Ceramic Tile Restoration

I have finished cleaning the tiles for our upcoming renovation.  I scraped and chiseled  over 300 pieces, and they are now sitting and waiting for their new home. My work, however is far from over.  I am about to start the mother of all tile restoration projects -- the tiles for the new guest stairwell.  Here is the ultimate before picture:

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I have laid out the tiles to make sure I have enough for the stairwell.  In case you are having some very justifiable difficulty visualizing this, I have wiped a few of the tiles down with water just to show how gorgeous they are.  The wet tiles resemble how they will all look after they have been sealed.  They were removed from the downstairs of our farmhouse and date back to the original construction in that newer part of the house -- around 1850.  They were made with a combination of sand and cement, and colored by hand.

Aren't they amazing?

Yes, and an amazing amount of work, too.  These 6 square meters of tiles will take me longer than the 19 square meters of terracotta I just cleaned. They were put down with a quartz based cement which adheres like crazy, and  I will have to use a flexible grinder to get it all off.  I plan on doing 10 a day until I get them done, in a well ventilated environment, fully protected with mask, shower cap and goggles.  I will look fabulous.  No one will be allowed to photograph, of course, at risk of personal bodily harm.  If I am still breathing and of good humor during this process, i will post an update.  

This should prove that there is nothing I won't do for my guests.

March 22, 2009, Acqui Terme