Removal of Stone Tiles

[emmajb1986]

I have recently taken up my lounge carpet to find old stone flags, I was going to concrete over them so the floor would be level for new carpet but my fitter mentioned they are worth a lot of money? He said there are companies who come and dig them out for you then "pump" in a concrete filler on the floor? Does anybody know anything about this process? Or any companies who do this? I have been researching on the internet but have not managed to find anything as of yet......

 

[Deleted member 9966]

Hi Emma,

Firstly, :welcome: to the best forum about tiles and tiling in the world

My initial reaction would be to contact a tiler restorer and have them come and evaluate what you have down; determine what kind of stone is laid and how old it might be. It may be more hard work to have them taken up one by one, particularly if they have been down for a substantial amount of time.

Do you know how old your house might be? And do you know if the stone was installed when the house was built?

Just something else to consider is, if the stone was one of the original features of the house, and you had it removed, would that have a negative impact on the value of the house?

One of our new members Floor_Restorer may be able to help you more. If you let us know where you are located, one or two of the local members may be able to pop round and have a look.

And finally, you'll probably find you'll get more responses after 5ish today as lots of the pro tilers will be working right now :20:

Enjoy the forum, it's a mine of useful information :hurray:

 

[White Room]

Hello and welcome,
The property must be old to have flags and no damp membrane in the floor, If you replace with concrete there's a good chance you have'nt got a great deal of footings under the walls either. I would be contacting a specialised company for putting a concrete base in your floor or contacting a surveyer. As GirlracerRed says there are companys that buy and lift for you.

 

[lucius]

Some flags are worth a bit but i didnt realise it was cost effective for a company to remove them and concrete the floor for you, thats something ive learnt today.The problem with a flag floor or any other old tiled floor set with no DPM is that it breathes with the walls, ime assuming its an old house, removing it and installing it with a concrete floor with DPM can sometimes cause problems such as forcing damp up the walls which have no DPC but i suppose these companies are aware of this.Are they not worth cleaning and keeping many people would be envious of a floor like this.
Lucius.

 

[CBTC]

Yes just to follow up Lucius' point, if actual flagstones in a building of age these will likely be laid to earth - on the soil - and removing them is not just a style choice. The required work to give you a new 'base' will involve digging out to a certain depth - as said above this then leads to other issues. Remember the house 'works' because the materials all work together. Change part of the equation and there could be unforeseen problems. Look into restoring whats there. Usually a pleasant surprise awaits once restored and as said by chief cheerleader GRR could affect the value badly if removed, and add to it if restored.

 

[enduro]

My local reclamation yard sells york flagstones for £100 sqm, so that would give you some idea if its worth removing, and relaying a new floor.