How to Deep Cleaning and Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor by Middlesex Floor Care Expert

This lovely Victorian tiled hallway floor in Hampton had been covered with carpet for over 30 years. Having removed the carpet, the owner was keen to restore the floor back to its original appearance. As you can see from the pictures the tiles had some lovely traditional colours which have been hidden away. During that time the tiles had absorbed a lot of soil and were stained by rubber from the underlay causing the colours to fade.

Fortunately, the gripper rods had only been lightly glued onto the tiles and not held down with nails, sometimes with older floors the rods are hammered in place right through the tile causing them to shatter, which makes for a much larger restoration job. I gave them a price for the work which they were happy with, and we arranged a time to return.

 

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

To remove the traces of rubber backing, adhesive and years of stubborn soiling from the tiles the whole floor was soaked in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. After a short dwell time we then machine scrubbed with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to restore the tiles to a very clean condition.

The soiling and products were pressure rinsed and vacuumed away, leaving the Victorian tiles much cleaner. I found the best method was to work in large sections of flooring at a time which allowed for the tiles to dry whilst I worked on another section. I was then able to go back and review my work and spot clean stubborn areas until I was satisfied with the result. The wet vacuum removes a lot of the moisture but it needs to be dry before sealing so the floor was then left to dry off overnight.

 

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The following day we returned and using the damp meter tested the tiles were dry and ready to be sealed. For this we selected to use seven coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go, these were applied leaving each coat to dry before the next one was administered. This left a nice sheen finish on the floor and does a lovely job of enhancing the colours making the tiles look vibrant again. The floor looks great and the hallway is now very inviting.

 
Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare with the owner and recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner. Fact is most supermarket products are for cleaning Vinyl or Ceramic tiles contain bleach and are simply too strong for use on sealed surfaces such as this floor, using them can prematurely erode the sealer and once that’s gone the floor will have no protection and begin to accumulate dirt.

 

Source: Victorian Tile and Grout Cleaning and Renovation in Hampton South Middlesex

How to Restore old Victorian Tiled Floors by South Yorkshire Expert

During renovations at this beautiful house in Sheffield the discovered an original Victorian tiled floor underneath the hallway carpet, incredibly they also uncovered access to a cellar, neither of which they knew idea existed and both were a massive bonus!

    

Once the floor had been fully uncovered it was in a pretty good condition, some repairs were needed but nothing too dramatic. There was damage around the radiators where the heating engineers have just chiselled through the tiles. Plus, the tiles were stained by adhesive where the carpet grippers had been glued to the tiles.

 

I discussed with the client the work needed to carry out a full restoration and gave them a quote. They were happy to accept and asked us to proceed as soon as possible.

 

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started with the removal of the carpet grippers and scraping up as much of the glue as possible, it took some shifting, but it did come up. Any remaining glue was softened up with the application of neat Tile Doctor Remove and Go and then carefully scraped off. Tile Doctor Remove and Go is a multi-purpose stripper that is ideal for removing adhesives and other stubborn coatings such as sealers.

 

The repairs were done next which involved colour matching replacement tiles and cutting them to the right size. A fast-setting adhesive was used to fix them in place and once the floor had dried it was time to move onto the cleaning.

More Tile Doctor Remove and Go was applied, left to soak for ten minutes, and then worked in with a weighted 42kg buffer machine fitted with a very coarse diamond burnishing pad. This combination not only removed the old sealer but did a good job of removing ingrained dirt as well. The floor was rinsed with water and the soil extracted using a wet vacuum.

 

Once done the process was repeated using Tile Doctor Acid Gel, this removes stubborn staining and being an acidic product will counter any efflorescence which is a common problem with these old floors. Old floors like this one don’t have a damp proof membrane installed to prevent moisture underneath the tiles rising through the floor and depositing salt as it evaporates at the surface.

A wet vacuum was used to extract the soiling generated during the cleaning process and every tile was rubbed with microfibre cloths to remove the last of the residue.

