Tile Doctor Feeds

Epoxy Grout Haze Removed from New Porcelain Floor in Telford New Build

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 14:50:39 +0000

The photos below are of a Polished Porcelain tiled floor at a house in the new Telford Lawley Village development. When the house was built my customer had specified large format White glazed Porcelain floor tiles on the ground floor and had insisted on the use of a matching white Epoxy Grout. The developer agreed to lay the tiles but refused to use Epoxy Grout (which is very resilient but also tricky to work with). As a result, the customer hired someone else to grout the floor.

Epoxy Grout is notoriously difficult to work with and unfortunately the tiler was unable to remove all the grout residue from the surface of the Porcelain tiles and ruining their appearance. The tiler tried to remove the grout residue but ended up discolouring all the skirting boards instead. The customer was out of time at this point and had to move in, but the floor looked a right mess as is clearly visible on the before pictures on this page. Having given up on the tiler they decided to call Tile Doctor.

Fortunately for the customer we are very familiar with this issue and have been resolving problems like this for some time. After discussing the problem on the phone, I paid the customer a visit to take a close look at the problem and after running a few tests I was confident I could fix it for them. We agreed a price and I arranged a time to return to complete the work.

Cleaning a Polished Porcelain Tiled Hallway Floor

To break down the polymers in the epoxy grout I first applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left for approximately fifteen minutes before agitating it with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor machine. This process removed most of the grout haze but to get it looking 100% I swapped the black pad to a 3000-grit diamond burnishing pad and polished the tiles using a little water sprayed onto the tile. This is a very fine polishing pad and brings up the finish on the Porcelain tiles a treat.

Once that was done, I inspected the floor again looking for stubborn areas and then spot treated those areas by hand with a repeat of the same process and a scraper. The tiles were factory sealed so once I was happy all the grout haze was gone the job was finished.

For aftercare and keep the floor looking pristine I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. It’s easy to use and comes in concentrated form so you only need a small amount, it has a nice fresh smell. They could use household cleaners, but they are likely to leave a residue and leave smears on the polished surface

The client was very happy that I saved the floor for her, it now looked how she had imagined it and was in keeping with the rest of the stunning new house. She left the following testimonial for me, which is always a delight. They now just needed to clean up the skirting boards, which may need a rub down and a lick of paint.

“Very professional manner. Excellent job. I am more than pleased. Edith K.”

Professional Restoration of a Polished Porcelain Tiled Hallway in Shropshire

The post Epoxy Grout Haze Removed from New Porcelain Floor in Telford New Build appeared first on Shropshire Tile Doctor.

Restoration of a shower and bathroom in Guildford

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 15:45:12 +0000

A family living in Guildford were in touch recently about restoring the appearance of their Ceramic tiled shower and bathroom. They were about to put the property up for sale and were concerned the grubby grout might put off potential buyers. First impressions do count so renovating a bathroom or kitchen before selling is a really good idea and will help you achieve a better price.

In this case the Ceramic tiles were dirty and black with mould in places which looked unhygienic and uninviting. Additionally, the mastic sealant between the tile and bath was tired and worn to the extent that water could end up leaking behind the seal. After visiting the property, they were pleased to hear I could help and happily accepted our quote which was based around a days work and some materials.

Cleaning/Repairing a Ceramic Tiled Shower and Bathroom

Firstly, I cleaned the grout using a Tile Doctor product called Duo Clean which is designed to tackle dirty grout and mould. I sprayed the product along all the grout lines and left it to soak in for about fifteen minutes. Once ready I brushed them with a firm wire brush then rinsed off with water. Next, I cleaned the tiles using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was decanted into a spray bottle and sprayed onto the wall tiles. After ten minutes I then used a handheld buffing machine fitted with a small white buffing pad to shift the dirt and buff up the white tiles. After rinsing the slurry off with water you could see a marked improvement.

I hand dried the tile and grout with a cloth and then set about stripping out the old white mastic sealer with a sharp knife. This took some time, as you have to be careful not to scratch the bath or the tile.

By this time the grout had dried off fully and I was able to see if more work was required. To achieve a uniform colour throughout. Mould and some cleaning products can discolour grout permanently and, in this case, there was some grout staining I was unable to remove. We had discussed this possibility earlier and how it would be best resolved using a white grout colourant. So, I carefully applied Tile Doctor Grout Colour which is painted on with a small brush with any excess wiped off the tile before it can set. This resulted in a uniform white grout throughout and really gave the whole bathroom a lift.

Sealing a Ceramic Tiled Shower and Bathroom

With the cleaning process completed I applied a new white mastic between the bath and tile and along the verticals. This is done with the bath filled with water and then left for 24 hours to allow the silicone to fully cure.

After the grout colour had dried, I applied an aerosol Tile and Grout sealer over the whole surface and then lightly polished off any excess with a clean cloth. This does two things; one it adds a further layer of protection to the new grout colour and to the surface of the tiles. Secondly Ceramic tiles are non-porous, but bacterial dirt can still get a grip on the surface, with the sealer in place you will find water quickly runs off without getting a chance to get a hold.

Sealers do wear off, so I recommended re-applying it every year. I had plenty left over and gave it to the customer when I finished using it. For regular cleaning of tiled shower areas, I recommend they use Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro this will neutralise any acid build-up caused by acidic shampoos etc.

Professional Renovation of a Ceramic Tiled Bathroom in West Surrey

The post Restoration of a shower and bathroom in Guildford appeared first on West Surrey Tile Doctor.

Renovating a Limescale Stained Riven Slate Shower in Teddington

Fri, 29 Nov 2019 13:57:41 +0000

The client was thinking of having their riven Slate tiled bathroom re-tiled but before doing so they thought to give Tile Doctor a call about having it renovated first. The property was in Teddington which is a popular commuter area on the River Thames, it is on a long meander of the Thames between Hampton and Strawberry Hill

Thames Water define Teddington as a hard water area with high levels of calcium carbonate which leaves deposits known as Limescale. The tiles had not been professionally cleaned or sealed since installation ten years prior and now Limescale had built up on the tiles which was very thick in places.

I visited the property to see how bad the problem was and to give the client a quote for the work. Whilst I was there a ran some cleaning tests on the shower tiles to work out the best solution. The tests were successful, and they were really pleased to see that their idea of restoring the tiles was a viable option. This would mean they could avoid the need to retile the whole bathroom, which would have been expensive and disruptive. They agreed to my price and we booked in a time to carry out the work, which would be completed over two days.

Removing Limescale from a Riven Slate Tiled Shower

Had this been polished Slate I would have used burnishing pads to grind off the limescale and polish up the stone. In this case however the slate had a riven appearance which means they have a rough surface. I didn’t want to alter the rough appearance as this is part of their natural beauty, so I decided on a different course of action.

The solution would involve hand scrubbing every tile using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which being in gel form sticks well to vertical surfaces. This action broke down the limescale and cleaned away all the dirt and product residue in the stone. The tiles were then rinsed down with water to remove any trace of product.

Sealing a Riven Slate Tiled Shower

After allowing the slate to dry off overnight, I first checked the tiles were nice and dry with the moisture meter. If they were still damp the seal would be ineffective and would not cure. The tiles were nice and dry, so we then applied three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer. This is a colour intensifying sealer which enhances natural colour and will provide durable surface protection going forward. The colours in the slate now look great and it has brought the bathroom back to life, as you can see from the pictures.

The client was really pleased with the result and happy they had saved some money too. I recommended to them that spraying Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro on the Slate after showering as it will eliminate build-up from the use of soaps, shampoos and body-washes, and will help to keep the limescale at bay. We recommend this product as it’s designed for cleaning sealed surfaces and will not prematurely erode the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Riven Slate Tiled Shower in South Middlesex

The post Renovating a Limescale Stained Riven Slate Shower in Teddington appeared first on South Middlesex Tile Doctor.

Dull and Dirty Slate Floor Stripped, Cleaned and Sealed in Darfield, Barnsley

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 12:57:44 +0000

The new owners of this property in Darfield were disappointed with the state of the Slate tiled kitchen floor which looked like it had never been cleaned. Since moving in they tried lots of different products to get it clean, but nothing had the desired effect.

After discussing the problem over the phone, I visited the house to run some product tests on the floor and discuss the options. After a few tests I could tell the floor had been sealed many times over trapping in layers and layers of dirt each time. It looked as if the floor had not been effectively cleaned prior to the numerous coats of seal being applied.

Darfield’s is a village on the outskirts of Barnsley with a history that stretches back to Roman times, quite a few roman artefacts have been found around the village and are now on show at the local museum. But Darfield is most known for the 2 huge collieries that once stood there, below Darfield is a huge seam of coal that supplied the nation with coal for decades. These have long since closed but the mining history of the area remains.

The tests enabled me to work out which products would be the most effective and from that I was able to provide an accurate price for completing the work. All that was left was to schedule a date for my return.

Deep Cleaning a Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in Darfield

With everything agreed I returned a few weeks later and set about stripping the slate of its’ very thick layer of old floor sealers. To do this a combination of Tile Doctor Remove and Go combined with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the floor and left to dwell. These two products are powerful solutions that break down sealants and dirt, when used together they make short work of the job.

The slate floor was then scrubbed with a rotary floor machine fitted with a Black scrubbing pad. This abrasive action breaks the sealer down further until the cleaning solution turns black with dirt and old sealants. I kept working the floor in this way until all the old sealer and ingrained dirt was stripped away leaving the bare stone. The floor was then thoroughly rinsed with water, and all the slurry was removed with a wet vacuum. There was an awful lot of this as the floor really was dirty underneath.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in Darfield

After leaving the floor to dry off overnight I returned the next day to seal the floor using Tile Doctors High Shine Sealer. This product leaves a high shine almost glossy appearance which was the affect my customer was looking for. High Shine is a specially formulated water-based blend of acrylic polymers that provides durable stain resistance, its ideal for Slate floors and you can see from the photos on this page that it made an incredible difference to the floor and really brought out the beautiful natural colours in the stone.

My client was very happy with the new floor, the natural colours of the floor now shone through, in fact the floor looked as if it had been laid recently, quite the transformation.

Before leaving I recommended, they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to clean the floor going forward. This product is pH neutral so it won’t erode the newly applied sealer and will ensure the floor is protected for longer. The same could not be said for most household cleaning products which are not meant for use on natural stone and can remove the sealer over time.

Professional Restoration of a Slate Tiled Kitchen in South Yorkshire

The post Dull and Dirty Slate Floor Stripped, Cleaned and Sealed in Darfield, Barnsley appeared first on South Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

Chequered Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Refurbished in Stoke-on-Trent

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 01:51:51 +0000

This is a great example of a Victorian Tiled floor refurbishment which I recently completed at a property in Stoke-on-Trent. If you look closely at the photographs below you will see the white tiles are looking grubby and paint splash staining from decorating. The owner was unhappy with how the floor now looked and wanted it refurbished.

Black and White Victorian tiles laid in a chequered diamond pattern is a classic style and a very popular choice for hallways at the turn of the 20th century. Over the years many have been replaced or covered up with carpet and those that survived are now a sought-after period feature that adds value to your property.

Renovating Black and White Victorian Floor Tiles

I initially cleaned the floor by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was sprayed onto the floor and then left to soak in for ten minutes. Pro-Clean is our goto tile and grout cleaning product that is designed to break down dirt and remove old sealers. After ten minutes the solution was scrubbed in with a rotary machine fitted with a coarse 200-grit pad. The soil generated was rinsed off the tiles and extracted with a wet vacuum and the floor inspected.

I would see more work was needed to get the floor clean and free of staining, so I spot treated the problem areas with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a coatings remover. I worked in small sections leaving the product to dwell as before for 10 minutes, I then used a wallpaper steamer with handheld diamond blocks to get the ingrained dirt out of the floor. After a final rinse and extraction, the floor looked clean so, so much better than when I started.

Apply a Sealer to Black and White Victorian Floor Tiles

I then left the floor to dry off overnight and came back the second day to seal the tiles first checking the moisture levels with a damp meter. Applying sealer to a damp floor will result in the floor looking patchy when it dries so I always check first. The readings were good, so I started to apply the first of five coats of sealer which for this floor I chose Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra.

Old Victorian floors do not have a damp-proof membrane installed under the floor so its important to select a sealer that will allow moisture to rise through the tiles and evaporate on the surface, Seal and Go Extra allows for this. Choosing a non-breathable sealer can result in moisture being trapped under the floor where it can reach out to the walls leading to rising damp.

Once the floor dried it looked fantastic. In fact, my customer was so happy with the transformation she was taking pictures and sending them to her daughters as I worked; she couldn’t believe how well it was turning out.

Professional Victorian Tiled Hallway Renovation in Staffordshire

The post Chequered Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Refurbished in Stoke-on-Trent appeared first on Staffordshire Tile Doctor.

Resolving Quarry Tile Installation Issues in Watton

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 08:55:52 +0000

Our client in Watton had a new Quarry tiled floor laid at her home and all went well until the tiler came to seal the finished floor after grouting. Needless to say, she didn’t get the finish she was expecting and told us that the tiler had admitted that he had no clue how to address the problem and had told her to contact a specialist to do the work and was happy to cover the cost.

I shouldn’t complain as its Tile Doctor who gets called in to resolve these issues, but there does seem to be a training gap with many tilers having no clear idea how to properly finish a new floor tile installation.

The problem was immediately obvious from the photos she sent over; grout had not been completely polished off the Quarry tile surface leaving a dull haze over the floor. The floor had then been sealed and this had only served to emphasize the slightly grey, dusty and lacklustre appearance of the floor.

Removing Grout Haze from a Quarry Tiled Floor in Watton

To remove the grout haze, it would be necessary to remove the sealer first, so I spent the first part of my visit breaking it down with a powerful 2:1 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The solution was left to soak into the floor for about ten minutes before being scrubbed in using our Klindex rotary machine fitted with a black stripping pad. The resulting slurry was power rinsed and extracted away with our 400psi Ninja machine.

