The excellent resistance and beautiful appearance of Coem’s outdoor collections

Easy installation and maximum colour rendering for porcelain stoneware exteriors

Outdoor floors are increasingly trendy and technologically advanced for withstanding adverse weather conditions. Porcelain stoneware is an excellent solution for making outdoor floors, also without needing to use cement mortars. Coem offers various collections, also in large format, resistant to wear, temperature changes, loads and stress, and suitable for making walkways, pool edges and garden paths.

Excellent and long-lasting aesthetic result

The main advantage of porcelain stoneware is its resistance to severe weather conditions (particularly frost and thaw, the reason why it is so well suited for the flooring of balconies, terraces and around swimming pools). In addition, it’s an extremely versatile material: it can be produced in different textures to create natural effects, like wood or stone, obtaining a very authentic result and without losing any of its resilience.

Outdoor installation? No problem!

There are various installation methods for porcelain stoneware outdoor flooring: laying on grass, gravel or sand (recommended for a garden paving with 2cm thickness); floating or raised flooring (the recommended solution for areas with numerous cables or for sunroofs); gluing on lightweight concrete screed (recommended for ground floor balconies and porticoes). The last method, which is the most widespread, is very similar to the installation of interiors, but requires particular attention regarding the grout joints – which must be coated with a moisture-resistant stucco – and the waterproofing of the substrate.

GresX2 by Coem: easy and quick installation on grass

Creating an external environment with Coem’s 2cm collections is easy and quick: the installation on grass can be immediately trampled, it allows for the drainage of water, it’s resistant to frost and severe weather conditions and temperature changes (between -20° and +40°). Demolition costs are avoided in the event it is necessary to inspect the underlying soil or replace a damaged tile and eliminates periodic treatments with impregnating agents or sealants. Finally, it’s possible to renew the appearance of the flooring by simply replacing the tiles, without forgetting that the structure adapts to any settlement movements of the foundation.

Our tips for a perfect installation

In order for the work to be carried out in a workmanlike manner, it’s important to properly prepare the laying surface. It’s then essential to level and compact the surface and remove any elements on the surface (stones or roots). In the case of turf, it’s possible to prepare a specific foundation. It’s necessary to dig deep (around 5 centimetres) and fill with gravel (grain size 4-8 mm) or sand to be compacted before the dry laying. In the case of laying on gravel, instead, it’s absolutely vital to dig the terrain to a depth of at least 10 cm in dry climates and with a well-drained terrain, or greater in cold or rainy climates. Then compact the bottom of the excavation and always make sure it is slightly sloping. It’s also advisable to install a layer of non-woven fabric and then position and compact a layer of rubble or gravel (grain size 4-8 mm). Then install the stoneware elements, leaving grout joints of at least 2 millimetres. When laying, spacers usually used for laying tiles can be used. After checking the flatness of the floor with the straight edge and possibly using a rubber hammer to correct small differences in level, fill the joints with very fine (grain size 0-3 mm) or with fine sand with added polymers. An important tip when preparing the floor is creating a slope in the opposite direction to the wall of the house, equal to 2%, to allow for the drainage of rainwater and to avoid stagnation. To work more easily, it’s a good idea to create the edges of the area to be paved, possibly using bricks or straight stones. In the event of a raised installation (on a terrace or usable sunroofs), it’s possible to create a flat raised floor, but which permits the evacuation of rainwater.

Are you ready to choose from the numerous shades and finishes?

GresX2 is the new generation of outdoor tiles developed by Coem with 2 cm thickness, ideal for giving character to outdoor spaces with dry installation solutions on grass, gravel or sand or a traditional installation with glue to obtain drive-over surfaces. There are many and varied finishes to choose from, such as the Sicilian-inspired Modica collection in stone-effect porcelain stoneware, the texture of which has a very delicate pattern, particularly suited to sophisticated and minimal settings. Another interesting alternative is the Cardoso collection, with fine light striped veins, which also offer the possibility of having an extra-large format slab (120×240 – 120×120 cm); alternatively, you can opt for Lagos, stone-effect with tones matching the original, natural and earthy materials. Whether for a garden or a terrace, with the Coem outdoor collections, making your outdoor space unique will be absolutely no problem.