 

A nice feature seen on a lot of Victorian floors is an upside tile left by the tiler on purpose, the picture shows the one on this floor. They believed it brought good luck.

 

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor was left to dry off overnight and I returned the following morning to continue with the final phase of the restoration. Before starting though, the first job was to check the floor was dry using a moisture meter. Once satisfied six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra we applied leaving the floor with a beautiful sheen finish.

 

The client was very pleased with the newly restored floor, and for ongoing cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This product has a neutral Ph which is ideal for sealed surfaces; stronger bleach-based cleaners are simply too strong for use on sealed tiles and will erode the sealer prematurely.

 

Source: Tile Cleaning and Restoration Contractor in Sheffield Yorkshire

New Low Moisture Cleaning Technique used on the Restoration of Vintage Victorian Flooring in Carlisle Cumbria

This is probably one of the oldest Victorian floors we have worked on, the house dates back to 1853 and is the second one we have covered on the same road in the leafy city of Carlisle . The whole street was owned by the council for several decades and the houses including floors have experienced all sorts of damage to them over the years. More recently the houses have been released to a private developer who called us in to handle the restoration and resurrect the hallway tiles which you will see on the pictures.

 

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first job for us was the tile repair, and this meant preparing the surface for the new tiles, which involved carefully knocking up all the loose and cracked tiles and then re setting them using matching replacements where necessary.

   

To do this I like to use a multi tool to score the grout and then break out the cracked tiles with a hammer and chisel or a power drill. The replacement tiles had to be re-sized to fit, oddly enough most of the damage was along the edge of the floor where air ducts used to be in place and then these had been concreted in. The main part of the floor though was still in good order even though it was 170 years old.

 

Once the replacement tiles were set, a low moisture cleaning technique was used to get the whole floor clean. This involves covering the tiles in Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel and leaving it to soak into the tile for ten minutes. Being a gel cleaner, it is easier to control and there is less water involved. The gel is then scrubbed in with a buffing machine fitted with a 100-grit milling pad. A little bit of water is added to help lubricate and scrub off the dirt and soiling. A wet vacuum is then used to remove the soil which is an essential piece of kit for this line of work.

After the initial clean the floor was given an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was applied neat and as before scrubbed in using a pad, this time using a finer 200-grit milling pad. Again, a little water was used to aid in the clean up being careful not to flood the floor.

The reason for the low moisture clean is that there was a basement underneath the hallway and the client had nowhere else to put certain fabrics, furniture etc so with a low moisture clean we can minimise the chance of any water finding its way into the space below. The wet vacuum was deployed again to remove the cleaning products and water and the floor was left to dry.

 

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Once clean and dry the floor was sealed using two coats of Tile Doctor X-Tra seal which as the name suggests is a little bit extra as it's a very robust sealer, although mainly designed for outside areas it’s an oil-based formula that works really on Victorian tiles.

 

One done the floor looked great, and the developer was very happy with the result.

 

Source: Victorian Floor Tile Cleaning and Restoration in Carlisle, North Cumbria

Tips on Deep Cleaning Victorian Hallway Tiles by Expert Restorer in Johnstone

 This is another Victorian hallway floor we deep cleaned in Johnstone which is located to West of Paisley. Before quoting I visited the property to survey the Victorian tiles and ensure I had a complete idea of what would be needed to fully renovate floor.

 

After inspecting the floor, I could see there were no surprises such as loose or cracked tiles that would need replacing and that the main issue was it was just incredibly dirty. All that it needed would be deep cleaning including stripping of any remaining sealer, then cleaning and ultimately sealing. This is a typical Tile Doctor job for us to carry out and having worked on many Victorian floors before I was very confident of a great result. The client was happy to go ahead with the quotation and we arranged to return a few weeks later.

