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Tiled deck3/15/2023 ![]() ![]() I was familiar with these waffle-like grating panels from my years spent in heavy commercial construction, where they're often used for catwalks and scaffolding. A few years ago, looking for a better alternative that would also allow water to drain through the assembly, I began installing deck tiles over McNichols square-mesh molded fiberglass grating panels instead. Plywood and concrete are conventional substrates, but I've seen too many problems-caused by moisture getting trapped underneath the tile-on exterior tile installations using them. It needs to be well supported by a stable substrate that can withstand 300-pound concentrated loads with minimal deflection (see Substrates and Deflection, facing page). ![]() Tile is tough but has little structural strength. And where stone has been used for pathways or on a patio, installing a matching or complementary pattern on the deck can be a great way to tie the landscaping together. Another selling point is that tile is extremely durable and holds up well under the heavy foot traffic that you find at an entry. That's a shame, because stone or ceramic tile is well-suited for both indoor and outdoor use, making it an excellent flooring choice for clients who want a seamless transition from their kitchen to their deck. Not many deck builders offer tile as an alternative to wood or composite decking. To minimize cracking and popped tiles, the TCNA always recommends the use of an uncoupling/waterproofing membrane over exterior plywood substrates. Incidentally, exterior stone or tile should never be installed directly over PT plywood, which expands and contracts as it gets wet and dries out. ![]() Though this deflection is more than the 0.05 inch (18/360 = 0.05) called for by the TCNA, the author believes that the flexibility of the adhesive used to glue the tile to the substrate, as well as the stability of the grating itself, contributes to the performance of this system. load, and 0.123 inch under a uniform load over an 18-inch span. These deflection limits apply both to the framing supporting the substrate and to the substrate itself (for example, when a concentrated load is applied between joists).Īccording to load tables published by grating-manufacturer McNichols, a 12-inch-wide section of one of its 1-inch-thick grating panels deflects 0.131 inch under a concentrated 300-lb. Some large natural stone tiles that aren’t as uniformly strong as ceramic tile may require an even stiffer structure. The Tile Council of North America, or TCNA ( ), recommends that structures supporting tile deflect no more than L/360 (where L=span) under both uniform and concentrated loads. ![]()
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