Victorian Tile Floor Renovation, Fylde Coast
We found this fantastic example of man made tiles in a lovely church in Flyde Coast. As you can see in these images, the floor was in need of some serious restoration. The building had been undergoing renovation work and this had left the floor in a sorry state. It’s not uncommon to come across this kind of flooring and get involved as one of the last stages of internal remodelling. In some cases, the floor is only discovered as a part of these works, when surfaces that have been placed on top are removed. The combination of a change in flooring as well as other building works means that resorting the flooring is the one of the key, later stages required to achieve a fantastic, improved effect.
Offering a hard, long lasting surface that is easy to maintain, tiles have been used in all kinds of places. But while they are undoubtedly strong, that is not to say that tiled floors are never in need of a little care and attention. Even the toughest of tiles are still vulnerable to dirt and damage over a long time scale. When it comes to man made tiles such as these, there is no single process that will solve all of these problems. Depending on the exact material used, the state of it’s surface and the desired outcome we can carry out a range of cleaning and restoration services. In some cases, this is a fairly superficial clean, buff and polish. In this case, we had to go for a more thorough restoration process. This enables us to remove serious scratches by honing away a fine layer from the surface of the tile. Having revealed a fresh surface, we can then apply the most appreciate sealant to achieve your desired finish. We also take into account the expected uses of the flooring, for example the high foot traffic of this chapel would require different care and attention to that of a kitchen.
As you can see here, the tiles began a soft earthy shade of terracotta. But as soon as the restoration began, the vivid orange started to shine through. Not only does this deep restoration reveal the true beauty of these find tiles, our finishing sealers make it much easier to maintain and preserve that finish for the future.
As you can see here, there are all kinds of issues when starting out on this kind of project. While our trained, experienced team is your best bet for making the most of this kind of discovery, we do suggest you get in touch so we can work out whats feasible. In some cases, if concrete has been used to cover the tiles, or the subfloor has shifted it can be a very laborious process to get the tiles back up to scratch. Having said that, displaying an elaborate, antique floor in all its glory is not to be sniffed at and is well worth the trouble.
Naturally, each restoration project has its own quirks but we have tried and tested methods to get you the best possible results. Firstly, we will carefully remove any covering material with minute care and attention, force must be very carefully applied to remove tough substances such as concrete without damaging the delicate tiles beneath. Once any contaminates have been meticulously removed we can turn our attention to the tiles themselves. In some cases we may need to carry out work to remove sealant or scratches to the surface. This is not to forget the grout between the tiles which is generally a softer, more porous material. If necessary we will carry out work to recolour the grout before sealing and protecting the whole floor to achieve a stunning finish and long lasting protection.