 

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor was given a pre spray of Tile Doctor Remove and Go diluted 50:50 with water and then left to soak in for10 minutes to give it time to break down the dirt and any previous coatings that may have been present on the floor. Then the floor was scrubbed using a rotary bonnet machine fitted with a silicon carbide brush. This is an effective brush that in combination with the Remove and Go released a lot from the pores of the tile to the surface where it could be extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was dirtier than anticipated and the process was carried out three times to ensure floor was as clean as possible.

Once the chemicals had done as much as they could the Victorian tiles were resurfaced using Tile Doctor 100 and 200 grit milling pads that remove stubborn ingrained dirt and staining. This process was carried out twice rinsing with water and extracted the soiling with a wet vacuum afterwards.

Last process was to give the tiles a mild Acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. This was scrubbed in using soft brushes fitted to the bonnet machine and then extracted as before. This process further cleans up the tile and will counter any efflorescent salts that can build up in floors of this age which won’t had a modern damp proof membrane in place.

The floor was left to dry out for a few days with a fan left in place to speed up the drying times. The floor looked so much cleaner than when we started, and my client was already pleased with the results.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On my return the I took a few moisture readings with a damp meter to check it was dry enough to accept a sealer. We don’t recommend applying a sealer to a damp floor as from experience the results can be inconsistent so always best to check first.

The meter readings were fine, so I started applying the sealer, which for this floor Tile Doctor Colour Grow was chosen. Three coats were applied to fully protect the floor and bring the colours back after being cut back with the milling pads. This sealer works by soaking into the pores of the tile, occupying the pores, and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there going forwart. As the name suggest it’s a colour enhancing product that is also fully breathable which is important for floors with no damp proof membrane.

 

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is a mild pH neutral tile cleaner that is gentle enough for daily use and will ensure that the newly applied seal is not compromised and kept looking good, especially in such a high traffic area.

Source: Hallway Floor Tile Cleaning and Renovation in Johnstone, Glasgow

Tips and Techniques - Victorian Floor Restoration in York, England

The owner of this beautiful period property on the outskirts of York was renovating the whole property and had uncovered a Victorian tiles floor in the hallway. The tiles were extremely dirty and stained with white paint spots from decorating at some point in its long history.

 

I visited the property to survey the floor and come up with a renovation plan. It was indeed dirty but fortunately in reasonably good physical condition for its age. It needed a deep clean and there were some small repairs needed. I conducted a test clean on a small part of the floor which responded well and based on that I was able to give them an accurate quote for the renovation. They were happy to go ahead, and we arranged a mutually convenient time to complete the works.

 

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first thing needing attention was to re-set some loose tiles at the door entrance which is a common problem with old floors. The sub floor and old tile were cleaned and reset using a fast-setting adhesive and grout. This was left to set for a time before making a start on deep cleaning the hallway floor.

First up was to apply Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is our go to Tile and Grout cleaner which is diluted before being mopped on to the tile and allowed to soak in for ten minutes before being scrubbed in with a black pad and rotary machine.

After rinsing off the now dirty cleaning solution I could see something stronger was required to really shift the deep-seated dirt, paint sports and who knows whatever else had been used on the floor over the years. So, to turn up the cleaning power a notch I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go using the same process and extracting the soil with a wet vacuum. This process where repeated and hand scrubbed some areas until I was satisfied the floor was clean.

The final stage was to give the tiles and acid wash by scrubbing in Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up, this process is designed to counter and salts in the tile, remove old grout smears and neutralise the pH level of the tile after using the alkaline cleaners earlier.

The floor was given a final rinsed and the wet vacuum was deployed for the las time until as much moisture as possible was taken out of the floor. The floor was left to dry naturally for a few days before returning to carry out the sealing.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On returning to the property to carry out the sealing it was first tested for moisture using a damp meter. The tiles needed to be dry before sealing and any high readings can be resolved using a heat gun.

Once satisfied the floor was dry the floor it was sealed using four coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which will provide maximum protection from staining and enhance the colours in the tile. Additionally, Colour Grow is fully breathable which basically means it will allow any damp in the subfloor to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface. This is an important consideration for old floors without a damp proof membrane as a non-breathable sealer can cause problems with damp building up under the floor.

