Victorian geometric floor tiles?

[Stan001]

Original Style or Olde English or DIY?


Who makes the best tiles? Quality , range, price? for a floor project.
I’m erring towards Original Style right now. (have used their tiles plus have their docs - have not used Olde English)
My research though tells me that the original Victorian tiles had a sharp straight edge rather than a cushion edge which the reproduction companies have now. So have any of you made the tiles out of full squares? To save money or get exactly what you want. I understand I’m looking at £125~180 per metre just for the tiles I want right now, for the small area (a porch) I’m looking at saving a chunk by using a simple pattern, cutting my own octagons and triangles and just buying special inserts from Original Style.
Am I being a mad cheapskate or would this work / look ok? Thx.
Stan

(incidentally Olde English are made in France? … which since William and his boys popped their clogs hasn’t been English for quite some time!)

 

[frankenfurter]

Hi Stan,

We've made 1000's of geometric tiles from squares over the years, we used to use a sigma dry cutter for a lot of them. Since then I've invested in computerised cutters to achieve higher accuracy. All of our tiles are made for us to a set size and thickness.

Craven-dunnill make some nice tiles; though rather pricey. Not sure if Maw & Co are still going, fell out with them after they supplied warped tiles, chipped encaustics and refused communication; their loss.

I personally don't rate either original style or olde english tiles, mainly due to their bevelled edges, metric sizes, varying thicknesses and lack of authentic colours. They have this bevel due to the use of a roller kiln where the tiles sometimes come into contact with each other and can damage each other in the process, hence this bevel. The rep will tell you it's to reduce injuries from sharp edges, but if they are laid correctly this doesn't happen, more to do with mass production.