Good as New
Victorian Hotel (Hotel Redmere)

Article on Magazine TiIeUK, issue on 22 December 2006

As part of a redevelopment project, specialist Heritage Tiling was called in to renovate a Victorian tiled floor that had suffered years of mistreatment, both accidental and deliberate

Hotel Redmere In Lancashire was built around 1880 and served as a hotel until the late 1920s, the start of the Great Depression. The building then remained empty for many years before records show that it was converted and reopened as a wine bar and club in the 1970s.

In the process of alterations and additions to adapt the building to its new use as apartments the tiled flooring sustained considerable damage.
`The beautiful Victorian geometric floor fell victim to the 1970s and 80s madness of butchering period fittings,' says Steve Sinnott, Heritage Tiling proprietor.
Heritage was called in when the hotel was converted to luxury flats, charged with the repair and restoration of the Victorian floor and to introduce new sections that would complement the original design.

Its main task was a large area that was missing because a trench was cut out to provide service ducting to run utili ties and piped drinks.'Approximately 8sqm of tile had been removed and the original scaling of the pattern was not eas ily discernible. In addition, tiles along both sides of the trench had sustained damage, and left loose or broken.
In restoring the floor to its original glory, Sinnott carefully removed the tiles back to a section with an intact pattern that had retained its edge. The design was rectangular in shape, bordered with buff tiles that included a central design of square blue tiles embellished with white triangles.
All the replacement tiles were cut from 6in x 6in tiles sup plied by Craven Dunnill at Jackfield. Any that could be cut dry were cut with a Rubi TS40 but others, such as curved buff tiles were cut on a wet cut with a Rubi wet cut, says Sinnott, as they were a complicated shape.
`The client declined to have moulds made so paid extra for the time taken to cut them out.'
In preparing the trench to accept the new tiles two Fein MuItiMaster Top tools were used, which have an oscillating head and take numerous attachments. Heritage Tiling used the finger and triangular carbide heads to grind the screed down to the correct height to accept a bed of adhesive.

Tile adhesive was supplied by BAL. Due to the small size of the tiles, only small portions were mixed at a time, which meant the task of fixing could not be carried out quickly.
`I opted to restore and recreate two full panels in the centre most of which had become loose or had broken or cracked tiles,' said Sinnott. `I also reproduced the rectangular tile scheme set between the arch footings, which is a blue star pattern, with accompanying on-diamond designs running either side and beneath.'
Elsewhere, tiles had been broken by carpet grippers and other accessories, as well as years of general use and abuse. Two corridors with a total area of 112sqm were covered in a mixture of carpet adhesive, dirt, paint and other agents.
Damaged tiles were removed, requiring great care to avoid creating further problems. `As the tile joints on geo metric tiles are so tight that any attempt to pry the tiles out could damage adjacent tiles, splintering edges,' Sinnott explains. A small Exakt saw with a diamond blade proved invaluable, he says.
MuItiMaster tools were used to clean the tiles that have been lifted, removing mortar which has adhered to the sides and back. Once clean, they could be refixed, although again this was not a quick procedure.
`It was another time consuming operation which is invisible as far as the client is concerned,' said Sinnott. `It is, however, necessary otherwise the tiles will not go back into place.'
Following repair, the floors were given a thorough clean ing. Mild alkaline was used to remove polish and seals before a Seville orange-based cleaner was applied. The tiles were then presealed and sealed with British Nova prod ucts, which have also been used on many Grade I listed buildings.

A lightweight Numatic scrubbing machine operating at 200rpm was used. 'This machine is light enough to use on mosaic floors and tough enough to get really ground in dirt off,' Sinnott says,
Sinnott is proud of the result: `I believe I exceeded my client's brief and as the old saying goes a picture paints a thousand words.'

22 TiIeUK December 2006