Quarry Tiled Floor
I live in an Edwardian semi which has the original quarry tiles in the kitchen/breakfast room and utility. I have noticed that over the last 12 months or so the tiles seem to be 'moving away' from the skirting board. There is an edge running the entire lengh of the room where the colour and texture of the tiles are different where I presume they were once under the skirting board.
I believe the tiles are laid directly on ash and there are no proper foundations. Is this 'movement' natural or should I be more concerned. Just to add the house has suffered from subsidence in the past (30 years ago) which was deemed to be 'historic' when we purchased the house a few years ago. Thanks for your help...
Quarry Tiled Floor
Try calling the SPAB technical advice line:
http://www.spab.org.uk/advice/
Telephone Technical Enquiries
The Society runs a Technical Advice Line where members of the public are able to discuss their technical queries in person over the phone with a member of our technical staff. The line is open from Monday to Friday between 9.30 am and 12.30 pm on the following numbers::
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday between 9:30 - 12:30 and Friday between 9:30 - 4:30 on 020 7456 0916
Please note that the SPAB is a small charity with a limited number of staff and funding and the advice line is manned by only one member of staff on any given morning. Therefore, opening hours can vary and the line can at times become busy. Please be patient and keep trying. You may also find the information you need on their website http://www.spab.org.uk/advice/ or published in one of their publications and SPAB advise that you explore these routes first. SPAB are, unfortunately, unable to respond to technical enquiries by letter or email.
Thanks very much for your
Thanks very much for your reply Gill. I didn't know SPAB offered this service. I will call them on Monday!
Quarry Tiled Floor
If the movement is new - rather than something historical that you have just noticed - then you need to contact your buildings insurers. They will probably want to have the movement monitored by a surveyor to see if it is getting any worse. Hopefully you have cover and there are no exclusions for this type of movement in the terms of your buildings policy, due to the previous problems.
Do you know if any remedial work was undertaken to deal with the subsidence? If so, there may be a guarantee on this work which you can claim against.
There is no other explanation for the floor dropping other than movement. However, if the skirting boards were replaced recently - perhaps following work after the previous subsidence problem, and they are of softwood, there is a possibility that they have shrunk, which could explain why a gap has formed now.
The floor and any other damage to the building can be repaired, but the root cause of the problem needs to be dealt with first.
Quarry Tiled Floor
You're welcome, let us know how you get on.
Gill
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