Heritage Tiling & Restoration Co

A tiled floor laid over a hundred years ago is inevitably going to show its age in cracked and broken tiles. How to mend it though? How to find someone who knows and loves these floors and will take the time to restore it to its full glory? I searched and searched and, almost by chance, found Steve Simnott who has worked for a lifetime restoring geometric and encaustic tiles. These floors require patience, skill and an almost forensic attention to detail to restore them properly. Steve is a true artisan and if my experience finding him is any marker, he is truly one of a kind.

In the words of Tina Turner Steve Sinnott is ‘simply the best’. We engaged HTR in the hope that they might be able to rescue a tiled floor long buried under heavens know what. What Steve delivered us was truly remarkable- a window into an array of colour and geometric design, laid down over a hundred years past, and likely to have been never seen again. I would recommend Steve in an instant - if he told me he could not take on a job for many months I would patiently wait on his availability. In what must be the hard physical work of restoration he has a rare artistry. I have given Steve and HTR five stars- if there had been an option to give more I would have done so. He is that good.

After a very successful refurbishment of our sitting room Edwardian floor tiles we were keen to invite Steve back to work his magic on our kitchen floor tiles. These, again were Edwardian red and black basket weave tiles. Numerous broken tiles were replaced and new tiles were fitted into new areas where walls once stood. These areas were blended seemlessly even though there would not have been tiles there originally. Steve had to cut down all of the black tiles to get to right size which was very labour intensive. Some areas of the floor were very uneven but Steve managed to cope with this issue and deliver an excellent result. Steve kindly managed to fit in our job in time for our new kitchen to be fitted which we really appreciated. Steve left the room clean and tidy every evening when he left. I found Steve to be very friendly, knowledgeable, punctual and I would not hesitate to recommend him. He is a very rare specialist in this field and we feel lucky to have found him. Thank you Steve.

After the flood of all floods Steve came to the rescue and saved our floor, this guys is in a class of his own. Superb job, over the moon. Actually did miss Steve when he went home

We had been trying for over 20 years to find someone to help with our seriously damaged Victorian geometric tiled hall floor and had virtually given up when noticed some images on google from a Steve Sinnott. From the first contact Steve was great. He said he went all over the world, so Dorset was no problem – although he did moan about the lack of motorways when he got here!! By this stage we were realising that restoration might not be an option due to the severe damage both to the tiles themselves and the sub floor. Worth noting too that there was a 6 inch drop along the length of the floor and none of the walls were at right angles, so technically a nightmare. We sent some pictures and he made an initial assessment, that while restoration was possible, the whole floor would have to be lifted and re-laid. The original floor was a fairly average geometric floor with no particularly special features so his advice was to start from scratch and put down something special to us. This was good advice and after over 20 years of deliberation, the sort of advice we needed. Steve came down and spent several hours looking at the floor and talking to us to find out what we wanted and what would suit us. All I knew was that I had always liked black and white floors and I loved the look of multiple patterns at thresholds and between different areas. This was the extent of the remit we gave Steve. After meeting him and several ensuing phone calls, we trusted him, his skill as a craftsman and his professionalism to deliver something we would love. We were not disappointed. From the start of the project Steve delivered as promised. He advised and supported directly when we encountered problems with a local firm doing the sub floor and screed. He liaised with the underfloor heating company so that all preparation was done correctly. He actually laid the floor while we were away on holiday for 2 weeks so that all artistic input was his own. The result is stunning. You would not believe that black and white could look so beautiful and warm. It suits the house perfectly and there are so many little touches and flourishes that we didn’t specify but he put in because he loves his work and wants others to love it too. Steve takes his floors very personally, and it shows! As a final indication of his professionalism, the whole project was delivered in the time frame and at the price originally quoted. We would recommend Steve unreservedly to anyone who cares about having a beautiful, quality job done. PS he’s also a hoot to have around! Dave & Kate Cumber

