Where to buy concrete paving tile molds

[Boognish]

I'm looking to pave our garden with some nice stone effect concrete tiles. It's quite a large area to cover - will need about 1300 24cmx36cm tiles - so to minimise cost I'm thinking of buying the concrete and creating the tiles from molds, rather than buying the tiles ready made from the shop. Does anyone know any place in chiang mai I can hire tile molds for this project? Or if not hire perhaps buy. If I did it over the space of the month I'd need between 40-50 molds I think.

[kaptainrob]

35bt per 40 x 40 plain pressed concrete paver ex factory on #121 approx 2km's east of Samoeng intersection, probably cheaper than making yourself. They do pebble and decorative finishes also ... ~ 65bt from memory.

[Boognish]

Thanks...You mean this place attached? It's on the 121 2km east from samoeng intersection next to market. It's actually 5 min drive from my house, popped in after picking my son up from school. Though the 40*40 plain paver they had was 45 baht each. Not sure that's what we want though, would prefer a little texture in the tiles. I figure the cost of concrete to cover the area I need would be about 10,000 baht + cost of molds and other bits. Even with ready made plain paver at 35 baht a tile, I'd still be looking at around 30k-40k for all the tiles needed. I think using concrete/tile molds would still be a more cost effective solution and give the garden a nicer finish. Though if I did go down the ready made tile route I'd prefer to buy from the actual manufacturer rather than a middle man retailer. If anyone has an address for hiring/ buying molds or even a paving tile manufacturer, let me know!

Edited September 3, 2014 by Boognish

[kaptainrob]

You were ~100m east of the factory outlet > HERE - 3 year old street view shows just how much development has taken place!

[cooked]

Think about it. You need to vibrate the 'tile' (you mean slabs?) moulds and get the concrete, concrete/water mix just right. You need a concrete mixer, not a delivery of probably over wet concrete that you can just slop into the moulds before it starts to go off. I have done special orders myself and it was more work than I thought. How are you going to lay such small 'tiles', on concrete and mortar? And then grout such a large surface? Such small 'tiles' need to be really well laid. We have bought and laid cheap ceramic tiles everywhere, on reinforced concrete. We drive the truck on it. I often bought expensive, coloured and decorated blocks and slabs for customers and after a year they were hardly distinguishable from grey concrete. They didn't listen to me either. So you have to buy a pressure cleaner also.

I am being discouraging, sorry.

[Boognish]

Hmmm I am somewhat discouraged. Though we were half thinking of asking my wife's brother to do the actual work as he works in construction, but nothing's concrete yet...just trying to review the options. Im not an expert on this stuff, as in all I've actually done is read an ehow article on 'how to make paving slabs' which made it sound simple. I'm not so fussed about coloured tiles, the porch already has red tiling, so adding more colour might be a bit much. Grey was what I had in mind. It was more the pattern I was concerned with. A nice stone effect would be preferable to flat plain slabs, but cost and practicality will be the deciding factors, the paving is part of a bigger project on the garden, and I do need to keep the costs down where possible. Thanks for the link to the place, I will take a look tomorrow. I did wonder if I'd got the right place this afternoon, the selection they had was pretty small.

[Boognish]

I went to to factory place today. They have a decent selection. They have the 40*40 slabs at 35 baht as you say which are quite nice, they also had some nice stone effect ones 60*60 for 70 baht. Both attached. They make on site so I'll assume these are some of the cheapest ready made ones I'll find. I would be looking at needing 450 or so 60*60 slabs, he said he might be able to do a discount. Would be looking at 30k + for the slabs. Not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but would rather spend on other things if there is a cheaper solution with the mold / concrete. Or even just put straight concrete down with a few decorative tiles placed around to make it look nice. I'll talk to my brother in law today and get his opinion. Would need to fly him over from Bangkok if he's free. If anyone knows a good place to get molds in chiang mai please do let me know. Would be good to get a comparison of costs...

