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Victorian Tiled Hallway Restoration Muswell Hill N10

Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway Rescued in Muswell Hill

This client bought a house in Muswell Hill N10 with a neglected Victorian tiled floor in the hallway. They planned to completely refurbish the property including adding extensions.

Prior to starting work they called me to look at the floor and see if it was salvageable. At this time, it only had the damage where a pipe had been previously laid. However, over a year later they called me back as the building project was coming to an end and unfortunately during the process of changing the layout of the downstairs the entire final meter and a half of the hallway had been damaged and broken.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Restoration Muswell Hill N10

Luckily, I am used to restoration projects of this nature, so I was able to provide a quote to rescue the whole floor including rebuilding the now larger section at the end of the hallway.

The quote was revised in line with the extended work that was now required to get the floor back to its original condition and submitted for approval. It was accepted and we booked it for a few months’ later to allow all other trades to finish. However, for ease of tiling and to make a neat finish I advised them not to fit the skirting board until I had completed the work. Also, I needed time to source matching replacement tiles through various specialist suppliers before the work could start.

Repairing a Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway in Muswell Hill

Due to the scale of the tiling work, we started with the repairs rather than the cleaning. As the hallway had been widened from its original layout, we had to cut away a little more of the original pattern so we could turn a corner in the border further back and re design. This made the pattern fit more sympathetically in the new space.

Victorian Tiled Hallway During Restoration Muswell Hill N10

Once we were finished planning everything out, we filled new concrete to the damaged subfloor paying attention to the levels so that the tiling met at even height to the new flooring in adjoining rooms.

Once the subfloor had set tiling could start which involved cutting and shaping a lot of replacement tiles to match the original pattern and dry fitting them into place. Once I was happy with the pattern the tiles were stuck into place and grouted. It was meticulous work, and the repair took a week to complete.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Muswell Hill

The floor was left to set over the weekend before returning to do a deep clean with Tile Doctor Remove and Go scrubbed into the tiles with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The floor was then rinsed with water and the slurry extracted with a wet vacuum. This product as its name suggests is a coatings remover and tile cleaner that does a good job of removing old sealers and dirt.

Next the floor was given an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was pasted onto the tiles and then scrubbed in, this time with a coarse 200-grit diamond pad. The diamond pad does a nice job of cleaning up the old tiles and the Acid Gel helps to counter any salts that may be lying dormant in the floor; salts are a common problem with floors of this age that don’t have a damp-proof membrane.

After this the floor was rinsed and wet vacuumed to remove as much moisture as possible. Once done the floor was left to dry overnight with assistance from several fans.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

The following day work began with vacuuming dust and generally checking the tiles had dried sufficiently overnight. We know from experience it’s not a good idea to apply sealer to a damp floor as it can result in a patchy appearance.

The checks were fine and so the floor was sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is a fully breathable oil-based impregnator that’s ideal for old floors like this one. Impregnators work by soaking into tile, occupying the pores and thereby preventing dirt from residing there. This keeps dirt on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Restoration Muswell Hill N10

Once done the work completely transformed the hallway and really give the house back its wow factor. Only thing left to do was to fit the skirting boards.

For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which un-like many of the stronger products you find in supermarkets won’t impact the sealer and reduce its life.

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Victorian Hallway Floor Before After Restoration in Haringey

Rebuilding and Restoring a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Haringey N22

1 Comment / Haringey Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Andrew Newstead

Convinced that their Victorian tiled hallway was beyond repair they decided to give Tile Doctor a call just in case there was a chance it could be saved. The property was in the Turnpike Lane area of Haringey in North London (N22), amongst a similar style of properties.

Victorian Floor Before Restoration Turnpike Lane N2

Victorian floor restorations are a speciality of ours, so I went over to take a look at the hallway and survey the tiles. When I got there, I could see why they thought nothing could be done as a lot of the tiles had come loose. However, I was pleased to inform them that in fact it could be restored and that as an original feature doing so should add a lot of value to the property. Happy that the floor could indeed be renovated we were given instructions to go ahead with the work and agreed a date for the job to begin.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On Day 1 we set about lifting all the loose tiles. We then cleaned all the excessive adhesive from the subfloor and the loose tiles. With much of the subfloor now exposed we were also able to repair the badly damaged areas with quick drying cement. Some tiles were too badly damaged to relay, so these were replaced with matching reproduction tiles sourced from Original Features who are a specialist supplier of Victorian Tiles based in Crouch End.

