Installation of Victorian tiles

• 1. Preparation
• 2. Levelling
• 3. Tiling
• 4. Sealing and grouting
• 5. Materials
• 6. Cutting the tiles
• 7. Aftercare

This guide assumes you already have your tiles and either you know what design you are going to make and have informed us what and how many tiles you require, or you have had a design from us and we have specified the correct size, shape and quantity of tiles. It is a rough guide that gives a general overview of how to prepare a floor and lay these tiles, for specifics or if you are unsure, we recommend getting a professional tiler or at least asking us any questions first.

Please read the labels/packaging or get in touch with us for specifics on the materials you are using, even if they have been supplied by us. This page is a rough guide, not a list of specific instructions as there are too many variables depending on the temperature, what materials you are using and the specifics of your floor.

Ensuring a strong and smooth surface

As these tiles are small, they can accommodate less movement than larger tiles. Of course any tile should be laid onto a surface as smooth and sturdy as possible, but it is critical with period floor tiles to avoid cracking, movement and irreparable damage to the overall floor. The first step before any tiling should be making sure the surface beneath is sturdy, flat and smooth.

Preparing a timber/wooden floor

1. Firstly, make sure any loose floorboards are secured with brass screws. Any severely damaged or missing floorboards should be replaced.

2. Once the floorboards are secure, spread them with tile adhesive, lay the cement-fibre boards (CFB) at 90 degrees to the direction of the floorboards (brick-bonded/staggered). Then put around 30 4x25mm screws into each sheet of CFB. These are kept in stock. Use a trowel to force more tile adhesive into the gaps of the CFB and use alkali-resistant joint tape over the top. Spread some adhesive over the tape and it is then ready to level.

Preparing a solid, flat concrete floor

As long as it’s solid and is one piece of concrete – that is to say, not separately-laid distinct areas of concrete, with no cracks and no movement then the procedure is to prime it to provide a bond for the levelling compound. Check the instructions on the primer - sometimes it must be diluted, sometimes it is used neat, depending on the formula. Pour the primer onto the concrete and spread thinly with a roller or paintbrush, let it dry and then use flexible self-levelling compound to reach the desired height and leave the floor smooth and flat, ready to tile.

Preparing an uneven or multi-part concrete floor

If you have multiple sections of concrete then the join of the two concrete sections needs overlaying with CFB, anti-fracture mat or decoupling mat. In extreme cases, digging up and laying a fresh concrete base may be the best way to ensure a strong floor. We would normally say the concrete base needs to be around 100-120mm thick (5-6"). Concrete should be left to cure for 1 week per inch of thickness, plus 1 week prior to tiling.

Laying period tiles outside

Victorian and Edwardian floor tiles are perfect for outside as long as they are laid correctly. They need to be laid at a slight fall so water doesn’t pool on the tiles and laid using waterproof grout and adhesive. As with any tiling, there needs to be no voids under the tiles. See some examples of paths, steps and exterior porches we have supplied here:

Preparing a fireplace hearth

The same rules apply for a fireplace hearth if the surface you are tiling onto is one of the above, but if your hearth base is being extended or you are building a new fireplace hearth from scratch, the best way is to build a wooden frame to the exact dimensions you need, pour in self-levelling compound and let it dry, then break away the wooden frame to give you a flat, smooth and strong hearth-shapes piece of concrete to tile over.

Other surfaces

Please get in touch if you need information on laying onto other surfaces such as asphalt/bitumen or over existing tiles.

Levelling

We keep a few different types of levelling compound in stock for various applications. For most period floors we supply a gel-infused, flexible, cement-based self-levelling compound that can be poured up to 100mm thick in one pour, with varying viscosities depending on the requirements (use 4.5 to 5.2 litres of cold water per 20kg bag / 225 to 260ml per kilogram). A 20kg bag will cover an area roughly 2.25 square metres in size to a depth of 5mm.

The leveller we sell for interior use is ready to tile on in approximately 90 minutes (depending on temperature and humidity). For exterior leveller, leave at least 3 hours before tiling. Once the floor has been prepped, prime the leveller again for optimum adhesion.

