Concrete pool deck tile?

I have a pretty large concrete pool deck that extends into the yard etc. I have been looking for a while for stains and thin coat with stamping and even tile/overlay pavers. I am in the Chicago area so the pool is closed and it gets cold in the winter!

The staining concerns me because of how many trucks of concrete I have back there. I also had to have one section replaced so I know that's not going to match. Painting it with a coating adds maintenance right away.

I looked at someone doing a thin coat of concrete and stamping but the quote was a lot more than I expected.

Then comes tile. Can I use ceramic back there? What kinds of stone can I use with an environment that freezes like this? Where can I find prices? I see stone tiles at Home Depot and Lowes will they work?

I have done tile work in my house before and would feel a lot more comfortable tackling something like tile than trying to stain the concrete. Any other options I am missing?

Ted

Ted, I was waiting to see if an expert chimed in here cause I'm not! However, I had some thoughts. Being from St. Charles, I at least know your weather. We put thin (maybe 1/2"?) bricks over our concrete stoop which matched our full-brick walkway. No problems after 8 years. As for ceramic, I would think they would be slippery when wet. We installed a bathroom in our garage to make it more convenient for people to pee there rather than in our pool or going into an air-conditioned house. We used rough travertine 2"x2" tiles (came in those meshed sheets maybe 18"x18") from Home Depot on the floor because of the slip factor. Works great. I don't know how that would work outside though. A tile shop could tell you even if you don't buy from them.

Where did you get the thin brick/pavers from? I was assuming that if I got ceramic it would not be the slippery kind. Either way it would be really cool if I could find a place to at least look at them and see what the cost would be

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond. I have been going through my files and I can't find the name of the brick manufacturer. We actually got a bunch of bids from paving guys. They had the brochures and stuff. When we did our garage bathroom we tiled it ourselves and couldn't find a ceramic that wouldn't get slippery over time. I know there have been advances in ceramics and porcelains but I don't know anything else. Good luck and post about what you end up choosing!