An 11.5m2 Belgian ceramic Rebaix floor c.1920-1930

An 11.5m2+ / 124 sq ft ceramic encaustic floor of 14cm sq tiles in a cool palette of mid grey, green and blue. The floor comes with its original same size back to back borders. All four internal border corner tiles have been reclaimed and two of the exterior border corners. The missing two can be mitre cut from the regular border tiles. The borders can be laid back to back, as shown, or singularly, which would double the linear length available.

Bearing a reverse capital R stamp, the tiles were manufactured by Societe Anonyme Ceramiques Modernes Rebaix, Belgique and we date them as c.1920-1930.  

The tiles have cleaned well, as a high-resolution section of them in the gallery display. Small edge nibbles and grout-able small chips are evident on a quality ceramic 15mm thick. The tiles will work well with underfloor heating systems and can be laid inside or outside of the home as high summer and sub zero winter temperatures will have no detrimental effect on this highly fired tile.

Tile quantities, give or take one or two:-

FIELD tiles – 500 – 10m2 / 108 sq ft.

LARGE BORDER tiles – 74 plus 7 corners – 1.6m2 / 17.4 sq ft. – 11.3 linear metres / 37.2 linear ft.*

*Halve the dimensions for a back to back lay as shown in the gallery.

NOTE
Antique tiles were most commonly made in single or two tile moulds. Before current computer automation methods their moulds were made my hand and the colour slips mixed by eye. Kiln temperatures could also be variable, as could the firing time. The result is that often tiles display subtle size and thickness variations and there can be tonal variations in colours, owing to the slip mixing and/or firing time. All of this makes these handmade tiles unique and adds to their charm. Some floors display their subtle variations in size and tones, some not, but when photographing we always take a random section of the floor so that it is representative of the whole. A tiler should always dry lay a section of the tiles to familiarise himself with them before starting to fix lay.