Victorian Clay Tile Floor Restoration Burton on Trent

Last Updated on January 15, 2026 by David

This house in Stapenhill, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, had just undergone a major renovation, revealing a beautiful but tired-looking Victorian clay-tile hallway.

Considering the age of the property, the Minton tile floor will have had a rich history; however, it looks like the floor has been looked after quite well. There were no carpet gripper holes or bitumen coatings to deal with. The main issues were numerous old paint stains and ingrained soil from years of use.

The first thing to do was to protect the walls, staircase, doors and adjoining areas from cleaning splashes. I always take this precaution because some of the chemicals we use can damage paintwor,k and whilst I am extremely careful, better safe than sorry.

In this case it took just over an hour to install the protection.

There are a few options to remove paint from clay tiles, water based and solvent based. Water-based strippers work best when they are left for a day or two to soften the paint. Solvent strippers work more quickly, but they can release strong fumes.

The customer wanted the work completed quickly, so we chose a gel-based stripper. A good coat of the sealer and paint remover was applied and left to work for a couple of hours.

The treatment was carefully removed using our specialist moisture-controlled extraction equipment. It is important not to use too much water as excess water can soak through the tiles into the subfloor. If the subfloor is made of earth or ash, it could cause problems later.

Our equipment does not drive water into the surface of the stone. The water is combined with air to produce a fine, high-pressure mist that sweeps over the stone’s surface, removing the bulk of the residues.

Gentle yet effective floor-cleaning pads were used to remove any remaining residues and ground-in surface soil.

The floor was rinsed again to remove the dirty slurry, leaving the floor beautifully clean and only slightly damp.

Air movers were used to get the floor nice and dry, which took another couple of hours. Once the floor was dry it looked beautifully clean, but the colours in the floor looked a little muted.

An application of stone oil brought the colour back to the floor in spectacular fashion.

The customer wanted an easy, clean, shiny finish. We decided on a long-life wax finish that is easy to maintain and gives a luxurious, high-sheen finish. Unfortunatley the light was too low for a photograph of the finished floor.

This restoration is one of many real examples referenced in our Victorian tile flooring guide, which explains how clay and encaustic floors wear in real homes and what is usually needed to restore them properly.

If your Minton tile floor is grubby and uninviting, contact Abbey Floor Care for a free, no-obligation Minton floor restoration quotation