Having done this, we could see that the grout haze was still present in many areas and was becoming very pale and patchy as the tile surface dried out. With the sealer now removed I turned my attention to the removing the grout. This was rectified by applying Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up and then rinse extracting as before. This left the floor spotlessly clean and would be ready for sealing the next day after being left to dry off overnight with the aid of our industrial dehumidifier.

Sealing Quarry Tiles in Watton

We returned to Watton on the following day to meet our client and explain the various sealing options available, from no-finish penetrating sealers to high gloss acrylics. After much discussion, we realised that the client had originally expected the finished floor to have a noticeably shinier appearance than the matt finish colour enhancer that the tiler had used but without the glare of a high shine product.

After weighing up the client’s requirement the obvious choice was to use Tile Doctor Seal & Go which is a water-based sealer with a mid-sheen finish which makes daily maintenance much easier and more effective. We applied this sealer in five thin coats by hand using microfibre cloths, allowing 30 minutes drying time between each coat.

The client was absolutely delighted with the result we achieved and said that it was exactly the way she had expected the floor to look when they originally chose the tiles.

Finishing a Quarry Tiled Hallway after Installation in Norfolk

The post Resolving Quarry Tile Installation Issues in Watton appeared first on Norfolk Tile Doctor.

Terracotta Farmhouse Floor Renovated at Symonds Yat Holiday Home

Sun, 17 Nov 2019 12:44:38 +0000

The pictures below are of a Terracotta tiled floor that was laid in a Farmhouse in Symonds Yat around twenty years ago when the house was being renovated. The Terracotta tiles had been installed throughout the kitchen, utility and downstairs cloakroom and were well overdue a deep clean and seal.

Symonds Yat is a beautiful location amidst the fields of Wye Valley and set on the famous River Wye and is very popular with tourists. The farmhouse has been rented out as a holiday home for some time and with the floor looking faded and dull it was not giving the best impressions with visitors which is not good when you are using the property as a business.

I visited the property to survey the floor as the picture’s customers send you never show up all the problems. I could immediately see the tiles were indeed in need of some tender love and care, the old sealer had long since eroded away and now the Terracotta was susceptible to dirt becoming ingrained. I carried out a test clean on a small area so they could see what the result might look like. They were over the moon with the test area and amazed that how much it would bring the floor back to life. I quoted them a price which they were happy to accept, and we booked the job in for later in the month.

Cleaning/Repairing a Terracotta Tiled Farmhouse Floor

To put the life back into the floor it needed to be stripped of any remaining sealer, cleaned and then resealed. I began this process by spraying the floor with a medium dilution of
Tile Doctor Remove and Go and left it to soak into the tile and grout for ten minutes. This product is designed to strip off old sealers from tile which is important as you will find the sealer will be completely worn off in the busier parts of the floor but will still be present around the edges etc. If you don’t strip off the sealer and apply a new sealer on top you will find the result becomes inconsistent and leaves a patchy finish.

After ten minutes the Remove and Go was scrubbed into the Terracotta using a rotary floor machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. This action removed what was left of the old sealer and after rinsing and extracting I was able to move onto the cleaning process.

This process was repeated using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is tile and grout cleaning product that will remove ingrained dirt. As before the product was diluted, applied to the floor and after leaving it to dwell for a short while it was scrubbed in as before. Some of the grout and corners had to be done by hand as the rotary machine can struggle to reach in places. After rinsing off with water and extracting with a wet vacuum there were a few stubborn areas that required a repeat treatment, but we soon had the floor looking clean.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Farmhouse Floor

After leaving the tile and grout to dry off overnight I came back the next day and checked the floor was dry with the moisture meter. The readings were fine, so I began applying the sealer. I started with a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing product that seeps into the pores of the Terracotta protecting it from within. This was followed with seven coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. Terracotta is very porous and does take a lot of sealer.

Once the sealer had dried the floor had a lovely satin finish that wasn’t too shiny. The client was over the moon with the restored floor and was keen for his next clients to see it.

Professional Restoration of a Terracotta Tiled Farmhouse Floor in Monmouthshire

The post Terracotta Farmhouse Floor Renovated at Symonds Yat Holiday Home appeared first on Monmouthshire Tile Doctor.

Renovation of a Black Slate Kitchen Floor in Lancaster

Fri, 15 Nov 2019 11:53:39 +0000

The photographs below are of a dull and dirty Black Slate floor that I was recently asked to renovate at a property in the City of Lancaster which is a few miles south of our base in Carnforth.

Slate isn’t very porous which is why you often find it being used as roofing; however, this means any sealer applied is primarily active on the surface where it is more prone to wear from foot traffic. Regular cleaning with a pH neutral tile cleaner combined with topping up the sealer every 12 to 18 months will make the sealer last a lot longer. This rarely happens though and once a sealer has been worn off dirt will begin to penetrate the stone making it difficult to clean and dull.

In this case my client explained that the sealer had been applied by the tiler a few years ago and that they had been using washing up liquid to clean the floor. pH levels for washing up liquids vary but the most popular product has a pH level of 9 which is far too acidic for use on a sealed tile and slowly stripped the sealer away. I discussed with the client the process for renovating the slate floor, agreed a price for the work and arranged to come back a few weeks later.

Cleaning a Black Slate Floor Tiled Kitchen Floor

To renovate the floor, I first attached a coarse 200-grit Diamond pad to a buffing machine and ran it over the floor using water as a lubricant. This removed what was left of the old sealer deep cleaned the stone. The Grout was then scrubbed with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and the floor was then rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum.

The floor was then inspected, and stubborn areas were spot treated with a little Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was sprayed on and left to soak in for ten minutes before being scrubbed in and rinsed off.

We finished the clean with a 400-Grit diamond padf followed by an Acid Wash with Grout Clean-Up, this left the Slate with a slightly acidic pH which helps bond the new sealer and counters the alkaline pH of the floor following the use of alkaline cleaning products.

Sealing a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

Before we sealed the whole floor, we always do some damp testing to make sure it is dry before sealing. This was an old floor with no damp proof membrane underneath so it needed to be very dry before we could apply the sealer.

The client wanted a very high gloss finish, so we applied four coats of Tile Doctor High Shine sealer which is an acrylic sealer ideal for achieving this affect. If the floor wasn’t fully dry, we would have left it another day or two, but we find you can often speed up the drying process with the use of a dehumidifier and some air blowers.

The client was very happy with the transformation in the Black Slate floor, they had looked dull and drab for quite a while and it was refreshing to see them look like new again. They also felt more confident that now they understood what had caused the problem and would be better able to maintain the floor going forward.

Professional Restoration of a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in Lancashire

The post Renovation of a Black Slate Kitchen Floor in Lancaster appeared first on Tile Doctor Lancashire.

Renovating Flood Damaged Victorian Flooring at a Worcester Church

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 02:17:53 +0000

Earlier this year I was contacted by the church warden of St Clements Church in Worcester regarding the renovation of its Victorian floor tiles. The Church was built 200 years ago and is one of the oldest churches in the city. Unfortunately, being situated close to the West bank of the River Severn it is at risk of flooding and a recent flood had ruined a large section of carpeting which had to be removed. In fact, according to the local newspaper Worcester has been named as sixth worst place in the UK for flooding.

Every cloud has a silver lining, so they say and, in this case, once the carpet was removed it revealed a very impressive Victorian tiled floor. There were two sections of 24m2 & 10m2, and I visited the Church to survey the floor and assess its condition.

Victorian tiles are generally very robust, and I discovered that the carpet had helped to preserve them in good physical condition. I conducted a few cleaning tests and I could see there were two areas where there was quite a lot of wax, dirt and carpet adhesive that would need removing. I discussed with the warden the process and provided a detailed quote.

My quote was accepted, and a date agreed to commence the work when their diary was a little quieter as the area would be out of use for a few days.

Renovating a Victorian Tiled Church Floor

On the first day I decided my first task would be to tackle the years of wax build-up and glue around the Altar. To do this I sprayed the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a powerful coatings remover designed for use on Tile and Stone. The tiles were then covered in industrial cling film, this prevents the solution drying out and increases the active dwell time on the tiles so it can really get to work breaking down the wax and adhesive.

Working in sections I repeated the process across the whole floor and after an hour I removed the cling film and then scrubbed the floor with a rotary machine fitted with a 200-grit diamond pad. This really got deep into the tiles and after repeating the process several times the soiled cleaning solution containing the wax and glue was rinsed off the tiles and extracted with a wet vacuum.

I then used handheld burnishing blocks and a scraper on the stubborn and hard to reach places that couldn’t be accessed by the rotary machine. It was a large area that needed to be treated in this way, so the cleaning process took three days before I was satisfied with the result.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Church Floor

I used a lot of water in the cleaning process, so I left the floor to dry out for a few days, returning the following week to apply a sealer to the tiles.

I sealed the Victorian tiles with Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is which is breathable thereby allowing for moisture to rise through the tiles and evaporate. This is an important consideration for old tiled floors where a damp-proof membrane hasn’t been installed. Without this moisture can build up in the floor where it could eventually spread out to the walls resulting in rising damp. The tiles took five coats of sealer and each coat had to be left to dry before applying the next so naturally this took some time and had to be done in sections cordoned off from the parishioners. Once the sealer had been applied to the whole floor the transformation of the church floor was complete, the floor looked fantastic and much more in-keeping with the period look of the building.

I received a glowing review from the Church which I have copied below. I also heard that a parishioner had seen the floor and had cried because the last time she had seen the floor was 50 years ago at her wedding, its moments like those that make my job very worthwhile!

Mark Conway was an absolute star. He worked so hard on our Church floor. It looks magnificent now and everyone has commented on how beautiful it looks. Mark was such a nice friendly and helpful person and went the extra mile. Thanks Mark. A brilliant job.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Church Floor in Worcestershire

The post Renovating Flood Damaged Victorian Flooring at a Worcester Church appeared first on Worcestershire Tile Doctor.

Encaustic Tiled Hallway Cleaned and Sealed in Waterbeach

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 10:51:37 +0000

I was called out to renovate this Encaustic tiled hallway in the Cambridge suburb of Waterbeach. It’s difficult to appreciate from the photographs but the floor was showing signs that the sealant had failed, and no amount of cleaning would get it too look as clean as it used to. Sealers prevent dirt from becoming ingrained into the pores of the tile which leads to a dulling of the overall appearance. My customer was keen to have the floor renovated and asked if I could give it a deep clean and seal.

Traditional Encaustic tiles resemble ceramic tiles but are in fact made from multiple layers of compressed cement and usually feature intricate geometric shapes and patterns which are hydraulically pressed into the surface. The process first appeared in medieval times and these tiles can often be found in very old buildings.

Modern production methods have seen a resurgence and you can now find these popular patterns reproduced with ceramic tiles. Ceramic tiles don’t usually need sealing and are therefore very low maintenance. Encaustic tiles however being cement based do need sealing and when used as a floor tile you will need the sealer replacing every three to five years depending on wear. If you like the look of these tiles and live in the local area its worth giving Cambridge CTD Tiles a visit as their local showroom stock several similar styles in Ceramic.

Removing Old Sealers from Encaustic Cement Tiles

After protecting the skirting boards with tape, I set about getting the floor clean and free of what was left of the old sealer. Removing old sealers first is important as to apply new sealer on top of the old will result in different thicknesses and the floor looking patchy. To do this I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a coatings remover and cleaner. It’s sprayed onto the floor, left for ten minutes and then scrubbed in with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The floor was then rinsed with water and the soil extracted.

To bring up the appearance of the encaustic tiles I polished the floor with an 800-grit and then 1500-grit diamond burnishing pads using a little water to help lubricate the process. I rinsed the floor with a little more water and extracted the fine slurry generated after each pad was applied. The floor looked much better already.

Sealing Encaustic Floor Tiles

I gave the stone a few hours to dry off and due to the warm conditions, I was able to apply two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow impregnating sealer on the same day. Each coat was left to dry off before applying the next. Tile Doctor Colour Grow is a colour intensifying impregnating sealer that provides durable protection by occupying the pores in the tile so dirt can’t become ingrained there.

Before leaving I finished off the floor by removing any excess sealer residue with a 3000-grit polishing pad.

The client was very happy with the floor restoration once completed. I discussed with them the best aftercare and recommended they should use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is pH neutral so will maintain the integrity of the newly applied seal and will ensure the floor is protected for some time to come. It is suitable for regular use, has a nice fresh fragrance and a small amount goes a long way.

Professional Renovation of an Encaustic Tiled Hallway Floor in Cambridgeshire

The post Encaustic Tiled Hallway Cleaned and Sealed in Waterbeach appeared first on Cambridge Tile Doctor.

Tile and Grout Refresh for Neglected Bathroom in Stockport

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 14:30:59 +0000

If you’re a landlord, it can be quite difficult to know what your tenants are getting up to and whether they are taking good care of your property. It’s usually only when major problems emerge that a landlord will get involved.

Such was the case with a recent customer of mine who owns a property in Stockport, a large town in Greater Manchester not too far south from the main city centre. The tenants of the property either neglected or didn’t know how to take care of the tiled shower walls in the bathroom. Over time, the condition of the tiles and grout had become so appalling that the landlord had to call Tile Doctor to see about restoring them.

Cleaning Dirty Shower Tiles

I began the restoration by cleaning the grout lines, which were truly filthy. This was done using a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean. Pro-Clean is an ideal product for cleaning up neglected tiles and grout, since it removes all manner of dirt, including the soap scum and grease which had built up on these shower walls over the course of several months.

The product was left to dwell for a couple of minutes before being scrubbed deep into the grout. The area was subsequently rinsed with fresh water to remove the soil. In some stubborn places, I didn’t achieve the desired result right away, so I repeated the cleaning process a couple of times.

When the grout and tiles were cleaned to the best of my abilities, I used my heat gun to dry the walls quickly. Next, I removed all the mouldy silicone around the shower, a process which proved quite tricky because the tiles were all quite small, and there was newer silicone on top of old, very mouldy silicone, so I had to dig in deep to get it all out.

