Hallway Floor Archives - Worcestershire Tile Doctor

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Before After Cleaning Evesham

Victorian Tile Clean and Seal Evesham

It’s not just major restoration work we do at Tile Doctor, sometimes a simple clean and seal is all that is required and that was the case at this property in Evesham. This medieval market town lies within the Vale of Evesham and is encompassed by the River Avon. It is located between the larger towns of Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Cleaning Evesham

I was contacted by the owner and I arranged a visit to view their Victorian Hallway. The floor was in very good condition, but the previous sealer was now in-effective and the floor was dull and needed a good clean and seal. The colours were starting to fade, and it was due some attention. Sealers do wear off over time so if you have a similar floor to this it’s worth bearing that in mind. We discussed the work required and the cost involved, my quote was accepted, and the work scheduled.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On arrival I set up my equipment and covered any areas of carpet to protect from splashing during cleaning. I then used Tile Doctor Remove and Go spraying the product onto the floor allowing it to dwell for 10 minutes thus breaking down any sealers. This product is a non-flammable, multi-purpose stripper which works best when left to soak in for some time before scrubbing. This product is also great for drawing out ingrained stains and removing heavy grease build up.

The floor was then pasted with Tile Doctor Acid Gel which works to neutralise any alkaline salts in the tiles that can cause efflorescence later. This is a common issue with old floors which often do not have a damp proof membrane in place. I then went to work with my scrubbing machine and a black pad and worked the products into the tile. The resulting slurry was then rinsed off with water and removed with a wet vacuum.

I then went over the floor with microfibres and water to remove any remaining marks before leaving it to dry off overnight and ready for sealing.

Victorian Tiled Hallway During Cleaning Evesham

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned the following day and started by checking the floor was dry using a moisture meter. To seal the floor, I chose Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is a fully breathable semi- gloss sealer which made a huge difference to the floor. Choosing a fully breathable sealer is important for floors that don’t have a damp proof membrane as you want to encourage any dampness to rise through the tile and not get trapped underneath where it might spread into the walls.

The deep clean and new seal brought out the vibrant colours in the tiles which were now shining through enhances by the lovely sheen which customer was very pleased with.

For aftercare I left the customer with a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which being concentrated goes a long way. Once diluted with water the product becomes completely pH neutral which unlike most household cleaners and washing up liquids which contain bleaches won’t prematurely degrade the sealer with use.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Cleaning Sealing Evesham

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Worcestershire

Victorian Tile Clean and Seal Evesham Read More »

Craven Dunnill Victorian Floor Tiles Before After Renovation Worcester

Craven Dunnill Victorian Floor Tile Clean and Repair Worcester

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

I received an enquiry for a clean and seal on this Victorian tiled floor in Worcester, so having spoken to the customer on the phone I arranged a time to make on-site visit to survey the floor and get a good look at the requirements, so I could advise on the cost.

On inspection I could see that not only was the floor pretty dirty, there was also an area of missing tiles. I managed to trace the tiles to Craven Dunnill a high-quality Victorian floor manufacturer based in nearby Bridgnorth that have been in business since 1872. Thankfully I knew I was able to source some more for them which would match nicely. The owner of the property was delighted to hear that not only would we clean the floor, but we could also source, supply and fit replacement tiles thus making the floor complete again.

Victorian Floor Before Restoration Worcester

After visiting the property, I sent the customer an accurate quote for the repairs and to clean and seal the hallway floor. They were happy with the price and my quote was accepted and a date arranged to complete the work.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On arrival the first step was to set up my equipment including a rotary floor scrubber/polisher, a wet and dry vacuum and my tile cutter.

I started with the floor edges first as they are difficult for floor machines to get into effectively. The process involved spraying the edges with Tile Doctor Remove and Go and then scrubbing it in with a a handheld diamond burnishing block. I then sprayed the rest of the floor with more Remove and Go and left it to dwell for ten minutes. I then proceeded to work the product into the floor with the rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor During Cleaning Worcester

