Restoring old tiled hearth Re-generate an old or tired space and give it a fresh breath of life. Click here for answers, information and tips

[CR]

Having pulled up the carpet in a bedroom of my Edwardian house I have just found an original tiled hearth.

What is the best way of restoring it? Is there a product that would be good for cleaning the tiles? :?

[thedoctor]

Depends what is on them really. If its just grime you cannot beat a good scrub with warm water and soap. If its a bit of cement then a mild solution of pation cleaner will do the job. If its heavy bitumen then it needs to be wormed up and scraped off then cleaned with white spirits. See our project section www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects.htm and look for cleaning paving and patios and removing cork tiles as the process for cleaning the adhesive is the same.