A c.12m2 double border Douzies Maubeuge floor c.1920-1930

A c.12m2 / 129 sq ft antique French ceramic floor manufactured by Ceramiques Maubeuge, Douzies Maubeuge we have included in the gallery a scan from their period catalogue presenting the floor. The geometric field tiles, opening up over a four tile tessellation, are framed by a same size border laid back to back, primarily in a burnt red. If a longer meterage of border tiles is required they can of course be laid as a single run rather than their double back to back lay, as shown in the photographs.

The floor has yet to be completely restored, it is still work in progress but a section restored and photographs reveaal a good quality ceramic; a small number have small chips and edge nibbles, all groutable. Fired to over 1,100F degrees and with almost zero porosity the tiles are also suited to being laid outside of the home as high summer and sub-zero winter temperatures will not effect their robustness. If laid inside the home, as superb retainers and distributors of heat they will work very efficiently with under floor heating systems.

Enquire for tile counts by tile type or let us know your surface area requirement.

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.