[Puwa]

I don't know where to buy molds, but here's a photo of what (I think) you are looking for.

[Boognish]

Yes, that's exactly the sort of thing! That would be great if I I could find something like that.

As an alternate option, I was thinking putting concrete straight down, and placing slate chipping on top on the concrete. So similar look to the slab at the factory place with slate chips laid over it, but just one whole surface of concrete / slate chippings rather then slabs of it. Not sure how much bags of slate chippings cost or how much I need. But may work out cheaper than individual slabs...

[cooked]

Yes, that's exactly the sort of thing! That would be great if I I could find something like that.

As an alternate option, I was thinking putting concrete straight down, and placing slate chipping on top on the concrete. So similar look to the slab at the factory place with slate chips laid over it, but just one whole surface of concrete / slate chippings rather then slabs of it. Not sure how much bags of slate chippings cost or how much I need. But may work out cheaper than individual slabs...

Can be done, just do a test area first, and don't be too fixated on using slate. Look at

and decide if you want to do that! You can mix additive into the concrete mix before use if you really want pink! I hate pink, but up to you! Don't let moaners like me discourage you, but be prepared to be responsible for the result. I have seen some nice jobs done in Thailand.

[Boognish]

No, I wouldn't have pink concrete. I'm thinking more a cool dark grey. Anything coloured would clash a bit with the house. Also I'd rather the plants / tree's / flowers were the centre piece rather than the paving. The reasons for the paving are mostly practical, can't be bothered with getting the grass cut all the time, we've had a few issues with bugs and snakes, also we'd like to be able to walk around the garden barefoot if we want without having to slip on the shoes I just don't want the garden looking like a car park, so less keen on anything too plain. The pebble on concrete does look nice in the video, though not so conformable to walk on. I think when I said chippings it was the wrong word, if I was to go that route it's be something more like this...

...doesn't have to be slate. Just a thin, flat, rock chips to sit on top of the concrete. Is this sort of thing cheap to buy?

[cooked]

I really wouldn't know where you can buy this kind of stuff. You want to walk barefoot? Should be no problem with granite chippings to walk on if done properly and of course they are less dangerous when it is wet. I'll take a foto this afternoon of what can be done. If I don't forget.

[kaptainrob]

Those 35bt pressed concrete pavers have one advantage over most others being they're beveled on the edge to accommodate slight difference in levels. They're also porous. How's your surface drainage if concreted instead?

[DaamNaam]

Stamped concrete looks fantastic too.

[Boognish]

Those 35bt pressed concrete pavers have one advantage over most others being they're beveled on the edge to accommodate slight difference in levels. They're also porous. How's your surface drainage if concreted instead?

That is a good point actually, hadn't considered drainage. I guess if I go the concreted route I'll have to incorprate decent drainage for the run off. Something like this? ...

I really like the idea of stamping the concete, this looks really nice...

Where can I get concrete stamps from in Chiang Mai?

[cooked]

Nope, just plan for 2% fall off to the one side or the other. I have had experience with porous slabs and pavings and they invariably stop working after a year or two.

[sly4all]

No, I wouldn't have pink concrete. I'm thinking more a cool dark grey. Anything coloured would clash a bit with the house. Also I'd rather the plants / tree's / flowers were the centre piece rather than the paving. The reasons for the paving are mostly practical, can't be bothered with getting the grass cut all the time, we've had a few issues with bugs and snakes, also we'd like to be able to walk around the garden barefoot if we want without having to slip on the shoes I just don't want the garden looking like a car park, so less keen on anything too plain. The pebble on concrete does look nice in the video, though not so conformable to walk on. I think when I said chippings it was the wrong word, if I was to go that route it's be something more like this...

...doesn't have to be slate. Just a thin, flat, rock chips to sit on top of the concrete. Is this sort of thing cheap to buy?

I have made a terrace that is exactly looking like your picture on the top right. I bought the stones at this location, on the road from Meechok to Mae Rim.

