hallway Archives - Worcestershire Tile Doctor

Edwardian Tiled Hallway Before and After Restoration in Bewdley

Rebuilding and Restoring an Edwardian Tiled Hallway in Bewdley

Named after the monarch of the time Edwardian tiles are very similar to Victorian tiles in both their colourful nature and geometric design. Both types of tiled floor are commonly found in older properties, but they aren’t always immediately visible because unfortunately many people opt to cover them up with carpet or linoleum.

This customer had just moved into a house in Bewdley, a town in Worcestershire and the home of Severn Valley railway, and after lifting the carpet to replace it found a lovely Edwardian tiled hallway. She decided immediately the floor should be restored to its original condition and so contacted me to see what could be done.

Edwardian Tiled Hallway Before Restoration in Bewdley

Repairing an Edwardian Tiled Floor

At some point in the past, the house had been extended, and the builders had damaged the tiles towards the rear of the hallway to install a gas pipe.

Edwardian Tiled Hallway During Restoration in Bewdley

This meant my first task was to carefully remove the concrete without damaging the gas pipe, before rebuilding the floor to the level where I could relay new tiles and replace damaged ones.

It took two days to repair the floor, but with the hallway successfully rebuilt I could then move onto the task of cleaning and sealing the tiles.

Cleaning an Edwardian Tiled Floor

It took me another full day to clean, speed dry and seal the floor.

I started by applying Tile Doctor Remove and Go around the edges of the Edwardian hallway tiles to eliminate any paint splashes and glue stains from previous decoration work and the carpet that had been secured to the tiles by adhesive.

This was then followed by treating the floor with an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel with a buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad to clean off any old grout smears and other residues. The floor was then carefully rinsed down with water applied using micro fibre cloths so it wouldn’t get too damp and then speed dried with air blowers.

Sealing an Edwardian Tiled Floor

Once satisfied that the floor was as clean as possible and bone dry from the speed driers I moved swiftly on to sealing them.

My choice of sealer was Tile Doctor Colour Grow, since the customer requested a natural finish. I applied three heavy coats of the sealer to lift the colours in the tiles and provide a long-lasting impregnating sealer to protect them against dirt and make them easy to keep clean in future.

Edwardian Tiled Hallway After Restoration in Bewdley

The transformation was remarkable and the customer was so happy with the result they left the following feedback:

“Mick and his tiler Dean were friendly, courteous, professional and trustworthy throughout the service given. An excellent job was made of restoring my original Victorian tiled floor – the reproduction tiles look like they’ve been there forever. Mick was extremely helpful to me when I had a crisis with a leaking roof while he was at my home. Would highly recommend him.”

Professional Repair and Restoration of an Edwardian Tiled Floor in Bewdley

Rebuilding and Restoring an Edwardian Tiled Hallway in Bewdley Read More »

Quarry Tiled Hallway Worcester Before and After Cleaning

Old, Salt Damaged Quarry Tiled Ffloors Restored in Worcester

1 Comment / Quarry Tile Cleaning, Worcester Tile Cleaning, Work History / Mark Conway

Here’s an interesting job I recently completed for a client in the historic city of Worcester. My client had two tiled floors in her house that were in dire need of restoration. They were located in the hallway and dining room of the house, and were a mix of Quarry tiles, with some believed to be over a century old. The entire area required a thorough clean and seal, while some of the tiles were showing evidence of salt damage in the grout lines, this is usually caused by damp evaporating up through the tile and grout and is more commonly known as efflorescence.

Quarry Tiled Hallway Worcester Before Cleaning

Cleaning Quarry tiled floors

I completed the cleaning and sealing processes over the course of two days. My first task was to break down any old sealer and hard wax coatings left on the surfaces of the floors from previous maintenance. Working in two metre square sections I scrubbed Tile Doctor Remove & Go into the floor, Remove and Go is a coatings remover (aka stripper) that is safe to use on Tile, Stone and Grout and is great for tackling old sealers and waxes, the product can also used to remove glue and other adhesives. This was then rinsed off and the resulting slurry extracted using a wet vacuum; the process was then repeated as necessary until all the sealers etc. had been removed.

