new patio concrete too high

[Terrian]

I'm not concerned about exposing the mesh, it's just reducing the cover, that's all. If it's already a bit high in places or where mesh has been lapped, or if he's used the top slot on a 65mm bar chair you might be starting to get a bit skinny. I guess we have minimum cover - 25mm I think - for a reason, right?

the idea is to have the steel close to the middle, or a little lower than middle, concrete, as strong as it may seem is not all that great with compression strength (lay a slab down, start adding weight, the first place cracks appear are at the bottom of the slab)

If the slab was 75mm thick, the concreter has no business using 50/65 bar chairs

[silentC]

An old engineer that I hired once told me that he likes the mesh to be no more than 25mm from the top of the slab, because when the slab cracks, as all slabs do, the cracks will be in the bottom of the slab and not the top. This bloke knew concrete - he was the engineer at the Sydney Show Ground and was in charge of making all the suspended concrete ramps and so on that the horses walk on.

He'd been an engineer for 50 years, so who was I to challenge his opinion

[sports fan]

stencilling is a pretty big comprimise to make if you originally wanted tiles as i personally reckon its the tackiest look you could go for

[silentC]

It seems to be popular enough, so maybe you have poor taste

[sports fan]

if you say so i havent seen any stencilled patios/ driveways in any magazines lately.. just seems to be on mcmansions in the western surburbs of sydney, but if you like it mate no worries

[silentC]

I don't read magazines because they only publish what their advertisers want people to see.

I don't spend any time in the Western suburbs of Sydney either, so I'll bow to your better knowledge on it. No, you're right mate, rip the top off it and whack down some tiles, she'll be right. If you expose any steel, "treat it" whatever that means. We'll be long dead before it becomes a problem.

[Ian Smith]

Christo - Where the bloody hell are you?

[silentC]

He's done a runner.

Sports fan, I'm only winding you up, don't get upset

For what it's worth, I reckon tiles can look pretty tacky too. I like the ones with the paver sort of look about them - a bit of texture - not that glazed look. I think they'd be a bad choice for outdoors anyway - slippery when wet.

The stencilled concrete can look pretty good if you stay away from the bright colours. I've got a bit done around my place and it's the blue stone colour. It's only a small area that we wanted to concrete anyway, so thought why not spruce it up a bit. Looks pretty good I reckon. My place is far from being a McMansion though, so maybe that's why.

[sports fan]

silent c you sound like a text book builder, in a perfect world it would be lovely if everything slab/ column etc the proper 35mm cover or whatever it is but that isnt reality...

i have worked for some of the best respected builders in the business and when ever we have exposed reo we treat with a 2 part epoxy a its made by epirez

its just part of building with concrete that sometimes the formwork is wrong or the levels wrong or client changes mind.. you deal with it

what old mate was talking about was a slab on ground with tiles over it and also pergola over hardly the most exposed location? if he said it was a suspended bridge over a river or lake or something i would have offered different advice

[silentC]

Who said I was a builder at all? I'm just a 15 year old kid playing on his parent's computer.

[silentC]

Sorry, I'm being a smart asre now.

it would be lovely if everything slab/ column etc the proper 35mm cover or whatever it is but that isnt reality...

But what you said kind of proves my point "in reality". In reality, you don't know where the steel is. I reckon you'd only uncover it if you really had to. I've seen spalling and it makes a mess of a slab. It would lift the tiles up and crack the slab if it happened.

So I'm not saying that even the 'best respected builders' in the business don't sometimes do it, but you'd prefer not to, right? And if there was an acceptable alternative that wasn't going to take a lot of effort you take it, wouldn't you?

I still don't think 5mm would be enough anyway. 5mm tiles, you're back where you started and then you have to allow for the glue and it's already higher than the floor inside.

[bricks]

The Problem here gentlemen, is that the back patio is now illegaly built.

The patio height must be below the height of the main house.

If someone called the local building authority, had them inspect, I'm reasonably sure that the contractor would be told to lower the slab to legal height.

That is of course not a nice way to go about it.

[autogenous]

reo is pretty much placed where the tension will occur

mesh is a shrinkage crack preventative

tile straight up to the door with a good flexible tilers glue and seal between tile and door sill with silicon

[autogenous]

If someone called the local building authority, had them inspect, I'm reasonably sure that the contractor would be told to lower the slab to legal height.

depends where you are but more and more builders are doing this now where there is roof cover to the area

[journeyman Mick]

...............and seal between tile and door sill with silicon

Bad move in my opinion. I was taught a long time ago to build and detail any penetration/possible water entry point as if sealant didn't exist. Sealants can and do fail, gravity never does. If the water can't get under the threshold (sills are under windows, thresholds under doors) then it won't matter if the sealant breaks down. If it can get to the threshold there's a good chance you'll get water into the house even with sealant.

Mick