After doing this, I had to clean and dry the gap between the tiles and the bath because the old mouldy silicone didn’t leave it in a pretty state.

Sealing Shower Tiles

After everything was cleaned and dried, I sealed the walls using Tile Doctor Wall Tile and Grout Sealer Aerosol Spray. What makes this such a brilliant product is how easy it is to use. It is a spray-on sealer that adds long lasting protection against water, dirt, grease, mould and limescale. This reduces the amount of maintenance required.

When I had finished sealing the tiles and grout, I applied new, high quality and mould resistant silicone. With that, the restoration was complete. The whole process took only a day’s work, but you must agree that a fantastic outcome was achieved. The landlord and tenants were very happy with it, remarking that if they didn’t know any better, they would’ve thought it was a brand-new installation.

Source: Dirty Bath Tile and Grout Cleaned and Sealed in Stockport

The post Tile and Grout Refresh for Neglected Bathroom in Stockport appeared first on East Cheshire Tile Doctor.

Quarry Tiled Basement Floor Renovated at old Bank in Llangollen

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 14:25:06 +0000

This Quarry Tiled floor was discovered in the basement of the old HSBC Bank building in Llangollen which is a small market town in Denbighshire, Wales. Close to my county of Shropshire, Llangollen is located on edge of the Berwyn mountains on the nestled on the River Dee in an area of outstanding natural beauty and so a lovely place to work.

After HSBC moved out the property was bought by Whitewater Active who are an outdoor pursuits company that will be using the building as their local base of operations. The company offers a mix of outdoor activities and the property has been converted into accommodation, offices for the business and a cafe.

The area we were interested in was at the basement which they were planning to use as a team meeting room and the owner was keen to have it restored and looking its best for his staff. The floor was tiled with 9″ x 9″ Red and Black quarry tiles which as you can see from the photographs were in a sorry state. The room had a massive fireplace which unfortunately none of my pictures show but the tiles were damaged in front of it as someone at some point had likely used it for chopping firewood. The repair was quoted for, but as neither I nor him were able to source 9″ x 9″ black quarry tiles that were 1 1/2 ” thick, we decided to leave it as it was for now. They were happy with the quote I gave them, and we agreed a date to go ahead.

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Basement Floor

I gave the floor an initial clean with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was diluted and then sprayed onto the tiles, it was left for ten minutes and then scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer. The resultant slurry was then rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

With the surface dirt removed it was clear that more work was going to be required to remove the plaster dust and concrete residue that marked the tiles. To tackle that I used Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is an acidic product that we normally use to remove excess grout. Using the same process as for the Tile Doctor Pro-Clean I had to go over the worst areas three times before I was satisfied the floor was clear and as clean as it could be.

After rinsing and extracting one last time I dried the floor as much as possible with the wet vacuum and left it to completely dry off overnight.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Basement Floor

The next day I returned, checked the floor was dry with the moisture meter and then sealed the floor with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is a lovely sealer that enhances the colour, allows the floor to breathe and will also ensures that the floor is well protected. Using a breathable sealer on old floor likes these where no damp proof membrane is installed as it allows moisture from the sub floor to pass through the tile and evaporate. Without the ability to evaporate moisture can build-up and spread to the walls where it can cause rising damp.

As you can see from the after photographs the renovation went very well and the colour change was pretty dramatic. The client was very happy with the transformation and couldn’t wait to get the furniture in and hold his first team meeting.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Basement Floor in Shropshire

The post Quarry Tiled Basement Floor Renovated at old Bank in Llangollen appeared first on Shropshire Tile Doctor.

Limescale Stained Slate Effect Shower Tiles Renovated in Burghfield Bridge

Sat, 02 Nov 2019 15:27:07 +0000

A customer recently moved into a property in Burghfield Bridge with a luxurious slate tiled shower that was badly stained with Limescale. Limescale is a big problem in hard water areas and results in the build-up of tiny mineral deposits on wetted surfaces causing staining. A water softener was being installed prevent this happing in future, but he wanted to know if anything could be done to renovate the shower tiles.

Removing Limescale is not a problem but the solution will depend on multiple factors, so I went over to the property to survey the tiles and work out an accurate price for the renovation. I ran several cleaning tests and as it turns out the tiles were not Slate but Micro-Porous Porcelain made to look like Slate. It’s difficult to tell from these photographs but I could see the tiles had repeating patterns which you only get when a tile has been manufactured from the same mould. Slate being a natural product results in each tile being unique.

After demonstrating a successful cleaning process, I was able to provide my customer with an accurate quote which was accepted and as it was convenient for both me and the customer I continued with the work.

Removing Limescale from Micro-Porous Porcelain Shower Tiles

The first obstacle to overcome was the heavy build-up of limescale that was ruining the appearance of the shower. I had worked out during testing that the best way to treat the problem was to apply Tile Doctor Acid Gel which being a gel works very well on vertical shower tiles where other products would simply run off. I wouldn’t use this on natural stone so as acidic products can etch stone however it was fine to use on Porcelain and was left to dwell for around thirty minutes.

The other advantage of gel-based products is that they don’t dry out, which is perfect when a longer dwell time is necessary. Once the gel had enough time to break down the mineral deposits, I agitated it with a black pad fitted to a rotary floor buffing machine and gave the grout lines a good scrub with a stiff grout brush before rinsing with plenty of water and vacuuming up the contaminated solution.

Although the whole area wasn’t effected with limescale I proceeded with the same process throughout to ensure the whole room would be uniform in appearance. For the vertical wall tiles I used a hand buffer fitted with a six-inch scrubbing pad. Acid Gel also worked well removing the Limescale on the glass shower screen, again it was left on for some time before being rinsed off. Any puddles or water streaks remaining were mopped up with towels and each tile was dried thoroughly with a heat gun.

Sealing Micro-Porous Porcelain Tiles

I left the tiles to dry off naturally for a couple of house and then returned to apply a sealer. I took moisture readings first to ensure the tiles were dry and ready to be sealed. Some porcelain tiles won’t take a sealer and may end up rejecting it so I conducted a small test in an inconspicuous area under the bath first to make sure it would take. Micro-Porous Porcelain will normally take a sealer and my test proved positive.

Happy with the result of my test I started applying Tile Doctor Colour Grow which has a colour enhancing formula that worked well on the dark tile and deepened the black colour. The sealer will make the shower tiles much easier to clean going forward and any water should run straight off the tile and into the drain.

The customer was over the moon with the transformation and left feedback below.

“Our tiles were extremely limescale damaged in our bathroom and Dennis done an amazing job making them look as good as new. Dennis even managed to finish the job earlier than expected which reduced our bill from the original quote. Excellent job and would highly recommend “

With some new knowledge on how to maintain his newly sealed tiles he was now keen to go ahead with the water softener installation in order to reduce the chances of limescale building up again.

Limescale Stained Porcelain Shower Tiles Renovated in Berkshire

The post Limescale Stained Slate Effect Shower Tiles Renovated in Burghfield Bridge appeared first on Berkshire Tile Doctor.

Renovation of Painted Quarry Tiles in a Cranleigh Vicarage

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 04:48:50 +0000

A Vicar from Cranleigh contacted me earlier this year about a Quarry tiled floor. It turns out he had lifted the carpets in the hallway of the Vicarage and found that the previous tenant had painted red tile paint around the tiles up to the edges of the carpet. With the carpet removed the floor looked very unattractive and he was looking to have the original appearance of the Quarry tiles restored.

I went to Cranleigh to survey the problem and you can see from the pictures the floor wasn’t looking great, the paint looked as if it had been applied without any preparation and had peeled off in places. I discussed my plan to renovate the floor with the Vicar which would involve stripping all the paint off the tiles followed by deep cleaning and then applying a sealer. He was very pleased to hear this and was happy with the quote that I produced which would take two days. We arranged a time to return the following month to complete the work.

Stripping Paint from a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

On day one I started by protecting the skirting and other woodwork with decorative tape. Once this was done, I spent time removing the paint with paint stripper and a sharp blade. It was messy and tedious work but necessary to achieve the requested result. The waste was then rinsed off the floor with water and extracted using a wet vacuum.

Once all the paint was removed, I cleaned the tiles with a coarse 400-grit diamond encrusted burnishing pad fitted to a rotary machine and lubricated with water. This was followed with an 800-grit pad. The former opens the tiles pores allowing dirt to be extracted and the 800-grit pad closes them ready for sealing. Quarry tiles are particularly porous, so I left the floor to dry off for 48 hours days before returning to seal the tiles.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning a few days later I started with tidying up any areas that needed further attention. The floor had dried out nicely however I wanted it to be clear of any dirt or dust since I cleaned it so I gave it a light mop and left the floor to dry off again. Once the floor was completely dry, I sealed the area with several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra.

I selected this product as it is a super tough sealer that once applied has a sheen effect while offering a very strong protective surface to the floor. This was important as hallways receive a high level of foot traffic and even more so in a Vicarage with parishioners coming and going. Seal and Go Extra is also breathable and this is an important consideration when choosing a sealer for use on old tiled floors that don’t have damp proof membrane installed.

The vicar was very pleased with the finished floor, I discussed with him the best way to keep it clean and maintained would be to use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, which is pH neutral and so won’t prematurely degrade the integrity of the sealer like stronger products.

Professional Renovation of a Quarry Tiled Hallway in Surrey

The post Renovation of Painted Quarry Tiles in a Cranleigh Vicarage appeared first on West Surrey Tile Doctor.

Renovated Multi-Coloured Slate Floor in Staines Upon Thames

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 08:05:36 +0000

Except for general cleaning this multi-coloured slate floor had not been professionally cleaned since installation eleven years prior. Any sealer that had once been applied to the slate had long since worn off and dirt was now ingrained in the pores of the stone causing it to look dull and un-attractive. The property was in the lovely town of Staines Upon Thames, obviously situated on the banks of the River Thames and a popular place to live for London commuters.

I visited site to take a closer look at the floor and provide the client with an accurate price for renovating the stone. It turns out that the client had used all sorts of different household cleaners in an attempt to get the floor clean. Unfortunately, they were probably making the situation worse as these strong cleaning products would have actually stripped the sealant off the stone leaving it open to dirt. I carried out a test clean for them and they were very pleased to see how the floor could look. We agreed a price for the work and arranged a suitable date to carry out the work.

Cleaning a Multi-Coloured Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

My first task was to strip off what was left of the old sealer and deep clean the stone using a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go mixed 50:50 with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. This powerful cocktail was applied to the floor and left to soak in for ten minutes before being scrubbed in using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad.

The grout was hand scrubbed using more of the cleaning solution along the grout lines until I was happy the floor was as clean as it possibly could be. The floor was rinsed with water and the soil extracted by using the wet vacuum.

Once the floor was clear the Slate was inspected, and any stubborn areas were spot treated using the same process as before. After a final rinse and extraction, the floor was dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum and left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Multi-Coloured Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I came back the next day and checked the moisture levels of the tiles using a damp meter. The floor had dried well so I had a green light for applying a new sealer. For this I used four Coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. This product works really well on Slate and gave the tiles a nice sheen finish, the fresh sealer will also make maintenance cleaning far easier in the future.

The client was very happy with the result, the floor now looks great and the natural colours of the stone is so much more evident. For aftercare I recommended they throw away all those supermarket products and use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a pH neutral product that won’t prematurely erode the new sealer with use.

Professional Clean and Seal of Multi-Coloured Slate Tiles in Middlesex

The post Renovated Multi-Coloured Slate Floor in Staines Upon Thames appeared first on South Middlesex Tile Doctor.

Cleaning of a Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool in Dorking

Mon, 28 Oct 2019 02:30:40 +0000

Textured porcelain is a great choice for tiling swimming pool surrounds due to its anti-slip properties. The drawback however is that the textured surface which provides the grip also traps dirt and is very hard to keep clean without specialised equipment.

This swimming pool in the basement of a large property in Dorking was suffering from exactly that problem causing the pool area to look dirty and unhygienic. Another issue that needed dealing with was the removal of rust staining from where old chair with metal legs had once stood.

The client had called in another cleaning firm, but they were unable to deal with all the issues, so we got the call to find a solution. We visited the site to see how involved the work would be and to give the client a quote. They were happy to accept, and a suitable time was agreed to come back and complete the work which would take one day.

Deep Cleaning Textured Porcelain Tiles

Naturally you must be very careful around swimming pools as the last thing you want is the cleaning solution or dirt to end up in the swimming pool itself. To get around this I first sprayed the tiles with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and then left it for ten minutes so it could soak in and break down the dirt. For the tiles near the pool, the solution was scrubbed in by hand using a deck brush and elsewhere with a rotary floor machine fitted with a scrubbing pad.

This process releases the trapped dirt from the textured Porcelain tile, resulting in a fine slurry. The tiles are then rinsed with water under high pressure using a high-powered spinner tool that is powered from a compressor on my vehicle. This is an impressive tool that has utilised long hoses to apply the water and extract the slurry back to a grey tank on the vehicle. It’s a very effective tool that contains and extracts the slurry without making a mess leaving the tiles clean and almost dry.

Removing Rust Stains from Textured Porcelain Tiles

To deal with the rust stains they were spotted treated with Tile Doctor Rust Away which is designed for the job. It is a ready to use, non-acid rust remover that will dissolve problematic rust stains, and worked a treat in this instance.

Porcelain tiles won’t take a sealer so once all the pool tiles were cleaned and restored to their former glory we were done for the day. The client was very satisfied with the work we carried out, the pool area looked a lot more inviting and the area was now restored to the feature area it should have been. The also said they would recommend us to some of their friends which is always welcome.

Professional Restoration of a Textured Porcelain Tiled Swimming Pool Tiled in West Surrey

The post Cleaning of a Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool in Dorking appeared first on East Surrey Tile Doctor.

400-Year-Old Flagstone Floor Restoration in Oughtibridge

Thu, 24 Oct 2019 02:17:28 +0000

Our clients owned a stunning 400-year-old cottage in the village of Oughtibridge, Sheffield with a Flagstone floor in the Kitchen. The floor was original to the building but wasn’t practical, it had 400 years of dirt and grime stuck to it and over the years had turned black.

