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Neglected Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in Kensington

Deep Clean and Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Kensington

The photographs below are of a Victorian tiled floor at a property across the Thames in Kensington which as you can see was in quite a poor state, especially along the edges. The property was being renovated and the walls recently plastered following a rewire resulting in all sorts of building materials being trod into the tiles leaving them looking very neglected.

Neglected Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Kensington

The biggest problem were the border tiles where many had become damaged and cracked over the years. It would be a straight-forward task to replace them however, and I was confident of finding matching replacements.

I worked out a quote for the work which would include replacing the damaged tiles, deep cleaning the floor and then sealing to protect it. The quote included sourcing replacement reproduction tiles for which there are several suppliers, and I was confident that after a clean and seal the new tiles would blend in well with the original.

Cleaning and Restoring a Victorian Tiled Hallway

The room was completely empty due to the house being renovated so I was able to crack straight on starting by giving the floor an initial clean using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel. Normally I would do the repairs first but with the floor being so dirty I wanted to be sure I could see all the tiles that needed replacing.

Old Victorian floors don’t have the benefit of a damp proof membrane so it’s important to keep the use of water to a minimum and avoid the appearance of white efflorescent salts which can rise through the tile as it dries. The gel was applied neat to the Victorian tiles and allowed to soak in for about ten minutes before being worked in using a 200-Grit pad fitted to a rotary buffer. The combination of the coarse pad and the cleaning gel does a good job of bringing the dirt to the surface where it was then removed with a wet vacuum.

Neglected Victorian Tiled Floor During Repairs Kensington

With the floor clean I set about removing the broken tiles which was done carefully to avoid disturbing more tiles than necessary. The rubble was removed, and the foundation was rebuilt with self-levelling compound to the correct level. Once that had set, the replacement tiles were shaped and secured in place with fresh adhesive and grout. When complete I left for the day to allow the repairs to set overnight.

The following day I completed the cleaning process using another gel product called Tile Doctor Acid Gel. The acidic nature of the product also neutralises any salts that may be present and then leaves a microscopic etch on the clay tiles which helps to achieve a better bond with the sealer. The gel was then rinsed off and extracted as before and the floor left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

The next day we started sealing the floor with Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is a fully breathable sealer which is an important feature when sealing old floors like this, it also contains a colour enhancer. The sealer protects the tiles from ingrained dirt ensuring it remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away.

Neglected Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration Kensington

Once complete the floor was completely transformed and unrecognisable from before, hopefully the decorators who will be working on the property next will ensure it stays that way. For aftercare cleaning I recommended using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild yet effective tile cleaner that’s designed for use on sealed floors.

Neglected Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration Kensington

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in London

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Victorian Hallway Renovation Brixton Hotel

Restoring a Victorian Hallway Floor in a Brixton Hotel

This Victorian floor was found during the refurbishment of a hotel in Brixton, South London. The manager wanted a practical surface that could cope with day-to-day traffic and given this was a period feature of the property why not bring it back into use. Working in a narrow corridor in a busy hotel would normally be very difficult but as the property was being renovated there were only a few people around so it wouldn’t be an issue.

Victorian Hallway Renovation Brixton Hotel Before Restoration

The tiles were stained black with dirt and grease and badly damaged around the perimeter which was probably the reason it was covered up in the first place. Not a problem though, in fact these old Victorian tiled floors are very resilient and I have renovated floors in worse condition than this.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

To tackle the dirt and grease the floor was sprayed with a combination of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left to soak in for ten minutes and then scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. This process was repeated several times rinsing off the soiling with water and extracting with a wet vacuum after each clean.

Once most of the dirt and grease had been removed repairs were carried out starting with the removal of the broken tiles and rubble. The subfloor was then built up with a self-levelling compound and then once set re-tiled with matching replacements. Luckily, there are a few places that we can source either original reclamation Victorian tiles or reproduction tiles that are usually a very good match.

Victorian Hallway Renovation Brixton Hotel During Restoration

The next stage was to further clean up the tiles by giving the whole floor an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which has several benefits which include the removal of mineral deposits such as grout smears and alkaline salts. Salts in particular can be a problem with old floors like this as they were laid before the invention of damp proof membranes. Additionally using an acidic product at this stage neutralises the pH level of the floor after the use of strong alkaline cleaners earlier in the restoration. The floor was then left to dry out overnight.

