Bachelor’s thesis (20 ECTS) · DTU Construct · Feb–May 2026 With: Andreas Melvang · Supervisor: Niels Henrik Mortensen · Industry partner: Artlinco A/S
Terrace pedestals let you lay a raised tile terrace without pouring a concrete foundation - no digging, no drainage work, and easy access to whatever runs underneath. The problem is fine-adjustment: levelling dozens of individual feet by hand, one tile at a time, is slow and easy to get wrong. This project set out to redesign the pedestal itself to fix that.
Process #
- Competitor analysis of the terrace pedestals sold in Denmark
- User survey - 74% of private users rank ease of installation above price or looks
- Product testing - installed a small terrace with an off-the-shelf pedestal (Eurotec Pro) to time the process and log failure points
- Concept development - several directions explored before converging on a single interlocking grid concept
- Full-scale validation - a 3D-printed 1.2 × 1 m prototype, built and rebuilt outdoors to test and refine the design
Key findings #
- Fine-adjustment alone accounted for most of the ~53 minutes it took to lay the reference terrace
- The reference product’s plastic spacer tabs broke repeatedly under tile weight
- Adjusting one foot easily threw off its neighbours
The solution #
A pre-assembled grid of feet and beams that click together with simple clips before any tile is placed, so the whole foundation is stabilised as one structure rather than dozens of independent points.
- Beams telescope to fit any tile size
- Clip-on end profiles finish the exposed edge
- A mounting rod clamps a laser receiver directly to the grid, so every foot is measured against the same reference height
Result #
- 27% faster installation than the reference product (38.5 vs. 53 minutes)
- A rubber coating stopped tiles sliding on the feet
Still a concept rather than a market-ready product - external user testing, injection-moulding optimisation, and a wood-terrace variant are the logical next steps.
The final report for the project can be found below.
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