Following the removal of the old coatings I diluted Tile Doctor Pro-Clean with four parts water and I worked the solution into the floor using a black scrubbing pad to lift out any ingrained dirt from the tile. Pro-Clean is a high alkaline cleaner which is highly effective and again safe to use on Tile, Stone and Grout.

To complete the cleaning process I addressed my attention to the salt that was evidence in the grout between some of the tiles. I used Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up for this, which removes salt and other mineral deposits, along with any stains, dirt and grout haze.

Sealing Quarry Tiled Floors

After completing the clean I gave the whole floor a thorough rinse which was then removed using a wet-vac machine, before leaving the whole area to dry overnight. I installed two air movers and a dehumidifier to speed up the process, and by the time I returned to the house the next day, the tiles were ready to be sealed.

To seal the floor I used four coats of the new Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra, which is especially recommended for sealing external tiles or internal tiles with a damp problem. The product formula has increased breathability as well as providing a robust surface seal along with an aesthetically pleasing, low-sheen finish.

Quarry Tiled Hallway Worcester After Cleaning

Quarry Tiled Hallway and Dining room Stripped, Cleaned and Sealed in Worcestershire

Old, Salt Damaged Quarry Tiled Ffloors Restored in Worcester Read More »

Limestone and Slate tiled floor Before and After Restoration in Worcester

Limestone and Slate tiled hallway restored in Worcester

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Worcester Tile Cleaning, Work History / Mark Conway

I recently had a chance to complete a job at a house down in the bustling city of Worcester, home to one of the UK’s fastest growing universities, the University of Worcester, along with the much-loved condiment, Worcestershire sauce.

Limestone and Slate tiled floor before Restoration in Worcester

I was asked by my client to restore an interesting hallway floor that was made up of Limestone and Slate tiles laid in a diamond pattern. Both Limestone and Slate are reputed for their durability, and are popularly used for both interior and exterior flooring. However, this particular floor, situated in a high-traffic area of the house, was covered with many layers of dirt built up over the course of several years, and was marked by a number of loose tiles.

Cleaning and replacing Limestone and Slate tiles

My first job in the process of restoring the hallway was to give it a deep clean. I mixed up a solution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean and clean water, before scrubbing it into the tiles. I use Pro-Clean to clean most natural stone floors as it works very well to lift out ingrained dirt and stains.

Nonetheless, as the floor had suffered from more than its fair share of dirt over the years, I opted to also use Tile Doctor Remove & Go stripper which, in addition to removing any old sealer from the surface of the tiles, contains cleaning properties to ensure any remaining muck is eradicated.

Limestone and Slate tiled floor During Tile Replacement Restoration in Worcester

After completing the clean, I set about refitting the loose tiles, and in one particular area I had to remove and re-build the base back up. In order to effectively reuse the tiles, I had to grind off all the old adhesive.

Limestone and Slate tiled floor rebuilding base Restoration in Worcester

Sealing Limestone and Slate tiles

After leaving my work to set and dry for a period of a few days, I returned to put the finishing touches on the job with by sealing the hallway floor. I made sure that the surface was completely dry before commencing the seal, as any excess moisture might have affected the performance of the sealer, Tile Doctor Seal & Go.

This product is used to provide internal, porous surfaces with a stain resistant surface seal and, as you can see from the photos, a nice low-sheen finish. The low-sheen finish really helps to bring out the distinct colours in the Limestone and Slate tiles.

Limestone and Slate tiled floor after Restoration in Worcester

My client was amazed at how quickly I was able to rejuvenate the appearance of her hallway floor, especially considering the many years’ worth of dirt there was to tackle, as well as some tricky loose tiles.

Slate Hallway given new life in Worcestershire

Limestone and Slate tiled hallway restored in Worcester Read More »