Hi-We bought a house that had saltillo tile in all the house except the bedrooms. I really hate it-but my husband won't take it out. I stains, chips, cracks and always looks dirty to me. You can't move furniture because the grout lines are so big. It's uneven to walk on and hard on the feet. It has to be refinished every 6 months with 5 coats of finish to look shiny and nice.
Any other questions?
sorry, I REALLY hate it.
Judy

Amen!! We had the same experience as foss2k in our previous home. Hated it, hated it! The stains are the worst...I had to mop everyday to keep it looking slightly decent.
*Don't do it!!!!* = D

You see them all over around here, in restaurants and other public places with high traffic and I've not noticed such problems, although I admit I haven't looked very closely. We're hoping to use them in our bathroom, although I don't expect a lot of heavy wear in there. We want to use the smaller ones, 6 x 6 or 8 x 8 inches I think. If you expect a lot of heavy wear then perhaps the advice of the previous 2 posts is good to know before making a purchase.

I wanted Saltillo tile floors for years and years, but my ex wouldn't "let" me have them in either of the homes that we built, claiming that they were too "rough and rustic" (which is exactly why I like them!). Finally have a little old house of my own (and an extremely agreeable new hubby!), and when we went to replace the old vinyl floor in the kitchen and breakfast area, I knew that that's where I'd finally get my Saltillo. We laid the floor ourselves, with the special help of my dad, who also has this floor throughout his home. I love, love, love this tile. And heavy wear? Yes! We spend practically all of our time in these rooms. Have dropped cups and plates and they've shattered, but the flooring hasn't. Maybe a very minor dent or ding, but to me, that just adds to the charming patina.

This certainly isn't a look that appeals to everyone, but athoele, I think you've definitely got the (gorgeous!) home for it!

Small glimpse of my floor:
{{!gwi}}

Thank you all, auntjen what a fantastic spanish room LOVE IT!!! I keep going back to the fact of seeing them in many hotel etc in Mexico as well as some of the old monuments in mexico still having them. It looks like the consensus is that if you chose them yourself you love them, and if they were there when you bought your home you hate them. This is another option I am thinking of
in the link below. HOLLY!! thank you for the link I will definately be joining in on that group, trust me you wont be impressed with the interior pics just yet. We bought them home after it was bank owned and the owners left it sitting for about 2 yrs. We are fully gutting it and redoing. But you will all see pics along the way!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

Jen, I*always* love seeing pix of your home! What you do with Spanish decor is worthy of Traditional Home!

As for the Saltillo tile, it's like hardwood floors~how can you ever go wrong?

I have saltillo in my whole house and for me it is very easy to take care of. It does not get as dirty as my previous white tiles. They must be sealed correctly. I sealed them myself. I use Roval Reflecta polish to keep them shiny. I do this maybe once every 3 years. A good sealer and polisher will keep your saltillos looking great. Trust me - those who have not sealed the saltillos properly are the ones who complain.

Love-love-love those spaces!!!!!!

Cindy Crawford has it in her Brentwood house. I know it for a fact because I went there once for her kid's birthday party...*G* no..I'm just kidding. but she does indeed have it per elle decor...It's designed by Michael Smith. I'm crazy a/b that house.

Her house is a spanish/mediteranean style house so it's very appropriate. I see that your house is also spanish/medit style so I think I would work. :-)

I have them too. They came with the house. I do love the rustic look they have, but I hate that the previous owners didn't see fit to seal them properly or clean them much at all. My grout lines are d-i-s-g-u-s-t-i-n-g looking in my kitchen. I'll probably have to hire a company to try to professionally clean the grout lines.

Other than that, they are the ONLY thing we kept when we remodeled our house. We went for more of a French-Farm-thing rather than Mexican, but I think they work that way too. I've seen them in several older homes in my area, and I'm always amazed at the versatility I see when it comes to decor and incorporating the Saltillo tiles.

{{!gwi}}

Athoele - the before pics and then going thru the reno's are what we LIVE FOR. LOL!! Please please share with us *the state of things now*. Most all of us are going thru some state of *house recovery* plus most all of us don't have the wonder you have to work with! :-)) So please share the before & the during, not just the after. I've linked the thread below.

