Neglected Victorian Tiled Hallway Rebuilt at Mablethorpe Air B&B
Last year I was asked to restore a Victorian tiled floor in the hallway of a property in Mablethorpe which was let out to Holidaymakers. Mablethorpe has a beautiful long sandy beach and is very popular seaside resort, however being so close to the coast does leave it exposed.
Like many old floors it had certainly seen a lot of wear and as well as a deep clean and seal I identified numerous tiles that would need replacing. None of this was an issue and as part of my quote for restoring the floor I agreed to source the tiles from a specialist supplier.
Happy with my quote a date was set for the end of the main season for my return to do the work.
Repairing a Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway in Mablethorpe
Work started with the repair work and I set about carefully removing the broken and loose tiles, I say carefully as its quite easy to disturb adjacent tiles when doing this and I didn’t want to make the job any bigger. Unfortunately, I discovered that the base beneath the tiles had crumbled in several areas so there was nothing for it but to remove large sections of tiling so it could be rebuilt.
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As many of the original tiles were cleaned up for re-use as possible and once the base had been repaired, I was able to start reconstructing the tile floor to march the original pattern. This is careful work and involves cutting and shaping a lot of replacement tiles to match the original pattern and dry fitting them until I the design had been reproduced.
Once I was happy with the pattern the tiles were stuck into place and grouted. It was meticulous work and took several days to complete.
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Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Mablethorpe
The floor was left to set 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 brushed in. This product also cleans the floor and being acidic this product neutralises the floor following the use of Remove and Go which is a strong alkaline. It also dissolves any salts that may be lying dormant in the floor which is 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 out for a couple of days.
Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway
The last step in the restoration was to apply a protective sealer to the tiles which would improve the finish and add protection. Sealers work by keeping dirt on the surface where they can easily be cleaned away and for this floor, we had chosen Tile Doctor Colour Grow.
Colour Grow is a hard-wearing impregnator that soaks into the pores of the tile protecting it from within and as its name suggests improves the colours in the tiles in the process. This product is also fully breathable which is an ideal feature when choosing a sealer for old floors like this one.
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Once complete the floor was structurally sound and should last another 100 years. It also looked much cleaner and brighter and most importantly my client was very happy with the result.
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.
Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Lincolnshire
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