Victorian Mosaic Path Tiles

[Anonymous]

I would like to lay a black/white tiled mosaic path to the front of the property. Does anyone know where I might find the tiles? I have looked on the internet without much success.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Anonymous]

for reproductions you could try
they were recommended by my local tiler - im intending to replace the laminate in my porch with them at some point

http://www.tile-source.com/index.htm

i also found these guys but have no idea about them

http://www.originalfeatures.co.uk/olde_english_tiles.htm

if you just want b&W tiles you may be able to get reclaimed tiles.
I know that my local pub (just demolished last week) had a lovely b&w tiled floor but unfortunately it was in the gents toilet (which looked like it hadnt been cleaned since victorian times) and i didnt really fancy putting them in my house <IMG SRC="http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/discussing/smileys/smile.gif" BORDER=0 ALT="">

 

[Anonymous]

You don't say if you are proposing to lay the path yourself or get someone in to do it, but I have just had a black and white tiled path laid at my Edwardian house and it looks GORGEOUS. I had http://www.victoriantiling.co.uk do mine - based in East London but I know will travel. Highly recommended. I have pics available if you want to e-mail me (see user profile).

http://www.forumtowers.com

 

[Anonymous]

Susan - could you give me a rough idea of how much it cost per sq metre?

 

[Anonymous]

A lot! It was very expensive I'm afraid - total cost of project £4,225 (probably about £460 per square metre but I haven't measured). This did, however, include digging out the old path, creating a wider new path with steel reinforced concrete plus new York stone step and gate threshold. I did get cheaper quotes but wasn't convinced that the people quoting had experience of this kind of reproduction period tiling so went with the guy who gave me the greatest confidence.

http://www.forumtowers.co.uk

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Susan.
Way out of our price range at the moment, I'm afraid, but I'll store up the information for future use - you never know....!

 

[Anonymous]

It was way out of my price range too! I nearly fell over when I got the first quote - I'd mentally budgeted about £2,500 based on what other people had paid for their paths, but I'm afraid that once I'd got the black and white tiled path bee in my bonnet I had to go for it. There were no clues whatsoever as to the kind of path the house would have originally had, and I could have opted for red & black quarry tiles just as easily (and possibly more cheaply), but somehow the b&w seemed more sympathetic to the age (1904) and style of the property. It was finished a week ago and is just about worth every penny, but we might have to live on Kit-e-Kat for a year to cover the overspend!

 

[Anonymous]

Originally our house had the orange and black tiles in a diamond pattern for a path and black and white tiles between the front door and the inner door. Perhaps a cost compromise worth considering?

 

[Anonymous]

But the black and white ones re sooo beautiful. Opposite my son's house (bog-standard Pootersville) are a couple of houses with the original b&w paths and I practically swoon with envy whenever I see them.
Son has the ubiquitous nasty concrete, which I'd love to replace, but there's no way I'm giving him a Christmas present costing nearly £500 psm. Does anyone have an opinion about DIY?

 

[Anonymous]

I'm no DIY expert, but I would have thought that provided you've got a strong, level and 'square' area to tile then DIY should be feasible. The problem could be lack of truly straight lines as the b&w is such a strong geometric that irregularities scream at you. As the tiles themselves are pricey it could be an expensive mistake if it ends up looking pants!

http://www.forumtowers.com

 

[Anonymous]

We have just laid a red and black tiled floor in our hallway, looks very nice, the tiles are high fired porcelain and have a flat matt finish. They are suitable for exterior and interior use.
I purchased them from Topps tiles (yes not very period i know), but they look really nice and vistors thought they were original(!!!!!!) when you have millions of jobs to tackle, budget plays an important part, and they were tons better than the laminate floor.
They also do them in other colours, black, cream, not sure about white.
They are made by Pilkingtons and very reasonably priced. they are 14 and halfcm square and laid on the diamond they look good.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks to both. I'm feeling (cautiously) enthusiastic now, so next time I'm down there I shall chip away at a corner of the concrete and see how much might be involved.
(Hoping, of course, that the concrete vandal just went over the tiles and they're still there, waiting to be disinterred!)