How to Restore Victorian Minton Floor Tiles

Details below of the full restoration of a Victorian Minton tiled hallway floor that I restored earlier this year in the South Birmingham suburb of Kings Heath. The owner had recently purchased the property and discovered a Victorian tiled floor underneath an old carpet in the hallway.


The floor was in a very poor state with areas where tiles were missing and had been backfilled with a cement levelling compound. The adjacent vestibule also had a large area of tiling missing. My client was delighted when they had found some of the missing original tiles and now wanted to investigate having the floor returned to its former glory.


I went along to quote and give a demonstration of the restoration process and provide an indication of the expected results. The test area responded well to the treatment and they were happy with my quote to repair and renovate the floor, so were booked in to restore the whole floor and I set about sourcing matching replacement tiles.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first two days were spent carefully removing the leveller, cleaning up the exposed subfloor then cutting and fitting replacement tiles. One of the areas that needed extra work was a doorway which required a sub-floor installing before being able to tile with a matching pattern.


With the main hallway tiling completed I started on the tiling in the adjacent vestibule. I had been given a couple of bags of original tiles to sort out by the owner and fortunately most of them were in good condition, so I was able to repair the vestibule with approximately 90% original tiles. The rest were made up of reproduction tiles that I had managed to source. Additionally, the floor had numerous loose tiles which needed resetting and finishing with replacements. Due to so many of the tiles being original the appearance between the newly replaced area did not look too much different however I was confident the following deep clean and seal would blend them in well.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

With the tiling now repaired my next focus was the cleaning which I started on day three with an application of neat Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to help loosen the carpet adhesive and paint splashes that were staining the floor. The Pro-Clean was mopped onto the floor and then worked in with a 200-grit diamond pad fitted to a weighted rotary buffing machine. The extra weight, cleaning agent and coarse pad gets into the pores of the tile releasing years of ingrained dirt and removing old sealers and coatings. The floor was then rinsed with water and the waste extracted with a wet vacuum.


The next step was to give the floor an acid rinse using another Tile Doctor product called Grout Clean-up which is designed to remove grout smears and mineral salts that will have been trapped into the pores of the tile after years of being covered in carpet. The grout clean-up was worked into the tiles using a 400-grit burnishing pad to refine the tile surface and close up the pores. The floor was rinsed and extracted again and left to dry out for two nights.

 Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned a few days later and after testing the floor was dry set about applying a sealer. For this floor I chose to apply six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which gives a lovely sheen finish and really brought out the character in the beautiful tiles. It’s also water based so it doesn’t leave a smell as it dries.


By the time I had finished the floor was looking transformed and the client was delighted, so much so they left this fantastic review:

Kieron was fantastic. He brought our Minton flooring back to life and kept us informed every step of the way. He really knew what he was talking about and has done a fantastic job. Not to mention he was a really really lovely guy and great value for the incredible workmanship he offers."
I left the customer with a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to help maintain the tiles appearance. It is important to use a neutral pH cleaner when maintaining sealed floors as stronger tile cleaning products that you find in supermarkets are too strong and will prematurely strip the protective sealer off a floor.



Source: Minton Tile Cleaning and Restoration Service in Birmingham

Expert Reveals Insider Knowledge of Edwardian Floor Restoration

I took these pictures earlier in the year when a homeowner got in touch requesting repairs to a Geometric Tiled Hallway floor at their property in Birstall, Leicestershire.

The tiles were made by Craven Dunhill back in the Edwardian Era, a company which is still in operation today. They are an original Victorian Geometric & Encaustic Tile manufacturer and have been operating from their facility in Jackfield, Telford since 1872. The tiles were a lovely example of their work but clearly the tiles were now in need of some work to bring them back to their former glory.

I popped along to the property to have a look at the floor in person, survey the floor and produce an accurate quote for renovating it. I could see there was damage to border tiles from tacks, fixing holes and resin adhesive which indicated the floor had been covered by a carpet at some point in its long history. The main body of the floor also had movement cracks, and a section in front of the stairs had dropped considerably. This was loose underfoot and a trip hazard.


