Alfresco tiles.

Alfresco is not full outdoor. Alfresco areas are undercover or partially sheltered — they sit between the indoor floor and the open garden. R11 is the standard slip rating for these zones. Full outdoor exposed areas and pool surrounds may require R12 or pendulum-tested P3 to P5.

Why 20mm pavers. 20mm-thick porcelain pavers can be laid sand-set on a compacted base without a concrete slab. They handle the point loading of furniture legs, BBQs and dropped plates far better than 10mm interior tiles, and they give you more installation flexibility.

Thermal expansion. Australian alfresco zones swing from near zero in winter to fifty-degree surface temperature in summer. Porcelain is dimensionally stable across that entire range, where natural stone and concrete pavers can move and crack.

Indoor-outdoor flow. The cleanest result comes from specifying the indoor 10mm tile and the matching 20mm outdoor paver at the same time, from the same batch. The eye reads the floor as continuous from kitchen to alfresco — a result impossible to retrofit later.

Grout matters outdoors. Standard cement grout cracks under thermal movement in an alfresco zone. Specify a polymer-modified flexible grout for any joint exposed to weather or temperature cycling. This is the single most common alfresco tiling failure.

Freight reality. 20mm porcelain pavers are heavy — over 40kg per square metre. Freight is pallet-only, kerbside. Plan delivery day before you order and have two people or trolley access available. Get a freight quote →