Laying quarry and terracotta tiles and installing flooring when renovating

Renovation of Old Floors, and Laying Quarry Tiles

Old houses will have a variety of floors in place - earth, old quarry tiles, wood and concrete are the usual. Laying a quarry tile floor is within the scope of an amateur so some methods are described below.

Terre Battu

Earth floors are quite common in old houses in France. Apparently these ‘terre battu’ (‘beaten earth’) floors are not simply a consequence of not having a floor laid, but were at one time (until 200 years ago) quite sophisticated, with clay being spread on the existing floor and then beaten flat. Some places in France even had a special dance that was performed on the floor to ensure it was well flattened! These are not generally practical in a restored house, unless you are trying to restore 'to the original' in meticulous fashion and hope to open your house as a museum.

 

Quarry tiles

If you are lucky you will have an original quarry tile floor in the property. These can generally be refurbished to look magnificent. Remember though that traditionally tiles were set on a bed of lime straight onto the earth, so problems of damp and cold can persist unless the entire floor is lifted, a damp membrane inserted and the floor re-laid. Not hugely difficult but quite a significant job time wise. and relaying and rejointing the tiles might lose some of the charm of the original, slightly wobbly or uneven floor.

Nowadays it is also easy to buy new quarry tiles that look old. You will be constrained in your choice only by your budget. We bought our quarry tiles direct from the local factory for about 15 euros per square metre, which was a very good price for tiles that were made by hand. Usually I would expect to pay double this price. Even new quarry tiles that look new will look good when they are down, oiled and pointed.

Tile floors can be cleaned effectively of old cement and stains with hydrochloric acid - this is quite dangerous stuff, so follow the precautions on the bottle carefully. You do not want this acid on your bare skin.

 

For the method of laying quarry tiles and other floor tiles see HERE

 

Wood

Existing wooden floors may have their own particular problems. As with quarry tiles, insufficient attention was often given to damp prevention, and damp through the floor can rise through the supporting timbers  causing them to rot. A damp smell in the room, rotting wood around the edges of the floor and a wobbly or uneven floor will sometimes be the first sign that you have a problem.

Lifting an existing wooden floor for later re-use is not easy without damaging the floor. More recently floors have been nailed down through the 'tongue' which makes the job slightly easier, but older or more rustic floors are often nailed throgh the middle of the plank. They can be hard to get up (use a jemmy) and then hard to remove the old nails from. Persevere though, because they will always look better than new flooring if they are in reasonable condition.

A dry floor will usually simply need sanding and meticulous cleaning away of dust. One useful tip: the small gaps between the boards act as a dust trap . If you drag the back of a knife along the gap with one nand while vacuuming the dust away with the other hand that will remove a lot of the dust and debris.

When you are completely sure the floor is clean and dry, two coats of 'vitrificateur' will then restore the wooden floor it to its former glory. Probably with a light sanding between the coats to be absolutely sure of that mirror finish.

New floorboards and flooring materials should be unwrapped at least 48 hours before they are laid so that they can adjust to the temperature and humidity in the room.

When laying any wooden floor be sure to leave an expansion gap around the edge of the room. That is, the floorboards should stop several millimetres from the wall. This is because wood expands and contracts quite a lot - so if you lay boards right up to the wall and they expand, the floor will develop a big wrinkle. A plinth is often put around the edge of the room to cover this expansion gap.

For information about adding a new beamed ceiling / floor SEE HERE

Concrete

Not exactly a traditional approach to flooring, but many houses that have been in part restored during the last 50 years will have had a big slab of concrete poured on the floor. All you can do is tile on top of this, or pay a large amount to have it removed. Since removal will be difficult and costly, and may even weaken the structure of the building I would not do this unless absolutely necessary.

Raw concrete is not to be confused with a very sophisticated and hardwearing polished concrete floor. These are best laid by professionals, and can be laid in various colours, swirly dyes, marble effects and so on. While you could try it yourself, it will probably involve a concrete sanding machine and a great deal of dust More importantly you need to be confident that you can lay it with a mix of exactly the right consistency if you want to avoid cracks and fissures appearing later as it dries. I understand that companies that install swimming pools are sometimes able to do these, because of their experience at laying very flat surfaces.

Carpets

Fitted carpets are very uncommon in rural France. Carpet shops selling quality carpets are also uncommon. For practical reasons tiles and wooden floors are preferred. If you do want a fitted carpet in your house, you will need to track down a suitable supplier and fitter. Or reconsider, and get some nice floorboards and a rug.