In an attempt to get the floor clean, they had tried lots of different cleaning products but nothing you could buy from a supermarket was ever going to help when the stone is this dirty. After researching the problem further, they found Tile Doctor and so contacted us for a solution.

I went over to the property to survey the floor and carry out a test clean on small area to work out which products and methods would get the floor clean. The demonstration went well which impressed the client and agreed to our quote.

Oughtibridge stands 5 miles north of the centre of Sheffield and is surrounded by beautiful countryside, there are breath-taking views from the village looking down the valley towards Sheffield City Centre.

Cleaning a Flagstone Tiled Hallway Floor

To get the flagstones clean we started by soaking the floor in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean, this was left to work for 10 minutes before using a rotary floor machine fitted with a selection of diamond pads and brushes to scrub the floor.

A combination of the Tile Doctor Pro Clean and the machine made short work of the 400 years worth of grime on the stone. The difference was incredible, our clients were shocked at the results we were getting. Once clean we rinsed the floor a couple of times to make sure all the slurry had been removed, this was extracted away with the wet vacuum to keep the mess to a minimum.

With the floor clean the next stage was to seal the stone however it would need to be dry before we could do that. Old flagstone floors like these don’t have a damp-proof membrane installed beneath the stone so can take longer to dry out; with this in mind we left it a week before returning to make sure it had plenty of time to dry out.

Sealing a 400-Year-Old Flagstone Kitchen Floor

Returning the following week, we used the moisture meter to test the floor and ensure it was fully dried out. The weather had been warm all week so I expected it to be fine which it was.

Our clients chose Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra to seal the floor, it gives stone a satin finish and makes sure all the pores in the stone can’t be filled with dirt again. We applied three coats leaving each one to dry between coats. This sealer is also breathable so will cope well with any moisture rising through the stone.

My clients were so happy to have a clean floor and left the following message on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“Matt has transformed our 1640 sandstone floor from a dark grey colour, which was impossible to keep clean with ingrained dirt over years to an attractive looking sealed floor with beige and rose tints which can now kept clean.”

Before leaving I discussed with them the best way to maintain the floor and recommended that they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This is pH neutral tile cleaning product which won’t harm the sealer with use. It has a nice minty smell and being concentrated only a small amount it required.

Professional Restoration of a Flagstone Tiled Kitchen in South Yorkshire

The post 400-Year-Old Flagstone Floor Restoration in Oughtibridge appeared first on South Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

Renovating a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle in Chorlton

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 05:23:36 +0000

We were contacted by the client in Chorlton suburb of Manchester to look at restoring the appearance of a Ceramic tiled shower cubicle. The grout was very dirty and severely discoloured, despite trying multiple products nothing the client did could resolve the problem. Having given up on their own efforts they were considering having the shower re-grouted as a final option and contacted Tile Doctor.

I went over to the property to look at the shower cubicle and could see that although the Ceramic tiles were holding some dirt it was the grout that was the main issue. The cementitious and rough nature of the grout was holding onto the dirt and was developing mould in some places. What was once a nice crisp white shower grout had turned black and was now very uninviting.

Although we have had a lot of success using grout cleaning products such as Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel and Duo Clean, I knew from experience that it would be very difficult to remove the deep staining completely. When the grout is this badly discoloured the best solution is to clean the grout as much as possible and then use a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant to restore the colour. I discussed with them the process and they were happy with my price and gave me the go ahead.

Cleaning and Restoring a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle

I set about cleaning the grout using the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant Pre-Treatment spray which not only cleans the grout lines it is also slightly acidic, so it etches the surface of the grout enabling a superior bond with the colourant which is applied later. This was sprayed onto the tile and scrubbed by hand with a stiff brush. I also used a steam cleaner with a special grout nozzle to focus the steam and draw out as much of the ingrained dirt as possible.

Once I was happy with the grout, I turned my attention to the ceramic shower tiles which were scrubbed with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel. I then rinsed the tiles and grout with water to remove the soil that had been released. Ceramic tiles are glazed so they don’t attract dirt as easily as grout which was the main problem with this shower. The shower tiles and grout were then wiped with a cloth and gentry dried with a heat gun.

Once the grout was dry, I applied Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in white, this is simply brushed on with a small brush and any excess that gets onto the adjacent tile is wiped off before it dries, one bottle was enough to complete the job. The Grout Colourant comes in ten different colours and there is also a pack available which includes everything you need. Whilst the grout colourant was drying, I removed the old silicone sealer between the tile and shower tray and replaced with new.

The transformation was instantaneous and resulted in the shower looking like new, my client was really happy with the improvement.

It’s worth noting that the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant adds a protective barrier over the grout giving it some protection which unlike the grout itself makes it very easy to keep clean. For aftercare I left the client with a bottle of Tile Doctor Aqua Pro which is formulated for the regular cleaning of shower cubicles and will help them to keep the tiles and grout clean.

Professional Restoration of a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle in Manchester

The post Renovating a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle in Chorlton appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor Rebuild in Lytham St Annes

Sat, 19 Oct 2019 11:54:15 +0000

I visited this property in Lytham St Annes to survey a small Victorian tiled lobby which was in a sorry state. The client was keen to have it restored and wanted to know if it was possible. I discussed with them what we could do, and I gave them a quote for the work. Although it was only a small lobby, I could see the job could be quite involved and would be subject to the replacement tiles which I was confident we could source.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor

This is one of those jobs you wish you hadn’t started as there were a lot more tiles to remove than anticipated and it mushroomed into replacing half the floor. Once the area was cleaned up, I applied a self-levelling compound to bring up the height of the base.

Once the levelling compound had set, I was able relay the Victorian tiles using a combination of original tiles and replacements which had to be cut to shape. Cutting tiles to fit is quite intricate and time-consuming work especially when you consider new tiles are all metric in size and a 2mm difference becomes very telling after a foot or so! My solution was to use 150 mm tiles which are the biggest the stockist offers and then cut them down on my Rubi cutter using a template made from the original tiles. This the only way I could get it to look tight, it takes longer but it makes for a thorough job and a better finish.

I always use flexible floor adhesive when laying tiles, my preference is Keraquick Grey from Mapei. There are other brands off course but this one is quite easy to get hold of and as the term grouting is a relatively modern invention (in the past it was called pointing ) I find it looks right with this type of tile and similar to the screed cement the Victorians used in the past.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor

After the tiling had been completed, I left the floor to cure and fully dry and returned at a later date to give the floor an overall clean. For this I ran a coarse 200-grit diamond floor pad across the floor lubricated with water and used handheld diamond blocks for the edges where the pad can’t reach. The slurry was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

With old floors like this, which don’t have a damp-proof membrane installed under the floor, efflorescence is always a concern and can lead to white salts appearing on the surface of the tile as moisture rises through the floor. To counter this, I finished cleaning the floor by scrubbing it with Tile Doctor Acid Gel. This was then rinsed off with water and the soil extracted using a wet vacuum.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor

The client was happy to seal the floor themselves (they wanted to save some money and it wasn’t a big area) so I supplied them with a bottle of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. I recommended this sealer as it will enhance the dark colours and being fully breathable it will cope with any moisture rising through the base. I recommended they apply two coats to start leaving time to allow the first coast to dry they could also then decide to leave it at that if they were happy with the finish.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Lancashire

The post Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor Rebuild in Lytham St Annes appeared first on Tile Doctor Lancashire.

Nine Year Old Chinese Slate Floor Renovated in Chepstow

Thu, 17 Oct 2019 11:55:23 +0000

The tiles pictured are Chinese Slate which were laid in the Kitchen of a house in Chepstow around nine years ago. The town of Chepstow is located on the Welsh side of the River Seven and has the River Wye running through it.

The floor had not been professionally cleaned and sealed since installation. During this time the old sealer had mostly worn off allowing dirt to get into the pores of the stone leaving it looking dull, uninviting and dirty. The grout lines had also collected dirt and many of the lines had darkened.

I discussed with the client the process to get the floor cleaned and restored and demonstrated the effectiveness of the process on a small test area. They were impressed and were happy to go ahead with my quote, so we scheduled in the work which would take two days.

Cleaning a Chinese Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

To get the floor clean and remove what was left of the old sealer I first made the floor wet and then added a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed with Tile Doctor Remove and Go to give it extra power. This cleaning cocktail was left to soak into the tiles for ten minutes before being scrubbed in with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine and by hand where necessary. This combination works well on really dirty floors such as this.

The scrubbing action released the years of dirt from the pores of the Slate and it wasn’t long before the cleaning solution turned black. This was then extracted off the floor using a wet vacuum. We then gave the floor a thorough inspection. There were one or two areas that were particularly stubborn, so these areas were retreated using the same process and the grout scrubbed by hand using more Tile Doctor Pro Clean.

The floor was then given another rinse with water and then dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum. This got the floor dry, but it would need to be completely dry before sealing so it was then left to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Chinese Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I came back the next day to seal the floor first checking the moisture level of the stone by taking readings with a damp meter to ensure it was dry. I chose to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow for the sealer as the colour enhancing formula would be the best product to bring out the natural colours in the Chinese slate. Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer which will provides durable protection as well as allowing the surface to breath. Three coats were applied, allowing each to dry before applying the next one.

The client was so happy, so much that she said it looked better than when first laid!

I discussed aftercare with her and recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s pH balanced so it won’t prematurely erode the sealer which can be the problem with stronger products you find in supermarkets. It comes in concentrated form so one bottle lasts a long time.

Professional Restoration of a Chinese Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in Monmouthshire

The post Nine Year Old Chinese Slate Floor Renovated in Chepstow appeared first on Monmouthshire Tile Doctor.

Renovating a Large Travertine Patio in Stonely

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 10:29:18 +0000

I recently paid a visit to a property in the small and sleepy hamlet of Stonely on the outskirts of St Neots to survey a large Travertine patio which needed renovating. As you can see from the photos the patio was looking tired and needed some work.

After an inspection I could see that the stone patio had three main problems:

First it needed a deep clean to remove a build-up of dirt and algae making them slippery.
Second there was areas of loose grout which had become dislodge over time and now needed raking out replacing.
Third some of the Travertine tiles had become loose over the years and needed lifting, cleaning up and relaying.

We always try and do a site visit where possible as photos don’t always give us the true picture and we always want to give the client an accurate quote as possible. The client was happy to go ahead with the remedial work and keen to have the Patio in full working order so they could make use of the space whilst the weather was good.

Deep Cleaning and Repairing a Travertine Patio

My first task was to give the patio a deep clean using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left to soak into the patio. After ten minutes it was scrubbed in with a medium 1500-grit burnishing pad fitted to a rotary machine. This action lifted the ingrained dirt out of the stone and cleaned up the surface.

Tile Doctor Remove and Go is a multi-purpose coatings remover formulated to remove old sealers and other coverings. This product also draws out ingrained stains and can remove heavy grease build-up, so it was perfect for this job. I then used a truck mounted hot water extraction machine to remove the dirt and slurry which is extracted to grey water tank on the van. It was a large patio, so the cleaning process took up most of day one.

I came back the following day to carry out the necessary repairs which consisted of filling in holes, cracks and raking out and replacing loose grout. In addition, one whole length of tiles on the step had to be removed, cleaned then relayed as all of them had become loose over the years. Once all repairs where complete I arranged to return the following day to complete the renovation with the application of a sealer.

Sealing a Travertine Patio

I returned on day three to seal the entire Travertine Patio, fortunately we had picked a good week to do the work and the weather remained dry. For the sealer I chose Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that is externally rated and should cope well with the UK weather. This gave the patio a lovely finish and will give the stone protection from staining and make it much easier to keep clean, in fact a rinse with a hose should do the job.

The client was very happy with the outcome and is now able to finally get the garden furniture out and start using the outside space without fear of slipping or tripping on the loose stone. I was even asked to come back again to clean and seal another stone patio at the rear of the garden, which I will now doubt follow up later with a separate article.

The client left the following Five Star feedback, for which we are always very grateful as so much of our work comes from recommendations.

“A very professional attitude, and a job well done and on time”

Professional Travertine Patio Maintenance in Cambridgeshire

The post Renovating a Large Travertine Patio in Stonely appeared first on Cambridge Tile Doctor.

Carpet Covered Quarry Tiled Hallway Renovated in Stourport-on-Severn

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 11:57:20 +0000

I was contacted by a client from the Georgian canal town of Stourport-on-Severn regarding their Quarry tiled hallway floor. The client had moved into the property sometime in the past and unhappy with the appearance of the tiled floor decided to have it covered up with carpet. The carpet was now due for a change and rather than replace it she looked around to see if anyone could restore the original quarry tiles.

Having found Tile Doctor, I was asked to pay the property a visit and quote for the restoration. I arranged a convenient time and went over to survey the tiles which although dirty were in good physical condition. The carpet however had secured to the floor with a carpet gripped screwed through the grout and a strong carpet adhesive all of which would need rectifying as part of the restoration.

After reviewing the whole floor and completing a few tests I was confident we could remove the old glue and restore the floor back to its original condition. My quote was accepted, and a date agreed to start the work.

If you have never been, I can recommend a visit to Stourport, close to Kidderminster and famous for its canal junction location it was once one of the principal distribution centres for goods to and from the rest of the West Midlands.

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

The first job was to remove the carpet, underlay and carpet grippers. I then applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go to breakdown the adhesives and to remove any old sealers. It was left to soak into the Quarry tile and grout for about ten minutes before being worked into the floor with a scrubbing rotary machine fitted with a black pad. It wasn’t long before the solution went dark with all the dirt that had been released from the pores of the tiles and the slurry was removed with a wet and dry vacuum.

