Diekholzen is located south of Hildesheim, idyllically surrounded by forests and fields. That is reason enough to enjoy the evenings and weekends in the garden at home. A homeowner shared this opinion, and decided to completely renovate the 21 square metre terrace. It was built in 1991 and was clearly getting long in the tooth. The aggregate concrete panels that were often used at the time had been laid here. During the course of time the subsoil had settled differently, producing and an uneven surface. "The old covering had lost its attractiveness, and was no longer to our liking," says the client.

Now the plan was to install modern, large-sized ceramic tiles measuring 60 x 60 cm, even though the substrate was uneven. Ideally, the aggregate concrete slabs should preferably also remain in place. The required installation height was not a problem, which was why the client decided to have the new coverings laid over the old exposed aggregate concrete. But that wasn't the only challenge on this project. Because a light shaft leads from the terrace area to a cellar room below, which still requires light and air. However, the shaft was not to be dug out and raised during the terrace renovation.

Adjustable height - without tools

The tiler therefore recommended the use of TerraMaxx TSL dry raised floor supports from Gutjahr. The height of the pedestal is continuously adjustable without tools, and can also be levelled up to about 5 degrees. This corresponds to a fall of approximately 9 percent. This also makes it easier to align the covering if there are small undulations in the substrate. TerraMaxx TSL has very narrow spacers of just 2 mm, which makes the dry raised floor support system particularly suitable for the ceramic elements which are very popular at the moment – and which the client in Diekholzen had decided to use.

Rapid progress was made with the terrace renovation. "The product is of very good quality and is quick and easy to install. The heights were easy to adjust and the unevenness on the old aggregate concrete slabs was able to be compensated for without any problems", explains the tiler. The installers attached the edge profiles to the cleaned aggregate concrete slabs with special DiProtec FIX-MSP sealing adhesive, and were able to align the 20 mm thick ceramic covering perfectly using the continuously adjustable ProFin KL 92/150 drain gravel strip.

Less time, less work and less money

With the dry raised floor support system, the problem of the light shaft that was to be integrated was also solved. The installer and the client decided to go over the load-bearing cover grating with TerraMaxx TSL. rather than a ceramic tile, a cover grate made to measure by Gutjahr was installed over the existing grate. This made it unnecessary to raise the light shaft. “This saved us a great deal of time, work and money during the renovation,” says the tiler.

The result is impressive: the terrace has undergone a complete renovation with a new, modern ceramic covering. And the client is also satisfied, because he received a functionally reliable terrace within a very short time. A welcome side effect: rattling noises are effectively avoided by the insulating surfaces integrated in the TerraMaxx TSL dry raised floor supports. This provides a footfall sound improvement of up to 30 dB. “We particularly notice this when our grandchildren are playing on the terrace,” laughs the proud terrace owner.

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