Newly paving the terrace? How to do the edge?

Hello,

my mother has a terrace at her condominium. It is now supposed to get a new surface. Now I am unclear how to approach this, because the terrace was originally planned as a balcony and therefore consists of a concrete slab on which exposed aggregate concrete slabs lie. The edge is not embedded in concrete as it should be, but rather has a screwed-on metal strip behind which the railing is supposed to be. I am attaching a picture of this.

She would now like to have natural stone slabs laid. That in itself is not a problem - but how to do the edge? This flexible metal strip probably has to go, I think, right? Because no grout will hold there - one step and the cracks are there.

So metal strip off, dig out, lay natural stone slabs vertically in gravel/cement bed as edging stones? Or how else?



Regards
Roger

Hello Shadowblues,
generally, edges are laid with concrete-installed curbstones, roller layers made of klinkers, or so-called paving strips (which are at least 2 rows of offset paving stones, e.g. granite or fieldstones). What all these techniques have in common is that the edges always receive a concrete support, i.e. from the outside a sloped concrete layer that stabilizes the edge against the paved/plate surface. The edge is always set first. The existing steel strip is not an edge and is unsuitable for a proper, load-bearing surface. Steel strips as rolled-up sheets about 20 cm wide are mostly used only in so-called "water-bound surfaces" (commonly known as "gravel paths") or as lawn boundaries. These steel strips are something completely different from what you find there.

First, be clear about which surface you want to lay. With natural stones, there are very detailed rules to follow, e.g. you lay granite differently than travertine, etc. Only then can you decide according to the manufacturer's instructions whether to lay it in a mortar or grit bed. Of course, you could also install vertical slabs as edge fixings, but usually there are other solutions (e.g. special granite curbs for granite, concrete palisades on slopes, etc.). A paving channel in a concrete bed with a back support across the entire width can also be formed as an edge if water is to be collected and drained.

Regards
Allrounder

Hello,

so it is as already thought, thanks for the confirmation. Sure, natural stone slabs can be a lot. My mother is thinking of polygonal slabs made of a gray material. What exactly we take is still unclear. As curbstones, I think I'll either use right-angled slabs made of the same material and set them vertically or these normal granite curbstone slabs. I laid those at my terrace and don't think they're that bad.

Regards
Roger