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Refurbishing a property comes with hazards.

If you're contemplating major renovations to your home, such as removing your old kitchen or adding an extension, there are several factors you need to seriously consider before construction work can begin, so you don't inadvertently burst a pipe or punch a hole into the incorrect wall.

You also shouldn't set your hopes too high when renovating an old house, as one couple on social media recently discovered. The homeowners are in the midst of refurbishing their Victorian property, and had been hoping to uncover some traditional period features they could restore.

Tearing up carpets in old properties in the hope of discovering beautiful Victorian-era tiles has become enormously popular on social media lately, so when Fil and Kiara moved into their fixer-upper home in December 2025, they started chronicling their renovation journey on TikTok.

In a recent video, the couple decided to take the risk and discover what type of floor was hiding beneath the old carpets, aware that there could be a possibility that Victorian tiles were underneath.

But their spirits plummeted when they pulled back the carpet to reveal orange-hued tiles straight from the 1970s.

They wrote on their video: "We were expecting Victorian tiles... we got THIS instead. The 70s owe us an apology."

Commenters on the post were instantly worried for the couple, with some cautioning it is possible the tiles could contain asbestos. If the property was constructed or renovated before the 1980s, any tiles should be treated as suspect.

Asbestos is a group of naturally occurring, fibrous silicate minerals recognised for their strength and heat resistance. These properties previously made asbestos a popular building material for things like insulation and tiles, but inhaling fibres can cause serious lung diseases and cancers.

The only way to know for certain whether the tiles contain asbestos is to have them professionally tested, which Fil and Kiara have said they are in the process of doing. But until then, they have insisted they won't be touching any of the tiles, as breaking them or attempting to remove them could release the hazardous fibres.

Responding to one commenter asking about asbestos, they said: "We don't know, we will need to get it tested eventually. For now we have avoided drilling, breaking, or attempting removal until further investigation."

Other commenters on the post offered their sympathies to the couple, noting that it's always disappointing to realise that your home doesn't have the attractive features you thought it might when you purchased it.

One person said: "Gutted." Another added: "That sucks, I'm sorry." Before tearing up your carpets in the hunt for Victorian tiles, it's crucial to know when your property was constructed. Fil and Kiara believe their home was probably built between the late 1800s and early 1900s, which places them right at the tail end of the period for Victorian-style tiles.

Complex star or checkerboard patterns are most likely to be discovered in terraced houses constructed between 1860 and 1900, while simpler, geometric tiled designs were more prevalent in Edwardian properties built between 1901 and 1910.