Polymerised linseed oil - is it breathable?

[sliperooni]

Hello, does anybody out there know if polymerised linseed oil is breathable, please? Looking for some sort of finish for my (recently-discovered-and-oh-so delighted) quarry tile floor. It was covered with the ubiquitous beige carpet, foam underlay and plastic membrane (previous owner), so was quite wet for a few days but now it seems to be drying (I've dug a French drain around the outside walls and lime plastered the internal walls). So, I'm looking for something to put on it, not to "seal" it, but to enhance it's surface a bit. Any knowledge of breathable finishes (but non-toxic!) greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Itchinfilth]

No expert on tiles but just wanted to say what a Great fireplace and beams this room has. Assume the segregation of the fireplace is an insert in to what would have been 1 huge one?

 

[Cubist]

That's a wonderful find and when you've finished cleaning it it will be absolutely stunning. Do you know what the floor construction is that lies beneath the quarries? Seems likely to me it's a lime mortar screed over a sand/soil aggregate base of some kind. I ask as even linseed oil will reduce the tile, and the grouts, ability to breathe and there is a danger that moisture rising from the ground below will be pushed into your walls. That said a very, very light coat of linseed can enhance the base colour of the tiles and afford the surface with some small additional protection but ultimately I feel they are best left alone where possible.

 

[sliperooni]

No expert on tiles but just wanted to say what a Great fireplace and beams this room has. Assume the segregation of the fireplace is an insert in to what would have been 1 huge one?

Thank you! Yes, you're right, and we took out an insert within that one too! I'm told that the stone that's segregating it came from a local piggery. Posh pigs!

 

[sliperooni]

That's a wonderful find and when you've finished cleaning it it will be absolutely stunning. Do you know what the floor construction is that lies beneath the quarries? Seems likely to me it's a lime mortar screed over a sand/soil aggregate base of some kind. I ask as even linseed oil will reduce the tile, and the grouts, ability to breathe and there is a danger that moisture rising from the ground below will be pushed into your walls. That said a very, very light coat of linseed can enhance the base colour of the tiles and afford the surface with some small additional protection but ultimately I feel they are best left alone where possible.

Thank you! It might be a lime screed - I hope so, although there's a section of it that might be earth and ash, but I don't want to find out too much as that way madness lies in this house! I'm just going to live with it - no carpets or rugs, just furniture that has legs, so elevating it from the floor to aid air flow. And I might just take your advice and leave them alone for now, see what happens when we occupy it - and then review the possibility of linseed. Thanks again.

 

[Itchinfilth]

Thank you! Yes, you're right, and we took out an insert within that one too! I'm told that the stone that's segregating it came from a local piggery. Posh pigs!

Indeed! We have a big 17th c fireplace in the middle of a medieval opening. Love how these older houses have developed over the years