West Bridgford Archives - Nottinghamshire Tile Doctor

Edwardian Chequered Porch Tiling Restoration West Bridgford

Dilapidated Edwardian Tiled Porch Restored to New in West Bridgford

I was asked by a client in the West Bridgford area of Nottingham to renovate the Edwardian era tiling in the porch at the front of their property. The tiles were laid in a classic black and white Chequered pattern and were now in a bad state having been exposed to the elements, they had also suffered extensive damage to the tile and screed foundation.

It’s very difficult to quote for restoration work like this from photographs so I arranged to visit the house, survey the floor and take some detailed notes. From this I was able to create a detailed quote which they were happy to go ahead with.

Edwardian Chequered Porch Tiling Before Restoration West Bridgford

Repairing and Cleaning an Edwardian Tiled Porch

Work started by removing the damaged tiles so the damaged sections screed could be removed and replaced. Once the base was ready replacement vintage tiles were cut to shape and the correct size where needed and then reinstated.

Edwardian Chequered Porch Tiling During Restoration West Bridgford

Once the replacement tiles had been laid the tiles were grouted in to make the floor solid, and ready for the next step of restorative cleaning.

With the tile and grout set a low-moisture gel clean process was applied using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel to break down the old floor coatings and soiling. After allowing this product to soak into the tile for ten minutes it was worked in using Tile Doctors abrasive Silicon Carbide Brushes.

Edwardian Chequered Porch Tiling During Restoration West Bridgford

The resulting slurry was removed, and work progressed onto the next stage which was to apply Tile Doctor Acid Gel to further clean the tile. This product also treats inherent efflorescence staining and neutralises the alkaline Tile Doctor Oxy Gel used earlier. Again, this was worked in using Silicon Carbide Brushes.

The slurry was removed as before and the floor wiped down with microfibre cloths, that had been sitting in water with diluted Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up.

Sealing an Edwardian Tiled Porch

The floor was allowed to dry overnight and then sealed the following day with Tile Doctors X-Tra Seal which is a colour enhancing impregnating sealer. This sealer allows for vapour transmission which is ideal for period floors that do not have a DPM (damp proof membrane) to prevent moisture rising through the tile. Air movers were used to speed up drying times.

Edwardian Chequered Porch Tiling After Restoration West Bridgford

The sealer occupies the pores in the tile thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained in the tile and keeping it on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away. Once completed I recommended Tile Doctors Neutral Cleaner for regular cleaning and left a bottle with the client along with the instructions on how to use it.

Edwardian Chequered Porch Tiling After Restoration West Bridgford

My client was very happy with the newly restored porchway which now created a much more inviting entrance that I’m sure has added value to the property.

Professional Restoration of an Edwardian Tiled Porch in Nottinghamshire

Dilapidated Edwardian Tiled Porch Restored to New in West Bridgford Read More »

Victorian Encaustic Tiled Floor Restoration West Bridgford Nottingham

Encaustic Tiled Victorian Floor Renovated in West Bridgford

Here we have an encaustic tiled hallway floor from the Victorian era laid in a beautiful geometric pattern at a property in West Bridgford Nottingham. Given its age the floor had survived well however there were many loose tiles that needed attention and it was overdue a restorative clean and fresh seal.

Victorian Encaustic Tiled Floor Before Restoration West Bridgford Nottingham

Having visited the property, I was able to ascertain the extent of the repairs needed and created a detailed quotation for its restoration. My quotation was accepted and a date agreed for the work to start.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Encaustic Tiled Floor

Before cleaning the tiles and re-sealing, the floor needed to be structurally sound so the first day was spent pulling out the 150 or so loose and damaged tiles. This was followed by removing the old adhesive and cleaning and repairing the foundation screed ready for the next step. I was able to re-use some of the original tiles, but I had also sourced replacements which needed to be cut to fit the pattern.

Victorian Encaustic Tiled Floor During Restoration West Bridgford Nottingham

The tiles were dry fitted into position to ensure the geometric pattern of the original floor was replicated. Only then were they fixed into place using rapid set adhesive and grouted.

The tiles were left to set overnight, and I returned the next day to deep clean the whole floor. Tiled floors of this age don’t have the benefit of a damp proof membrane and so they can suffer from damp rising through the foundation. Because of this I like to use low moisture gel cleaning products to clean old floors, this keeps water usage to a minimum, increases drying times and reduces the likelihood of efflorescent salts appearing later.

