Concrete base or not?? - Outdoor porcelain tiles

[Ifu01307]

Hi,

Any advice would be greatly appreciated; we (well my wife) bought outdoor porcelain tiles (she was supposed to order slabs) 1200 x 60 and 20mm thick and I put down a hard core base fully expecting a tiler to be able to lay tiles on this with a wet mortar base.

However several builders and a tiler said i would need a concrete base to lay tiles. Another builder, a local handyman and my dad who worked in construction all his days, specifically dealing with concrete for many years, said this is rubbish and the tiles would only need a concrete base if they were bearing a heavy load (vehicles being driven over them) which they won’t. They said while a concrete base would make life easier for tiler, it isn’t needed.

I am thoroughly confused and don’t know what to do, I want job done properly and certainly don’t won’t to skimp on anything but I don’t really want to pay a fortune for something that doesn’t need to be done.

Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks

[dig dug dan]

I laid quite a few of these last year, and laid them on mortar, on top of compacted sub base, using a bond bridge on each one first. There has been no issues. I think some people like to lay them on a concrete base so they can use tile adhesive as it's easier for them.
Ask a landscaper rather than a builder