Restore cemented over Edwardian floor tiles

[jjcundy]

I'm renovating my post Edwardian house. After ripping up laminate flooring in our hallway we discovered what look like slate red and black floor tiles. However... they have been cemented over - a very thin layer, perhaps about 3 mm thick. Is there a way of recovering the floor tiles or should we just forget it and carpet/lay wood floor over the top? Any suggestions welcome!

 

[bigandy]

Try scraping it off with a razor edged scraper then cleaning it up with lots of elbow grease and some chemicals which you can get from tile shops.
Depending on what the material is possibly self leveling compound?

 

[frankenfurter]

Where abouts are you located, we come across regularly. But I have to admit it aint easy without the proper gear.

 

[GazTech]

Welcome to the forums....please try to restore it, it may be hard work but it belongs on show.....pictures before, during and after restoration would be great. We love piccies..:28:.Gaz

 

[TilingLogistics]

I'm renovating my post Edwardian house. After ripping up laminate flooring in our hallway we discovered what look like slate red and black floor tiles. However... they have been cemented over - a very thin layer, perhaps about 3 mm thick. Is there a way of recovering the floor tiles or should we just forget it and carpet/lay wood floor over the top? Any suggestions welcome!

This can be done. I have just finished a similar job in Banbury. The tiles are almost certainly encaustic tiles and are extremely hard. The covering you describe will either be self levelling compound or cement. It is not an easy job unless you have the right materials and tools but it is possible and it is usually worth doing. If you e mail me your e mail address I will e mail you before and after photos to show you what can be achieved. If you can e mail me some photos of your hall together with M2 I will try and give you step by step instructions on how to do it but if there is a large area to do it can be painstaking and tedious. I have tried on a few occasions to upload photos but it always says they are too big. Otherwise i would upload them on this post.

Kev

 

[Alberta Stone]

You can reformat the pic size to go down from say 10 Mb to 900 kb using a paint program.
My son just showed me last week and I put the pic here so it does work.
I am sure you can do that on other photo programs as well.

 

[TilingLogistics]

You can reformat the pic size to go down from say 10 Mb to 900 kb using a paint program.
My son just showed me last week and I put the pic here so it does work.
I am sure you can do that on other photo programs as well.

Alberta,

You ain't seen me witha computer mate I am useless. I have a library/portfolio of around a 1000+ Pics/ I cant even get them in order.:mad2:

Kev

 

[jjcundy]

Thanks for advice everyone. In the end I used my wall paper stripper, the hot steam seemed to loosen the bond somewhat and allowed me to scrape the unwanted substance off. Slow progress but I'm getting there... pic attached.

I guess my next question is cleaning up the tiles - can I do a decent job myself (and if so how?) or should I get an expert in??

 

[TilingLogistics]

Hi

Great job so far!!! Looks like you have done about 3M2 there. How long did it take you? How many metres are there in total? Any chance of a close up of the tiles you have already done? Where are you located in the Country?

Kev

 

[GazTech]

WOW jj, already you have shown us how fantastic this will look when fully restored. You hit the jackpot with this floor. I can hear the Edwardian skirtings and timber panelling saying "hello again old friends, long time no see".....more pictures during the process as the drama unfolds please.....Gaz