Terracotta is a wonderful material being natural clay and either handmade in moulds or machine extruded and fired in gas kilns or - and wait for it - stacked in hollow caves in Mexico and fired by setting fire to car tyres - honestly, we couldn't make this up!

Beware, as this another material that you will hear horror stories about! Take no notice - we'll give you the facts from our experience of both laying and living with terracotta, both for and against.

What do you need to do to it?
Being very porous it needs to be sealed and there seems to be a general consensus with which we agree that the best thing for the job is boiled linseed oil. This needs to be applied to each tile prior to grouting and then we recommend a further layer of protection - either wax or a synthetic sealant.

• Waxing - you will really need a buffing machine and you will have to re-wax every five to six weeks.
   
• Synthetic - If you would like less maintenance, this might be for you, replenish every six to twelve months depending on wear.

Although a terracotta floor needs maintenance we think it is worth it but if you want to do nothing but mop, buy one of the very good ceramic tiles designed to look like terracotta.