Outdoor Patio

Q: We have an outdoor cement ‘patio’ that we are thinking of refinishing with the patio wood tiles and we are wondering what we need to do to the cememt prior to adding the tiles, like would we need to level the concrete with sand or some other product? How would the flooring fair in winter conditions?
Cathy
A: When planning to floor an outdoor area it is important to note than you MUST you a product which is approved for outdoor use. Standard wood flooring simply can not take the abuses mother nature will put it through.
Now if you are looking to get the wood floor tile look, or parquet look, there is a great outdoor decking tile made by Vifah. These tiles feature a click-together composite backing which makes installation very simple and this is specifically intended for outdoor use, which means you can get the wood tile look on your patio.
The concrete on the patio itself should be checked to ensure that it is level and is not sweating more than it should. If you see any white build-up on your concrete, then you will need to clean and reseal the concrete as this is a result of the concrete sweating too much and losing some of the calcium in the concrete.
You can use a simple 2″ x 4″ to check for low/high spots in your concrete, though a proper level is advised. If you find any high spots, grind them down and for low spots, use an outdoor approved leveler. Once you have leveled out the concrete and ensured any leveling compound has cured, I would suggest sealing the concrete just to be safe. From here all you need to do is install the deck tiles and your patio will be complete.