Beginning to tile

The tilers we recommend, who have years of experience laying these floors for our customers, always loose-lay sections of the pattern and border first. This is to allow them to make sure the pattern and border is going to be tiled in the correct place and for the tiler to familiarise themself with the correct grout joints to use. How we work out the quantities of tiles to suply is either by drawing the customer's desired design to scale where we create a 1:1 recreation of the customer's area and accurately plan out the design, where the border and fill will fall and where cuts will be, or, the customer specifies how many tiles they will need. In either case, the tiler is reliant on the customer's measurements and nothing changing between them quoting for the job and going along to tile it. To avoid a disaster further down the line, it is important whomever is tiling it, familiarises themselves with where everything will sit and where cuts need to be made before sticking any tiles down.

Manipulating grout joint widths

A critical aspect of tiling these floors that is different from "conventional" tiling is the need to adjust the width of the grout joints throughout the tiling to enable the pattern and border to fit correctly. As any given design can be very complicated, with dozens if not hundreds of tiles along a length of your floor, to make sure the pattern and border fit nicely and symmetrically then you will nearly always have to adjust the grout joints.

Moving the tiles closer together a little, or spreading them out can make the difference in achieving this or resulting in unsymmetrical, unsatisfactory floor. This is why loose-laying is so important. If the joint widths are not determined and executed correctly you will find (particularly over very long or very short lengths) that the pattern and border do not fit together or the border will not join up when turning through 90 degrees.

If you have a run of border that has 100 triangles in it, and each triangle is spaced 1mm further apart, the final result will be the border being 10cm longer by the time it reaches the other end of the run. You can see that by slight changes in the grout joint widths you can achieve dramatic results in the layout.

Tiling the border

Once the pattern is complete, start the the border with the same principle, loose-laying the tiles so you know how to manipulate the grout joint widths to fit everything in perfectly.

Tiling the outer fill

The outer fill is supplied as 6x6" tiles which is cut to fit the gap between the border and the skirting board or the edge of a path, if outside. By having the oportunity to make the outer fill a varying width allows the pattern and border to be tiled correctly and also it allows you to control the point at which the pattern meets the border.

Sealing and grouting

These tiles need sealing with an impregnating sealer before and after grouting to prevent staining and the build up of dirt, wax, oil and any other chemicals that can change the appearance and finish of the tiles. The sealer will last many years, provided the floor is cleaned with clean water or a product compatible with the sealer such as LTP Waxwash. It is an easy job to remove ingrained dirt and sealer to "start again" if you feel, after years of use, that the floor could do with a refresh.

The tiles should be sealed prior to grouting but after the floor is clean and dry. Once grouted, cleaned and again dry, seal them a second time.

When grouting, gradually mix approximately 800ml (per 3kg bag) of water with the powder until it's quite thick, then wait a few minutes and mix the grout again until it has the consistency of a paste and isn't runny. Use a grout float to force the grout into the joints, avoiding air holes and gaps. Keep your area clean and use your finger if necessary to get grout into awkward joints.

Materials

It is important that you pay close attention to the packaging of the materials you have, whether we supply them or you get them yourself. There are some important points to take notice of including how to mix the powder, the working range of temperatures and humidity, their suitability outside, use-by dates etc. It is not our responsibility to make sure you have the correct materials if you have not informed us of the specific scenario for which you need them. For example, unless you specify or it is clear that your porch is exposed/outside, we will supply levelling compound suitable for indoor use. If your porch IS outside, you will need leveller that is suitable for outdoor use.

We keep over 15 grout colours in stock at all times, as well as various levelling compounds, adhesives and many more. These are the materials we recommend to the general public and the experienced, quality tilers we work with alike so they are suitable for period floor tiles.

For more information on our materials, see the page here

Cutting the tiles

These cut well, despite their thickness. We recommend a high quality, manual, score and snap-style cutter like a Rubi TS or TR cutter. A diamond cutting disc or blade is also suitable for irregular cuts or nipping small amounts off, such as in the fill.

With a manual cutter, score the tile once with the blade from edge to edge and apply slow, gradual pressure with the breaker bar.

Aftercare

Once sealed, these floors just need general maintenance with the use of a mop and hot water - no chemicals or strong cleaners. If your floor is old or in a heavy-traffic area and does need a deep clean, we sell many various tile-safe cleaners. For more information, see our restoration and aftercare page here.