Old Clay Pamment Tiled Hallway Renovated in Lingfield

This is the first of two visits I made to a property in Lingfield, East Surrey which had some very old features including a Pamment tiled hallway and a 200-year-old stone Fireplace. In both cases the owner had made an attempt at restoring them before deciding to give up and call in Tile Doctor.

Clay Pamment Tiled Hallway Before Cleaning Lingfield Surrey Clay Pamment Tiled Hallway Before Cleaning Lingfield Surrey

For this article I’m going to focus on the Pamment tiles which like Terracotta are made from Clay and are a common flooring material in Norfolk and Suffolk. We don’t usually see Pamment tiles in Surrey however Lingfield is a very old village where the Church dates to the 14th century so you never know what you’re going to find.

Clay Pamment Tiled Hallway Before Cleaning Lingfield Surrey Clay Pamment Tiled Hallway Before Cleaning Lingfield Surrey

Cleaning Pamment Tiles

I started with the job by scrubbing the Pamment tiles with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, which is a heavy-duty cleaner/stripper designed for removing coatings from stone, tile and grout. The product was applied and left to soak into the tile and grout for about ten minutes before being scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The soiled solution was then removed with a wet vacuum.

Next step was to give the tiles an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is applied using the same method as before. Acid washing a tiled floor removes mineral deposits such as alkaline salts from efflorescence and will also take off thin grout smears that can ruin the look of a tiled floor. Once this was done and the soil removed the floor was washed down with clean water to ensure all the acid was removed and the floor neutralised.

You can see from the photographs that the grouting between the tiles had failed in areas, so this was replaced to ensure the floor was structurally sound. After cleaning up the floor it was then left to dry out thoroughly for a few days.

Sealing Pamment Tiles

On my return to do the sealing I first checked the floor had dried sufficiently with a damp meter, we never recommend sealing a damp floor as this can cause problems with the sealer curing leading to patchy results. All was well and for this floor I decided on applying a single coat of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal first which seeps into the pores of the tile and adds a base layer of protection. This was then followed up with multiple coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds the final layer of protection and enhances the look of the tile to leave a nice subtle sheen.

Clay Pamment Tiled Hallway After Sealing Lingfield Surrey Clay Pamment Tiled Hallway After Sealing Lingfield Surrey

The work took two days in all and as you can see the floor now looks transformed and will be much easier to maintain going forward.

Clay Pamment Tiled Hallway After Sealing Lingfield Surrey Clay Pamment Tiled Hallway After Sealing Lingfield Surrey

GET THE LOOK – Pamment Tiled Flooring

If you like the rustic look a Pamment tiled floor brings to a property, then there are several UK suppliers who still retail these tiles including Norfolk Pamments and Antique Style Flooring. Also consider searching eBay, Gumtree and reclamation yards for second hand floors for restoration.

 

Clay Pamment Tiled Floor Renovated in East Surrey

1 thought on “Old Clay Pamment Tiled Hallway Renovated in Lingfield”

  1. Never use a strong cleaning product or a steam cleaner for the regular cleaning of sealed tiles as this will reduce the life of the sealer. We recommend using a specialist cleaning product such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner for the regular cleaning of sealed surfaces, if you do use another product always read the label first, most supermarket tile cleaners are only suitable for use on glazed ceramic or vinyl tiles.

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