This lovely little Victorian tiled vestibule floor at a house in Whitley Bay had seem some wear over the years and the owner was keen on a renovation of the vestibule area. There were some damaged and missing tiles, and the floor needed a good clean and then reseal to bring it back to life.
It was a small project so after discussing it in detail over the phone it didn’t take long to organise a quote which was accepted and we arranged a suitable time for the work to be done.
Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Vestibule
The first job was to clean the tiles using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. A medium dilution was applied to the tiles and left to soak in for a good ten minutes to allow it time to digest the dirt and old coatings. Being a small area the floor was scrubbed using a small 6-inch black pad fitted to a handheld machine. This brought the dirt and any remaining sealer out into the cleaning solution where it was rinsed and vacuumed away.
Some areas were heavily stained so the process was repeated with more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and scrubbing until I was satisfied the floor was as clean as it could be.
With the cleaning done, work progressed onto replacing the missing and broken tiles. There are several companies that specialise in reproduction Victorian tiles, so it wasn’t a problem finding tiles that were a good match to the originals. They did however need to be cut to shape to fit the geometric pattern of the floor and then set in place with a rapid set adhesive.
Once set, the floor was given a further clean with a small 6-inch 200-grit diamond pad, these pads are ideal for removing deep seated stains from old Victorian tiles. Applied with water they a run over each tile before switching to a finer 400-grit to close the pores again which will help them stay clean once sealed.
Sealing a Victorian Tiled Vestibule
After another rinse and extraction, the floor was left to dry off overnight and I returned the next day to apply a protective sealer. Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal was chosen for this as it’s rated for external use and fully breathable which is an important consideration for older floors.
Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the tile improving the colour of the floor and protecting it from within. Impregnators work keeping dirt on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away.
Once that was done, I checked the area was clean and tidy before leaving and took time to discuss aftercare cleaning for which I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner.
Source: Victorian Tiled Vestibule Floor Restored in Whitley Bay Tyneside
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 or sealed surfaces, if you do use another product always read the label first, most supermarket products are only suitable for use on Ceramic and Vinyl Tiles.