hey there i have to do a job on a front porch, the tiles are cracking due to stress from freze/thaw as the previous installer did not leave expansion room around the perimiter and even the stone on the house and retaining wall are actually flaking due to the pressure of being locked in as he grouted what should of been a perimiter expansion joint, now tiles are coming loose and the grout is mostly all cracked and coming out. tiles are easily removed and there is no thinset on the back of the tiles plus there is about 1cm of really sandy gritty yellowish/beige looking mortar of some sort (almost looks like playsand). there is visible holes around the grout around the perimeter where it meets the brick and im almost certain there is an unnaceptable slope as it is visible to the naked eye in some places.

I have to jackhammer or chisel off the existing tiles and then do something about the sludgey cement remaining, once its all off im sure il have to let it dry for some time (any suggestions) before i can install a new system.

As for the system, what should i do, im looking for suggestions here it would be a big help.

system 1 - fix the slope as you see in the "exterior quartzite
job" located on the front page of this website. Then basicly follow the same routine as shown in the pictures mentioned above. use the ditra with the kerdi mat and exterior caulk at the edges/perimiters. seal grout afterwards (i will be using porcelain i assume)

System 2

use what mapei recomends for exterior

i think 2 summers ago they had me using kerabond mixed with keralastic additive., that stuff is a pain to use
the installations are still going strong though and i havent had any problems with them.

What do you guys like to use outdoors , im in canada <ontario) so we have -30 in the winter to +30 in the summer as well as cool mornings and extremely hot middays so temps can fluxuate alot.,

1 more thing i also want to use my JAMB SAW and use a tile blade on it and "undercut" all the brick and stone around the perimiter where the tile will meet brick. this will hopefully imporove the look as brick and eneven stone walls are hard to cut around and it still has to be caulked after so i think hiding it under a quarter inch or so would be nice.please respond i would really apreciate the advice.
thanks steve.

ps its about 250 sq feet how much would you guys charge for demo prep and install labour.
thanks. steve

Im also doing tiling a porch for somebody soon, so im looking out for ideas. I didnt know you were supposed to caulk around the exterior, but that does make sense especially in Southern Ontario (where im also from). I've usually used Tech Superflex at work, recommended for outdoor jobs and its alot easier to use than mixing up keralastic