After surveying the floor, I was able to give the owners an accurate quote for repairing and restoring the floor back to its original condition. They were happy with the quote and we agreed a date for my return. Original features like these are well worth preserving as they are very sought after and add a lot of value to a property, especially when the tiles are from a respected manufacturer like Craven Dunhill or Mintons.

Cleaning and Repairing an Edwardian Era Geometric Tiled Hallway Floor

Arriving on the first day, we prepared the area by taping off the surrounding areas with dust sheets. We then began the careful process of repairing the floor starting with the removal of the damaged and loose tiles.


With the tiles removed the next step was to repair the damage to the subfloor using cement to fill the voids and raise the lowered section. Once this has dried the tiling was replaced using a combination of original and replacement tiles. As the manufacturer was still in business the client had managed to source some replacements tiles which made the job a lot easier to complete and would ensure the heritage of the restoration.


Once the tiles had been replaced you could really see the floor was starting to come together and I we were all looking forward to seeing the finished result.

With the repairs completed we carried out a low-moisture restorative clean and seal using Tile Doctors Remove and Go and Acid Gel products along with light diamond pads. This two-stage process remove the build-up of soiling and sealers. Following this the floor was thoroughly rinsed, and the waste extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was then left for a few days to dry out.

Sealing an Edwardian Era Geometric Tiled Hallway Floor

We retuned a few days later and tested the floor with the damp meter to check the floor was ready for the seal. The readings were acceptable and so we were able to finish the floor by apply a protecting sealer. For this floor we selected to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the tile intensifies the colours and providing durable protection from within. Colour Grow is fully breathable sealer which is a vital consideration for floors of this age which do not have a damp proof membrane installed.


The work took us a week to complete and by the end floor was level and the lovely patten, colours and appearance of the floor was restored as promised. The owners were very happy with the results and new sealer will help protect the floor for up to 5 years if properly maintained with our Tile Doctor pH Neutral Tile Cleaning Concentrate.




Source: Victorian Floor Cleaning and Restoration in Leicestershire

Victorian Hallway Tile Restoration in London W2

This large entrance hall tiled in Victorian black and white floor tiles in London W2 had been quite badly damaged in the past by having a carpet glued and nailed on to it. Many tiles were broken or missing and those missing had been replaced by cement. Cleaning a Victorian Floor On the first day of this three day job I removed the cement filling and extracted the nails that remained in the floor. I then stabilised the exposed area with a PVA solution before replacing the missing tiles with Read more...

Replacing Missing Victorian Tiles

This large entrance hall tiled in Victorian black and white floor tiles in London W2 had been quite badly damaged in the past by having a carpet glued and nailed on to it. Many tiles were broken or missing and those missing had been replaced by cement. Cleaning a Victorian Floor On the first Read more...

Honest Muscle Required to Clean Victorian Tiles

Set of photographs here from a Victorian Tiled floor for a customer in Balham, South London. They had found the floor under an old carpet, and wanted to restore it. Unfortunately their builders did not listen and didn't bother to put down any protection when they painted, as a result there was Read more...

Victorian Tiled Hallway Restoration in Balham

Set of photographs here from a Victorian Tiled floor for a customer in Balham, South London. They had found the floor under an old carpet, and wanted to restore it. Unfortunately their builders did not listen and didn't bother to put down any protection when they painted, as a result there was paint everywhere, I've include a detailed photograph below so you can see for yourself what a state the floor was in. Cleaning the Victorian Floor Tiles Initially the floor was cleaned using a dilution Read more...

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Victorian Hallway Tile Restoration in London W2

This large entrance hall tiled in Victorian black and white floor tiles in London W2 had been quite badly damaged in the past by having a carpet glued and nailed on to it. Many tiles were broken or missing and those missing had been replaced by cement. Cleaning a Victorian Floor On the first day of this three day job I removed the cement filling and extracted the nails that remained in the floor. I then stabilised the exposed area with a PVA solution before replacing the missing tiles with Read more...