Victorian Hallway Tiles Renovated in Warwickshire

I was very pleased to be contacted by this client, they lived on a lovely residential road near the centre of Rugby in Warwickshire and the house featured a beautiful Victorian tiled hallway floor. As you will see from the pictures the patterns are stunning.


Over the years it had been badly damaged along the edges and a few tiles were cracked. It's difficult to know the cause of the damage but we normally find problems like these can be caused by settlement in the floor and if heavy objects are dropped on the tiles. High traffic areas such as the hallway do get a lot of general wear and tear which takes its toll on the floor. The owner of the house felt embarrassed with the condition of the floor and had decided it was time to have it restored.

Cleaning and Restoring a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I identified the colours used in the floor, so I could source replacements and went through the floor with the client to mark the tiles that needed changing. We left a few tiles with minor damage so that the new tiles did not stand out and kept the floor authentic.

I managed to source some replacement tiles and started the job by removing and replacing all the damaged and loose tiles. Many of the replacements had to be hand cut to size, especially in the corners. It took some time but eventually, all the damaged tiles were removed and replaced, and the loose tiles refitted. The floor was then left for a few days to set.

On my return, I started by giving the floor a deep clean by spraying the tiles with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This was left on the tiles to soak in and break up the bonding agent in the old coatings. After ten minutes I worked the solution into the tiles with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer and then rinsed the resulting soil off the floor with water and extracted it using a wet vacuum.


The next step was to give the floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel, we don’t normally use acidic products on tile or stone however they are particularly good at dealing with alkaline mineral salts and removing grout smears. Old floors like these are particularly vulnerable to a natural process called efflorescence which results in white mineral salt deposits being left on the surface of the tile as the floor fully dries out and can interfere with the sealer. To counter this, the floor was given an Acid Wash with Tile Doctor Acid Gel which being in Gel form makes it particularly easy to control. The acid in the gel works by neutralising the alkalinity in the floor. The solution was scrubbed into the floor using a coarse diamond encrusted burnishing pad to improve the finish of the tiles and then thoroughly rinsed with water and extracted with a wet vacuum to remove any trace of cleaning product.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

After leaving the floor to thoroughly dry out over a few days I returned to complete the sealing process. On my return, the floor was sealed with few coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which leaves a nice satin finish and being a fully breathable sealer is ideal for old floors that have no damp proof membrane and needs moisture to rise through the tile, so it can evaporate.


The vibrant colours of the tiles were brought back to life and the floor was transformed. The client was delighted and wondered why they had not called upon us sooner!



Source: Victorian Tile Cleaning and Renovation Service in Warwickshire

Grout Cleaning and Sealing in a Warwickshire Hallway

The owner of this house in Chaplefields near Coventry had bought this property as an investment and was keen to improve its appearance. As part of this work he had lifted the vinyl tiles in the hallway and discovered a lovely Edwardian tiled floor. Unfortunately, whoever had laid the Vinyl tiles had decided to use Tar as an adhesive and this had left a black mess all over the floor.


Realising the potential value an original feature such as this could add to the property he was keen to restore the tiles but not so keen to deal with the Tar, so we were asked to deal with the problem and restore the floor as close to its original condition as possible.

Repairing and Cleaning a Dirty Edwardian Tiled Floor

To get the tiles clean and remove the horrible tar I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, which as its name suggest is great for removing coverings from tiles. I applied the Remove and Go with a mop, left it to soak in for a few minutes and then worked it in using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The soil was extracted off the floor using a wet and dry vacuum and then the process repeated until I was happy all the tar was gone. I then gave the tiles an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel; this serves to break down alkaline mineral deposits such as cement and grout smears, it also counters any efflorescence problems which can be an issue with these old floors where no damp proof membrane has been installed. Finally, the floor was given a rinse with clean water and a steam clean to remove any trace of cleaning products and to neutralise the tiles in preparation for sealing.

