Full restoration of a Victorian tiled floor in Oxford
I was recently called to a property in the historic city of Oxford, perhaps most famous for being the site of the oldest University in the English-speaking world. The property owner asked me to take a look at a linoleum floor, which was partially revealing a black and white patterned, Victorian tiled floor underneath, to see what I could do with it. Although it would be a challenging and lengthy job, I assured my client that I would be able to restore the hidden Victorian tiled floor to its original condition.
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Removing the linoleum covering and cleaning the floor
My first task was to carefully scrape off as much of the linoleum covering as possible without damaging the floor beneath.
![Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford Lino Removed Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford Lino Removed](https://i0.wp.com/oxfordshire.tiledoctor.biz/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/Victorian-Floor-Restoration-Oxford-Lino-Removed-25052015-125334.jpg?resize=520%2C650)
Firstly, I applied a layer of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, which would help to draw out the ingrained dirt and stains. I left the product to dwell for only a short time as I did not want it to dry on the surface of the floor. Following this, I scrubbed the floor with a medium brush attached to a Rocky floor cleaning machine, before rinsing the area with clean water and then repeating the process again.
![Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford Cleaning Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford Cleaning](https://i0.wp.com/oxfordshire.tiledoctor.biz/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/Victorian-Floor-Restoration-Oxford-Cleaning-26052015-091113.jpg?resize=520%2C650)
![Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford Repair Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford Repair](https://i0.wp.com/oxfordshire.tiledoctor.biz/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/Victorian-Floor-Restoration-Oxford-Repair-01062015-080846.jpg?resize=520%2C650)
Floor repair, tile replacement and sealing
I then set about digging out the concrete lines that were in the floor; these were likely the reason for having the floor covered in linoleum in the first place. One area under the concrete lines contained a gas pipe, which I found to be obsolete, and another contained an electrical wire, which I had to test in order to ensure it too was no longer functioning. I dug out the concrete, and removed all the tiles around the edge of the room, where carpet grippers had been put down, effectively smashing nails into the floor.
![Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford Repair Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford Repair](https://i0.wp.com/oxfordshire.tiledoctor.biz/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/Victorian-Floor-Restoration-Oxford-Repair-01062015-101925.jpg?resize=520%2C650)
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When I returned after this period, I mixed a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and water, and applied it to the floor. I left it to dwell for about 30 minutes, periodically stubbing with a deck brush. I then once again utilised my floor cleaning machine with a medium brush to scrub the floor, rinsed the area with more clean water, and then vacuumed up the excess liquid. The floor was let again to dry, this time for a period of a few days.
![Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford Pre-Sealing Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford Pre-Sealing](https://i0.wp.com/oxfordshire.tiledoctor.biz/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/Victorian-Floor-Restoration-Oxford-Pre-Sealing-22062015-082021.jpg?resize=520%2C650)
![Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford After Sealing Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford After Sealing](https://i0.wp.com/oxfordshire.tiledoctor.biz/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/Victorian-Floor-Restoration-Oxford-After-Sealing-22062015-115612.jpg?resize=520%2C650)
“We are delighted with the work Barry carried out for us. He had restored our floors with care and attention to detail, and we are really pleased with the final result!”
![Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford After Sealing Victorian Floor Restoration Oxford After Sealing](https://i0.wp.com/oxfordshire.tiledoctor.biz/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/Victorian-Floor-Restoration-Oxford-After-Sealing-22062015-115643.jpg?resize=520%2C650)
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