

On 8/4/2023 at 11:21 AM, transam said:

Tiles bedded with cement mix, paints of any sort don't last. My drive and walkways are all tiled with basic non-slip tiles on cement, still OK after 16 years, but the key is the drive base thickness, so there is no cracking with heavy rides. 

I was given two prices, for 100mm and 50mm. 100mm seems over the top and wouldnt look right at all. 

 

On 8/4/2023 at 12:09 PM, Rimmer said:

We wanted stamped concrete but back then no one would come down from Bangkok to do it so we tiled the entire drive and parking area, I think they put 5 cm of cement down first, I made them do break lines because its such a big area.

 

Fifteen years no problem

 

Looks good, and after 15 years it has held up. Nice ! Quite a few have told me, that traction will be my issue, but having visited SCG, some of their tiles look good and are quite textured, so there shouldnt be a problem. Plus, 2 of my close neigbours have it, and they dont have any issues with reversing their car or motorbike. 

 

So, its down to the tile itself, and finding an experienced contractor. I visited a potential contractor that came and measured up, but couldnt provide any photos of past work. Crossed them off. 

[rich69]

Hi Drew 

I too would be interested in having my driveway tiled. Are you able to share the contact number for the people you have found who will do it? Thanks very much 

[DrewM]

On 10/25/2023 at 3:25 PM, rich69 said:

Hi Drew 

I too would be interested in having my driveway tiled. Are you able to share the contact number for the people you have found who will do it? Thanks very much 

Hi Rich69, 

 

I still haven't got around to it, the previous owners/developers who i have a very good relationship with have pledged to do it, and i know their standards are better than most, given i live/brought into one of their homes. 

 

Im still waiting for a time slot to open as it would have to be done over a long weekend. If it cant be done soon, then i will go with eps.co.th

 

I have had others price it, which was slightly higher than market rates. Maybe you might want to explore working with them. I also had two thai guys come in and gave good rates, but the communication barrier was to much for me to feel relaxed that they would do a proper job. 

 

eps.co.th - they have been very professional 

[email protected] - found on facebook, the son of the owner speaks great english, dad does the quoting. 

 

If you would like the contact info of the smaller guys, let me know. 

 

Drew.