Restoring Victorian Hallway Tiles in London

Victorian black and white tiles in the hallway of a house in Wanstead (E11), laid in what is often referred to as the York Pattern with a Kingsley Border, however sadly neglected for many years after being covered with a heavy underlay and carpet.

Restoring a Victorian Floor

First we cleaned the tiles with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-clean which releases the dirt stuck in the pores of the tiles; the solution was scrubbed into the floor with a buffer machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad and then the released soil extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was then rinsed with water and extracted again with the wet vacuum. It was left to dry for thirty minutes and the floor inspected which revealed a few stubborn areas that were then treated using Nano-Tech Heavy Build-up remover (HBU) which was left to dwell for forty minutes and then scrubbed and then extracted again with water.


To Slow down or stop the possibility of an issue we sometimes have with older floors such as Victorian Tiles we often use a product developed by Tile Doctor called Acid Gel, this is left on the surface for 5 minutes and then removed with light agitation and water and a wet vac machine, the floor is then rinsed with water again just to make sure there is no Acid Gel left in the Tile or on the surface. The Acid Gel not only Keeps mineral salts (efflorescence) at bay but also helps as a bonding agent for the sealer to make sealing theses type of tiles a lot easier.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

After leaving the floor to dry overnight I came back the next day to seal the floor using four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is ideal for Victorian tiled floors as it leaves a low sheen finish whilst providing excellent stain protection.



Source: Tile and Stone floors restored in London