original style tiles

[dodger]

Hi folks,
I wonder if anyone can help? Hoping to do 6m of hallway floor(original style).I've never done one before & customer wants to know how long it will take as i have given him a day rate.I'm thinking it's gonna take me forever as i believe all tiles are all individual pieces.Im in need of some guidance really on how long it might take & any general advice that may be useful.Thanks guys.

[oldgit]

if you have never done one and are new to tiling this probably aint the job to be starting off with.
ive been tiling for 32 years and have never done one

[kngjason]

hi dodger just so where on the same wave length - original style? bit more detail plz

[jay]

hi if your talking about the old renditions (triangles squares rectangles octagon)all small under 100mm they are very hard to do and take a long time and patients not rec for someone srarting out

[dodger]

Thanks for the quick response guys,I've been tiling for a few years now,done plenty of floors but no victorian style flooring(original style/olde english etc)

[jay]

hi depends on patern cant gues time frame just take your time most important setting out dont cut corners here and you need a flat floor very little tol there to good luck

[oldgit]

i would at a guess say 1 day per mt,so labour 6x whatever your top day rate is plus mats,never go low on this type of work as it will be a headache from start to finish especially if its the first one and with regard to a high day rate this is specialist work dont let the punter forget that.
mind that said that maybe why ive never done one

[kngjason]

Just think like laying indivdual mosaic. Awsome job if you can get them, very satisfying when complete. If the pattern allows it lay the big tiles first then the smaller ones use a 2mm gap between. There may be a size variation which will have to be allowed for with
extra spacing. This variation is an inevitable. Lay the border tiles. start at the corners and working towards the centre. In terms of price. Daily rate plus materials. Be great to get your portfoilio thou

[dodger]

Thanks guys,as far as i know it's the original style Chatsworth design & looks really complicated .I think 1m per day probably seems fair to me.

[theyomper]

Personally I think that 1 meter a day is slow, you will be surprised how your speed picks up once you start laying them. However it is all to do with the preparation.
Ensure that you have a really level floor and spend the time on the prep. Spend time planning the layout, if needed loose lay the pattern to get the feel of it. Think about any awkward angles and cuts, you can have a little artistic license in this situation.
I recently did one that was following an old pattern that was not in the brochure, it involved an area of about 6 square meters wit some 1500 individual tiles. It took me 2 1/2 days to prep, lay and finish.
If you have been tiling for a few years then you should be competent to lay these, all the principles remain the same. Once you have one under your belt you will breeze anjy others. I have had 2 in the last 18 months and I have enjoyed doing them.

[dodger]

Thanks,yomper,feel more confident on advising the customer on whats involved & how long it should take,cheers.

[timeless john]

Dodger.
Its not so much how long will it take to lay the field tiles in the original style designs its the borders that take the time.
On a 6metre floor ie 1.5 x 4 metres it should be possible to lay the centre field tiles in 1 day with setting out. On days 2/3 you can lay the 11 linear metres approx of borders. On day 4 a half day to grout and clean.
What you must take note with the Chatsworth design is its repeat pattern of 800mm which is large for a hallway if the client is having a border!
Always find the middle of your floor area, set it out with dry tiles allowing for joint and make sure its the same pattern cut all around to the border.The plain tile cut to the skirting is your area of variation. Allow for time to return to te job to seal/satin polish the tiles for ease of maintainence.
We've got 3 victorian hallways in the next month - not all Original Style -and have been happily fixing them for over 25 years. John.

[tommyzooom]

Dodger.
Its not so much how long will it take to lay the field tiles in the original style designs its the borders that take the time.
On a 6metre floor ie 1.5 x 4 metres it should be possible to lay the centre field tiles in 1 day with setting out. On days 2/3 you can lay the 11 linear metres approx of borders. On day 4 a half day to grout and clean.
What you must take note with the Chatsworth design is its repeat pattern of 800mm which is large for a hallway if the client is having a border!
Always find the middle of your floor area, set it out with dry tiles allowing for joint and make sure its the same pattern cut all around to the border.The plain tile cut to the skirting is your area of variation. Allow for time to return to te job to seal/satin polish the tiles for ease of maintainence.
We've got 3 victorian hallways in the next month - not all Original Style -and have been happily fixing them for over 25 years. John.

