victorian floor Archives - Wiltshire Tile Doctor

Original Victorian Tiled Hallway in Melksham

The owner of this pre 1900s period house in the town of Melksham contacted us to clean & seal their Victorian tiled hallway which had been laid in a geometric pattern and was the original floor from when the house was built. Given its age it was in excellent conditions and a real testament to Victorian engineering.

Original Victorian Tiles Melksham Before Cleaning

Cleaning Victorian Tiles

Firstly we mixed a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and Nano-Tech HBU remover; HBU stands for Heavy Build-Up and is a great product for getting deep stains out of tiled floors. The tiles were covered with the solution and left for twenty minutes so it could soak into the pores. We then attached a black pad to a rotary machine and scrubbed the area thoroughly. Any paint or adhesives was then removed using a scraper and once we were satisfied we then removed the slurry using a wet vacuum and rinsed several times with cold clean water and a deck brush to ensure we had removed all traces of cleaning product before sealing. Stubborn areas were re-treated and the process took most of the day so we then left the floor to dry overnight.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

Upon our return we tested the floor was dry with a damp meter, testing in a number of locations. The readings were fine so we proceeded to seal the floor using six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which will protect the floor from further dirt build-up and staining, it also adds a nice subtle sheen to the tiles.

Original Victorian Tiles Melksham After Cleaning and Sealing

All went well with no major problems and as you can see the tiles now look fantastic.

Putting the life back into an original Victorian tiled floor in Melksham

Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in Holt Before and After

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restored in Holt

1 Comment / Work History / Wiltshire Tile Doctor

The owner of this house located in the village of Holt had discovered a beautiful Victorian Tiled floor hidden underneath their hallway carpet and made contact with us to get it restored and brought back to life.

Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in Holt Before

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Floor

We started by making a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed 50/50 with Nanotech Ultraclean which was applied to the floor and left to soak in to eat through the dirt, dust and marks left behind from the carpet and underlay. Once we let the solution dwell for twenty minutes we attached a black scrubbing pad to a rotary machine and worked the cleaning solution into the tile to remove the dirt and any old sealer that may have been present, then once the cleaning solution became was very dirty it was removed using a wet vacuum.

The cleaning process revealed that there were paint splatters all around the wall edges where decorating had previous taken place and there was also evidence of carpet adhesive remaining on the tile. To remove this a solution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go was applied to the stubborn areas and left to dwell for ten minutes before being agitated with a stiff deck brush and a floor scraper. Once the edges were to a satisfactory level we then rinsed the area several times with fresh water to ensure any trace of cleaning product had been removed before sealing again using a wet vacuum to remove the water and also to dry the floor as much as possible before leaving for the evening.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

Upon our return the next day we did a damp test to make sure the floor was ready to be sealed. The test was positive so we then sealed the Victorian tiles with five coats of Seal & Go which both protects the floor against spills and traffic but also enhances the colours of each tile.

Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in Holt After

Victorian Tiled Hallway Restoration in Wiltshire

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