18°51'58.97"N

99° 0'51.85"E

The stones are bought by the weight (sorry, cant remember the cost at all), and they are sorted by size so you can make your own mix. As for drainage, it really depends on your plot and how the water runs through it during heavy rains.

To help with the moss that will build up over time and blacken the surface, you can paint (colorless) waterproof paint available in big places like Home Mart/Home Pro. Can be expensive depending on the surface to cover but does a good job at slowing down the moss and ease of cleaning, does a great job on sand stones and cement (porous) but will leave a sticky feeling on stones (non porous) which goes away after a few weeks.

For stamped concrete, there are a few companies offering this, you can find advert brochures in tile shops or big outlet like Home Sukkapan.

[Somnambulist]

I like this paving mold idea. I've watched a few videos and in one a guy picked some of the individual pieces up and moved them around after removing the mold which makes it easy to do curves and other shapes. And one breathless infomercial claims the ground doesn't have to be all that level. I did find one photo, though, that has a piece that broke right in half. What would cause that, a bad mix?

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/183310647303083292/

[DaamNaam]

Those 35bt pressed concrete pavers have one advantage over most others being they're beveled on the edge to accommodate slight difference in levels. They're also porous. How's your surface drainage if concreted instead?

That is a good point actually, hadn't considered drainage. I guess if I go the concreted route I'll have to incorprate decent drainage for the run off. Something like this? ...

I really like the idea of stamping the concete, this looks really nice...

Where can I get concrete stamps from in Chiang Mai?

Good luck with that. I would say you have little or no chance unless you buy them yourself, and they will be very expensive for sure.

We used Winfloor to do ours and it wasn't as expensive as i had first thought. The finished product just can't be beaten. Brilliant.

[Boognish]

Nope, just plan for 2% fall off to the one side or the other. I have had experience with porous slabs and pavings and they invariably stop working after a year or two.

As for drainage, it really depends on your plot and how the water runs through it during heavy rains.

This is the diagram of the plot, the paving will go all the way round the house ...

There's a solid wall all the way round and there isn't really anywhere for the water to go. When it rains hard, the water wells up in puddles and then eventually sinks into the ground. I'm assuming this would be problematic with a concreted surface if proper drainage isn't incorporated, especially in rainy season. Any idea what drainage solution will be needed?

I have made a terrace that is exactly looking like your picture on the top right. I bought the stones at this location, on the road from Meechok to Mae Rim.

18°51'58.97"N

99° 0'51.85"E

Thanks for this, I will check out the place to find out prices.

For stamped concrete, there are a few companies offering this, you can find advert brochures in tile shops or big outlet like Home Sukkapan.

I like this paving mold idea. I've watched a few videos and in one a guy picked some of the individual pieces up and moved them around after removing the mold which makes it easy to do curves and other shapes. And one breathless infomercial claims the ground doesn't have to be all that level. I did find one photo, though, that has a piece that broke right in half. What would cause that, a bad mix?

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/183310647303083292/

Good luck with that. I would say you have little or no chance unless you buy them yourself, and they will be very expensive for sure.

We used Winfloor to do ours and it wasn't as expensive as i had first thought. The finished product just can't be beaten. Brilliant.

Well if I can't buy it or it's too expensive, it looks relatively straight forward to make one from scratch. Amazing what you can find on youtube...

I like the concrete stamp solution, I am leaning towards this as long as drainage isn't too costly and it's possible to make the actual stamp.

[DaamNaam]

Good luck with that.

[kaptainrob]

You'll have to create drainage with either spoon drains or fall to road or a sump. You don't have much room to play with so if 'fall' to road is not possible then a porous surface is the best way to go.

Pavers like the 35bt ones or a non porous decorate type may be laid on a sand bed with ~ 75mm gap filled with road base type stones or more expensive pebbles. Create feature areas in corners with stones only and plant Mondo grass along with large rocks.

[Somnambulist]

Here's an idea:

Edited September 8, 2014 by Somnambulist