Unglazed and softer than other types of tile, terracotta is made from extruded or hand-formed clay. It comes available in a number of shapes and sizes, from small hexagons to large squares.
The colors range from dusky ochres to oranges through to reds. Part of the charm of terracotta is precisely this color variation, within each tile and from tile to tile, as well as the textural variations of the surface.
Larger and heavier than ceramic tiles, terracotta tiles need a thicker adhesive bed, especially if the tiles are handmade and vary in thickness, or if they have bowed during manufacture. The method described here can be used for other types of tile such as quarry or slate, the thick adhesive bed being used to absorb any difference in tile thickness.
Although a sand-and-cement mix can be used for many heavy tiles, it is not really suitable for terracotta tiles. Because they are very porous, they may react with the cement to cause efflorescence – when the soluble salts come to the surface as a white stain.
Use a thick-bed adhesive, which can be applied at any thickness from 5mm to 2.3cm (¼ to 1in). Thick-bed adhesive can be happily used on an uneven floor base and dries very quickly, in some cases enabling tiling and grouting to be carried out on the same day.
Start in the furthest corner, having located the center point and adjusted it, and having marked up a grid which will help to keep you straight.
Mix up the tile adhesive according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Some types of thick-bed adhesive are simply poured onto the floor and spread out to an even level with an appropriate type of spreader, and then the tiles are laid straight onto it. Other types of adhesive require the back of the tile to be buttered with adhesive as well. Handmade tiles may vary slightly in size and thickness, so apply more adhesive to the backs of thinner tiles and allow a wide gap, approximately 12mm (½in), between the tiles. Any variations in size will be taken up within the joints.
Use a spirit level, check regularly that the tiles you have laid are level, and certainly after each grid block.
The cutter will, if required, cut or grind through the whole thickness of the tile – useful for cutting awkward shapes out of a tile to go round pipes and other obstructions.
Terracotta and quarry tiles are very porous and must be sealed before you add grouting in order to provide a hard-wearing and easy-to-clean surface.
Brush one coat of boiled linseed oil over the tiles with a brush or short-haired paint roller. It is important to apply an even coat to avoid the risk of streaking. The oil will soak into the tile, the surface losing its gloss 2-10 minutes after application. If it appears more matt in less time than that, apply the oil more liberally.
Grout terracotta tiles with a grout that is suitable for wide joints; porous tiles are grouted using a pointing method rather than by simply spreading the grout over the surface as you would for ceramic tiles.
Finish the grout by making it slightly concave; bend a round metal pipe into a convenient shape and use that.
Some times of handmade tiles benefit from ‘slurry grouting’ – a technique which fills in all the pits and dents to create an antiqued appearance.
Mix up the grout to a creamy consistency and grout as you would with ceramic tiles, ensuring that the grout fills all the crevices.
Apply a second coat of seal once the grout has thoroughly dried, using oil more sparingly than before as the tiles will be less porous. Any excess oil that does not soak in after 20 minutes should be cleaned from the surface of the tile.
After the oil has had time to soak into the tiles fully, which usually takes a few hours or overnight, the tiles can be waxed.
Use a propriety floor wax and wax the floor twice. The new floor should then be waxed once a week for the following month in order to build up a smooth and hard-wearing surface, yet mellow surface.
The song of the river ends not at her banks, but in the hearts of those who have loved her. – Buffalo Joe
There is no rushing a river. When you go there, you go at the pace of the water and that pace ties you into a flow that is older than life on this planet. Acceptance of that pace, even for a day, changes us, reminds us of other rhythms beyond the sound of our own heartbeats. – Jeff Rennicke, River Days: Travels on Western Rivers
There is something you get out of paddling that you can’t get in any other sport. It’s finding the happy balance with an always changing force of nature, and it makes you feel very small yet powerful at the same time.” Shannon Caroll
“What constitute the pleasures of the traveler are obstacles, fatigue or even danger. What charm can there be in a journey when one is always sure to arrive and find his horses ready, a downy bed, an excellent supper and all the comfort one enjoys at home? one of the great misfortunes of modern life is the absence of the unexpected, the lack of adventure. Everything is so well regulated, so well fitted into its place and ticketed, that chance is no longer possible; another century of improvements, and everybody will be able to foresee from the very day of his birth all that will happen to him up to the day of his death.”
Inflatable Kayaks (also known as ‘Duckies’) are perfect for the adventure seeker in all of us. Duckies offer more independence to the paddler in a smaller boat that makes every wave seem much bigger! Inflatable Kayaks offer the sensation of kayaking but with better stability for the beginner to intermediate user.
I’d rather be a “could-be” if I cannot be and “are”; because a “could be” is a “maybe” who is reaching for a star. I’d rather be a “has-been” than a “might-have-been,” by far. For a “might-have-been” has never “been,” but a “has” was once an “are.”