Irthlingborough

Victorian Tiled Hallway Restoration Irthlingborough

Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Irthlingborough

The following photos show a period Victorian floor in Irthlingborough which is close to Rushden and Wellingborough. Our client had discovered the floor after lifting a carpet that had been down for over a decade, the tiles had been stained with bitumen, which I assume was used as an adhesive, and she was keen to find out if it could be restored to its original condition.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Irthlingborough

I attended the property to survey the floor and could see as well as the bitumen there were loose tiles in a couple of areas by the doorway that would also need looking at. Fortunately, I was able to reassure her that I could remove the bitumen residue and resolve the loose tiles and provided a quotation via e mail a few days later. Pleased the issues could be resolved the quote was accepted and we agreed a date for the work to be carried out.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Irthlingborough

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

After unloading my equipment, I taped up the skirting boards and doors to protect them. Next, I began by applying a coatings remover called Tile Doctor Remove and Go along the edges of the floor and allowed it to dwell for five to ten minutes to break down the bitumen, this was then agitated by using brushes, before rinsing with a wet vacuum pick up machine.

Once all the edges were cleaned, I started scrubbing the floor working in sections of two to three square meters using a 17” black scrubbing pad attached to a rotary floor machine. I worked back towards the front door working the Remove & Go into the tiles. This system released most of the dirt, staining and bitumen out of the Victorian tiles to the surface where it could be removed with a wet vacuum.

I then attached a coarse 200-grit burnishing pad to the rotary scrubbing machine and began working over the entire area adding a little water at each stage. This process removed the remaining bitumen and staining and gave the tiles a new lease of life. Again, the soiling was removed with the wet vacuum.

Repairing Victorian Hallway Tiles

Once the area was clean, I was able to commence work on the repairs. As you can see from the photos there were 2 areas of approximately 18″ x 10″ where the subfloor had moved, and all of the tiles needed to be lifted so it could be repaired.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Restoration Irthlingborough

The sub floor was then broken up, removed, and replaced with a new cement screed level with the original base.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Restoration Irthlingborough Victorian Tiled Floor During Restoration Irthlingborough

Once the screed had set, I was then able to relay the original tiles with the original pattern and regrout these sections to secure them in position.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Restoration Irthlingborough

Once the grout had gone off, I was able to finally give these areas a clean using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up to remove any residue and grout smears before the area was sealed.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The hallway was then left to dry out for a couple of days, old floors like this one don’t have the benefit of a plastic membrane to protect them damp so it can take a while. Tiles need to be dry before sealing, otherwise the results can be inconsistent so it’s worth the wait.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration Irthlingborough

When I returned the first task was to take a few moisture readings with a damp meter and check the repaired sections had set solidly. All was well so I started with the first coat of sealer which for this floor was Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealant which leaves a natural finish. This is a breathable sealant which is an important consideration for a floor without a damp proof membrane, being breathable it will allow moisture to pass from the sub floor and evaporate at the surface. A non-breathable sealer would effectively seal in the moisture which over time will build under the floor until it eventually reaches the walls causing rising damp.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration Irthlingborough

The client was happy with the results and left the following positive feedback which is always appreciated.

“Philip did a very good job on our Victorian tiled hallway.”

Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration Irthlingborough

 

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Marble Tiled Floor In Irthlingborough after cleaning

Polished Marble Floor Covered in Grout Haze in Irthlingborough

These photos are from a newly installed Polished Marble floor in the kitchen at a residence in Irthlingborough Northants which had been left covered in grout haze. The customer called the builder back as they were unhappy with the finish but he could not rectify the problem, so the customer contacted Tile Doctor to see if anything could be done.

This is a problem we often come up against where a builder or tiler does a good job of laying the tiles but for some reason doesn’t remove all the grout from the tile and we have even seen some jobs where the grout smears have been sealed over which makes it even more noticeable especially on a polished floor. Fortunately for the customer we are able to resolve such problems and after agreeing the process we set about solving the problem.

Marble Tiled Floor In Irthlingborough before cleaning

Burnishing Polished Marble Tiles

To protect the kitchen units from any splashing etc. all the kick boards were removed and plastic sheeting fitted to protect new doors and panels before any work was undertaken.

Polished Marble is a very hard surface that has to be burnished with diamond encrusted pads to restore the finish so we set about this task using a set of Tile Doctor Burnishing Pads. The pads come in a set of four, you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cut’s through and removes surface grime, surface seal and in this case grout haze as well. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the final polishing pad which provides a high polish. The pads did the trick and had the surface polished to a high shine which was the look the customer was hoping they would have had in the first place.

The floor was looking great but I was concerned about the grout, most people don’t realise but the top layer of grout is actually slightly porous and will attract dirt and discolour over time, this is especially the case in a bathroom or kitchen. After discussing this with the customer we sealed the grout with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which provides a natural look whilst preventing contaminates reaching the grout.

All in the job took two days and the customer was extremely happy with the final result.

Marble Tiled Floor In Irthlingborough after cleaning
 

Cleaning and Polishing Marble Tiled floor in Northamptonshire

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