The floor was then rinsed with water and the soil extracted using a wet vacuum. My next step was to give the tiles an acid wash by scrubbing Tile Doctor Acid Gel into the floor effectively repeating the previous process. The Tile Doctor Acid Gel is especially effective on Victorian floor tiles to remove mineral salt deposits (efflorescence) and old grout smears. Once I was done the soil was rinsed off as before and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Once I was happy the floor was clean, I moved onto the repairs, carefully measuring and cutting the shapes and fixing the tiles into the gaps with rapid set adhesive. I then grouted the area and left the tiles and floor to dry for the rest of the day and would return the following day to seal.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor During Repair Worcester

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned the next day and after checking the floor was dry with a moisture meter, I started with sealing. The product I used was Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra, this is a fully breathable sealer with a semi-gloss finish which is ideal for old floors like these that won’t have a damp proof membrane installed. I worked the product into the floor leaving 30 minutes between coats and treated the floor to four coats before I was happy the floor was completely sealed.

Victorian Floor After Restoration Worcester

The customer was very happy with the finished floor and left some great feedback (see below) and has been asked by family and neighbours for our details.

“Very pleased with the result. Mark arrived on time every day and was sure to tidy away after himself, leaving no mess. Our Victorian tiled hallway now has a new lease of life and people are already asking who did it? I would have no hesitation in Recommending Mark.”

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Worcestershire

Craven Dunnill Victorian Floor Tile Clean and Repair Worcester Read More »

Old Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration Great Witley Worcestershire

Full Restoration of an Old Quarry Tiled Floor in Great Witley

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

It is lovely when we get called out to properties with an interesting history. This delightful property in the pretty Malvern Hills village of Great Witley dates to the 1800’s and was once used as children’s home. The property has since been renovated and turned into a residential property. During the renovation works the new owners were delighted to peel back the carpet on the large entrance hallway and dining room to reveal an original quarry tiled floor believed to be well over 100 years old.

The floor however was in quite a bad state after years of being covered with various carpets over the years and was ingrained with layers of dirt and varnish. The owners were unsure if the floor could be repaired and restored and after finding Tile Doctor on-line they arranged for me to pop over and survey the floor.

Period Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration Great Witley

On the day of the inspection I could see that this would take some work to bring the floor back and over 20 tiles would need replacing due to salt damage or broken tiles some of which had completely perished. There was also layers and layers of white paint over many tiles from previous decoration work to deal with. Even in such a state I was still very confident that with the combination of my own abilities, the right tools and Tile Doctor products that the floor could be restored. We discussed a price for the work which was accepted and scheduled a convenient date for me to pop round and restore the floor.

Cleaning and Repairing a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

My first job was to remove all the damaged tiles, being careful not to damage any good tiles. I then repaired the substrate and prepared the area for the replacement tiles which were all slightly larger so needed cutting with an electric wet saw.

Period Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Great Witley

This work took up much of the first day and on the second day the new tiles were laid using a flexible fast setting adhesive. The area was then grouted and left overnight before starting the cleaning process.

The following day the entire floor was sprayed with a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was then left to dwell and soak into the tiles before being scrubbed in with a rotary floor machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. Difficult areas such as the paint splashes were covered with a sheet of plastic, so the solution wouldn’t dry out and left until the paint became easier to scrape away.

The floor was then rinsed with water which was the soil extracted using a wet vacuum. More work was needed to release the layers or ingrained dirt, so this was followed by scrubbing the floor with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and then more rinsing and extracting.

Last step of the cleaning process was to treat the floor to an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. This was also scrubbed in with a rotary cleaner before being rinsed off with water and the slurry removed using the wet vacuum. The acid rinse will counter any mineral salts in the floor and reduce the chance of efflorescence occurring as the floor dries out.

Once I was happy with the floor I left it to dry overnight, the floor was already looking significantly better.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned on the fourth day to compete the restoration by applying a sealer, checking first that the floor had dried with a moisture meter. Once I was happy the Quarry tiled floor was sealed with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which made the natural colours of the tile shine through without looking too glossy. This product is also fully breathable which is an important factor for these old floors where no damp proof membrane is present, and moisture needs to be able to pass through the tile unimpeded.

Period Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration Great Witley

The deep cleaning and sealing process ensured the new replacement tiles blended in well with the original tiles and the whole floor was transformed back to its former glory. The client was over the moon with the results and surprised at what we had been able to achieve!

Professional Restoration of an old Quarry Tiled Floor in Worcestershire

Full Restoration of an Old Quarry Tiled Floor in Great Witley Read More »