[kaz]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this post, but I'm sure Dan will move if it's not.
Can any one give me any pointers as to giving  quarry tiles on a kitchen floor a makeover. I don't know how old they are.  They are differents shades of brown really rather than red and my husband is reluctant to replace/cover over them (which would be my option), but I'm sure that they could be made to look a lot better than they are. 's
 

[Fowgill Farm]

These types of tile are usually very strong and laid in a good bed of mortar like a cement.. The durability depends a lot on what's the tile are laid on...

    What's under the tile?? Is it a concrete slab or is it a regular wood frame floor... On concrete the good quarry tile is almost indestructible..On a regular wood frame floor, there can be a lot of cracked tile and bad grout joints..Especially if some heavy loads have been pushed along the floor...

    You need to get down on hands and knees and look closely at all tile and joints... See how much damage there is ,,if any... These type of tile usually have wide grout joints( (about 3/8 to 1/2 inch)..So digging out any badly cracked grout is not too difficult... Most of this type of work can be done with a screwdriver  and hammer ...Like using a chisel...Regrouting is not a hard job.
If the grout isn't too bad you may be able to get away with just de-greasing them and re-polishing/finishing them. The tile supply stores have a lot of products that can be used to clean, enhance, polish, and seal,, both the tile and grout. It might be worth asking at your local DIY store and i think B&Q have leaflets on how to do this type of thing
HTH
mandy 

[Factotum]

http://www.ruabonsales.co.uk/docs/tech-sheet-10-clean-maint-0407.pdf

This link goes to the cleaning & maintenance advice from a manufacturer of quarry tiles.

There's a section on restoring older floors using HG products.

Hope this helps

Sue

[bazzais]

Dig them up - dig up another 2 foot of soil and spoil - replace with proper membranes, insulation and concrete with screed top.  Clean tiles with a small brush and relay

[kaz]

You must be joking.  It's me that's got to do it, not the OH and I'd need a big digger to dig out 2 foot of soil as it is solid rock here.
I'll stick with the cleaning. Have ordered an HG product hope it works.

[goosepimple]

I'd  keep them, they can look very architectural - sometimes its the type of units you have with them that can make them look architectural or not - so then, on to the kitchen units .....   

[jaykay]

I'd keep them and clean them, folk pay a lot of money for rustic kitchens with quarry tile floors.

As Goosepimple says, sometimes the colour of the cabinets and worktops helps with the look of them - depends whether or not you want to enhance, or diminish the redness.

[ramblerskitchen]

HG products work really well. Use a product to remove all the build up of grease and dirt and then get the product to seal them.  Spend lots of time scrubbing and cleaning the grout


They will look like a new floor.