How to arrange well the terrace?

The most important thing regarding the terrace is its well-prepared design. Planning will make it easier to work and eliminate mistakes. The design shall include such information as the format of the slabs, the surface, the shape, the dimensions, the terrace downslope, joint locations, the orientation, the nature, and the material of the edge of the terrace. The terrace can be arranged in two ways due to how rainwater is drained. The drainage of the terrace in the first case is carried out under the surface of the slabs, the joints are not filled or are filled with water-permeable material. Another way of draining the terrace is to drain the water on the surface of the slabs – in this solution, the joints are filled with water-tight material. We can use wet or dry methods to lay terrace slabs.

1. Drainage of the water underneath the surface

Assuming that the precipitation water will be guided underneath the surface of the slabs, it can be arranged in several ways:

using non-adjustable spacers (dry method) – slabs are placed on a stable, waterproof surface, and the slope of the slabs will be adapted to the slope of the base, which ensures that the water is drained,
on adjustable spacers (dry method) – slabs are placed on a stable, water-resistant base, spacers are used to ensure perfect leveling of slabs,
on adjustable spacers (dry method), on a substructure made of wood concrete,
using foil bags with mortar (wet method) – on a stable, water-resistant base, the bags are placed in the corners of the slabs, place the slabs on the bags and level them, then wet the mortar with water.

2. Surface water drainage

Assuming surface water drainage:

arrangement on the sub-structure made on the ground (dry method) – the humus layer should be removed and the sub-structure should be constructed to take into account the load capacity of the terrace and the characteristics of the ground, then the slabs are placed on a cement floor and jointing with dry sand is made, or slabs are laid on a sub-concrete basis and wet jointing with cement is made, which we fill the aggregate
laying on the adhesive mortar (wet method) – the slabs are glued to the concrete slab using a frost-resistant cement mortar or joint designated for the terrace slabs
when laying the terrace slabs, the minimum joints must be maintained depending on the method. 5 mm for formats up to 500 mm in length and over min. 7 mm. It is very important to ensure that there is a gap between the surface of the terrace and the wall of the building, and the extension joint must be made if the area of the terrace is very large.