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1930s bathroom tile dilemma

9 years ago

Hi there,

My first post on the community!

I have moved in to a 1930s mansion block in SW London which I need to renovate from top to bottom. I want to play on some 1930s themes and the bathroom has what I believe to be the original tiles. They're in a two tone green and yellow contrasting scheme. At floor level there is a row of 6" x 6" green tiles. At chest height, there is a green 1" x 6" pencil border, a further 6" x 6" yellow tile, then topped off by a green 6" x 2" bullnosed tile.

I want to either keep the tiles as they are and restore them, or replace in exactly the same scheme bit with black highlighting white. I will replace the current bath, toilet and washbasin with 1930s style ones, and also install a shower (requires new wall area to be tiled).

SCENARIO 1: Is it feasible to restore existing tiles? matching colour and size. Can anyone recommend specialists who'd do these? Is it likely to be astronomically expensive? I see lots of problems as the tiles are metric size; there are unfortunately quite a few broken patches where eg holes for plumbing/electrics have been drilled through the wall; and we'd need to tile a new large, area for the shower.

SCENARIO 2: I'd hack off existing yellow and green tiles and replace in exact same pattern but with black on white. So can anyone recommend UK suppliers of bullnose tiles for bathrooms? Searching on the internet, none of the usual tile or DIY stores stock them. Instead you can only get PVC or stainless steel tile trims - which IMHO look tacky. I've seen some Victorian fireplace specialists which stock them, however they are in imperial sizes - so they'd go out of synch with the white tiles which would be in metric (the black trim at 6" would be slightly longer than the white main body of tiles at 15cm). So ideally I'd want them in metric sizes - however if there were a cheapish supply of 6" x 6" white tiles then I could go with the fireplace imperial sized trims.

Strangely, bullnose tiles seem to only be a rarity in the UK - I can see them on the Homedepot site in the States and a Bulgarian builder who gave a quote says they're frequently stocked in Bulgaria. Am thinking this to be the cheaper option than restoring tiles in scenario 1 above.

Thanks for looking and any advice/links appreciated!

Stephen

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Comments (7)

pannacotta
9 years ago
Lovely tiles, what a shame they need altering. You can buy edging tiles which are a bit like dado rails, could these work instead of bullnose?
minnie101
9 years ago
Try a company called The Firing Line. Apparently they may stock or custom make. I assume you can't find any on ebay or salvage places?
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I prefer the tiles straight. I also think that sulking room pink will look fantastic but I wonder if it could jar slightly with the orange cushions in your lounge. Personally I would take your orange cushion out and introduce some similar shade pink or at least get a cushion that has the orange in it in a pattern. I think the solid orange seems to stand out too much. You could always add some flowers or vases in the fireplace that mix a burnt orange and deep pink to bring the scheme together?
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headers13
9 years ago
Look on Bulgarian sites for them as they may ship to the UK ? Go to a privately owned smaller tile store & ask for their help. Call the Victorian Tile Company who do repairs to original floors etc & ask them if they know anybody. Good luck will be good to keep.
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Stella Michael
8 years ago
Always worth checking with Lasscos, if they don't have any then they may be able to suggest where you can get some, and who may be able to restore the ones you have. They have a few locations so worth going and having a look or at least giving them a call. They will also probably have some other 30s bathroom fixtures. I just love visiting them, dangerous though as I end up buying stuff.

http://www.lassco.co.uk/
Jayne Lezzer
8 years ago
look up plastic surgeon. we use them for cosmetic repairs in the new build industry but they have specialists in this are
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Ceramic Planet
8 years ago
original styles do tiles based on different eras. not sure if they do bulnose versions for every style but they do have replica borders and dado rails. https://www.originalstyle.com/
cavgirl
8 years ago
I think you can get bullnose tiles on eBay. Don't be afraid of buying them from abroad-it's not always more expensive, especially if it's something that is a comparative rarity here.

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