1920’s Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restored in Pontcana

The new owner of this house in Pontcana, Cardiff recently discovered a 1920’s Victorian tiled floor hidden under carpet in the hallway and was keen to restore it as an original feature. They contacted Tile Doctor to have it repaired and I popped round to do a survey. I could see there was a great deal of movement in the floor by the front door area where the old brittle cement base had buckled causing the tiles to become loose and uneven.

Most contractors would consider this beyond repair however I suggested we take up the main area of buckled tiles and keep them for the repair to the centre of the hallway where a copper strip had been laid in the cement. I suggested that in the area which we lifted up the tiles by the front door that we made a mat well which not only looks good but serves a purpose and remedies the main problem of the cement base.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first task was to check moisture readings then to remove the tiles carefully as I could in order to save the pieces for the repair of the other damage in the centre of floor. I then chiselled the raised areas of cement away with a small Kango hammer in preparation for the self-leveller which would be needed to make the base suitable for the new doorway mat.

Once this was done I proceeded to repair the other damaged parts of the floor using the original tiles that were now spare. I laid the tiles through the damaged areas and grouted them in.

Once the grout had gone off I was able to start cleaning the floor starting with an application of Grout Clean-Up to remove the grout smears followed by a solution of Tile Doctor HBU mixed 50/50 with Pro-Clean which was scrubbed into the tile and then rinsed off before steam cleaning the floor to make sure any dirt or trace of chemical was removed before sealing the tiles.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

The floor was left to dry out and I returned two days later to seal the floor checking that the moisture readings were acceptable first. To seal the floor I used six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which can even make an old floor look vibrant.

The floor now looks great and I’m confident the restoration of this period feature will add value to the property.

Victorian Tiled floor hidden under carpet fully restored in South Wales