I then applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel to remove some cement residue and combat any potential efflorescence issues which are quite common in old floors like these that don’t have a damp-proof membrane installed. The floor was then rinsed down with water to remove any trace of cleaning products, then then left to dry off overnight. Before leaving I spent time filling in the holes left by the screws of the carpet rods with a dark coloured grout which was as close a match to the colour of the tile as possible.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

On my return the following day I checked the moisture readings on the floor using a damp meter and as the readings were good, I proceeded to seal the floor. For a sealer I had chosen to use the tried and tested Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra. This sealer allows for moisture vapour transmission making it partially breathable and ideal for situations where no damp proof membrane has been installed and where there is risk of moisture being trapped under the floor. It also allows the colour of the tiles to shine through without leaving a shiny finish. I gave the floor five coats allowing ample drying time in-between coats.

As you can see from the pictures the floor looked great and my client was extremely happy with the result and so pleased, they had finally taken the old hallway carpet up. For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to keep the floor in the best condition and ensure maximum longevity for the new sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Hallway in Worcestershire

The post Carpet Covered Quarry Tiled Hallway Renovated in Stourport-on-Severn appeared first on Worcestershire Tile Doctor.

Replacing Cracked Travertine Floor Tiles in Cobham

Fri, 11 Oct 2019 12:23:30 +0000

This client from Cobham contacted me in despair, she was quite concerned about her Travertine tiled floor which was cracking. She had the Kitchen and Dining room tiled with Travertine six years ago and recently several cracks had begun to appear in a long line crossing five tiles.

Several holes had also begun to appear and across the threshold to the kitchen from the dining area a serious lip had formed where a tile had risen above its neighbour causing a trip hazard.

After removing a tile from an unobtrusive area, I began to see where the issues lay. The tiler had dabbed the adhesive. This mean that instead of spreading the adhesive equally across the tile and floor they had splurged four lumps in each corner then set the tile down. This is poor working practice that will sooner or later become apparent. It means the areas were no adhesive was applied are eventually compromised resulting in cracking. This could take years or weeks to surface.

After some discussion we decided that I would remove and replace six tiles in total. The client was happy for me to go ahead and agreed a cost for the works to be done.

Repairing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

Returning the following week, firstly I had to remove the grout. This was done with a handheld Fein tool fitted with an oscillating blade. I thought this would be good experience from my son during the holidays, so I took him along and whilst I was working on the grout, he was able to gather the dust in a vacuum cleaner.

Next, I started to remove the cracked tiles with a chisel, starting from the cracks where the tiles would be weakest. This was noisy and messy work which required ear defenders and safety goggles. The process took several hours with the help of my son on general assistance duties. Once the tiles were removed this just left the remaining adhesive attached to the floor to get removed. This was the hardest part of the job, a lot of hammer and chisel work with as much dust gathered as possible to try and contain the mess. I had warned the customer that a considerable amount of mess would be produced and request that she should remove as much items as possible and to tape up her cupboards. Finally, I filled several holes in the sub floor so I would have a flat surface to lay the new tiles on. I left it there for the night to solidify.

Returning the next day, I began laying the replacement tiles down. Colour matching replacement tiles is a difficult task as Travertine is a natural product and colours vary greatly so these were a pretty good match.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

Once the adhesive had set, I grouted in the newly laid tiles and once that was dry set about applying a sealer. For this I used two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is an impregnating sealer that doesn’t alter the colour of the stone. This would ensure they were nicely protected and hopefully the client will not experience any further issues.

She was very happy with the result and was pleased the floor no long looked unsightly or posed a tripping hazard.

Cracked Travertine Floor Tiles Replaced in West Surrey

The post Replacing Cracked Travertine Floor Tiles in Cobham appeared first on West Surrey Tile Doctor.

Cleaning of Polished Limestone Kitchen Floor Tiles in Stanwick

Fri, 11 Oct 2019 06:21:14 +0000

I was contacted by a client from the village of Stanwick regarding their Limestone tiled floors, which were installed throughout the kitchen area and steps leading to the hallway. Polished stone does lose its appearance over time due to wear and this floor was now in need of re-polishing. An appointment was made to visit the client and carry out a survey of the floor.

On my arrival I could see that the Limestone tiles had as suspected become dull and the grout needed attention; it was clear that the sealer had worn off in the busier area and dirt was now becoming ingrained in the stone and grout.

To bring back its polished appearance the floor would need to be honed with burnishing and then re-sealed to protect it. This is a straightforward task which would take two days and so I provided a quote to do the work. The quote was accepted, and the job booked in.

Cleaning and Honing Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

My first course of action was to protect the walls and kitchen units using a protective wrap before scrubbing the first area using a hot solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean using a rotary scrubbing machine fitted with a brush head attachment. This process lifted the dirt from the grout and surface of the tiles.

The floor was then rinsed thoroughly with water to remove the released dirt and cleaning solution which was then extracted off the floor with a wet vacuum. I then proceeded to burnish the Limestone using a set of four Tile Doctor Burnishing Pads fitted to a rotary floor machine. As usual I started with the application of a 400-grit coarse pad lubricated with water, this removes any remaining sealers and ingrained dirt from the stone. The slurry generated was then rinsed away using a wet pick up machine. I then repeated this process using the medium 800-grit and fine 1500-grit burnishing pads which slowly polish the stone, rinsing and extracting after each pad. The floor was then allowed to dry off overnight

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

I returned the following day and continued the process using the superfine 3000-grit polishing pad which is the last stage in the polishing process and bought back the polished surface. In this instance I polished the floor to a high shine as requested by the customer. Only a small amount of water is used with this last pad, so it leaves the floor dry and ready for sealing.

To seal I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal Sealant which is an impregnating sealer that protects from within and gives the floor a natural look. The last step once the sealer was dry was to buff the floor to a nice shine with a rotary machine fitted with a white pad.

As the photos show, the floors were bought back to life with a gleaming high shine finish, the clients were extremely pleased with the results as you can see from their feedback below.

“Phil is a very hardworking and pleasant guy who kept me fully informed at all stages and the floors and patios look great. Many thanks. Michael B, Stanwick”

Whilst I was at the property the client asked me if I was able to clean their flagstone patio, I was able to do this and carried out the work for them, you can see the results achieved in the patio section of my website.

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Honed and Polished in Northamptonshire

The post Cleaning of Polished Limestone Kitchen Floor Tiles in Stanwick appeared first on Northamptonshire Tile Doctor.

Old Brick Floor Renovated in Church Minshull Wash House

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 09:52:13 +0000

We were contacted by an existing client who lives in the lovely Cheshire village of Church Minshull regarding a Brick tiled floor. We had already worked on restoring floors at their property before and on this occasion, they wanted us to improve the appearance of the bricks that comprised the floor in their old wash house.

Like the village in which it’s situated the property was pretty old, and they were not sure when the floor had been laid. You can see from the photographs however it was stained, dull and now well overdue a facelift. Having used our services previously, they knew how we worked and were happy with the quote which would take two days to complete. Although it wasn’t a particularly large floor it was an awkward shape, tight to work in and would result a lot of manual work.

The village of Church Minshull is approximately 5 miles north west of Crewe, just West of the River Weaver and Shropshire Union Canal. The modern village centre is a designated conservation area which contains many houses of Tudor style architecture so it really is a lovely place to visit and to work in.

Cleaning a Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor

The first task was to give the floor a good sweep to remove any debris. After this I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a high alkaline cleaner/coatings striper and left it to soak in. This product gets to work on ingrained dirt and grime as well as removing any existing sealers.

The solution was left to dwell on the brick floor for about twenty minutes before being scrubbed in with a Black pad fitted to a slow speed rotary machine and by hand. This process lifted the dirt out of the brick nicely and the resultant slurry was then removed with assistance of a wet vacuum.

After rinsing the remaining residue off the floor, it was given a thorough inspection. I noticed there were a few stubborn areas so the process was repeated until I was satisfied the floor could be as clean as it possible could be. After a final rinse with water the floor was dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum and left to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor

The next morning, I was on site early and the first job was to test the floor with a damp meter to make sure it was dry enough to start sealing. The results were good, so I set about sealing the brick floor starting with a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that enhances colour. Once this had dried, I applied four further coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which adds a subtle sheen that enhances the appearance of the old bricks even further.

Old floors like this don’t have a damp-proof membrane under the floor so it’s important to use breathable sealers that allow the moisture to rise through the brick and evaporate. Using a non-breathable sealer could lead to damp building up below the floor where it can spread to the walls and cause rising damp.

The floor looked much healthier after I had finished, and the new sealer will make it so much easier to keep clean going forward. For aftercare I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to maintain the floor. It’s a pH neutral product which won’t prematurely erode the sealer like some of the stronger tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets which are only for use on Ceramic tiles and Vinyl flooring. It comes in a concentrate, so you only need to dilute a small amount in a bucket of warm water.

Professional Restoration of a Brick Tiled Floor in Cheshire

The post Old Brick Floor Renovated in Church Minshull Wash House appeared first on West Cheshire Tile Doctor.

Rust Stained Marble Mosaic Shower Tiles Renovated in Church Preen

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 11:44:05 +0000

We were contacted by a homeowner near Shrewsbury about the Marble wall tiles in their shower which were looking particularly grubby. They had tried to clean the area with a multitude of household products but were unable to improve their appearance and had decided to call in some professional help.

I went over to do a site visit, run some tests and recommend a solution, I like to do this where possible as it ensures I can provide an accurate quote and it also gives me an opportunity to demonstrate a workable solution. The tiles were the small two inch square Marble Mosaics which from my point of view means there’s a log of grout to clean.

More importantly whilst there I discovered their water is pumped up from a well and the water is rich in Iron deposits. You can see on the picture where the water has dried on the walls and then the Iron deposits have turned rusty resulting in a large rust stain.

The property was in the old village of Church Preen which a small Hamlet in Shropshire which only has around 30 properties, it is approximately 12 miles from the county town of Shrewsbury.

Cleaning Rust Stained Marble Shower Tiles

Normally I would remove the iron and rust deposits with an acid-based product such as Acid Gel or Grout Clean-up but Marble is acid sensitive and doing so would etch and damage the tiles. So, to work around this problem I selected to use Tile Doctor Rust Away which worked really well. This product is an effective ready to use cleaner specifically designed to remove rust stains particularly when it has become heavily embedded. In the pictures it is clearly visible how the solution turns purple when it reacts to the rust and iron deposits.

After the rust was removed, I set about cleaning the Marble tile and grout with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which being a gel sticks well to wall tiles allowing for a longer dwell time. After ten minutes the solution was scrubbed into the tile and grout by hand and then rinsed off with water. I repeated this process a couple of times where necessary until I was satisfied the tile and grout were as clean as could be and then rinsed the tiles down thoroughly to ensure all any traces of cleaning product has been removed. Once done the Marble tile and grout looked so much cleaner.

Sealing Mosaic Marble Shower Tiles

It was a hot day and with a little encouragement from my air move I was able to dry out the tiles and grout quite quickly as verified by testing with a damp meter. This meant I could complete the job in one day without the need for any additional drying time.

I sealed the Marble and grout with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnator that seeps into the pores of the stone intensifying the natural colours and providing durable protection. With a fresh sealer in place water now runs off the shower wall and no longer accumulates on the tile where the Iron in the water can cause staining as it rusts.

They were over the moon with their revamped shower, it now looked much more inviting for them to use and less embarrassing when guests come to stay.

Before leaving we discussed aftercare and I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro for general cleaning, it’s a pH neutral product so its safe to use on sealed surfaces. Also I suggested that should the find water starting to collect on the shower wall after use it’s wiped off with a squeegee.

Professional Renovation of Stained Marble Shower Tiles in Shropshire

The post Rust Stained Marble Mosaic Shower Tiles Renovated in Church Preen appeared first on Shropshire Tile Doctor.

Renovating a Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Stourbridge

Fri, 04 Oct 2019 02:42:48 +0000

This client in the old industrial market town of Stourbridge contacted me about a Victorian tiled floor they had recently discovered under their hall carpet. They wanted to have it restored to its former glory but were concerned about the small holes all along the border. These holes were for the nails that secured the carpet grip rod and the best course of action would be to remove and replace the tiles. We are usually able to source replacement tiles, either replica or reclaimed so I was reasonably confident we could manage it, however in order to be certain I needed to survey the floor and do some research.

Once I was able to take a detailed look at the tiles it was clear that the floor would also need a deep clean due to being covered up by the carpet for so long, there was also some glue and residue from the floor covering which we agreed to remove. I prepared a quote for the work which the client was happy to accept, and the job was booked in.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first day was spent removing the border tiles and replacing them, these are tricky to do as the skirting can be a hinderance. The tiles needed to be carefully removed so we didn’t damage the skirting. Thankfully they were all coloured black which was a bonus as replacement black tiles match very well. After cutting to size and replacing all the border, a doorway threshold was rebuilt with a mixture of original and replacement tiles.

To finish off the first day loose tiles were reset, and the replacement tiles grouted in along with the other repaired areas. The floor was already started to look good and the colours in the Victorian tiles which were particularly vivid were really starting to come alive as the work progressed.

The next day the floor was cleaned with a 200-grit diamond pad attached to a rotary floor machine. We use water to lubricate the cleaning process and this turns to a grey slurry as the dirt is released from the tiles. The slurry is then rinsed off and then removed using a wet vacuum.

Next the floor was given an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to remove any grout haze and treat any salty deposits (efflorescence) which are often present in floors of this age due to the lack of a damp-proof membrane. It also helps make a stronger bond with the sealer which would be applied later.

The floor was rinsed with water, then dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum and allowed to dry for a couple of days.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning a few days later, we checked with the moisture readings of the floor in several places using a damp meter. It confirmed that the floor had dried out fully and was ready to be sealed. Applying a sealer to a damp floor is never recommended.

To seal the Victorian tiles, I used multiple coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra which is a low sheen breathable sealer that will allow moisture to rise through the tiles, it also added a lovely subtle sheen to the tiles making the colours stand out. Using a breathable sealer is important on old floors with no damp proof membrane as to use a non-breathable sealer can lead to moisture being trapped under the floor where it could build-up and spread to the walls leading to rising damp.