Sealing a Edwardian Tiled Floor

I left the floor to dry off overnight and returned to the property to seal the tiles the next day. To seal the tiles, I used three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water based sealer that leaves a subtle sheen finish and being water based doesn’t leave a smell as it dries. The sealer will provide durable protection going forward preventing dirt from becoming ingrained into the pores of the tile and ensuring it remains easy to clean and keeping its appearance for some time to come.


The floor now looks fantastic and gives a great impression when you come into the property which is exactly what the owner wanted.


Source: Edwardian Tile Cleaning and Restoration Service in Warwickshire

Removing Glue From Victorian Floor Tiles

This Victorian Tiled Hallway at a house in Radford near Coventry had been well preserved under a carpet for many years and the owners of the house now wanted it brought back to life. Physically the tiles were in good condition however they did suffer from the usual issues of paint splashes and Read more...

New Ruined Limestone floor restored

This client had recently had a black limestone tiled floor installed in the kitchen and dining area in his home on the northern border of Warwickshire. Unfortunately however the tiler had not sealed the tiles prior and struggled to remove the grout smears from the Limestone surface. The tiles Read more...

Limestone Floor Maintained in Coventry

This Limestone Tiled Floor was installed in the hall and kitchen of a residence in Coventry. The floor had scratch damage in the middle of the kitchen and was dull from the previous use of the wrong cleaning products, the house had recently been sold and the new owners wanted the damage removed Read more...

Deep cleaning a Vinyl floor at a church in Wyken, Coventry

The great thing about being in the floor cleaning business is that the equipment we use are very flexible and allow the cleaning of many surfaces from Tile, Stone, Grout and Carpet through to in this case a Vinyl floor at Church in Wyken. Cleaning Vinyl Flooring You can see from the photograph Read more...

Grout Haze Removed from Slate

These mixed milled slate floor tiles were installed in the Kitchen, Hall and toilet of a house in Broadwell, Warwickshire. The Slate was staining easily from drink spills and proving hard to clean; on top of that all the tiles were covered in a slight grout haze and had not been sealed or Read more...

Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored

This Victorian tiled hallway at a house in Earlsdon near Coventry was not only in dire need of a good clean and seal, but also required some repairs to areas where the tiles were cracked or missing. The job took three days in total to complete, with one day spent on the necessary repairs, and Read more...

Restoring the Colour in Limestone Tiles

This is the second black limestone tiled floor we have dealt with this year where the tiler struggled to get the right finish. In this case the floor tiles were newly fitted but unfortunately the tiler had decided not to seal the tiles prior to grouting which resulted in grout becoming trapped Read more...

Dirty Terracotta Tiles Deep Cleaned in Warwick

These photographs are from a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen at a house in the historic town of Warwick. You should be able to see from the photographs that the tiles had a heavy build-up of wax and oil coating which besides being very unsightly made them difficult to clean. Removing Wax and Oil from Terracotta Tiles I knew I was going to struggle to remove the build-up of wax and oil so I decided to go apply Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a product specifically designed to safely remove Read more...

Original Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Coundon

It's a wonder why any property owner would want to cover an original Victorian tiled floor but I guess it was the fashion at the time. Fortunately, times have changed and home owners are now looking to restore original features back to their property as they bring a real sense of character and personality, especially if the tiles laid are colourful and have interesting design patterns. In this case the former owner of this house in Coundon near Coventry had opted to hide the fantastic Read more...

Protecting Limestone Patios from the Elements

This beautiful Limestone patio had been installed in the back garden of a house in Nuneaton and then covered with some form of acrylic coating to protect it. Unfortunately the coating wasn't able to defend against the ravages of the UK weather and had become loose leaving the Limestone exposed Read more...

Removing layers of wax and oil from Terracotta tiles

These photographs are from a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen at a house in the historic town of Warwick. You should be able to see from the photographs that the tiles had a heavy build-up of wax and oil coating which besides being very unsightly made them difficult to clean. Removing Wax and Oil from Read more...

Rebuilding and Restoring a Victorian Tiled Hallway

As you can see from the photographs below this Victorian tiled hallway was in quite a state and not only needed a thorough clean and fresh seal but needed to be rebuilt in parts. Leamington Spa or Royal Leamington Spa to give its full name is one of the original UK Spa towns where people would Read more...

