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Any floor tilers on?


paul1966
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We have extended our kitchen and want to extend the original quarry tile floor, we can get some old 1 inch thick 6 X 6 tiles but what would be the best way of fixing them?, the original ones are laid on a bed of sand & cement so would it be best to use the same method, its not a big area, roughly 2.5M X 3M, about 320 tiles. I am going to put the concrete slab down but will get a tiler in to lay the tiles. Also what sort of cost might labour be, i am thinking about £200, we are in east midlands.

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You're in cloud cuckoo land if you think you're going to get that done for £200 because nothing's as simple as you'd like it to be :)

From my point of view as a professional in the floor care industry, I have a few thoughts (working on the presumption from your description of 1" thick 6"x6" clay quarries which are unglazed):

Old reclaim quarries are nowhere near as easy to work with, and therefore slower to work with, compared to modern ceramic tiles.  Their porosity will be the governing factor in several decisions

I don't know if a floor layer would want to stick to the traditional methods or go modern with rapid-set adhesive.  Maybe a middle ground with modern adhesive but not rapid set.  Sort this out before you cast the concrete sub-floor, because your concrete's finished level will be dictated by the method of laying.

You'll have to level the floor with latex (self-levelling compound) and give it a few good coats of PVA if modern adhesive is going to be used. 

Presuming you're looking at reclaims, are they already cleaned?  If not you'll need to clean them up.  Do you fancy dipping/scrubbing/rinsing 400-odd tiles? (your estimate didn't allow for cuts, faulty ones and a handful kept as spares).

You'll possibly need some specialist cleaning products, depending on what's been put on the tiles over the decades of their life before they ended up in a reclaim yard.  Definitely use a sealant stripper, even if there's no sealant to strip they're still a bloody good alkaline cleaner.  A second clean with something containing phosphoric acid will brighten them up no end.  If they are filthy it might be better to get them laid, allow the adhesive to go off for a couple of days and clean them as a complete floor pre-grouting.  That will allow you to seal them in an ideal condition, to minimise the grout haze soaking in to the surface.  You will need at a minimum a wet & dry vac, or preferably a carpet cleaning machine with a hard floor wand which is an absolutely excellent tool for this type of work.  Apply cleaning solution, scrub it really well allowing plenty of contact time, then rinse with loads of plain water (cold is fine, you don't need hot).

Old clay quarries are very porous and therefore VERY VERY absorbent.  Imagine pouring water onto a sponge, you can watch quarries literally suck it up.  When you do an initial salvage-clean on this sort of tile you have to pump them full of plain water first, let them suck it up, then apply your cleaning solution otherwise it will all get sucked in to the tile and you'll get no cleaning "action" on the surface.  Bear in mind if you do go down that path the tiles need to be BONE DRY before attempting to seal with a solvent-based sealer.  You can get away with a little residual dampness if using water-based sealers but I'd still dry overnight with a heater in the room and a fan circulating air, window cracked open.

You absolutely have to seal porous quarry tiles.  I'd go with impregnating sealers, which you'll probably have to apply in 3 or 4 coats to get the best effect.  You can have a natural look, or my preference would be an enhancing sealer which will make it look a bit deeper colour, a bit richer compared to the washed-out look in its natural state.

Simple, huh? :D

 

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