 

The client was delighted with the result and was really pleased to see the floor restored to its former glory. As you can see from the photos the floor now looks clean and bright and this vastly improved the appearance of the hallway in keeping with the rest of this beautiful period property.

 

Source: Victorian Tile Cleaning and Restoration Service in Macclesfield

South East London Tiler Demonstrates how to Restore a Damaged Victorian Steps

This client in Chislehurst wanted to create a better first impression as their front Victorian tiled step looked tired and had been damaged by long term settlement in the sub floor. They ideally wanted to keep the original tiling but thought it would have to be replaced. The problem was that one section of the base had dropped and the tiling had cracked either side of this.

 

After visiting the property, I told the client that it could be repaired with matching reproduction tiles and fully restored. My client was happy with this suggestion, and they agreed to go ahead with my quote on that basis.

 

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Path and Step

Our workload has been busy this year so I returned as soon as I could and started by carefully lifting the tiles from the dropped section and all the cracked tiles that had been affected. Before retiling I had to underpin the original base and raise the level with new concrete. Once this was done, I left the property for a few days so the new concrete base could cure fully. When I returned to the job, I set about fixing the replacement reproduction tiles in place laying them down in the same pattern as before, again these needed time for the adhesive to set so I left the property once completed.

 

Restorative Cleaning of Victorian Tiles

I returned again a few days later to clean and seal the tiles. I first used Tile Doctor Remove and Go to remove any ground in dirt and old sealers that may be on the original tiles. As these tiles were outside and open to the elements, I needed to remove some blackening from the tiles and used Tile Doctor Patio and Brick Driveway Cleaner to get that off. I put this on the tiles and let it dwell for a while, adding water to it to keep the tiles wet. It was a small area so to help lift the dirt out of the tile I scrubbed the tiles by hand. Once done the whole area was rinsed with more water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum. The next step was to bring up the appearance of the tiles and remove further dirt with the application of a 100 and then 200-grit milling pad. These pads are applied with water for lubrication and do a great job of deep cleaning the tiles and hone up the face of the tile to ease the sealing process. It was a small area, and the weather was good so it wasn't too long before I could move onto sealing.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Path and Step

When the tiles were dry, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow and then once this had dried, I applied a coat of Tile Doctor Stone oil. Both these sealers are impregnators, which soak into the pores of the tile to enhance the appearance and natural colours of the tiles.

 

It took a half few days to fully restore the path, fortunately Chislehurst is very close to my base in Bromley and so I was able to do some other work in between. The step looked new afterwards and my client was very impressed with the completed job.

Source: Victorian Step Cleaning and Repair Service in Chislehurst

Tile Restoration Expert Details Floor Restoration Project in London

This client owned a property in Haringey, North London, which had a classic Victorian tiled floor laid in the hallway. Unfortunately, the floor was in a bad state, the tiles were dull and dirty and there was a missing section by the bottom of the stairs that had been back filled with cement. Fortunately for him however his neighbour decided to remove their front path which was made with matching tiles and so he was able acquire replacements from him. He then contacted us to see if we could use those tiles to fill in the missing ones and revive the whole floor with a clean and seal at the same time.

 

Before quoting for the restoration work, I paid a visit to the property to survey the floor. I can give quotes from photographs, but much prefer to visit and conduct a test clean, and in this case, I was able to check the spare tiles he had acquired. From that I emailed a quote which the client was happy with, so we arranged a date to return and do the work.

 

Cleaning and Reviving a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

This was a large job, so I teamed up with Jackson Davis the Central London Tile Doctor and whilst Jackson started on cleaning the floor, I took the reclaimed tiles outside and carefully grinded off the excess cement and adhesive from them and cleaned them by hand. We managed to do this by about 3pm. Jackson and I work on a lot of jobs together so it made sense to work as a bubble from the beginning of Covid so we could continue to work together, with two of us on the job it also means we can get the job done quicker.

