Detailed below is the major restoration of an Encaustic Cement tiled floor at an Edwardian property in the West London suburb of Perivale. At some point in its history this beautiful and practical floor was covered up with cement screen and then carpeted. The current owner who was aware of the tiled floor underneath contacted us to see if that could be removed and the floor restored to its original condition.
I paid a visit to the property to survey the floor and get a better idea of the work involved. Naturally with the floor covered in carpet it’s impossible to know what condition the floor was in however having done this work before we had a good idea of what would be needed.
During our visit a section of the carpet was peeled back and we ran a small cleaning test to understand how difficult it would be to remove the cement leveller. The floor responded well to this and we were able to reveal a small section of intact tiled floor in reasonable condition.
Naturally without the whole floor exposed it would be difficult to provide a quote for its restoration however we were able to give the owner an estimate which was accepted.
Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor
The first step was to carefully remove the carpet and gripper rods which had been fixed in place with adhesive. Free of its covering work then moved onto the chipping away of the self-levelling cement which was done carefully by hand. Our fingers were crossed that we wouldn’t reveal or cause for that matter any major damage.
Thankfully the floor was intact and with no repairs required work progressed onto cleaning. To do this the floor was first scrubbed using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is an acidic product that we normally use for removing excess grout however in this case it proved useful in removing the excess cement. A strong dilution was brushed onto the tiles and then left for ten minutes before scrubbing in with a coarse 100-grit diamond pad. More water was used to rinse the soiled solution off the floor before extracting with a wet vacuum.
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This process was then repeated using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline Tile and Grout Cleaner. As before it was brushed onto the floor, left to soak in and then scrubbed in with a diamond pad, this time using a finer 200-grit.
During the cleaning, we had noticed a few cracked tiles that needed replacing. Replacements were sourced and with the cleaning complete and the damaged tiles were carefully removed and replaced. Once grouted in and set the floor was given a final rinse and extraction with the wet vacuum.
Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor
To seal the floor, we first used a consolidator primer seal, Tile Doctor Colour Grow, followed by five applications of a protective acrylic seal Tile Doctor Seal and Go, which gave the floor a durable rich satin finish. Both these products are breathable which is an important consideration when dealing with and old floor that won’t have the benefit of a damp-proof-membrane.
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The restoration involved three experienced Tile Doctor technicians working over a period of three consecutive days. Once complete the floor was completely transformed and really lifted the hallway. Period features like this are very sought after and add a lot of value to old properties.
Following the completion of the floor we have advised the customer to maintain the tiles using Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which has a neutral pH and so will not impact the sealer.
When cleaning tiles with a mop we recommend using two buckets, one containing a neutral pH cleaning fluid such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner and the second where you rinse your mop afterwards, otherwise you will contaminate your cleaning fluid with dirt every time you rinse.