Beautiful Victorian Hallway Restored in Warwickshire

This Victorian tiled hallway was one of the most beautiful Victorian floors I have ever had the pleasure to work on. With the wide range of patterns and colours they are available in, it seems no two Victorian tiled floors are exactly the same, and this uniqueness is part of what makes them so Read more...

To read more on this topic click here

Restoring and Repairing a Victorian Hallway Hidden Under Carpet for 15 years

It's a wonder why any property owner would want to cover an original Victorian tiled floor but I guess it was the fashion at the time. Fortunately, times have changed and home owners are now looking to restore original features back to their property as they bring a real sense of character and Read more...

Rebuilding and Restoring a Damaged Victorian Tiled Floor in Earlsdon

The Warwickshire team recently visited a customer in Earlsdon, a village near Coventry, who wanted a Victorian tiled floor rebuilt before being cleaned and sealed. Sometimes our work goes well beyond simple cleaning and sealing services, especially when tiles are damaged, broken or completely missing however we have done several rebuilds before and always welcome a new challenge. Upon closer inspection, I could see that up to 70% of the tiles were damaged in some way, and the screed was Read more...

Bombed Damaged Victorian Floor Rebuilt in Coventry

The Warwickshire team recently visited a customer in Earlsdon, a village near Coventry, who wanted a Victorian tiled floor rebuilt before being cleaned and sealed. Sometimes our work goes well beyond simple cleaning and sealing services, especially when tiles are damaged, broken or completely Read more...

Victorian Bathroom Wall Tiles Deep Cleaned

The Warwickshire team recently visited a customer in Earlsdon, a village near Coventry, who wanted a Victorian tiled floor rebuilt before being cleaned and sealed. Sometimes our work goes well beyond simple cleaning and sealing services, especially when tiles are damaged, broken or completely missing however we have done several rebuilds before and always welcome a new challenge.


Upon closer inspection, I could see that up to 70% of the tiles were damaged in some way, and the screed was cracked from movement which given how old the house was may have been caused by the Blitz of Coventry during World War II, more than 70 years prior.

Repairing and Rebuilding a Damaged Victorian Tiled Floor

To begin the restoration, we had to remove all the tiles, determining in the process what could be salvaged and discarding any that were beyond repair. I happened to have a set of replacement Victorian tiles reclaimed from the floor of a local house and thankfully they matched perfectly. After stripping the floor of tiles the holes and cracks had to be filled and a new screed was laid to ensure the base would be level and stable.

Once the screed had set we started fixing the tiles to the floor using a mixture of the original and reclaimed tiles.

Once laid the tiles were grouted and by the end of the fifth day the floor was rebuilt.

Cleaning and Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor

The next task was to give the new floor a deep clean which we did using Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This product is a heavy-duty stripper and coatings remover designed to tackle heavy soil build-up and remove old sealers in the process. The product was left to soak into the tiles and then scrubbed in using a black buffing pad fitted to a rotary machine. The soiled cleaning solution was rinsed off with water and extracted using a wet vacuum. The floor was then given a thorough acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel, which is a blend of phosphoric and hydrochloric acids in an easy-to-use gel form. This helped to remove grout smears, efflorescence and mineral salts. Once clean, the floor was rinsed thoroughly with water to neutralise the chemicals, before being speed dried. Finally, we sealed the tiles using four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra. This sealer is a special acrylic based formula which allows moisture vapour transmission and is ideal for old floors which do not have a damp proof membrane installed.


We were really pleased with the outcome and it felt rewarding to salvage this fantastic Victorian floor and give it a new lease on life after suffering significant damage. The customer was overjoyed with the fully restored original feature.





Source: Victorian Tile and Grout Cleaning and Restoration Service in Warwickshire

Commissioning a new Terracotta Tiled Floor in Warwickshire

Newly built properties are not without their problems and often take a while to resolve all the snagging which occasionally extends to resolving problems with newly laid tiled floors. At this new property in the village of Malvern, and overlooked by the Malvern hills, the builders had left the Read more...