In this case I gave the floor a thorough deep clean using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel and Acid Gel combined. These are applied to the tiles and then scrubbed in with a coarse 200-grit diamond pad to remove the years of ingrained dirt.

The resulting slurry was removed with a wet vacuum and wiped down with microfibre cloths dampened with a small amount of water. Again, this method minimises moisture penetration into the floor.

Victorian Encaustic Tiled Floor During Restoration West Bridgford Nottingham

The low-moisture system has the added benefit of keeping the tiles reasonably dry, so I was able to apply the sealer later that afternoon.

Sealing an Encaustic Victorian Tiled Floor

To seal the tiles Tile Doctors X-Tra Seal was applied. It’s a modern oil-based sealer that improves colour and is rated for external as well as internal use making it ideal for a hallway. Another feature of this product is that it’s fully breathable which is very important for period floors and won’t restrict moisture transmission through the tile.

Victorian Encaustic Tiled Floor After Restoration West Bridgford Nottingham

For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a pH neutral floor cleaner which won’t degrade the protective sealer.

Professional Restoration of an Encaustic Victorian Tiled Hallway in Nottinghamshire

Encaustic Tiled Victorian Floor Renovated in West Bridgford Read More »

Geometric Edwardian Tiled Hallway Before and After Renovation West Bridgford

Restorative Cleaning of a Edwardian Geometric Tiled Hallway in West Bridgford

1 Comment / Nottingham Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Steve Carpenter

The pictures below detail the restorative clean and seal of a Black & White Edwardian Geometric Tiled Hallway at a residence in West Bridgford near Nottingham. The tiles had previously been covered in carpet trapping years of dirt and soiling into the pores of the tile which were also stained with paint spots and traces of carpet adhesive.

These floors are amazing to look at, and it’s a shame that due to changing fashion trends over the decades, that many became covered with other inappropriate floor coverings. At least in the case the carpet was fixed with glue, I have worked on others before were tiles were smashed in order to secure gripper rods.

Edwardian Black and White Geometric Hall Floor Before Restorative Clean and Seal

I could see a lot of work would be needed to bring it back, however having restored countless number of Victorian and Edwardian tiled floors before I was confident we could achieve a good result and was pleased to get the go ahead to complete the work.

Restoring an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first part of the cleaning process was to apply a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go coatings remover allowing it to dwell and soak into the tiles and break down the adhesive and paint stains. The solution was then agitated using a black scrubbing pad to help break down the historic-soiling and soften the glue and paint so they could be carefully scraped off. This process generated a lot of soil which was rinsed off and extracted using a wet vacuum.

Old tile installations such as these were never designed to be covered as damp proof membranes were unheard of at the time. Instead the tilers of the day used a breathable lime screed to allow moisture to pass freely from the sub floor. This combined with coal fires of the day, and air movement kept a controlled temperature to ensure moisture didn’t build-up.

Covering these floors stops them from breathing and moisture inevitably can build-up and potentially lead to white salts to be deposited on the surface of the tile as it dries. To avoid this problem, which is known as Efflorescence, the salts need to be counteracted with the application of an acid. To this end my next step was to liberally apply Tile Doctor Acid Gel to the tiles and leave it to dwell for time. This process dissolves the efflorescence salts and also removes any other unwanted deposits such as grout smears from the tile.

The last phase of the cleaning process was to remove the Acid Gel and then rinse with water again to remove any trace of product. The floor was then dried as much as possible with a wet vacuum to remove moisture and then left for a few days to fully dry out.

Sealing an Edwardian Tiled Floor

On our return the floor was checked for dampness using a damp meter in a number of different places. All was well so the floor was then sealed in two stages, starting with an application of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that improves colour. Once the sealer had dried it was followed with a number of coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which works really well on Victorian and Edwardian tiles adding a lovely subtle shine. Both these products are fully breathable which is vitally important where efflorescence is a concern. Otherwise, moisture will build up and causing staining and direct moisture into the supporting walls.

Edwardian Black and White Geometric Hall Floor After Restorative Clean and Seal

Once our Restorative Cleaning & Sealing process is complete you should avoid the use of steam cleaners and strong cleaning products as they can prematurely erode the sealer. Ideally we recommend you maintain the floor with Tile Doctors Neutral Tile Cleaning Solution which is pH neutral once it has been correctly diluted.

Original Edwardian Hallway Floor Professionally Restored in Nottingham

Restorative Cleaning of a Edwardian Geometric Tiled Hallway in West Bridgford Read More »