Haringey

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 / By

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 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 Before Restoration Turnpike Lane N2 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 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.

 

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in North London

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 / By

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.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Haringey

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.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration Haringey

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.

 

Professional Restoration of a Classic Victorian Tiled Hallway in North London

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