The floor was now complete and looked great. The client was over the moon and especially pleased that we had managed to replace the border tiles with the nail holes in.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Birmingham

The post Renovating a Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Stourbridge appeared first on Birmingham Tile Doctor.

Finishing a Large Mottled Brown Limestone Tiled Floor in Hindolveston

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 12:35:33 +0000

Now here’s a problem we regularly come across with natural stone floors such as this Mottled Brown Limestone floor installed at a house in Hindolveston; it should have a deep rich shine but without regular maintenance the polish wears off and it becomes dull and uninviting.

Hindolveston is a small village near the North Norfolk coast east of Fakenham. There are several large old houses in the area, and we had been invited by the owner of one of them to advise on the renovation of their recently laid and hugely expensive Brown Limestone floor. Measuring approximately 110 square metres the Limestone tiles had been installed throughout the lounge, dining area and spacious kitchen which featured an enormous AGA range.

The floor tiles themselves had been very well laid but had an odd milky film across the surface which completely masked the beautiful deep brown mottled nature of the stone. A builder had put down some protective coverings during renovations which became damp and had left a distinct pattern in the film when they were removed. After carrying out appropriate testing to determine what this was, we found that the grout haze had not been completely removed before the floor was sealed and allowed to cure across the whole surface. This combination resulted in the milky film which was impervious to all the cleaning and stripping chemicals the builder had tried.

Removing Grout Haze and Cleaning a Brown Limestone Floor

Our solution to the problem was to burnish and re-polish the stone with a 4-piece set of Tile Doctor Burnishing Pads which with the addition of a coarser grade 200-grit pad when we found the thick film to be extremely tenacious.

The pads were applied with a 17″ rotary floor machine in sequence from 400-grit to 1500-grit. No chemicals are needed for this only water to lubricate, rinsing and extracting after each pad. We make use of a Ninja high-pressure cleaning machine to rinse and extra the soil released from the floor; it runs at 400psi so its very effective.

The pads struggle to reach into the internal corners so the last step of the cleaning process was to treat them by hand using Tile Doctor burnishing blocks. The whole floor was then left to dry off thoroughly overnight with assistance from our large capacity dehumidifier.

Sealing Brown Limestone Floor Tiling

On our return, we checked across the whole floor with a moisture meter to ensure that there was no significant moisture left in the tiles which would adversely affect the performance of the sealer before it had time to cure fully.

Satisfied that this was the case, we vacuumed the floor to remove any dust and grit before spray burnishing the surface with the last of the four burnishing pads which is a very fine 3000-grit diamond pad. Again, this is applied using the rotary floor machine and run over the Limestone floor to produce a deep shine, much to the delight of the client.

Finally, the tiles were sealed using Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is a no-sheen penetrating sealer which provides excellent fluid resistance without altering the appearance of the stone itself. One last vacuuming and the job was done!

A very relieved and happy client who then promptly booked us in to renovate the limestone and encaustic tiled floors in all her bathrooms.

Large Mottled Brown Limestone Floor Professionally Renovated in Norfolk

The post Finishing a Large Mottled Brown Limestone Tiled Floor in Hindolveston appeared first on Norfolk Tile Doctor.

Travertine Tiled Floor Renovated in Bishop’s Cleeve

Tue, 24 Sep 2019 03:31:54 +0000

The client in Bishops Cleave contacted me as she was so frustrated with her Travertine tiled floor she was thinking of having it taken up. The tiles had been laid throughout the Hallway and into the Kitchen many years prior. The appearance of the floor had slowly deteriorated over the years to the extent that she was now having real trouble getting it clean.

I arranged to visit the property in Bishops Cleave which is a small village between Cheltenham and Tewkesbury. The floor was indeed in need of attention, the sealant had clearly broken down and dirt had become ingrained in the pores of the stone. I discussed with the client what could be done to restore the appearance and demonstrated the cleaning process on part of the floor. She was thrilled with the result and about the possibility of getting the floor restored. Better still she would avoid all the disruption of relaying the floor and of course the cost. We agreed a price to carry out the work and I arranged a suitable date to return and complete the work which would take two days.

Renovating a Dirty Travertine Tiled Floor

Returning to the property the first task was to protect the kitchen units and wooden stairs with masking film. I then started cleaning with floor with a coarse 400-grit Diamond burnishing pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer using water to lubricate the abrasive process. The pad is run over each tile a few times and then once the section is completed the floor is rinsed with more water and fine slurry extracted with a wet vacuum.

This process is then repeated with the medium 800-grit pad and fine 1500 grit pads, again rinsing with water and extracting after each pad with the wet vacuum. it’s a slow process but burnishing the floor in this opens the pores in the stone so the dirt can be removed and then closes them up again so restore its appearance.

The grout lines were quite heavily soiled with dirt, so my next task was to scrub them with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The area was then again rinsed, and the soil extracted leaving the floor to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

Returning the following morning, I then spray burnished the floor with a 3000-grit polishing pad to remove any residue that might have been left behind and to further bring up the polished appearance of the Travertine.

This final pad is applied dry with only a little water, so it leaves the floor nice and dry and ready for sealing. For the sealer I had selected Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a no-sheen, penetrating sealer which doesn’t change the appearance of the stone leaving a natural finish. It is formulated to provide maximum stain protection, so is particularly good in kitchens. It is also an excellent grout sealer. The sealer was applied and left to dry for an hour then buffed again with the 3000-grit pad. This gave the floor a lovely finish and the natural beauty of the Travertine was at last able to shine through. I was very pleased with this restoration.

The client was delighted and very pleased the she had contacted Tile Doctor, the floor looked great. She was very happy she had not needed to replace the floor. I suggested to her to maintain the floor she should use Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a pH balanced product which you dilute. It will ensure the seal is not compromised and will keep the floor in great condition.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen in Gloucestershire

The post Travertine Tiled Floor Renovated in Bishop’s Cleeve appeared first on Gloucester Tile Doctor.

Renovating a Mouldy White Limestone Shower Cubicle in Manchester

Mon, 23 Sep 2019 06:03:10 +0000

I was asked to look at renovating a shower cubicle at a property in in Manchester city centre that had been clad in White Limestone tiles. I understood the bathroom had been installed 12 years prior, but now the tiles were looking grubby, mouldy and dirty.

The client had lived at the property for the last two years and in an attempt to resolve the problems had used a few different household products such as flash and bleach, they had tried everything, and nothing had helped. I suspected that these strong acidic cleaners had actually made the problem worse by stripping off what was left of the sealer that was protecting the Limestone, allowing dirt to become ingrained in the stone.

I visited the property and ran a few cleaning tests in the shower cubicle with Tile Doctor products. This allows me to see which product will have the best results and gives the customer confidence that we can resolve their issues. The results were immediate, they could see the difference and they were happy to accept my quote and agree a date for my return to complete the work.

Removing Mould from a White Limestone Tiled Shower Cubicle

I arrived several weeks later and made a start. The tiles were scrubbed by hand with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go with excellent results. This product is designed to remove coatings and sealers, and in this case, it did a great job of drawing out the ingrained stains and dirt build-up. This removed what was left of the sealer and took off most of the dirt and mould. The Limestone tiles and grout were then rinsed with water to remove the soil.

Next I needed to restore the smooth surface of the limestone which had been etched by the use of strong acidic cleaning products. To do this I used a set of six-inch diamond burnishing pads attached to a hand buffer to hone and restore the stone.

I then dried the shower tiles and grout with a heat gun checking the moisture levels with damp meter until I was satisfied it was completely dry.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Shower Cubicle

The last step was to re-seal the Limestone and Grout using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is natural coloured intensifying sealer which provides durable protection to the surface allowing it to breathe and enhancing the colours.

The Customer was amazed with the difference and left the following feedback!

“Kamila was friendly, professional and kept me informed about what to expect before she took on the job and during the tile cleaning. The tiles look absolutely amazing after her work – I feel as though I have a brand new bathroom! Kamila also gave me helpful tips on looking after limestone tiles. I can’t recommend her highly enough.”

For future cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro which is a pH neutral shower tile cleaner designed for use on sealed surfaces. Most cleaning products you find in supermarkets are overly strong and will erode the sealer prematurely, so when choosing a cleaning product always read the label and make sure it’s safe to use on Sealed Stone tiles.

Professional Renovation of White Limestone Shower Tiles in Manchester

The post Renovating a Mouldy White Limestone Shower Cubicle in Manchester appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Deep Cleaning Kitchen Quarry Tile and Grout in Royston

Fri, 20 Sep 2019 22:22:15 +0000

We were contacted about this modern quarry tile floor in the kitchen of a farmhouse in Royston, Barnsley. They were fed up of the grout making the floor look grotty and whatever they tried they couldn’t get the grout to look any better. They explained they had used lots of different cleaning products on the market, and had spent a fortune, but the floor still looked the same. Royston is a village right on the border of Barnsley and Wakefield, it’s situated in South Yorkshire but is historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

The trouble with Grout is its cementitious texture which traps dirt and I suspect that they were using a single bucket to apply and rinse their mop during cleaning. This results in the mop being rinsed in increasingly dirty water which is put back on the floor where it is brushed into the grout where it gets trapped. Ideally you should use two buckets, one containing the cleaning fluid and the second containing water where you rinse your mop afterwards.

There are several solutions ranging from continual grout cleaning through to replacing the grout which is expensive. In this case the Quarry tiles were the small 6in x 6in format which covered the entire ground floor of this old farmhouse and with the grout lines being 10mm wide replacing the grout would have been a mammoth effort.

My recommendation was to deep clean the Quarry tiles and grout, removing any sealer from the tiles in the process and then reseal the tiles and the grout to protect both from ingrained dirt. I demonstrated the process on a small test area to see how the floor would respond and much to the client’s surprise there was an immediately and dramatic improvement. They were more than happy to go ahead with my quote and get the floor sorted.

Deep Cleaning Quarry Tiled Kitchen Tiles and Grout Floor

We started by soaking manageable areas of the floor in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, it was left to work its magic for ten minutes before a rotary machine fitted with a rotary brush was used to scrub the floor. The slurry was then extracted using a wet vac before the floor was thoroughly rinsed with clean water then extracted with the wet vac again.

The floor was quite large, so it took most of the day to repeat this process across the entire area scrubbing by hand where necessary to remove stubborn staining. By the end of the day the Quarry tile and grout was looking much cleaner and brighter and I had now doubt that once the floor had been sealed the customer would be really pleased with the result. The floor was left overnight so it would be ready for sealing the next day.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

I returned the following morning and started by testing the floor was dry using a moisture meter. Applying a sealer to a damp floor would be counter productive as the seal would not cure. The floor was dry, so we applied an impregnating sealer to the Quarry tile and Grout called Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal. This is a penetrating sealer which doesn’t affect the look of the tile or darken the grout. It’s a natural look sealer which won’t make the floor shiny but is formulated to provide maximum stain protection. It is also an excellent grout sealer so will help keep the grout lines looking great.

They were over the moon with the new look floor!

For after I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which will keep the floor in the best condition. It is pH balanced so will won’t prematurely erode the sealer like the stronger products you find in supermarkets which can break down sealers with constant use.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen in South Yorkshire

The post Deep Cleaning Kitchen Quarry Tile and Grout in Royston appeared first on South Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

White Moleanos Limestone Kitchen Floor Renovated in Leeds

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 15:19:17 +0000

Moleanos Limestone is a very difficult stone to work with due to its’ porous chalky nature and needs to be sealed to prevent dirt accumulating in the stone. Without a sealer in place dirt builds up in the pores leaving it looking dirty and this is exacerbated in the case of White Moleanos Limestone which really shows up the dirt. I mention this as I was asked to visit a property in Leeds which had White Moleanos Limestone installed in the Kitchen and was now suffering this exact problem with the client unable to get it clean. The grout was also quite badly discoloured.

I visited the property to survey the floor and quote for renovating the stone. I ran some tests and could see that as suspected the original sealer had broken down leaving the stone vulnerable. Sealers typically last around three to five years depending on use, but this can be significantly reduced if a strong household cleaning product is used to clean the floor.

Without a seal in place dirt was able to get into the porous stone and once ingrained it can be very difficult to remove without the right products and equipment. I completed a demonstration clean on a small area to show how the floor should look and the result was immediate. Confident I was able to get the floor clean my client booked me in and we agreed a date to complete the work.

Cleaning White Moleanos Limestone Kitchen Tiles

To restore the appearance of the stone I used a set of Tile Doctors Burnishing Pads which are encrusted with industrial diamonds and are used to hone the stone, remove dirt and restore its appearance. This is a slow steady process and involves working through the different grades of burnishing pads from coarse to very fine. The pads are applied with a small amount of water to lubricate and the soil generated by the process is extracted with a wet vacuum afterwards, to keep the mess to a minimum.

All the grout was cleaned by hand using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is scrubbed into the grout lines by hand with a stiff brush. For best results I leave it to dwell for ten minutes before scrubbing, this allows it more time to break down and lift the dirt from the cementitious grout lines.

After cleaning I left the floor to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Moleanos Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

The following morning, I returned to the property and checked the floor was dry using a moisture meter. This is always worth checking as applying a sealer to a damp floor can result in a patchy appearance.

I had discussed the effects of the different sealers suitable for use on Limestone and the client specified they were after a natural look that wasn’t over shiny. With this in mind I selected Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a penetrating sealer formulated to provide maximum stain protection and is especially recommended for use in kitchen areas. Ultra-seal doesn’t change the look of the stone which made it a nice match for the client’s needs, it’s also a good grout sealer and will ensure the grout looks cleaner for longer.

Three coats of Ultra-Seal where applied allowing each one to dry before applying the next. With the new sealer in place the stone is protected from ingrained dirt and would prove to be much easier to keep clean in future.

The client was very pleased with the finished result and before leaving I recommended, they maintain the floor using Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for the cleaning of polished stone.

