Porcelain Pavers are an outstanding upgrade to completely transform your outdoor space without a removal of the existing surface. The raised porcelain paver systems are being installed high and low, across the country. Small projects on condo balconies, large hotel and restaurant expansions, roof decks in Manhattan and Los Angeles, you name it! Once your material has been purchased you have the luxury of hiring an installer to lend a helping hand, or the freedom of easily and properly completing the project yourself. Here is a guide of everything you'll need to know about what it takes to DIY a raised porcelain paver system. 

Gather any tools you will need to complete the project. Cleaning products, edge clips or wall spacers if necessary, a level for accuracy, pedestals, a saw for cutting etc.

 

Clean your outdoor surface. A light sweeping and mopping, allowing time for drying, is all the cleaning that is required. Also be sure of a great weather forecast, no rain or snow before or during installation.

 

Apply the insulating layer to the pedestals. This is the cushion between the pedestals and the pre existing surface and this is an optional step.

 

Begin the grid planning around the perimeter edges and configuring where all of the pedestals will be placed. This is an important step as this is the support system to your flooring.

 

Position a pedestal underneath the center of the slab for a perfectly safe, stable and long lasting application.

 

Position the clean, dry porcelain slabs on the pedestals. Everything should pop right into place unless a major mistake was made in the planning process of pedestal placement, which is an easy fix that shouldn’t require much time.

 

Ensure the completed raised porcelain paver surface is level and plane. Not only is a level floor safe, it also adds great value to the aesthetic of the project. The more even and plane your pavers are, the more expensive and high end your deck will look.

 

Regulate the pedestals if any imperfections are found during the leveling process and place your porcelain pavers back into the grid.

 

The final step is to gently walk across all parts of the deck ensuring a flawless installation. Porcelain pavers that are installed correctly do not shake or wobble.

 

Porcelain pavers are a cutting edge product seen throughout homes, patios, balconies, roof decks and commercial properties and are perfect for pedestal roof decks. However, the pavers were not always used for outdoor raised pedestal and exterior systems. The porcelain pavers were traditionally much smaller, thinner and only used for indoor applications or exterior balcony tiles. Through high quality manufacturing and engineering, the raised outdoor pedestal paving system was created utilizing 2cm or double thick porcelain. The outdoor pavers have a high level of manufacturing in this thickness and can wqithstand a tremendous amount of weight.  They are impervious to  quality and are created with the safety components that are required for outdoor flooring such as non slip technology and durability to last through rough and tough weather storms and conditions. The raised porcelain pedestals are also 100% recycled so you will have the pride of knowing you have also made an environmentally sustainable home improvement decision. They are zero mess, no fuss and also give your flooring the same height indoor and out with a seamless and level application. 

Porcelain Paver installation is easy to understand and a great weekend project to take on yourself. The rubber connectors will simply lock the porcelain pavers right into place. Installation is fast and only a limited number of tools are required.

Using adjustable height pedestals, determining the height of your pedestals is a just a few clicks away. If you are looking to add serious height, no problem, the pedestals are stackable. Not only do these versatile tiles exude class, quality, and style, you can install them yourself. Yes, YOU! Self Installation of porcelain pavers allows you to take control of your own project, cut out middle man costs from installers and limit the number of strangers allowed into your home.

 

Be a boss! Drink a nice coffee, enjoy your morning meditation and don't hesitate taking on your raised porcelain paver system all by YOURSELF!

 

When the architectural firm Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh, AIA contact you in regards to a raised roof deck with porcelain pavers, you drop everything you are doing and you go do a site walk.  Well that's how this project got started. Some background on this project includes a newly constructed modern live work space in the heart of LIttle Italy downtown San Diego. The plans called for a raised porcelain paver floor from our product line. To us, this was no ordinary roof deck however. This was the Kettner lofts roof deck project taking up an entire city block.

This deck, once completed would have incredible views of San Diego bay and the downtown area. We began to present to multiple color and texture options to the landscape architect at Deneen Powell Atelier. In the end a beautiful natural tone called the cornerstone granite line was chosen from Ergon Ceramics. The pavers were shipped directly from Sassuolo Italy to the project site in little Italy in San Diego. 2cm Porcelain pavers are the newest addition to elevated roof decks. A very versatile and hard wearing supported paver decking system.  Porcelain stone wear unlike ceramic has .05 % water absorption compared to the ceramic counterpart at 1.5%. This means the porcelain surface finish will never wear down or fade. Each paver has a breakage weight of 2300 lbs.! That is stronger than a concrete paver and at half the weight.  The porcelain pavers are 2'X2' in size and come in many other sizes including 1'X4'. This project had them elevated over 6 " inches off the surface (the height is adjustable to accommodate any finished floor).

The installation began on schedule by Suncoast, with an occupancy move in date of April we had little time to deliver product on site. Elmich pedestals provided by us were specified to raise the floor 6 inches off the roof membrane. Ergon Cornerstone 2cm porcelain pavers in two color tones (granite and gray slate) would create a design like we had never seen before on a elevated roof deck system. Custom planters where ordered and delivered by us as well to create a stunning roof top deck complete with a 200 sq ft lawn green space in our roof drainage trays. With a complex system of electrical, gas line piping, and irrigation under the pavers, this roof deck would be one of the best roof decks in the city of San Diego.
The first photo here shows the north west corner of the roof deck and our custom planters in the color, The pedestals show about a 6 inch rise off the surface, plenty of room to allow for electrical conduit and gas lines under the pavers. To learn more about us, and how we do modular decking tile roof decks  visit our website www.ecoarbordesigns.com




After a short 10 days of installation we had ourselves a porcelain paver roof deck that will perform better and last longer than any other paver deck we have seen before.
The residents of this new building will enjoy the space for years to come.