Lyndsey and Mick from Wigan contacted Tile Doctor earlier this year after uncovering a beautiful Victorian tiled floor in their hallway. Keen to have it restored as an original feature they requested a quote to get a restorative deep clean, some minor essential repairs and sealing.
I went over to the property to survey the floor and provide a quote for its restoration. I could see that the previous owners had glued carpet and underlay directly onto the tiles and though the new owners had managed to get a lot of that off there were some stubborn areas remaining. On top of that the tiles were very grubby and in need of a good deep clean. Finally, some loose tiles needed fixing, and they wanted the worst of the broken tiles sorted whilst retaining as much original floor and character as possible.
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After discussing expectations, it was agreed to accept the history and disturb the original screed and fixed tiles as little as possible simply re-fixing where needed, replacing the missing and shattered ones, then cleaning and sealing to give an attractive, serviceable and useable floor in keeping with the age of property.
The quotation was to carry out a deep restorative clean of the hallway tiles to remove heavy soil and strip old sealers using both low moisture gels and a weighted low speed mechanical buffing machine fitted with suitable pads. All soiled gel being removed with a wet vacuum system. The edging was to be hand finished as necessary and the floor is then to be neutralised to prepare for sealing. The hall had a small number of broken/loose tiles that are to be reset or replaced (precise details to be provided by client). Once fully dry the floor would be protected with a breathable sealer to protect and enhance the floors colours.
Happy with the detailed quote and much encouraged that their hallway floor was going to be restored the quote was accepted and a date set for the work to begin.
Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway
Having unloaded our equipment, we started the cleaning process with the application of a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This product is a coatings remover which will breakdown the glue and other contaminants. It was left to soak into the tiles for ten minutes before carefully scraping the worst of the glue off with hand scrapers.
This work continued with a 100-grit soft milling pad fitted to a weighted buffing machine running at slow speed. A wet vacuum was used to remove the waste generated and then it was followed up with an application of Tile Doctor Oxy Gel. This product was allowed to dwell for a little longer before buffing with a 200-grit soft milling pad and extracting as before.
The pads can struggle to reach into the perimeters so the edges and corners were cleaned by hand with diamond blocks as needed. Again, vacuuming away the waste afterwards.
Next, the floor was treated to an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel to further clean the tiles and neutralise the floor after the use of alkaline cleaning products. As before it was left to soak in for a short time before being scrubbed in with a black pad. The floor was then rinsed with water, working in small areas and quickly vacuuming away the waste to minimise the moisture.
Next, the floor was dried before carrying out a small number of tile resets and some repairs to the doorway. The floor was then left to dry off overnight.
Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway
The following morning, I wanted to make sure the tiles were dry enough to take a sealer so several moisture readings were taken with a damp meter to confirm. The readings were fine so we were good to go.
The Victorian tiles were then sealed with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal with the sealer applied in sections working through the hallway until complete. X-Tra seal is an oil-based impregnator that improves colour and works well on Victorian tiles, its also rated for external use so ideal for hallways.
Once touch dry a second coat was applied to give the floor a nice sheen. The final step was to gently buff the floor using a white pad to remove excess sealer and bring up the appearance. A couple of hours later we inspected the floor before leaving a very happy customer.
Lyndsey commented:
For aftercare of sealed Victorian tiles, I recommend Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s a gentle yet effective tile cleaner that’s safe to use on sealed tiles.
Source: Victorian Tile Repair and Restoration Service in Wigan
Never use a strong cleaning product or steam cleaner for the regular cleaning of sealed tiles as this will reduce the life of the sealer. We recommend using a specialist tile cleaning product such as Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner for the regular cleaning of polished and sealed surfaces, if you do use another product always read the label first, most supermarket tile cleaners are only suitable for use on Ceramic, Porcelain and Vinyl.