Yvette likewise for/to you. We'd love to see pics! Looks like you've done a super job and I notice we share the same chandy. :-)) Funny - I never saw that Chandy on GW before I bot it (in my case off EBay) and now I've seen a bunch of them. LOL!

Bella - I'm going to Google Cindy Crawford + Brentwood + House hoping to see some pix. :-))

I agree Reno - they are adaptable to many looks. It seems the sealing / appropriate care is a key. In case I'm ever so lucky to get some, I'll keep this in mind.

Holly

Here is a link that might be useful: Span/Med Thread

If, for maintenance reasons, you decide to not do an authentic Saltillo tile, I'd certainly go for a substitute along those lines. There are many beautiful porcelains that will give you a similar effect. It feels sooo right for your house and would be so beautiful!

I once had Saltillo octagonal tiles with square "dots" in between. They had a dilute whitewash and a sealer and a very wide grout line for an extremely rustic effect. They were installed during a period when the best sealer had been taken off the market and no useful sealer had replaced it. Neither the seal nor the whitewash held up and the floor never felt good for my feet. However, most of my problems with the floor were due to poor installation. The installers had no experience with them and really did not appreciate the rustic concept or the chicken feet imprints on the tiles. If you use authentic Saltillos, purchase much more than you need so that you can choose relatively uniform surfaces. Have someone who appreciates pavers install them. Don't use gigantic grout lines. Don't whitewash them. Use a good sealer, let it set appropriately, and maintain as directed. If you have any leg or back issues, they'll still be hard, but they'll look beautiful.

Ok you asked for it. Believe me when I say the old homeowners didnt do this house ANY justice....I plan to change that!

Here is a link that might be useful: Before house pics

WOW - you do have your work cut out for you. But, the house will be lovely when you are finished with it. Good luck in your new adventure! Keep us in tune with updates.

The installers had no experience with them and really did not appreciate the rustic concept or the chicken feet imprints on the tiles.

Oh, the chicken imprints are a major part of the charm! I've got chicken, dog, cat and even a couple of tennis shoe imprints on mine! We combed thru the boxes and selected those tiles, purposely laying them in conspicuous locations!
:-D

Ah, someone who understands. :>)

I ADORE saltillo tile! I see a lot of it living in Texas and visiting south of the border. I never realized the real thing was so hard to maintain tho. Maybe the OP can find an excellent porcelain saltillo look-alike.
Monica

I have the real thing, and it's not hard to maintain! Quite the contrary, actually.

15+ years ago when we were building out patio we used Saltillo tile because that's what everone was using, it was very popular. This year when we decided extend the tile I found it difficult to locate. When I finally did find it I asked why and they told me people don't want it anymore so many stores have dropped it from their line. We're going to bust it all out next year and put in a more durable tile. It's probably best to replace it anyway since it have cracked badly over the years. The stuff is not as strong as other materials, especially when it hasn't been fired. A lot of the Saltillos that were sold years ago were just baked in the hot Mexican sun. Can't imagine how poorly they held up. We chose a fired tile but still it cracked, cracks so long thye run the length of the patio. I would never recommend using Saltillo for outdoors like we did.

Indoors I think it looks great if you're going for the Hacienda look but then you're pinning your home's style down which may not appeal to prospective buyers. Like the gals say on TV, "it's very taste specific".
I used to seal our tile outside until it became such a chore cleaning and sealing every year, eventually I gave up on it. I would imagine the sealer would last much longer indoors. Even if I decorated my house in a soutwest style I would probably opt for a porcelain tile instead. Saltillo's I know are very uneven in their thicknesses. My BIL had it in his kitchen, he ended up replacing it too.

Athoele - that is a FABULOUS house! Talk about bland colors. Good grief - what were they thinking? LOL!! It will be such fun to redo/deco and I know the changes you make will bring back the true flavor that is great outside but soooo lost inside. If y'all promise to keep me updated with the changes I'll be your cyberslave. I'll go hunt down whatever it is you need next. Deal? :-)) I'm kinda at a standstill with mine cash wise and can only do picky stuff. I'll need inspiring stuff to keep me going.

