Restore Victorian tiles in Hallway

[kiwiwogger]

I have just taken the up carpet in the hallway and discovered that my victorian mosaic tiles are still in situe, how do I clean them? There are paint splashes, flooring stuck, I have cleaned them somewhat and they need restoring in places; I think a good floor scrubber might work- I'm very wary about doing that due to potential damage caused by the scrubber.

I would love to restore and make it look impressive- my other option would be to cover the hallway in laminate floor( a tragedy for sure). Any help would be appreciated as I'm really not sure about what I should do.

 

[wotan]

Hi Just Googled it, several hit's.

Wotan

 

[kiwiwogger]

I've googled, Companies can do it for me at a price,however, would like to renovate myself using the right products, could do with all your good advice,

 

[Symptoms]

wogger - white spirit, steel wool, paint scraper. Oh, and you'll have to do this on your hands & knees so invest in some knee pads. Just a personal observation ... Victorian floor SHOULD look 100+ years old and have evidence of wear & tear (the odd chip, scratch, etc.) - once cleaned love & enjoy the 'old girl'. If you want your floor to look 'new' then go for reproduction tiles - yuk!

 

[kiwiwogger]

many thanks looks like I'll be on hands and knees all weekend. Definitely no reproduction tiles as I want to be proud of the history that might be within

 

[Bondai]

More likely you will have to invest in some reclaims.

You cant by these tiles new and reproductions are now metric rather than imperial so you will end up with colour variation, texture variation and a subtle size difference. All equating to something that will ultimately look rubbish.

If you need to get reclaims. Take your time and do some thorough searching.
Getting the right ones is really important.

I used brick cleaner on mine to get rid of any unnatural contaminants and then boiled linseed oil once cleaned and washed.

You can actually buy some colour restorer but I would steer clear of this and maintain the floor in its old glory.

(yes I have time to kill at the moment)

 

[kiwiwogger]

Would that be patio cleaner or the good old fashioned brick cleaning acid?

I will follow the advice of linseed oil for sure as I have seen this a few times.
what's the difference between linseed and boiled linseed?

As to the restoring of broken tiles I think I will restore/clean all tiles existing the best way I can and keep its character of age.

This is a weekend for female determination.
First i have to paint the ceiling, this weekend will be fun

 

[kiwiwogger]

Just a sudden panic
how long after cleaning do you have to apply linseed oil?

 

[Bondai]

If there is not a major rush then I would take my time in replacing any severely cracked tiles with reclaimed tiles (ensuring a good match)

You will have to have a look for some private sellers on the internet perhaps. I actually got mine by visiting a reclaim yard.

If you do this then be prepared to have to clean up the reclaims before you can use them.

As for the linseed oil. Just apply it sparingly and work it into the tiles once you are happy with them (once you have your floor complete and restored as the linseed oil is a finishing touch).

The linseed will help restore some of there sheen and seal them from water staining.

There is no rush to apply it but the sooner you apply it after you have cleaned them the better.

And you will then apply the linseed once a month after that or until you are happy with them. There there is nothing wrong with using too much but as it's oil it will take longer to absorb etc...

Read the label as the rags you use to apply the linseed are (apparently)susceptible to self combustion once dry (if you screw them up tghtly).


By the way. I dont know what the difference is between boiled and raw linseed. I used boiled on a recommendation.

 

[kiwiwogger]

All's going well, on hands and knees with steam cleaner, having sprayed with brick cleaning acid and let it soak for a few minutes, cat doing head in........normally asleep all day-not today!!!!

 

[Chri5]

The tiles are likely to be Tesselllated.

 

[mattylad]

Any pictures of the finished work?
I assume since the original posts were in May then by now it will be done?

 

[kiwiwogger]

i will upload photos, took a while-looks fantastic
vibrant colours as the sun shines through glass front door .
I haven't restored any tiles with new, I have kept all original
I am proud!!

 

[DebsG]

We had our hallway renovated this summer. My son did all the work but we found this excellent company in South London who provided all the tiles at a reasonable price and gave us loads great advice for free.

www.londonmosaicrestoration.co.uk

As for the DIY side, it prob was a bit much for my son to take on by himself - the dust is the main thing - but otherwise it looks great and is def much much cheaper than paying someone to do the lot!

Debs

 

[Roscoepeko99]

Hi kiwiwogger,

Any chance of the before and after pics? I also have a Victirain floor to restore / clean and was planning on using Aquamix products, the products you have used would be far cheaper so Id be keen to see the results.

Any comments/ experience of using the the Aquamix procucts would be appreciated.

Cheers
Ros