Cleaning the floor involved applying a 200-grit diamond burnishing pad to the tile lubricated with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, the slurry was then rinsed off the floor with more water and then extracted with an industrial vacuum. The process was repeated on stubborn areas until we were satisfied the tiles were really clean.

We then moved onto carefully removing the cement from the floor at the bottom of the stairs and cleaning up the base. Once done the newly renovated replacement tiles were laid in place using a rapid setting adhesive which meant they could be grouted later that day before heading home. The floor was then left overnight to dry off.

 

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

We then returned the following day and took some moisture readings with the damp meter. The readings were within the expected range, so we were good to go ahead and apply the sealer. If the floor is not dry the seal will not cure properly, and this can lead to a patchy finish.

 

Three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied to seal the tiles. This is a colour intensifying impregnating sealer that works from with and will gives the Victorian tiles durable protection, ideal for a high traffic area such as the hallway. In addition, Colour Grow is a fully breathable sealer so it will allow for moisture to rise through the tile and evaporate, this is critical for floors of this age that will not have the benefit of a damp proof membrane installed under the floor.

 

The hallway is now looking transformed by the work we did, we certainly thought so, but more importantly our client was very happy with the result and now has the floor he hoped for.

Source: Victorian Tile Cleaning and Renovation Service in North London

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

How to renovate a Victorian Tiled Hallway

The owner of this beautiful Victorian tiled hallway floor in Dinnington had wanted the floor restored for quite some time. The property had many Victorian features, but this floor had an unusual design which made it very special. The owners had researched how to clean it themselves but hadn’t managed to achieve the result they were hoping for. The main problem was that the floor had been spotted with small paint splashes from decades of decorating.


Dinnington officially forms part of in Rotherham and is the same distance from Rotherham as it is from Sheffield. The area was a big coal mining and steel producing area and unfortunately suffered huge job losses throughout the 80’s and 90’s so its not surprising that the local housing stock suffered for many years as a result.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

We first treated the floor with Tile Doctor Remove and Go, this acts quickly to break down any old sealers still present on the tiles and softens the old paint splashes. After a ten-minute dwell time a coarse 200-grit burnishing pad fitted to rotary floor buffer was applied to the tiles. More water was applied where required to help lubricate the process and make the pad really work its magic. The slurry generated was extracted using a wet vacuum and the floor inspected. The process was the repeated to ensure all the dirt was removed and the floor was as clean as possible.


Once happy the Victorian tiles were as clean as the could be it was time to give the floor an acid wash which would remove any old mineral deposits including grout smears. We also recommended this for old Victorian floors which do not have a damp-proof membrane installed and can suffer from white efflorescent salt deposits as moisture rises through the tile. To do this Tile Doctor Acid Gel was scrubbed into the to the floor using a 200-grit burnishing pad to make the acid gel work hard. Afterwards we rinsed the floor several times removing the slurry with a wet vacuum. This kept the mess to a minimum and the floor was already looking great.


The floor was left to dry over the weekend, and we would return the following week to carry out the sealing process.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The following Monday we returned to seal the floor. First, we used the moisture meter to test the floor, we needed to ensure it was as dry as possible before sealing it. The client wanted a traditional look, so we opted for Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that leaves matt finish. This product is perfect for this type of floor as it is fully breathable allowing moisture to pass through the tile and sealer and not become trapped under the floor where it could spread to the walls and cause rising damp.

Four coats of Colour Grow were applied in total allowing each to dry before applying the next. The sealer works by occupying the pores in the tile thereby protecting the floor and preventing dirt from becoming trapped making it much easier to clean.

I was very happy with the result; the floor was now in great condition and was one of the more dramatic in colour and pattern that I had come across. My customer also felt the same and left the following feedback for me.

"Matt did a professional and thorough job: our Victorian hall tiles really 'pop' with colour. Highly recommend. Karen T, Dinnington"




Source: Victorian Tile Cleaning and Sealing Service in South Yorkshire