We had lots of strikes against us when we moved to this house. While it is Spanish in style (built by a gentleman from Argentina) the PO's had a) done little to maintain & b) decorated it with their attempt at English Country Manor. Tons of Floral in Mauve/Lt.Blue/Pink/Lt. Peach -- totally Egad!! In addition it's on an acre of property much of which was garden at one time but was totally overgrown. It's hard slugging sometimes and why I need these vicarious trips to other Span/Med homes and a yearly trip to Mex. LOL!!

Have you done anything yet beside move in? Begging you to include us as you progress and thanks SO much for sharing!

Oh Holly you are going to be my new BFF. It sounds like our houses couldnt be any more alike. Ours is on an acre too and it is a pool....and DIRT. Not fun. It will be fun to have someone to share the great times and grief with! We are actually making a special trip to Mexico over the next couple weeks to get some pottery etc. Will keep you posted !

we have saltillo tiles in our bathroom. We bought our house 5 years ago and had it remodeled before moving in. We ripped out old, bad linoleum and the carpenter set the tiles for me, and I had the fun of grouting them (seriously, it WAS fun).

I sealed them with sealer from Home Depot (the tiles were from HD also... super thick tiles... difficult to cut). I sealed them several times before installation, until the sealer would no longer penetrate. HD told me to seal the tops as well as all 4 sides of the tile(so the grout wouldn't stain into the tile). It took about 4 applications.

After the grout had dried and cured, we used the same sealer from HD to seal the entire floor.

That's it. Our floor looks great to this day. I have more of the sealer, but I have never resealed it. It still looks fine with lots of traffice/showers/etc. going on in that room.

Things shatter if you drop breakables on that floor, but the tiles have never even chipped (and we have 5 kids and it's the main bathroom!). I even bought an extra box of the tiles, and they are still in the box in the garage. Haven't had to replace one of them yet!!

The grout lines are a bit large, and I would prefer less grout to clean. But other than that, they are great.

I think your house calls for saltillos. Go for it. You will love them. Your project looks like a lot of fun. Please keep us posted with your progress pictures. It's going to be beautiful when you're done. :o)

athoele: "...We are actually making a special trip to Mexico over the next couple weeks to get some pottery etc. Will keep you posted !"

Fun! Would you post on where you go and what you look for? My husband and I have talked about driving down there sometime, but don't know specifically where to go for products and decorative items.

Go to Puebla for beautiful talavera pottery, etc.

I've just gotta say that I'm so jealous of you folks who can drive down to Mexico! It's too much of a haul from my house, and airline tickets from DFW are atrocious! Still ... we're going. For New Year's. :-)

I have Saltillo tiles in my kitchen and even with sealing, they are difficult to keep clean and they are very hard on my back. I'm ripping them out as soon as we re-do the kitchen. The reason they look so great in restaurants is because someone is cleaning and polishing them every day. I also have the no wax tiles in my bathroom that they have in industrial settings--in offices and such that look very shiny. Mine aren't shiny because I'm not going to pour wax on them and buff them every couple of months. Keep that in mind when choosing floors--you don't have a nightly cleaning crew doing the mopping/polishing for you.

De

You and me both Auntjen! The lucky peeps who live in SoCal, Texas, New Mex, Ariz etc who can pop down for a long weekend and pick up all this neat stuff turn me green with envy. My suitcase is always packed with mucho bubblewrap but large pottery urns and furniture pieces are a little challenging for a suitcase. :-)))

Gonna look up Puebla Yvette. Thanks for the hint!

Athoele, I'll be all eyes to see what *finds* you have acquired on your return from the trip!

Well, I am in Texas! LOL! But - the north/central part of the state and, well, it's a big state! Too long a drive, but at least I do have access to some Mexican import shops just down the block from where I live. That's a huge plus! But ya know where I've found most of my Mexican decor? eBay!