Was going to reply but Timeless john just about summed it up perfectly.
This floor is about 6m and took me about 3 1/2 days.
Chatsworth design imo is too large for that size of an area. good luck thoughCopy of Tiles 067.jpg

[deanotile]

Was going to reply but Timeless john just about summed it up perfectly.
This floor is about 6m and took me about 3 1/2 days.
Chatsworth design imo is too large for that size of an area. good luck thoughCopy of Tiles 067.jpg

nice floor m8

[deanotile]

This floor is about 4.5m2 and it took me and a lad three days and I have been a tiler for 25 years and have don this sort of work before. Hope this gives you some idea of the time you will need to complete the job.

[albertjames]

looks a bit rough to me

[Dave Ramsden]

TilersForums.co.uk | Tile Forums | Tiling Forum - Dave Ramsden's Album: Original Style

Example of Original-Style flooring...

The black and white checked floor took about 7 hours start to finish and is about 1.5m

The other floor was a pub neasr Blackpool. Its about 10m and tooke 2 days to complete. I wish Id used a 6mm trowel instead of an 8 as I ended up spending 2 hours raking joints!

[timeless john]

Attachment 3180 Original Style 43sq mts undertaken about 20 years ago and I cannot remember how long it took - its an age thing.
John.

[whitebeam]

Blimey you that old

[David - Tradetiler]

Attachment 3180 Original Style 43sq mts undertaken about 20 years ago and I cannot remember how long it took - its an age thing.
John.

Nice work

[harry]

Was going to reply but Timeless john just about summed it up perfectly.
This floor is about 6m and took me about 3 1/2 days.
Chatsworth design imo is too large for that size of an area. good luck thoughCopy of Tiles 067.jpg

Awesome mate

[mikethetile]

im very impressed by your tiling john

ive always loved this style

the only oppurtunity ive had is to relay a victorian black and white chequerboard to a front path............which i enjoyed

i was on the isle of wight over easter and spotted some lovely mosaics in shop doorways

i would love to make the leap from splasbacks to that kind of work

mike

[timeless john]

Hi - mikethetile and thanks for the comments.
I believe you are talking about the photos i've just posted in my album timelessjohn -profile.
If you want to see some shop door mosaics try Northallerton there are some nice one's. (not mine by the way)
The advantage of doing this type of work is you don't have to leave home and as you get on a bit its nice to sit in a workshop and get paid!
Over the years I've done all types of fashion tiling but i find that the truly timeless tiling is mosaics and geometric designs.
When I first posted my introduction in february I offered to pass on my experience and so if i can offer any future help send me a PM or post a question.Thanks again.
John.

[Dave]

If you want to see some shop door mosaics try Northallerton there are some nice one's

You haven't been hanging around those doorways again have you john.......come on sir move on the cop said...

[timeless john]

......and I tried to explain to him that you'd be okay in a few minutes you'd just had too much to drink after finishing a job that you started at the beginning of the year!.
John.

[Dave]

quick thinking for an oldie......

[tommyzooom]

Dodger , I'm interested to here how you got on with your floor?
I did two more floors this week,Pics attached
andrew 1044.jpg

andrew 1041.jpg

[smurf21]

I have to ask as this type of tiling absoulutly amazes me and have only ever done repairs on a few hallway floors in 25 years, and can see that alot of job satisfaction can be obtained from this type of work.....not to mention £££££ and have allways turned them down in the past because they have terrified me lol. The question is this i know that the patterns are set designs but do you have to give the manufacturer an exact floor layout for them to make the design fit the area or do they come out and measure it themselves....just curious...they still terrify me..

[jay]

dont think about dollars .the tiles are a set module and work in variences of about 25mm depends on pat can be made fit most areas the norm is take plan into supplier they work it out. the end product is up to tiler setting out is critical because they havent allowed for bowed walls out of squarness ect not a job to do if you think your gona make a killing as far as pay .more a job for time patients dont rush more patients . get it right job satisfaction and lots of referals more work. get it wrong you have got to live with it

[tommyzooom]

As Jay said the only thing you will get from these tiles is sore knees, Yes it will cost a lot to have them laid but when you count up to half a day marking out and several trips back to seal, grout, wash, seal and seal again it adds up.
Saying that you do get enormous satisfaction from the finished job and plenty of referals