Home » Exterior Tile Installations

Category: Exterior Tile Installations

Bringing the Indoors Out

 

GIO Thick 1.0 porcelain-paver outdoor scene

We’ve been ”bringing the outdoors in” for a while now, and outdoor living isn’t something new. Still, the pandemic experience has dramatically shifted our perceptions regarding the importance of outdoor space, compelling us to “bring the indoors out” in any way we can. Undoubtedly, the pandemic has inspired us to enjoy the outdoors in new ways.

Once a sign of exclusivity, rooftop spaces are becoming an essential part of any well-positioned office building, hotel, or apartment building. Any restaurant that can manage to do so has some outdoor dining, regardless of climate. Churches are creating spaces to hold outdoor services and events. Business travelers, who typically held meetings in hotel lobbies or conference rooms pre-pandemic, now want to take it outside.

Commercial properties are paying closer attention to what’s needed for people to spend more time outside and to make that time just as productive as time spent inside. During Covid, everyone wanted to get outdoors because it was a safer place to be. Now, landlords, developers, architects, and property managers are observing and analyzing how users engage with the landscape to meet emerging customer needs for wellness and well-being.

So, what’s in for outside design?

Though porcelain tile options have long been available for outdoor use, porcelain pavers are fast becoming a preferable alternative to natural stone and concrete. These thick, high-tech pavers are made from the highest grade porcelain and are specifically designed for easy installation over various foundations, including grass, sand, gravel, and standard mortar installations. They are also highly durable and easy to maintain:

  • Fade-resistant in harsh sunlight
  • Impermeable, moisture-proof
  • 100% frost resistant
  • Naturally resistant to stains
  • Mold and moss-resistant
  • Easy to clean with a hose, standard household cleaners, and low-pressure washing systems if necessary
  • No efflorescence (a crystalline deposit of salts often seen on the surface when water leaves behind salt deposits)

GIO is proud to offer a beautiful line of the highest quality porcelain pavers designed to withstand the most challenging commercial environments. GIO_Thick 1.0 is a collection of 12mm thick pavers available in an extensive range of looks to suit any design scheme.

 

GIO_Thick 1.0

What’s In For Outside Design

As an alternative to natural stone and concrete, porcelain pavers are a big trend in outdoor design. Though porcelain tile options have long been available for outdoor use, these thick, high-tech pavers are made from the highest grade porcelain and are specifically designed for easy installation over a variety of foundations, including grass, sand, gravel, and standard mortar installations. Their precision sizing and uniformity make for easier and faster installation, plus they may be lighter in weight compared to natural stone.

Gio_Thick 1.0 Quartz Silver 24x24 Rectified

 

GIO_Thick 1.0 Installed over grass and gravel.

GIO_Thick 1.0 laid over grass and gravel

 

In addition to the easy and flexible installation, porcelain pavers are incredibly durable and easy to maintain.

  • The color will not fade in harsh sunlight or the most abusive weather.
  • The very dense surface allows for minimal moisture absorption, making them 100% frost resistant (they won’t freeze and crack in very cold weather).
  • They are impermeable, which means that de-icing salts can be used without damaging them.
  • They do not require sealing and are naturally resistant to stains and the growth of mold and moss.
  • Porcelain pavers are extremely easy to clean with a hose and standard household cleaners and, if necessary, low pressure washing systems.
  • Unlike concrete and stone, porcelain pavers have no efflorescence (a crystalline deposit of salts often seen on the surface that occurs when water leaves behind salt deposits).

Porcelain Pavers are also slip-resistant. Slip resistance is an important safety feature in outdoor environments, and even more so when it comes to areas prone to slipperiness, such as walkways near irrigation systems and swimming pool patios. Many natural stones won’t be slip-resistant unless a special finish is applied as a separate step after installation.

GIO is proud to offer a beautiful line of the highest quality porcelain pavers that are designed to withstand the most challenging of commercial environments. GIO_Thick 1.0 is a collection of 12mm thick pavers available in an extensive range of looks suit any design scheme. While we introduced this series a few years ago, we have recently added even more on-trend looks to the lineup. Here’s a look!

