Help to fix old Victorian quarry tile floor near doorway

Discussion in 'Tilers' Talk' started by Rich05uk, Sep 16, 2020.

  1. Rich05uk

    Rich05uk New Member

    Hi,

    I'm hoping one of you kind folk can help me.

    I live in an old Victorian House (built 1890's) and need help to fix an old quarry tile floor which has received a bad repair at some point by previous owners. I want to remove the broken mishmash of tiles including the triangular tiles and then continue the original tiled floor up to the adjoining hallway marine ply subfloor (prior to fitting hallway floor) using some reclaimed tiles I have acquired which are identical is size (6" SQUARE), colour and thickness etc. The chequered pattern in the dining room does run at a slight angle, crazy I know but its how it was done originally so not sure how this complicates things.


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    QUESTIONS

    1. How do I remove the tiles in question and also remove whatever was used to fix them down (looks like concrete) without disturbing the neighbouring tiles?
    2. Should I simply extend the chequered pattern, the tiles on the right will need to be trimmed slightly more than the ones on the left due to the slight angle the pattern runs. Or should I attempt to cut the square tiles across the diagonal to create a triangular tile and then run this alternating triangle pattern along the doorway threshold or would this look odd as the triangles on the right will again need to be trimmed slightly more than the ones on the left?
    3. Either way the tiles will need cutting, what should I use to cut these reclaimed Victorian tiles which are between 3/4" to 1" thick. I have a cheap DIY electric wet diamond wheel tile cutter but I've never cut a tile of this thickness before or one that's over 100 years old?
    4. What should I use to bed the tiles back down with, I think there is a void of about 3 - 5 inches deep that needs to be filled under the tiles? I assume some kind of mortar but I've never used this before so have no idea what to do?
    5. I assume I will need to grout just as you would any tiled surface, what spacing should I use and what grout should I use to replicate the look and colour of the original floor?
    Hopefully that all makes sense, in short I don't want it to be noticeable that the new tiles fitted stand out from the original floor in any way.

    Thanks for any help and advice. Fingers crossed I get some replies so I can make a start at the weekend.

    Cheers,

    Richard
     

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  2. techie

    techie Screwfix Select

    Any new tile will be a different colour shade next to the existing floor. You may find some reclaimed stuff that would get you closer to the shade you want. Both tiles and grout have had the benefit of a good many years of foot-fall and associated dirt rubbed into them, making DIY colour matching a challenge.
     
  3. Rich05uk

    Rich05uk New Member

    Hi,

    I won't be using a new tile but I've already acquired some reclaimed tiles which perfectly match the same shape, size and colours of the existing floor. They are 6" square quarry tiles in red and black.

    I agree that both the tiles and grout have had the benefit of a good many years of foot-fall and associated dirt rubbed into them, making DIY colour matching a challenge. But as it stands I have no idea what adhesive / cement to use to bed these down and I have no idea what to use as a grout?

    Furthermore I don't know the best way to remove the 4 or 5 tiles which have been poorly fitted at some point by previous owners, together with removing whatever was used to fix them with to allow me to put whatever I need down to bed the replacement tiles with?

    I've posted the same question on another forum and someone has suggested the following:-

    Remove the old tiles with a narrow cold chisel they may just lift.
    Try using your tile cutter but the tiles may be too hard. In this case you will have to acquire a 4 1/2 inch angle grinder fitted with a diamond blade for hard materials.
    Fill the voids with a concrete mix and allow to set, dampen the existing concrete.
    The existing tiles look like they have been bedded direct into the concrete so you may have to use something like gorilla glue which will work with virtually zero bed, weigh down the tiles.
    Follow the existing joins and fill with a neat cement mix.

    I can try some of the above options but I'm not sure about gluing the tiles down, will they hold as its in a high traffic area being a doorway? I still think I need to somehow remove the old material used to bed the tiles down with first (without loosening the adjoining tiles in the row behind) to allow me to then use some kind of cement mix to bed the replacement tiles down with. I also have no idea what a neat cement mix is and how to apply it for the grout if indeed this is a good option?

    Cheers,

    Richard.
     
  4. Jord86

    Jord86 Screwfix Select

    At the time they would have been bedded on lime mortar but for the small area you have sand and cement will be fine. Use a 4 1/2" angle grinder with a diamond blade to cut through the joints carefully, then prise the tiles up carefully with an old blunt wood chisel. If you are used to using a grinder you can carefully grind off the old mortar off the backs of the old tiles. Use the same grinder to cut the new tiles carefully. They never really grouted those tiles, just butted them together or left a mm gap and cleaned the mortar off, the remaining mortar is then the grout.
     
  5. Rich05uk

    Rich05uk New Member

    Thanks I'll give that a go. I can easily use a lime mortar if this is the preferred option, I do recall this being discussed previously as I believe lime mortar allows the floor to breath and thus prevent a potential damp problem which can be created if using modern day cement. I believe there are many benefits to lime mortar with the only disadvantage being the time it takes to set which can be 3 or 4 days vs cement which sets in a mater of hours.

    Thanks,

    Richard.
     

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