Would you tile over these original floorboards?

[Friedbanana]

We have an Edwardian terrace and have always wanted to have tiles, we’ve picked a design with original style that is very in keeping with the style of the house however I’ve lifted the carpet tonight and the floorboards look fairly decent and I’m wondering if it’s ridiculous to spend £4000 on tiles when we could just get these sanded and stained? On the other hand they’re not in the best condition, and the rest of the house already has just a bit of a shabby feel to it- plaster not perfect and skirtings are a bit battered and we already have original floorboards in the reception rooms which again aren’t in perfect condition. So I was hoping the tiles would give a neater feel to the house! I’m also very very frugal and have bought pretty much all our furniture second hand so it feels ridiculous paying £4000 for tiles when stuff like our sofa was £200, but we do fortunately have savings due to this frugality so can afford to splash out on the tiles. What would you do??

I would absolutely, 100% try to refurbish that floor. Those little sections can easily be replaced.

Whereas I’m more meh... I think it’s because they’re going across.
What tiles have you chosen? That might influence my decision!

I’d go for tiles - it will give a lovely neat and ‘finished’ appearance - and you already have some floorboards so it will be a lovely change

Thank you for your opinions so far! Yes agree @ElizabethTudor I also think I prefer when they go the other way! I still do love floorboards but yes really would be nice to have at least one part of the house actually looking ‘finished’! These are the tiles, but with black tiles around the border instead of grey, we’re having the bigger tiles like right photo but it’s going to be symmetrical like first photo

And I think the border tiles are slightly smaller than second photo

I’d probably go with the tiles and preferably with insulation underneath. Floorboards can be draughty and not as easy to clean as tiles. I also agree that they don’t look as good going in that direction.

@Friedbanana - yup, go for the tiles!
They’ll love lovely, especially with a black border. You’ve scrimped everywhere else, splash out here!

• look lovely

Yeah, the floorboards are going in the wrong direction. But mainly, I think you really want the tiles. If I’m right, go for the tiles!

The only thing is it looks like those boards have been taken up in the middle, presumably to access pipe work or similar? Worth checking what for in case access is needed after the tile go down and the floor needs taking up to do so.

Thanks everyone, this is exactly what I needed!! I’m excited again now and not worrying if it’s a stupid decision I’ll regret!! @jetty21 can I ask how you’d go about finding this out, would I need to contact a heating engineer or plumber or something?

Also another question! Our radiators are pretty ugly, I’ve painted them the same colour as the walls and we’re thinking of putting a shelf or something over to cover the ugly tops but ive always lusted after the cast iron ones, I can’t make quick decisions as you can probably tell lol but I’m wondering if it’ll be easy to change them after tiling, as long as we get the same size radiator in the same place? Or would a couple tiles need taking up/how easy would this be to do? Thanks again!!

@Friedbanana those tiles look great - can I ask where you are getting them from? They are just what I'm looking for. Thanks

Thank you @biddles111! They are original style the Oxford 3 colour pattern, then a Kingsley border with black and revival grey, I have ordered them from here as I contacted a few places for the best price and these came out best! The guy who does the quotes Chris was great, he sent me out lots of samples for free and like I say the quote was a lot cheaper- my tiler said he could get them from somewhere for ‘trade price’ but they were £2700 but I got them from here for £2050 , so definitely recommended! Just to say too the border is where the main cost is (and laying it as well because they’re obv the little tiles) , I think just main pattern would have only been like £1000 :o but I think it’ll be worth it fingers crossed! decoramic.co.uk/oxford-3-colour-original-style-victorian-floor-tiles?search=Original%20style%20Oxford

Definitely tiles. Those floorboards were never made to be uncovered. They are cheap and laid the wrong way and have been cut through. They will be permanently dusty.

You could get a plumber to check the condition of the pipes underneath the floorboards before having the work done. Replacement radiators are likely to be of the same size/using the same pipes or if not they almost certainly won’t need to access the area under the floorboards. We had a radiator replaced recently and reduced the size by a foot (was a huge ugly 1970s thing) without the plumber going under the floorboards.

@Friedbanana Thank you for sharing the details. When are you going ahead with the project? Would love to see pictures of the finished result. I think tiled hallways are much more practical and elegant than wood. Its going to look great.

Cast iron radiators are not that likely to be regular sizes so 100% do that before tiles. The radiators are often not even regular sizes because they are hand made, so buy them, get them in, get the pipe work fitted, then get the radiators plumbed in after the floor. But I can tell you getting them plumbed in is really expensive, because pipes are likely to need to be moved, and you will probably need a system flush once they are in. Installing ours cost way more than the radiators themselves!!!