Experience with 3cm thick terrace slabs - do they break?

But that contradicts the other experiences mentioned here...

It depends on that

stands and falls with the ground.
Highly compacted

means 80 cm deep, better 1 m deep, first frost protection layer, then compactable gravel, compacted layer by layer with a vibrating plate (every 20 cm), the last layer already with a slope and then another 5 cm of grit laying bed, compacted again.

Most construction guides talk about 40-50 cm depth, then you get frost underneath and some part settles (unfortunately not the rest) and it will wobble. So in the end it might really be simpler to just make a concrete slab and work with pedestal supports. The concrete slab might then only settle as a whole.

To my knowledge, the pedestal supports can also be laid on paving slabs

All neighbors who, against better knowledge, laid 2-3cm slabs on gravel cursed after a few years. That doesn't hold. Either >5cm thick concrete slabs/stones in the gravel or glued (on the base slab or mortar bed).

[Stelzlager] would be another option.

You don't vibrate 3cm slabs.

Does anyone have a tip for a stone that is thick enough (over 6cm)? Visually, it should be in the direction of the attached photo... Normal street pavements are rather plain gray and not visually striking. Thanks for all ideas!

Has anyone had experience with this? I mean such "thin" slabs lying around for a longer time and can confirm or deny it?

I can confirm: for about 8 years 2cm 60 x 60 on gravel. Granite. The wobbling is not the problem, they shift a bit, yes. Joint sand has no space.. ants do their part.. so it's not just lived on the terrace :cool:

We decided against a concrete slab because we didn't know exactly how far the terrace should extend and whether we wanted stone or wood. Now we want stone, have found a plate that we like, and are now facing all the new problems. Thanks for your experiences. I had hoped that joint sand / quartz sand could be the savior. Laying it in a mortar bed is again so complex, expensive, not easy to replace, and carries the risk that it might still freeze and crack.

Please do not work with sand. After 3 years, I had to lift the plates and relay them with a gravel bed. Since then, it's been quiet. If I were to do it again, I would do it in a mortar bed or only on pedestals. don't the edges crack if they lie without spacing?