Sika Everbuild helps you understand landscaping
The UK has always had a love affair with its gardens, with many simple lawned gardens transformed into stylish outdoor entertainment spaces which can be used for much of the year, not just during the height of summer. As homeowners and businesses alike are keen to make the most of their gardens and outdoor areas, Andrew Scanlon, application manager from Sika Everbuild addresses how to create welcoming gardens and outside spaces which are built on solid foundations, and the products to choose for the best possible finish.
Paving the way to exceptional outdoor spaces
A popular design choice is one that centres around bringing the inside out and treating gardens as an extension of the home. The idea is to create an extra room outside for homeowners to enjoy throughout the majority of the year, whether that’s a dining area, living room or even kitchen space complete with worktops and storage cupboards.
This design is all about making the garden feel connected to the interior as well as creating an additional socialising space outside. It’s particularly effective where bifold doors are also installed while the addition of outdoor heaters, fire pits and pergolas help to extend use from just the summer season. Gardens are designed to reflect indoor styling and the use of porcelain tiles which complement the indoor flooring is the perfect way to achieve this. Using complementing tiling is an excellent way to create cohesion between the two areas and blur the lines between inside and outside.
When installing porcelain tiles as part of an exterior landscaping project, it’s vital to only use specialist exterior grade jointing compounds. This ensures the tiles will be able to withstand the harsh elements they’ll be exposed to all year round including UV rays, heat, frost and rain as well as standing water. A porcelain tiled patio also requires a strong bonding primer in order to prevent the paving system breaking away from the mortar bed and is typically applied by brush or roller to the underside of the paving during installation. Always check the product is suitable for exterior use – SikaCeram-62 FlowFix bonding primer and jointing compound system is the ideal choice.
Creating a low maintenance space
While these gardens are designed to look and feel like another room in the house, they are still gardens and as such will be exposed to the elements in all seasons and all weathers.
The last thing customers want in their outdoor dining space is moss or weeds growing in between their tiles. Using a jointing compound on a patio will act as a natural barrier to prevent unsightly weed growth in between tiles, for a low-maintenance patio area.
High performance jointing compounds such as SikaCeram-621 FlowFix also provide additional protection from the weather minimising the risk of cracks developing which can affect the integrity of the tiled patio. If cracks have started to appear or grout is no longer effective it leaves these areas open to damage from standing water, ice and frost over the winter months.
Natural stone requires a different treatment. But it’s worth investing time to protect any natural stone used as part of the garden design to makes sure it retains its polished, just installed look for years to come. Owing to the porosity of natural stone materials like Indian Sandstone, it’s recommended to first let the stone weather naturally over at least two seasons before sealing the stone to protect against future staining and algae growth. If customers are keen to retain the natural aesthetic of the stone as it is, then a product like Sika Stone Protector with its invisible finish will provide stain resistance without changing the appearance of the stone. Other patio sealers are formulated to protect natural stone, concrete and block paving from the effects of sunlight, water, oil, petrol, and fungal and moss growth to keep areas looking pristine through the seasons.
When you’re asked not just to landscape a garden but to create an outdoor dining area, kitchen or entertaining space, it might look different to your average garden but still needs to perform in the same way as any exterior project.
Sika Everbuild offers a comprehensive range of exterior landscaping products including jointing compounds and patio sealers and with products formulated to get the best out of stone, block paving, masonry and concrete. The website also includes handy ‘how to’ application videos and a coverage calculator to help work out quantities needed for specific exterior projects.
To find out more about Sika Everbuild’s extensive range of products visit www.everbuild.co.uk
