Has anyone bought terracotta tiles from here?

[confusedyouwill]

I'm thinking of buying 25sqm of terracotta tiles from marble-mosaics.com They are the cheapest I have found. I know some of you are going to say you get what you pay for, but I'm working to a budget, and need to keep costs down. However, if these tiles are really poor quality I'll go with something else, like slate. I have ordered a sample. but how much you can tell from a 4" square bit, I'm not sure. So, has anyone had any experience of either this company or these tiles? Any help is much appreciated.

 

[Gazzer]

I think you have answered your own question. Any sample you are sent may not be a true representation of your full order. Always see the tiles you buy before paying.

 

[confusedyouwill]

I think you have answered your own question. Any sample you are sent may not be a true representation of your full order. Always see the tiles you buy before paying.

I know, problem is they are miles from here, Near Gatwick.

 

[Perry]

What terracotta are they? Saltillo?

 

[Perry]

No it doesn't mean they are no good actually I find it's the other way round with terracotta quite often it's understanding the product as its not used much nowadays not many people know a lot about it I used to do nothing else In the days they were popular the thing about terracotta every tile behaves differently

 

[confusedyouwill]

No it doesn't mean they are no good actually I find it's the other way round with terracotta quite often it's understanding the product as its not used much nowadays not many people know a lot about it I used to do nothing else In the days they were popular the thing about terracotta every tile behaves differently

Yes, they are Saltillo. Is there any advice you can give me regards fixing, sealing etc?

 

[Perry]

I seal them with a cheap emulsion roller with boiled linsed oil neat before I lay them one to two coats normally any acces oil remove with a dry cloth after about 5 mins but it's experience tells you how much they need if you use a wet cutter on them wipe them with a dry cloth or sponge or the water marks will stay on them I always use sand and cement as grout say 3&1 sand depends what finish you want but put it in like grout use a sponge to wipe the grout off will dry quick then go over it with a soft lint free cloth wipeing a couple of tiles at a time then rinse the cloth in clean water when dry next day or two go over the tiles with 50/50 boiled linseed oil and white sprit with a sponge including joints and wipe of with a cloth dozen tiles at a time Most people then use wax I don't like it atracts the dirt I use a product called patina from langlows but do dispose of any thing covered in oil as it will spontaius combust

 

[confusedyouwill]

Thanks PJC. I once used boiled linseed oil on some old Norfolk pamments, and it made them go really dark, which isn't the look I'm after with these terracotta. I'll try it on an off cut first. The floor I'm intending to tile already has ceramic tiles, which I laid about 12 years ago. Do I really need to remove these first? It will be a pig of a job by hand, and I don't have a drill with a chisel bit.

 

[Perry]

Yes ideally you should remove them and the oil will darken them and I can't remember the product I used to use to keep them natural

 

[Rizzle from the Portizzle]

well i have laid a hell of a lot of terrcotta .when sealing the first coat never use neat linseed oil on first coat if you want to get deep into the tile as this will be to thick to penatrate deep .first coat 75% white spirte second coat 50% white spirte last coat 25% white spirt by this time you will have to keep an eye on the floor any still sitting on the surface after 5 to 10 mins must be cleaned off now the problems with wax are most people put this on far to thick which allows the dirt to stick to it . now get your tin of wax nick the wifes deep fat fryer dont tell her .fill with a little water then put tin of wax in this will melt the wax untill it is like water now use a paint brush 3to4 inch and paint on the tiles as fast as you can not building up thick layers let dry the buff up with floor polisher you wont loose to much coulor and it should look like a sheet of glass and be easy to keep clean

 

[confusedyouwill]

Hi Ray, thanks for that detailed info. If I do decide to darken the tiles(if I end up getting those), I'll do what you said. Shame I got rid of my deep fat fryer, I knew it must be good for something.

 

[Perry]

Confused mixing sprit with the oil just makes it easy apply and on some terracotta you have to thin it down as you want it to soak in if you thin it you will want more coats but the tiles you are using will only Likley to want one coat neat you can tell if there is any oil left on the surface after 10mins but it won't hurt if you do thin it but you will need more coats over the years me and my guys have laid 20000 mts of all sorts of terracotta but IMO I don't like wax when you buff it any dirt sticks to the edges of the tiles and over time looks dirty I used to be involved with the chemist at langlows before palace took them over with the problems they used to get with terracotta and there oil

 

[confusedyouwill]

I received the sample, and it has lots of shiny specks in the surface, so I won't be using these after all.

 

[mhtiler]

hi,i got a quote for 33sqmtrs of marble mosaics,from the same company,because of the large order of mosaics i expected abit of discount but got none at all.i went to b and q and found the same thing alot cheaper to my surprise. i spoke to the manager and explained things,he said an order of mosaics that size might be a problem, i was shocked to hear that from b and q.he then said to give a better price with 20% off at weekend,if i pay this will save me more,so i did ,just waiting for tiles now .anyway just to say why not try b and q yourself you might get a surprise.

 

[confusedyouwill]

Hi thanks for the info. Yeah, the sample was rubbish, looked like it had tiny glitter in it. We're gonna use old reclaimed bricks, I have enough for just over half the room. On the lookout for some more, if not I may use some from a reclamation yard, but that will be dear. Or, as I don't have to buy as many, I may go for a better, rustic looking terracotta. I'll have a look in B&Q, but TBH they always seem overpriced to me.