Victorian Hallway Renovation Brixton Hotel After Restoration

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

We returned the following day to seal the tiles. First checking the moisture level of the tiles with a damp meter to confirm the floor was dry, which it was. Tile Doctor Colour Grow was chosen as the sealer, it’s an impregnator that soaks into the pores of the tile protecting it from within. It is also a breathable sealer so will cope with any moisture rising through the floor

As you can see from the pictures the hallway was transformed, the previously dark dingy space was now bright and clean, and the tiles looked stunning. Our client was very happy with the result and once all the renovations are completed, he will be ready to re-open the hotel.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in a South London Hotel

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Old Victorian Tiled Hallway Fully Restored in Brixton

1 Comment / Brixton Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Daniel

I was asked to look at an old Victorian Tiled Hallway floor at a house in Brixton, South London. This classic floor had been discovered underneath an old hallway carpet while refurbishment works were being carried out. I went over initially in mid December to survey the floor and talked the owner through a number of similar restorations we had completed in the past. I could see this floor would need a deep clean to remove the years of dirt and also some tiling would needed to be done to tile a section of concrete near the stairs that had been dug out to lay pipe work when central heating had been installed many years prior. She didn’t want to make a commitment at that point so I left her with our quotation so she could think it over. I suspect she had other quotes to review however I’m pleased to say that she decided to give the work to us.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Restoration Brixton

Once we had agreed a date to do the work I started looking around for replacement tiles that would be needed to restore the floor. Unfortunately the octagonal ones are not made any more and I couldn’t hold of any salvaged ones either. Having been involved in Tile Restoration work for some time now, I have a list of companies and reclamation yards that are usually a good source for these materials. To resolve the problem I sourced square tiles with a similar look and would cut them to the same shape when on site.

Cleaning and Repairing a Heavily Soiled Victorian Tiled Floor

I returned after Christmas to start the restoration process which was due to take two to three days. To start the restoration process we applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go to the floor, allowed it to soak in for ten minutes and then worked it into the tiles using a scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. Remove and Go is a product that removes coatings from tiles including in this case old paint splashes and carpet adhesive. The floor was then rinsed and the now dirty solution extracted using a wet vacuum.

Victorian Tiled Hallway During Restoration

Once this was finished the floor was looking cleaner and the next step was to tackle the concrete area near the stairs where the heating pipes had been buried. The cement had to be carefully chipped away and then refilled with fresh cement but to the level of the original surface so we could lay new tile on top. We use a quick setting compound for this and were able to start relaying and grouting the section with new specially cut tiles later that afternoon.

Victorian Tiled Hallway During Restoration Brixton

Naturally the strip of new tiles were quite noticeable against the old and although the customer was happy I knew I could get a better result by running a very coarse burnishing pad fitted to a heavy buffing machine over the surface. I used a diamond resin hybrid 50 grit pad to take off the top layer of the tiles and then refinished the surface with a 100 and then 200 grit pad. This did the trick and it was impossible to tell the old and new apart.

After this I carried out an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up diluted with four parts water. The purpose of this was to remove any old grout smears and mineral deposits from the floor as well as counteract any possibility of unsightly efflorescence salts rising up through the tile at a later stage. This is quite a common problem with these old floors which don’t have a damp proof coarse and certainly I could see no trace of a DPC when I dug out the cement around the pipe work earlier.

The last step in the cleaning process was to steam the entire floor and then leave it to dry off fully over the New Year break.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor

I returned on the 2nd of January and after inspecting the floor to ensure it was clean and free of damp I began to seal it using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the tile protecting it from within and enhancing its appearance in the process. Four coats of sealer were needed and as you can see by the final pictures the final results were outstanding.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Restoration Brixton

Period features such as old Victorian floors add a lot of value to and the customer was over the moon with the transformation and is so happy she chose to have the floor restored rather than covering it back up with carpet.

Professional Victorian Tiled Hallway Restoration in South London

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