19-20 May 2014
Sore knees, bad back, but the grouting finished by Tuesday 20th. Now we leave the grout to set for a week, and then use the magic formula to protect the tiles.
This is the magic formula. I did some research into protecting terracotta, and found an article in 'Period Homes' magazine or something like that. It said that the old way of treating the tiles involved a lot of linseed oil followed by beeswax. The beeswax has to be reapplied every year, and scraped off and replaced every three years. Having just spent a month on my knees laying these tiles, this did not fill me with excitement. However, the article continued, there is an alternative. Modern nano-technology has created a treatment that in one application waterproofs the tiles while retaining their breathability. Well!
So, further research and I found 'Tile Doctor Seal n Go' was the stuff to use in the UK. I emailed, would they post to Greece? No. We reckoned we'd need about 5 litres. On the off-chance I asked in the tile shop whether they could get it, and they said no, but they had this stuff available. More internet research and it seems to be the same - waterproofing with breathability, specifically for terracotta. Hallelujah.
Later that day, band practice happened again, and I got this photo of the chicken, for reasons unknown, deciding to tuck its head under its wing and get a sleep while loud music plays. Not a sensible chicken.
Sore knees, bad back, but the grouting finished by Tuesday 20th. Now we leave the grout to set for a week, and then use the magic formula to protect the tiles.
This is the magic formula. I did some research into protecting terracotta, and found an article in 'Period Homes' magazine or something like that. It said that the old way of treating the tiles involved a lot of linseed oil followed by beeswax. The beeswax has to be reapplied every year, and scraped off and replaced every three years. Having just spent a month on my knees laying these tiles, this did not fill me with excitement. However, the article continued, there is an alternative. Modern nano-technology has created a treatment that in one application waterproofs the tiles while retaining their breathability. Well!
So, further research and I found 'Tile Doctor Seal n Go' was the stuff to use in the UK. I emailed, would they post to Greece? No. We reckoned we'd need about 5 litres. On the off-chance I asked in the tile shop whether they could get it, and they said no, but they had this stuff available. More internet research and it seems to be the same - waterproofing with breathability, specifically for terracotta. Hallelujah.
Later that day, band practice happened again, and I got this photo of the chicken, for reasons unknown, deciding to tuck its head under its wing and get a sleep while loud music plays. Not a sensible chicken.
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