Professional Restoration of a Moleanos Limestone Tiled Kitchen in North West Yorkshire

The post White Moleanos Limestone Kitchen Floor Renovated in Leeds appeared first on North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

400 Year Old Dirty Flagstone Floor Renovated in Ripley

Sun, 15 Sep 2019 12:37:29 +0000

This property in the lovely Surrey village of Ripley near Woking was over 400 years old and featured an amazingly dirty flagstone floor. The village itself has a long history that dates to Norman times so I wouldn’t surprise me if the stone in this floor was original or potentially older.

The house was a family property with a large garden that the kids and dog used and liked to walk through the house bringing the garden inside! It was fair to say the area was subject to heavy traffic and attracted a fair amount of dirt. I recommended a deep and thorough clean and then the application of a durable sealer to protect the stone going forward.

To demonstrate the potential of the flagstones I applied different Tile Doctor cleaning products on a small test area to see which would work best. It wasn’t long before the dirt was lifted out of the pores of the stone and you could really get an ideal of how the stone could be could transformed. They agreed my quote for the work, and we arranged a time to carry out the work which would take two days. I would start the cleaning on a Friday then we would return on the following Tuesday to seal leaving it to dry for more than two days in between.

Cleaning and Restoring a Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

The first job was to clean the grout using a strong dilution Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which turned it from a dark brown to a sandy yellow colour. This work was done by hand with a hard-scrubbing brush and due to the wide joints took three hours to complete before finally rinsing and extracting the dirt off the floor with a wet vacuum.

Next task was to clean the flagstones. They were so dirty I decided to use Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a stronger product to breakdown the ingrained dirt. Fortunately, I was able to use a standard black scrubbing pad attached to my rotary buffer to work the product into the stone. The dirt was removed with the wet vacuum cleaner as I progressed however the stone was so dirty that the soil ran back down into the grout. So, after cleaning the tiles I had to go over the grout again.

Once completed, the client was astonished at the difference. I used a lot of water in the cleaning process so the floor was left for three days so it would thoroughly dry out before I returned to apply the sealer.

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

Returning on the Tuesday, first I checked the floor was dry with a moisture meter. My plan to leave the floor for three days had worked well and I confirmed the floor was dry and ready to be sealed.

To seal the floor, I applied three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra with a paint pad and a soft brush. There was a lot to cover and each coat is left to dry before applying the next, so it took some time before I was done. Seal and Go Extra is a breathable sealer so it will allow moisture to rise through the floor this is an important consideration when sealing old floors which don’t have a damp-proof membrane. The sealer worked well on the stone really bringing out the colours, so the stones now looked like stones rather than black rocks.

The client was over the moon with the difference, they had literally never seen the floor looking like this. The children and dog were firmly told they would be wiping their feet before traipsing the garden through the house in future!

For aftercare I recommended they used Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which will keep the floor clean and is not overly strong like many supermarket cleaning products which can prematurely erode the protection provided by the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Flagstone Tiled Floor in West Surrey

The post 400 Year Old Dirty Flagstone Floor Renovated in Ripley appeared first on West Surrey Tile Doctor.

Victorian Tiled Floor Repaired and Restored in Newport

Wed, 11 Sep 2019 11:49:51 +0000

Our client had recently moved to a property in Newport, Gwent and when removing the carpet in the hallway she discovered this beautiful Victorian Tiled floor. The property had numerous period features and realising the value that the floor could add to the property she was keen to have it restored and so contacted Tile Doctor for help.

We popped round to survey the floor and except for a couple of broken tiles it had preserved well under the carpet. It was a shame the previous owner had covered the floor over but I was confident we could source some matching tiles to replace the broken ones and then restore the overall appearance. We gave the client a quote for the work which would take a couple of days. Pleased to hear that the floor could be restored and that it could soon be on show the quote was accepted and a date set to do the work.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

We returned later the same month to renovate the floor and started by removing the broken tiles, cleaning out the old grout and adhesive and then relaying matching replacements. There are several specialist suppliers that can supply Victorian tiles so we can usually source reclaimed or reproduction tiles.

Some of the grout lines had dropped so as well as grouting around the replacement tiles more renovation work was needed to ensure the grout was level. We used quick setting products for this work, so I was able to move on to cleaning the floor later that afternoon.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

To restore the appearance of the Victorian Tiles I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean combined with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left to soak in for ten minutes before being scrubbed into the tiles. This created a powerful cleaner/stripper cocktail which gets to work at removing dirt, grime and breaking down old sealers paint splashes.

After extracting the soil using a wet vacuum the floor was inspected. There were a few stubborn areas which were treated to a repeat clean and a wire brush to get the floor as clean as possible.

The floor was rinsed with water to remove any trace of cleaning products and then as much moisture as possible was extracted using a wet vacuum. The floor was left to dry off overnight and we arranged to return the next day to apply a sealer.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The following morning, we checked the floor was dry using a damp meter and this confirmed we were good to apply the sealer. The floor was sealed with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that protects the floor and enhances the beautiful colours in the tile. Three coats of the sealer were applied allowing each coat to dry before applying the next.

The client was very happy with the result and how beautiful the floor looked as you can see from the picture.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Monmouthshire

The post Victorian Tiled Floor Repaired and Restored in Newport appeared first on Monmouthshire Tile Doctor.

Light Grey Grout Recolouring on a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor in Worcester

Sat, 07 Sep 2019 10:59:18 +0000

If you don’t like the colour of your grout or it’s severely stained, we usually recommend Grout Colouring which can be done with a kit from Tile Doctor and is available in ten popular colours. This was the case with a client of mine who wanted her Ceramic tiled Kitchen floor renovated.

I visited the property in Worcester to survey the floor and discuss it with the owner. My client was mainly unhappy with the dark patchy floor grout and wanted the tiles cleaned and the grout deep cleaned to bring back the original lighter colour. We have multiple products for cleaning grout available but in this case the staining was so deep I recommended Grout Colouring. I usually keep a range of colours in my vehicle so I was able to demonstrate how it would look on an inconspicuous part of the floor and light grey was chosen.

Grout Recolouring of a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor

I returned on the agreed date to renovate the floor and started by applying protective sheets to the kitchen units. Next I cleaned the floor with a green pad fitted to a rotary scrubbing machine. I used Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to cut through the grime and this soon darkened with the dirt that was released from the tile and grout. The soiled cleaning solution was then rinsed with water and extracted using a wet and dry vacuum, keeping the mess to a minimum.

The next step was to ready the grout joints for the recolouring process, this is done by spraying Tile Doctor Grout Colourant Pre-Treat Cleaner into the joints, leaving it to dwell for a few minutes and then scrubbing it in by. As well as cleaning, the solution etches the grout which ensures a strong bond with the grout colourant.

The floor was then speed dried with blowers and a heat gun. The grout was then given two coats of the Tile Doctor Light Grey Grout Colourant. This product is painted onto the grout line using a small brush, it takes a little time to complete and any residue is removed with a baby wipe before it has time to dry. Although tedious to apply the result is worth waiting for and it left the floor looking so much lighter and fresher.

The client was extremely happy and left a glowing review

“Mark proved to be a good choice for the three different floors that we needed to renovate. He explained clearly what he could do for each of them, carried out the work efficiently, and produced a finished job of a high standard. Mark is a good worker who is also easy to have around the house which is always an important aspect in the middle of major work being done. Adrian G, Worcester “

The grout colourant adds a tough barrier over the grout so it will keep its looks for a very long time, it also makes it much easier to clean. For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a pH neutral product designed for the maintenance cleaning of tile and grout.

Professional Recolouring of grout on a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen in Worcestershire

The post Light Grey Grout Recolouring on a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor in Worcester appeared first on Worcestershire Tile Doctor.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired after Pipe Installation in St Neots

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 00:56:52 +0000

Earlier this year I was asked to quote for repairing and restoring a Victorian Tile Hallway in St Neots. The floor was in good physical condition for its age however a section of tiling had been removed so facilitate the installation of a new pipe. The contractor was not very sympathetic to the old floor and after removing the tiles and installing the pipe they had simply back filled with concrete ruining the overall look of the floor.

The rest of the Victorian Tiled Hallway had not been properly cleaned and sealed in some time and any protective sealer had long since worn off in the busier parts of the hallway. Without a sealer in place dirt had penetrated the pores of the tile leaving them looking dull and impossible to keep clean.

Period features like this floor are very desirable these days and understandably the owner was every enthusiastic to have the floor fully restored back to its best possible condition.
I discussed with him the work we needed to do, which included repairing the concreted sections, deep cleaning the floor and then finish with the application of a protective sealer. I was confident I could source similar tiles and would be able to get the floor looking great again. We agreed a price and booked the work in to be carried out.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I started by manually removing all the concrete at the back of the hall with a bolster and hammer. Once cleaned of rubble the hole was filled with a self-levelling compound to even out the area in order to get the surface to the right level ready for tiling.

Fortunately, I had managed to source nearly identical tiles to replace the missing ones. There are a few places that keep stock, so it makes it easier to restore this type of floor.
The border was laid first followed by filling in the middle with the correct pattern.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Once grouted the whole floor was stripped and cleaned using Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a coatings remover that is designed to clean and remove old sealers from tile and stone. The product is diluted with water, sprayed onto the tiles and then allowed to soak in for ten minutes before scrubbing it in. The solution soon turns into a dark slurry as the dirt is released from the pores of the tile and this is then rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to treat any potential efflorescence problems that may appear later due to the lack of a damp-proof membrane under the floor. This is quite a common issue with old floors where moisture can rise through the tile carrying with it salts from the sub floor. To counter this problem and neutralise the alkaline salts the floor is further cleaned with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is an acidic product. To remove the product another round of rinsing and extracted is carried out.

During the cleaning I noticed that some of the tiles had damage to the surface from being concreted over, so I renovated the surface using a 200-grit burnishing pad that hones the tile. Once I was happy the floor was clean, I left it to dry off for two days.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I came back to seal the floor first checking with a damp meter that the moisture levels in the tile were below an acceptable level. All was well so I started the application of the sealer with a base coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that will deepen the colours and add an extra layer of protection.

Once the first dry coat of Colour Grow was dry, I followed up with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds further layers of protection and leaves the tiles with a nice subtle sheen.

The job took five days in total, three days to sympathetically repair the floor followed by two days to clean and seal. You can see from the pictures that the repaired area looked very original and overall the floor looked great and the pattern is stunning. For aftercare I recommended they kept the floor clean using Tiles Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, this will keep the floor clean and ensure the sealant isn’t eroded prematurely which can happen with stronger floor cleaning products.

The customer over the moon with the results and left the following glowing testimonial for me on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

”Tom was professional, meticulous, polite and hard working. We would have no qualms about recommending his service to others – especially with mosaic Victorian flooring like ours. Good value and plenty of expert advice and guidance thrown in for free. Thanks Tom. By Alden W, St Neots”

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Cambridgeshire

The post Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired after Pipe Installation in St Neots appeared first on Cambridge Tile Doctor.

Renovating Amtico Vinyl Flooring in Silverdale

Wed, 04 Sep 2019 02:46:02 +0000

This client from Silverdale had called us over to renovate their 12-year-old Amtico vinyl floor that runs from the back door, through the kitchen and then over to the dining room. Although modern brands of Vinyl are much more durable than in the past, they do require a sealer to protect the surface from marking, enhance the colour and general appearance. This floor had not been retreated for twelve years and so its appearance had become dull and patchy in places.

Tile Doctors are trained in the renovation of all types of Tile and this includes Vinyl flooring with which we use the same methods and equipment to strip the old sealer away and replace with new. Vinyl if a manufactured material so the products we use are different and Tile Doctor supply a Stripper and Sealer which are designed for the job.

Cleaning and Stripping an Amtico Vinyl Floor

We started by applying a clear mastic silicone around the base of the MDF panels in the kitchen, we would be using water in the cleaning process, so this was done to prevent any moisture being absorbed via capillary action which would ruin the panels.

Once the area was prepped, we started stripping the old sealer off the Amtico using Tile Doctor Vinyl Strip diluted with five parts warm water. The solution was gradually applied as a slow speed buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad was run over the surface. The soil generated was rinsed off the floor with water and then extracted using a wet vacuum

The floor was then steam cleaned to remove any excess product from the Vinyl, as well as making sure the floor area was as clean and dust free as possible before moving onto the next step of applying a fresh sealer.

The Amtico would need to be dry in order to seal it so as much moisture as possible was removed using the wet vacuum and then left to dry for about an hour with air blowers in place. This is very important as applying sealer to a damp Vinyl floor can cause issues with the bonding process resulting in the affected area turning white and feeling sticky.

Sealing Amtico Vinyl Flooring

Once I was satisfied the floor was dry three thin coats of Tile Doctor Vinyl Shine applied to the Amtico leaving the floor to dry for up to forty minutes between coats. Thin coats are the key, if it has a blueish tinge to the seal (what we call pooling) then the coat is too thick and needs to be thinned out which is best done with a paint pad. If the first coat is patchy, we just let it dry and then add a second coat to which will even out the patchiness.

Tile Doctor Vinyl Shine is a modern high solids polymer floor seal and polish designed to protect and enhance the appearance of Vinyl floor tiles. It works well on all types of Vinyl including Amtico and Karndean and the optional third coat adds a super high gloss finish.

The floor looked great and really lifted the room. The client was very happy with the result and was kind enough to leave the following feedback.

”Very professional, efficient service, with an excellent end result. Very clean and tidy, punctual and made sure the job was finished to a high standard. Very pleased with the finish on my Amtico floor. – Sheila and Kevin S”

Professional Clean and Seal of an Amtico Tiled Kitchen in Lancashire

The post Renovating Amtico Vinyl Flooring in Silverdale appeared first on Tile Doctor Lancashire.

Limestone Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Bushy Park Teddington

Mon, 02 Sep 2019 04:39:02 +0000

This Limestone tiled floor had been installed in the kitchen of a property in Teddington three years before and due to the use of the wrong cleaning product was now stripped of its protective sealer. Limestone like any natural stone is porous and without a sealer in place dirt becomes trapped in the stone making it very difficult to keep clean. The property was close to Bushy Park situated in South West London on the North bank of the Thames which is only about seven miles from my base in Shepperton.

