How to resurface a drab concrete patio with outdoor patio tiles

That drab concrete patio is so often the last thing to think abut in any home improvement project. It’s such a daunting job to replace cracked concrete or outdated pavers that just the thought of bringing in noisy jack-hammers, digging the lot up and carting it away is enough to give you nightmares. And then you still need to think about what to replace it with.

Maybe you've always yearned for a solid wood deck, and perhaps you've thought it would such an expensive option that it's not worth considering. And yes, if you were building a wood deck built the conventional way you may be  right. Plus you'd need to put up with disruption, dust and noise for days or weeks on end.

And also, if you build a conventional wood deck over top of an existing patio, your new deck will be 4" or so higher than your current patio. Now that's a real problem in a lot of cases with outward opening doors.

Fortunately there's an easy solution.

HandyDeck Decking tiles - resurfacing concrete patios the quick and easy way

With HandyDeck decking tiles, resurfacing an existing concrete patio is just a simple matter of snapping the individual paver modules directly into place over the top of the existing surface - no special surface preparation is normally required.

You don't need any special skills... or special tools...not even nails, screws or glues. Just measure the area you want to cover, calculate how many tiles you'll need and you're ready to go. Everything you need to build your patio deck is right inside in each box of tiles.

Provided the concrete patio isn't excessively cracked, you can lay the tiles directly on top of your existing concrete surface without any surface preparation apart from brushing away any loose dirt etc. Small cracks are generally no problem, but if you have larger cracks where there is a height discontinuity of more than about 3/16”, then you may need to patch the cracks or level the surface with a layer of thinset or other suitable patching compound. If possible, tile joins should not lie directly over and parallel to any cracks.

If you've got pipes or other obstacles on the patio, that's no real problem as you can easily cut the tiles to shape with a handsaw or jigsaw. And for the outer edge of the patio, reducer strips are available which just snap onto the outer row of tiles to give a professional finishing touch and reduce the chance of tripping on the outer row of tiles.