Victorian Floor During Restoration Turnpike Lane N2

On day two we re-laid all the tiles and grouted the floor. After allowing the tile adhesive and grout to set we returned a few days later to deep clean the floor.

Cleaning involved applying a 200-grit burnishing pad to the floor lubricated with water to remove ingrained dirt. The floor was rinsed with water and the soil removed with a wet vacuum. This was followed by giving the Victorian floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. I always recommend an acid wash for tiled floors as it removes grout smears and other mineral deposits from the tiles and further improves their appearance as a result. The floor was given another rinse and again the soil was extracted with the wet vacuum.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

We then returned the next day and after checking the moisture readings were satisfactory, the floor was sealed with 3 coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which soaks into the pores of the tile improving colour and adding protection from within. This sealer gives the floor a lovely subtle finish, it would also give it great protection for some time to come particularly in a high traffic area such as the hallway.

Victorian Floor After Restoration Turnpike Lane N2

Once done, the floor looked great the colours were really striking and most importantly my client was delighted and left some great feedback, see below:

Excellent service. Top quality workmanship and they worked extra late without complaint and without additional charges as the job turned out to be bigger than initially estimated. Andrew responded to all our queries in a friendly and polite manner throughout the job. By Martin T, London.

For aftercare cleaning of Sealed Victorian tiled floors, I always recommend Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner. Most supermarket products are simply too strong for a sealed floor and will slowly strip away the sealer with use.

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Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Repaired and Restored Haringey North London

Reviving a Classic Victorian Tiled Hallway in Haringey North London

1 Comment / Haringey Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Andrew Newstead

This client owned a property in Haringey, North London, which had a classic Victorian tiled floor laid in the hallway. Unfortunately, the floor was in a bad state, the tiles were dull and dirty and there was a missing section by the bottom of the stairs that had been back filled with cement. Fortunately for him however his neighbour decided to remove their front path which was made with matching tiles and so he was able acquire replacements from him. He then contacted us to see if we could use those tiles to fill in the missing ones and revive the whole floor with a clean and seal at the same time.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Haringey

Before quoting for the restoration work, I paid a visit to the property to survey the floor. I can give quotes from photographs, but much prefer to visit and conduct a test clean, and in this case, I was able to check the spare tiles he had acquired. From that I emailed a quote which the client was happy with, so we arranged a date to return and do the work.

Cleaning and Reviving a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

This was a large job, so I teamed up with Jackson Davis the Central London Tile Doctor and whilst Jackson started on cleaning the floor, I took the reclaimed tiles outside and carefully grinded off the excess cement and adhesive from them and cleaned them by hand. We managed to do this by about 3pm. Jackson and I work on a lot of jobs together so it made sense to work as a bubble from the beginning of Covid so we could continue to work together, with two of us on the job it also means we can get the job done quicker.

Cleaning the floor involved applying a 200-grit diamond burnishing pad to the tile lubricated with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, the slurry was then rinsed off the floor with more water and then extracted with an industrial vacuum. The process was repeated on stubborn areas until we were satisfied the tiles were really clean.

We then moved onto carefully removing the cement from the floor at the bottom of the stairs and cleaning up the base. Once done the newly renovated replacement tiles were laid in place using a rapid setting adhesive which meant they could be grouted later that day before heading home. The floor was then left overnight to dry off.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

We then returned the following day and took some moisture readings with the damp meter. The readings were within the expected range, so we were good to go ahead and apply the sealer. If the floor is not dry the seal will not cure properly, and this can lead to a patchy finish.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration Haringey

Three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied to seal the tiles. This is a colour intensifying impregnating sealer that works from with and will gives the Victorian tiles durable protection, ideal for a high traffic area such as the hallway. In addition, Colour Grow is a fully breathable sealer so it will allow for moisture to rise through the tile and evaporate, this is critical for floors of this age that will not have the benefit of a damp proof membrane installed under the floor.

The hallway is now looking transformed by the work we did, we certainly thought so, but more importantly our client was very happy with the result and now has the floor he hoped for.

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