When it comes to the bespoke creation or restoration of Victorian encaustic & geometric tiled floors, Steve is unique, quite literally in a class of his own. He’s that good. A Master craftsman’s Master craftsman. He brings decades of experience to his craft in a way that actually puts most of the original Victorian tilers to shame! We’re not a listed building or anything grand, but we did still have a small original Victorian geometric-tiled floor at the entrance to our flat. Except, sadly it had long gone past its sell-by date. The underlying screed had crumbled, and with the lack of support, the tiles had cracked and broken. It was a mess, and worse, actually it was downright boring! So much for Victorian craftmanship! For a long time, we’d hoped to get something done about it, but realized that it wasn’t any ordinary kind of tiler’s job, it needed someone that really understood. We’d approached a few that had some experience of geometric tiling, but as soon as they were questioned about how they would tackle the failed screed, the shallow depth of their knowledge and experience was quickly exposed. I initially contacted Steve to ask how this should be tackled, not thinking for a moment that such a small job would be of any interest to him, and he very kindly responded by providing about 50 pages of detailed information on the subject, to assist the DIYer. At no cost, and no obligation to him. You see he’s a really nice guy who cares about what he does. Having read it cover-to-cover, I was convinced. Forget DIY, forget the others, we must get Steve! Fortunately, Steve’s willing to bring those self-same skills that are so much in demand by historic public and other listed buildings all around the world to your door too. Our door in this case! Whereas we had simply thought that at best all we could hope for was for the existing, boring, Victorian floor design to be recreated, we hadn’t allowed for Steve’s creative skills. No, he offered instead to create a unique bespoke design just to bring out the best of our doorway, and of course we jumped at the chance. Who wouldn’t? Right from the start we knew it would be fantastic and indeed it is. He combined some geometric tiles from his own stock with ones we had carefully stored for years waiting to find him, only to discover that he was the very man that had actually cut them all those years ago when we got them made for us by H&R Johnsons! He even brought us some beautiful and rare original encaustic tiles recovered decades ago from an old church and kept for ‘just the right design’, which we are delighted to say is now ours! Watching him at work is just amazing. Not only had he ‘envisaged’ the floor design in his head before he even placed a tile to illustrate it, he has the skills and the experience to work out all of the technical details there too – from the volume of the screed, to the area of the ‘field’ in the centre of the design, all in his knowledgeable head. Working in a very tight space, with very little margin for error, he delivered perfectly everything he promised. If you have Victorian geometric or encaustic tiles that need restored, or would like a new bespoke floor, don’t hesitate, Steve’s your man.

Excellent workmanship and skills. Very pleased with the work Steve carried out on our entrance hall. Steve restored our Victorian mosaic floor, blending in replacement tiles where tiles were damaged. A real pleasure to deal with, and a true professional, I couldn't recommend him highly enough!

Floor tile restoration in the sitting room, including levelling out part of the floor and extending tiles into the fireplace. Steve demonstrated excellent knowledge and experience to overcome a number of issues with the floor and blend the new tiles with the existing tiles. Stuck to agreed timescale and budget. Went above and beyond the original job description. It was a pleasure to witness the work of such a skilled craftsman and I would highly recommend Steve.

Steve from Heritage Tiling restored my small front porch wall tiles and black and white floor tiles - Some wall tiles were missing - Some were cracked - Some had been previously replaced with a complete disregard for colour matching - Steve's knowledge and expertise was very evident during my conversations with him prior to him starting the work - I am more than happy with my fully restored porch and I would recommend using Heritage Tiling and benefiting from Steve' s craftsmanship.

To whom it may concern, I was looking for a professional tiler to complete the installation of a victorian style black and white ceramic tile Floor in the hallway of my Edwardian house. As I am sure you will be aware there are a significant number of trades people available at differing rates with different levels of experience. Two of the worlds most successful people (Warren Buffet and Steve Jobs) did not set out to be rich but rather they focused on doing what they enjoyed and were good at to the best of their ability and the success came as a bi product. I feel this analogy is appropriate for Steve he has a deep passion and desire for his profession and as a result is very successful (and very busy with a significant order book). Steve is not focused on money or doing a quick job for a fast buck as is often sadly the case. For people who understand the difference between cost and value Steve is probably one of the best professional trades people you could meet. The value of his total offering is extensive and extends way beyond mere labour and contacts. He prepares and delivers training material and has a vast range of reference and portfolio material. If Steve doesn't believe he can help you he will be honest and say up front. I am a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and as my wife refers regularly to me as a nightmare with my unreasonable expectations and insistence on detail and quality (it takes my 4hrs to was my car)! I can honestly say Steve surpasses all my expectations, he even offered me advice for questioning other trades people who gave me quotes. One of the most important things I learnt was the unique nature of Victorian tiling ( contrary to one other tiler who visited me mistakingly highlighting "tiling as tiling mate")! The criticality' of the subfloor structure, the surface prep requirements and the fact that you often don't use spacers (owing to the tolerance variation and stack up of a large number of small tiles) Steve had a very funny tale about a job he did for a mathematics professor who initially disagreed with Steve on this matter. After much research and visits from three other tilers I decided that the only person who I would want to complete my project was Steve. Unfortunately by the time I had made my mind up he was booked for the slot he had provisionally offered me (he was tiling the Swedish national museum)! Coincidently I then had some time between jobs and I decided to attempt the tiling myself (which was not my initial intention as I have never done any before). To put it into perspective and show how skilled Steve is my job took my father in law and I 9 weeks (compared to Steves estimate of him alone doing it in circa 10 days)! I would never have been able to finish this without Steve and whilst the finish of my work is good I still could not achieve in 9 times longer what had could have done in a fraction of the time. I actually gave Steve a token for my appreciation which he didn't ask for but I felt the time and info he offered was invaluable. I very much doubt I will have another long period for which to undertake any more tiling so the only person I would have lay a tile in my house is Steve. I can't recommend him highly enough; if you are meticulous, have exceedingly high standards, value expert knowledge and appreciate the time and effort it takes to acquire then heritage tiling will not disappoint. Comparing an Ebay £250 "runabout" with a Bentley would have synergies when considering Steve as merely a "Tiler". Robert Rugen 18/04/2016