Terracotta floor

[Grace'sDad]

Hi guys. I have to quote for fixing 150mm x 150mm raw terracotta (B&Q's special selection doncha know!) to a concrete kitchen floor (damp-free).
10sqm in total - typical galley kitchen layout.

Straightforward enough - fix up to legs on units, only the washer to remove and tile under. 1 threshhold.

I will fix, seal with BAL temp sealer and then clean up giving the option of me sealing (these can take multiple coats as I found out to my cost previously!)

So what would you charge?

I was going to go in at £ 300 plus materials

Thanks chaps!

 

[DHTiling]

Why the temp sealer.?...just work clean and wash with plenty clean water...what sealer you using....?

 

[grumpygrouter]

Isn't boiled linseed oil the stuff for terracotta?

 

[Grace'sDad]

Thanks Dave, I've seen this terracotta at B&Q and it looks to be very porous. Just worried about grout staining is all. Glazed terracotta no probs but these look like sponges to me! (Customer wants pale grey grout)

What would you recommend for sealing?

They are unsure yet as to the finish but may go for the traditional linseed oil & white spirit to penetrate / and a wax such as Fila naturwax in which case it's going to cost more than rollering some impregnator on!

 

[DHTiling]

Boiled linseed oil & briwax is old school sealing really now.....

Impregnator ( several coats) and a topical sealer can be used......depending upon finish required...i use the lithofin range.......

Terracotta impregnator and Terracotta surface sealer....much easier and less labout intensive that boiled linseed oil and briwax...

 

[CBTC]

I noticed this thread,although the job might bedone by now, anyway although the oil method might seem old school Dave, it brings so much more to the finished terracotta, and goes on improving the patina, which is what the stuff is all about. I have been asked many times about exisitng terracotta where clients were unhappy with the 'plastic' type look of their floor and its 'feels dirty' condition. Gone on to strip them back (yes crap of a job, only where the moneys worth it) and then re-finish in linseed method and then wax coats and buff up.
Sure more time consuming and expensive, however the terracotta in raw form really needs this tlc!
The finshed floor is then good for decades with waxing maintence occasionally. The difference is absolute.
CB

 

[Grace'sDad]

CBTC - well pointed out and I have to agree.
Unfortunately I lost the job on price though.
Their loss I fear!

 

[CBTC]

We are obviously purists GD - bad luck losing the work. Often the way where its materials being used that the client doesnt fully understand the amount of work involved and just thinks all tiles are the same.
Unfortunately for them they often get very poor work done and the end result is way below what they expected, and what can be delivered, given the right experience and correct priciing for that work.
The drawback is for the tile world as a whole, since then people fight shy of using tiles again - even profesional int. designers - citing that 'they are difficult', 'mosaic leaks', 'floors crack', 'grout falls out', 'no-one does them properly'. I've come across this many times.
When it is a good experience me and others I know of get years of work from clients because they have 'found' a tiler who can do the work correctly and they go back to using tile.
Your price seemed perfectly sound by the way. We're artisans after all!

 

[LM Ceramics]

i know this is an old post raw terracota is awful to work with if you dont keep clean i made a mistake when i was still serving my apprenticeship i did a terracota dining room floor although i tried to keep clean i sealed it after grouting BIG MISTAKE took ages to wash off and when i sealed it with a terracota impregnator it looked as mentioned plastic i wasnt very happy with the result as i spent abit of time fixing and did a good job on the fixing but the finish in my opinion wasnt up to scratch the customer was happy but i wasnt