Quarry tiles, new or old?

[plasticpigeon]

Hello. I have spent an age cleaning old 9" quarry tiles to lay in my kitchen. I have now managed to buy or scavenge and clean what I need which is around 230. They all come from different places so colours and sizes only roughly match. I'm sure it will look fine when laid, but I saw today that Ruabon are now making 9" quarries. I'm sure they weren't a couple of years back when I started collecting quarries for my floor. I probably will never do this job again, but does anyone know if the new quarries look any good when laid? I think with hindsight I would have been happy to have spent a couple of hundred more on tiles and forgone the back breaking work (mind you I don't know how much the new tiles are)!! Here is what I've managed so far. And yes I know it looks like I've stared from the wrong end of the room, but I really wanted everything to line up by the door, and I don't care what happens at the other end!!!! I've also found the limit of my long jumping abilities!

http://www.ruabonsales.co.uk/heavy-duty-tiles.htm

 

[BlueC]

No idea about the new ones but yours look great so well worth the work I reckon... repro is never as good as authentic old. Yours will look spot on when finished.

 

[Feltwell]

I wouldn't go for new ones. I have original, untouched Dennis Ruabon quarry tiles in my kitchen - they are full of character, some are almost perfect, some are quite heavily pitted, and they vary in size a bit - the original tiler was clearly good at his job as the joints are tight and they are laid nice & level, which is more than can be said for the reclaimed ones some eejit laid in my scullery a few years ago. Modern ones would be too uniform in my opinion - much better to use old ones, especially as quarries are quite easy to come by, even though they are harder to lay (they vary in thickness as well).





Roofing & Salvage in Oswestry often have Ruabon items in, being close as they are to the factory. Give them a ring before travelling though, it's only a small yard, if you decide you want tiles all from one source. Ebay is often quite good for quarries as well, and can be a lot cheaper.

What you've laid so far looks really good though, once they've had a chance to "weather" in a bit to their new home.

 

[eezageeza]

It's definitely worth the effort. New ones look clean and shiny, and when we last checked, were considerably thinner than old ones. Like you, we spent some considerable time reclaiming old ones, and we absolutely don't regret it!

 

[plasticpigeon]

I can see what you mean. Each tile is quite rough, but they look good when laid as a whole floor. However the colour is still more consistent than mine. I'm going to carry on and live with the patchiness, I hope it looks better when the whole floor is covered. It is hard keeping lines straight when there is as much as 6 mm difference between largest and smallest tiles. What are peoples thoughts on grout colour. I bought some dry grout mix from ty mawr which is hydraulic lime and very fine aggregate but it is white. I bought some black cement colour to make it grey, but looking on the back of the tin it says not to use with lime mortar. Maybe white would be ok, but I imagine it would get dirty quickly.

 

[Delta]

I think the tiles look great, but I don't like the white bloom. I have a similar issue with some smaller reclaims I used for a wood burner hearth. Any idea on cures? It is one aspect of reclaims that really put me off. Good job on the laying so far though.

I like reclaim as a rule, in particular that they have square edges. All to often you see new quarry tiles with slightly rounded or chamfered edges, it just looks wrong IMHO. I haven't examined the Ruabon in the flesh myself, so not sure if they would suit my pedantic tastes, but good luck either way.

 

[MatthewC]

What are peoples thoughts on grout colour. I bought some dry grout mix from ty mawr which is hydraulic lime and very fine aggregate but it is white.

Grout? The original quarries in my hall are so well fitted (despite variations in dimensions) that there is no grout. Moreover, I've stuck with these despite protests from t'other half and she has now come to actually like them, despite the damage and bloom. That took more than 2 years of procrastination! 8)

 

[plasticpigeon]

What are peoples thoughts on grout colour. I bought some dry grout mix from ty mawr which is hydraulic lime and very fine aggregate but it is white.

Grout? The original quarries in my hall are so well fitted (despite variations in dimensions) that there is no grout. Moreover, I've stuck with these despite protests from t'other half and she has now come to actually like them, despite the damage and bloom. That took more than 2 years of procrastination! 8)

Surely there has to be something to fill up the gaps, which there will be if the tiles are not exactly the same size!

 

[Moo]

something to fill up the gaps,

In my experience gaps are self-filling.

 

[angrybird]

The very nice man at Dennis Ruabon has reclaimed quarries too, and if you send him a tile he will do his best to match them.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Well if I ever do this again (and I sincerely hope I don't) I will go to Ruabon, as using tiles of the same size (thickness doesn't matter) would make things much easier. Some of these are 8 3/4 and others 9 1/8, looks ok when laid and I'm sure grouting with grey to quieten down the joints will improve things further, but an effort hat could have been avoided. I have around 70 left to lay!!!

 

[Zebra]

Come on pp, perseverance is the key! Don't lose heart. You can do it!

 

[plasticpigeon]

Hurrah, it's done, (apart from the pantry which is out of shot. Grouting next weekend. Can't see us getting a kitchen by Christmas though

 

[JoceAndChris]

That looks great! Well done you!

Fiddly jobs are frustrating at the time, but in 6 months you'll have forgotten the painful bits and be looking at that with real pride!

And don't succumb to the bizarre modern pressure to have things done by Christmas - it's never possible as the light is appalling, temperatures can be too low for drying, energy levels also low. I bet you'll have a kitchen by Christmas 2014 though!

A dark grey grout??

 

[angrybird]

they look fantastic ,old is far better than new (imo) they can never replicate the patina on new quarries,I always look at mine and wonder how many people have walked over them,and what stories they could tell.
well done you you deserve a kitkat x

 

[Feltwell]

Looks great PP, much better than new would have done. By the time they are all dry, grouted and have had a few months of feet trampling over them they will settle in very nicely, I reckon you'll come to like the variation in colour, just like I like the variation in texture and even the fact that I've got the odd cracked tile in my floor.

Out of interest, what have you bedded the tiles in?

 

[plasticpigeon]

Thanks all, I'm pleased with the look of them, and the variations in size and colour just make them look less new which is good.

I bedded them in NHL5 and sharp sand. It is unbelievable how dry I had to make the mix to support the tiles. It was so dry it looked like brown sugar, and although it would stay in a ball when squeezed it was quite crumbly looking. I have quite a few bags of Singleton Birch NHL5 left over if anyone is interested in some.

 

[Zebra]

Well done pp, I'm sure you will look at that with much pride.