Conservation of a Damaged Victorian Tiled Floor

The team undertook a conservation, clean, removal of efflorescence salts and tile replacement project to a late Victorian tiled floor in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The floor had been cleaned and restored by another company year or so prior to us working on the historic tiles. It had been previously cleaned with an acidic cleaner then sealed with an acrylic sealant before it had dried, resulting in extensive blooming of efflorescent or soluble salts. The acrylic sealant had lifted from the tile surface in places.

The unsympathetic acrylic sealant had restricted the ability of the floor to breath and release the water vapour of the previous clean.

The team stripped of the acrylic sealant, replaced some of the damaged cracked Victorian tiles with colour matched tiles, grouted to match the original adhesive/grout and a tradition vapour permeable breathable finish was applied to protect the surface and enhance the colours of the tiles.

Before and after photos showing the conservation of the geometric and encaustic victorian floor tiles.