Hertfordshire: Kitchen, Entrance Hall and Front Porch Floor

This floor is the fifth project Tile in Progress completed at this Hertfordshire property, alongside the cloakroom, en-suite, family bathroom and guest en-suite documented separately. As a new build, the subfloor preparation here was more straightforward than on many of the other projects in this portfolio. There was no failed concrete to repair, no deteriorated joists and no previous tile bed to remove. What a new build subfloor does require, particularly across a floor area of this size, is an anti-fracture membrane installed before tiling begins. New build concrete slabs continue to cure and settle for a period after construction and the membrane protects the tile bed from any residual movement as that process continues. It is the right specification for a new build floor and it was installed throughout before any tile went down.
The tile is a cream porcelain at 600 x 600mm, chosen to complement the calm, neutral palette of the kitchen and the wider interior. The floor runs continuously from the kitchen through the entrance hall and out through the front porch, which means the setting out had to work across three connected zones and through two threshold transitions without any break in the tile grid. Getting a continuous floor to read correctly through multiple spaces requires resolving the setting out as a single plan across the whole area before the first tile is placed, so the joints align at every doorway and the tile never arrives at a threshold with an awkward cut.

The junction between inside and outside at the front porch is particularly visible and was given the same attention as the main kitchen floor. The floor was finished with epoxy grout throughout. For a kitchen floor in daily use, epoxy grout is the correct specification. It does not stain, it does not absorb moisture from cooking or cleaning, and it holds its colour and condition over time in a way that standard cement grout does not.
The cream porcelain and the epoxy grout together give this floor the kind of longevity that matches the quality of the new build around it. The project was completed in three weeks, completing the full scope of tiling work across this Hertfordshire property to the same standard in every room.