Natural Stone Looks

Natural stone looks include Limestone, Marble, Slate, and Flagstone in 24″ x 24″ rectified field tile and Sandstone in 18″ x 36″ rectified.

Concrete Looks

Our concrete paver lookalikes are available in four hues, 24″ x24″ rectified.

Quartz Looks

The quartz looks are available in four hues, two in 18″ x 36″ and two in 24″ x 24″. All are rectified.

Wood Looks

And last, but not least, the wood looks are available in a range of seven colors and sizes include 24″ x 24″, a6″ x32″ and 12″ x 48″, all rectified.

 

GIO_Thick 1.0 Special Accessories

Special accessories for our porcelain pavers include coping/stair treads, coping/stair tread corners, grip stair treads, pool grids, pool grid corners. Pedestal supports for raised laying are available in multiple heights (raised laying facilitates ease of care and maintenance for wiring and piping systems).

 

Questions About Porcelain Pavers?

Reach out to us anytime — we’re here for you!

GIO Looks at the Advantages of Exterior Porcelain Pavers

GIO_Thick 1.0
GIO_Thick 1.0, 20mm porcelain pavers (Click the image to see more of this collection.)

While concrete and natural stone pavers have long been go-to options for exterior horizontal surfaces, we’re seeing porcelain tile options become increasingly popular alternatives for outdoor flooring installations. Thanks to modern methods of tile manufacturing, we now have more porcelain tile products that are fully viable for exterior applications. These porcelain surfaces offer technical specifications that meet or exceed the performance of natural stone and concrete while providing a wide range of looks to answer just about any design style desired for outdoor installations.

The latest advancement in porcelain for hardscaping these days is porcelain pavers – slab-like tiles fabricated from the highest grade porcelain and specially designed and engineered for direct installation over grass, sand, gravel and standard substrates. So, what are some of the benefits of this high-tech surfacing material?

Stain and Chemical Resistant

Unlike concrete and stone, porcelain pavers require no sealing to resist stains. They naturally resist stains and are virtually impervious to chemicals, making cleaning and maintenance a breeze. Porcelain pavers  are extremely easy to clean with a hose and standard household cleaners and, if necessary, low pressure washing systems. Porcelain pavers will retain their beauty far longer than stone and concrete.

Slip Resistant

Porcelain pavers are designed so that the top surface is extremely slip resistant, an important safety feature when it comes to areas prone to slipperiness, such as walkways near irrigation systems and swimming pool patios. Many natural stones won’t be slip resistant unless a special finish is applied as a separate step after installation.

GIO_Thick 1.0 porcelain pavers

Durable

There’s no denying the superior durability of modern porcelain pavers. Their colors will withstand the most intense sunlight and abusive weather. The pigments in concrete pavers will fade over time, and even natural stone can show signs of weathering in harsh conditions.

And when it comes to water absorption, porcelain pavers allow minimal water absorption and are 100% frost resistant. This is in contrast to natural stone, which can absorb a significant amount of moisture that can lead to freezing and cracking in cold weather.

Design Potential

Thanks to advances in digital printing technology, porcelain pavers are design chameleons with the ability to beautifully mimic natural materials like wood and stone. The design and color choices available are nearly endless – you are only limited by your imagination when it comes hardscaping with porcelain pavers!

GIO_Thick 1.0 porcelain pavers

 

Ease of Installation

Porcelain pavers are designed for easy installation over a variety of foundations, including grass, sand, gravel, and standard mortar installations. Their precision sizing and uniformity make for easier and faster installation, plus they may be lighter in weight compared to natural stone.

GIO_Thick 1.0 porcelain pavers

 

With porcelain’s advantages as alternatives to concrete and natural stone for exterior installations, It’s no wonder that porcelain pavers are truly what’s in for outside design! Be sure to check out our GIO_Thick 1.0, 20 mm porcelain pavers. 

 

GIO Tile brings you only the finest commercial grade products, hand-picked from global sources based on our focused knowledge of what you need to to transform commercial spaces. Contact us anytime – we’re here to work with you!