Kitchen floor

We had decided on traventine tiles for the kitchen and hall, I like that they are light but warm in colour. The fact that they are a natural product gives them a great texture and adds interest to a large space without being busy.
Because they were going to extend into the hall we decided on a brick bond pattern, this visually extends the width and is more forgiving of uneven walls. It took a couple of hours for Andrew to plan - the pattern had to line up with three openings in the kitchen and the front door.

The tiles we bought were filled, honed and polished on the front but the backs are very holey.

Reverse of tile

Because of this the reverse of the tiles have to be 'buttered' before laying on the bed of adhesive. This makes sure that all the holes are filled and there will be no voids.

Buttering

First tile down

Coming along

The only issue we had was the drying time of the adhesive which meant we could not walk on them for 16 hours. Andrew did well on planning exit routes for us. One day I came home to this....

Walking instructions

On day three Mortimer & myself got marooned in the office/kitchen/workshop as the hall floor was being tiled outside our door. Fortunately I had the computer, kettle, dog biscuits and two chairs to upholster so all was well.

After all the tiles had been laid and grouted we spent along time on hands and knees cleaning all the limestone dust off before applying two coats of sealer. We made  sure that it was well absorbed into the grout so that we won't have any problems with grubby tiles or grout lines.

Marooned

Spreading adhesive

Finished kitchen floor

Hall to kitchen

So at last we're ready for the big kitchen fit.

Until next time.

Sharon