I discovered all of this after visiting the property to quote for deep cleaning and resealing the floor. It turns out they have been using Flash multi-surface & floor cleaner which has an acidic pH of 10.3, compare this to Tile Doctor Remove and Go which we use to strip sealers off floors and has a pH of 12. Needless to say, this was not the right product to use and the old sealer had been completely stripped off the floor and probably within the first few months.

On top of this our customer had 3 children and a dog running in and out of the garden and was therefore transferring quite a lot of dirt into the stone. After surveying the floor, I discussed the renovation process with the customer which would take two days and include a deep clean of the Limestone followed by the application of a sealer to ensure it did not hold onto the dirt. They were after a sheen finish for the floor and were keen to have natural brown and cream variations in the stone highlighted. We agreed a price for the work and booked a date for the work to start.

Deep Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

To start with, we machine scrubbed the floor with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to break down the dirt and release it from the stone. We find the best process is to spray the Pro-Clean onto the floor first and then leave to dwell for ten minutes before scrubbing. It’s not long before the cleaning solution turns dark with the dirt released from the pores of the stone and this soil is then rinsed with water and vacuumed off the floor with a low-pressure hard floor cleaning machine.

Following the cleaning, we honed the Limestone using a sequence of 800, 1500 and finally 3000-grit Tile Doctor Burnishing Pads. The pads are applied with water to lubricate and the slurry generated is rinsed off the floor as before. This burnishing process brings up the natural sheen of the stone and tightens up its pores prior to sealing. I left the floor overnight to allow it to dry out.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

The next day I returned to the property and checked the floor for moisture using a damp meter. The readings were fine, so I proceeded with the application of the sealer for which I used two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is an impregnating sealer that enhances the colours and contrast on the stone while protecting it against future soiling and spillages. It gave a lovely sheen finish to the floor as requested by the customer.

As you can see from the pictures the process made a huge difference to the floor which now looks lighter and brighter, certainly the customer was more than happy. Before leaving I recommended, they should clean the floor using Tile Doctor Stone Soap, this is a pH neutral product that will ensure the seal does not get broken down like it previously had using the household cleaners. It is gentle enough to use every day if you wish is designed to help maintain the patina of the burnished stone.

Professional Clean of a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor in South West London

The post Limestone Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Bushy Park Teddington appeared first on South Middlesex Tile Doctor.

Renovating a Paint Spotted Victorian Hallway Floor in Dinnington

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 16:08:58 +0000

The owner of this beautiful Victorian tiled hallway floor in Dinnington had wanted the floor restored for quite some time. The property had many Victorian features, but this floor had an unusual design which made it very special. The owners had researched how to clean it themselves but hadn’t managed to achieve the result they were hoping for. The main problem was that the floor had been spotted with small paint splashes from decades of decorating.

Dinnington officially forms part of in Rotherham and is the same distance from Rotherham as it is from Sheffield. The area was a big coal mining and steel producing area and unfortunately suffered huge job losses throughout the 80’s and 90’s so its not surprising that the local housing stock suffered for many years as a result.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

We first treated the floor with Tile Doctor Remove and Go, this acts quickly to break down any old sealers still present on the tiles and softens the old paint splashes. After a ten-minute dwell time a coarse 200-grit burnishing pad fitted to rotary floor buffer was applied to the tiles. More water was applied where required to help lubricate the process and make the pad really work its magic. The slurry generated was extracted using a wet vacuum and the floor inspected. The process was the repeated to ensure all the dirt was removed and the floor was as clean as possible.

Once happy the Victorian tiles were as clean as the could be it was time to give the floor an acid wash which would remove any old mineral deposits including grout smears. We also recommended this for old Victorian floors which do not have a damp-proof membrane installed and can suffer from white efflorescent salt deposits as moisture rises through the tile. To do this Tile Doctor Acid Gel was scrubbed into the to the floor using a 200-grit burnishing pad to make the acid gel work hard. Afterwards we rinsed the floor several times removing the slurry with a wet vacuum. This kept the mess to a minimum and the floor was already looking great.

The floor was left to dry over the weekend, and we would return the following week to carry out the sealing process.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The following Monday we returned to seal the floor. First, we used the moisture meter to test the floor, we needed to ensure it was as dry as possible before sealing it. The client wanted a traditional look, so we opted for Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that leaves matt finish. This product is perfect for this type of floor as it is fully breathable allowing moisture to pass through the tile and sealer and not become trapped under the floor where it could spread to the walls and cause rising damp.

Four coats of Colour Grow were applied in total allowing each to dry before applying the next. The sealer works by occupying the pores in the tile thereby protecting the floor and preventing dirt from becoming trapped making it much easier to clean.

I was very happy with the result; the floor was now in great condition and was one of the more dramatic in colour and pattern that I had come across. My customer also felt the same and left the following feedback for me.

“Matt did a professional and thorough job: our Victorian hall tiles really ‘pop’ with colour. Highly recommend. Karen T, Dinnington”

Professional Renovation of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Rotherham

The post Renovating a Paint Spotted Victorian Hallway Floor in Dinnington appeared first on South Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

Renovating a Twenty Year Old Flagstone Patio in Stanwick

Wed, 28 Aug 2019 11:41:42 +0000

I often get asked whilst I am on site what other services I offer; recently when I was polishing a Limestone floor at a house in the small village of Stanwick the client enquired if there was anything I could do with their 20 year old Flagstone Patio which was unfortunately no longer looking its best.

I advised him this is something I would be able to do, and that as well as cleaning all types of internal tile, grout and stone I also offer external stone cleaning using a professional pressure washing machine using up to date equipment such as the Honda Pro 2100 Pressure Washer which was an expensive but worthwhile investment.

The patio had not been professionally cleaned since installation and now moss was growing between the pavers and the stone had darkened over the years, although the customer had used an electric jet washer a couple of times it had not made significant improvement and a thorough clean was now well overdue. The interior Limestone floor had come up well and they were very satisfied with that work, I was confident that they would be pleased with the patio outcome too.

Although the area was large, the benefit of working outside is there is no concerns about making a mess, so the job can be done relatively quickly. I gave the client a quote for the work and we arranged a time for me to return, although it was dependent on the weather.

Cleaning a Large Flagstone Patio in Stanwick

Thankfully the date we had selected turned out to by dry so a day in the fresh air was due. My first course of action was to pre wet the stone with a diluted 3:1 solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to help break down the heavy soiling and soften the moss. Tile Doctor Pro-Clean is a concentrated, multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, which strips and degreases heavily soiled areas. It is particularly good on mildew and algae on patios such as this where it makes light work of breaking down the soiling.

The product is left to dwell for a short time, once I could see that the soil was starting to lift, I then used the petrol driven Honda Pro 2100 pressure washer connected to a spinning tool to clean the stone. This is a very powerful piece of machinery and the difference was immediate. The patio tiles looked a completely different colour, in fact the client couldn’t recall ever seeing them this colour!

This work was carried out to the customers satisfaction who left the following feedback on my website.

“Phil is a very hardworking and pleasant guy who kept me fully informed at all stages and the floors and patios look great. Many thanks – Michael B, Stanwick, “

Professional Clean of a Flagstone Patio in Northamptonshire

The post Renovating a Twenty Year Old Flagstone Patio in Stanwick appeared first on Northamptonshire Tile Doctor.

Reviving a Multi-Coloured Slate Floor in Camberley

Thu, 22 Aug 2019 00:58:14 +0000

This was a relatively straightforward job renovating a multi-coloured Slate floor in the kitchen and adjacent dining area of a house in Camberley. I can quote from a photograph, but I prefer to visit the property, survey the floor and carry out a test clean so I can be 100% confident in my quote. I cover all the towns and villages in West Surrey so it usually isn’t long before I’m passing in the direction of a client and can usually call in on the way to or from a nearby job.

The client had recently had a new kitchen fitted where a lot of plastering had been taking place. It seems very little dust sheeting was used, and the result was the stone absorbed a lot of plaster dust which completely flattened its appearance. The Slate floor now looked very uninviting and it was really bringing down the appearance of the new kitchen.

I discussed with the client the process we would follow to get the flooring back in shape. We agreed a cost for the work and booked in a suitable date to carry out the work, it would take a day to renovate the stone floor.

Deep Cleaning a Multi-Coloured Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I first sprayed the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean. The product was left on the surface to dwell then after around ten minutes I scrubbed the product into the floor using a black pad attached to a rotary floor buffer. The Slate tiles were slightly riven so overtime as the machine passed over the ridges the pad became torn, so I went through a few pads cleaning this floor.

The abrasive action of the pads combined with the Pro-Clean proved to be very effective causing the cleaning solution to turn black as the dirt was lifted out of the stone. The now soiled cleaning solution was extracted using a wet vacuum and the floor inspected to make sure it was clean.

Sealing a Multi-Coloured Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

Now I don’t usually recommend sealing a floor on the same day as cleaning, however it was a warm day and only a small floor so after a couple of hours of encouraged drying the floor was ready for sealing.

I suggested three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra for this floor. It’s a super tough sealer, perfect for a kitchen with lots of through traffic and an owner with a large dog. The formula improves the look adding a subtle sheen that transforms their appearance and brings out the variety of natural colours in the stone.

The client was very happy with the result, the floor was looking so much more inviting and in keeping with the new kitchen. Before leaving I discussed with them the best way to keep the floor looking in great condition. In this case I recommended a Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a pH balanced cleaner. It’s perfect for the regular cleaning of sealed stone as it won’t compromise the sealer like many household products, it leaves a fresh and minty smell and being concentrated a small amount goes a long way.

Professional Restoration of a Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in West Surrey

The post Reviving a Multi-Coloured Slate Floor in Camberley appeared first on West Surrey Tile Doctor.

Black Limestone Patio Ruined with Brick Acid in Highclere Village

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 02:27:24 +0000

Black Limestone has become very popular in recent years, unfortunately however we find installers ruin its appearance with the use of unsuitable cleaning products. This was the case with this relatively new property in Highclere Village near Newbury in Berkshire.

Black Limestone had been installed throughout the exterior by a landscaping company, but the owner wasn’t satisfied with they had left the stone. It turns out they used brick acid to wash away the remaining residue that had been left from a messy installation. Limestone is acid sensitive, and this resulted in the stone being stripped of its natural oils that give it the rich black colour. The stone now looked very grey, bland and was extremely porous. It certainly wasn’t how the client expected the patio to look.

I visited the house and conducted a test in a small inconspicuous area. Luckily the Limestone hadn’t been sealed which was fortunate as stripping back exterior stone sealers can be a very time-consuming process. After the demo was completed the client was very satisfied and a provisional date was booked in. The client was eager to have the Black Limestone patio looking lovely ready for the summer weather, but we would need a dry day to be able to complete the work.

Highclere is a village situated in the North Wessex Downs, an area of natural outstanding beauty. It is also home to Highclere Castle, which has been used in many films and TV series, including Downtown Abbey.

Renovating Black Limestone Patio Tiles

The first job was to remove all the surface dirt that had built up on the surface of the stone since it had been laid. I did this using a cleaning and extraction system that’s run from my vehicle. It’s a high-pressure cleaner with long hoses that can clean and extract dirt keeping things as mess free as possible. Once the area was cleaned the stone was left to bake and dry out in the hot sun.

Later that afternoon I conducted several moisture tests with a damp meter. The readings were good so I was happy the stone was dry, and I could move onto the next stage of re-oiling the stone. I used Tile Doctor Stone Oil for this purpose, it’s a conditioning product that penetrates the stone and revives the colour. Two coats were applied throughout and any excess oil that hadn’t penetrated the stone was buffed off. The oil was then left to cure overnight.

Sealing a Black Limestone Patio

I returned the next day and was very pleased how the Limestone looked, the rich colour was now showing. The oil had cured, and the stone was ready to seal. Two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal were applied to seal the stone. Rated for external use Ultra-Seal works by occupying the pores in the stone thereby preventing dirt from become ingrained there. This product doesn’t change the appearance of the stone, resulting in a completely natural look.

My client was over the moon with how her Black Limestone now looked and left the following feedback: “Dennis oiled and sealed our newly laid black limestone paving. He transformed it from grey and stained looking into a beautiful black even colour. He takes great pride in his work and I would recommend him highly.”

Professional Restoration of a Black Limestone Patio in Berkshire

The post Black Limestone Patio Ruined with Brick Acid in Highclere Village appeared first on Berkshire Tile Doctor.

Restoring Quarry Tiles Hidden Under Vinyl Flooring in Filton

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 12:15:45 +0000

This client who lives in Filton had been informed by the previous owner of his property that there was a Quarry tiled floor in the Kitchen but it had been covered up with stone effect Vinyl flooring. Keen to have it removed and have the original Quarry tiles brought back to life we were contacted to see if it could be done.

I visited the property to survey the floor and work out a plan for the restoration. The lino was heavily stuck in place with about 5mm of adhesive so I could see this was going to be no easy restoration. It would be necessary to remove, the floor, adhesive compound and cement beneath it.

I discussed the project with the client the project, explaining it was difficult to ascertain how long it would take but anticipated it would be around three days. The process would involve stripping off the Vinyl tiles, removing the adhesive, deep cleaning the Quarry tiles and the apply a sealer to protect them. The client agreed my quote and we arranged a convenient date to return to make a start.

Stripping Stone Effect Vinyl from a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

After removing the kickboards from underneath, the kitchen units, and taping up the surrounding areas to protect them, I set about restoring the floor. I used a variety of different methods to remove the adhesive compound and cement but mainly hand tools and hard labour! After three long days we had managed to remove the Vinyl and one once all adhesive was removed it was starting to look like a Quarry tiled floor. It was actually quite rewarding to see the Quarry tiles emerge as we progressed.

Once the Quarry tiled floor was fully exposed, I applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was worked in using a large buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The soil was rinsed off with water and the waste extracted with a wet vacuum. I repeated this procedure until I was satisfied the floor was as clear of old adhesives and residue and as clean as possible. Actually, we had uncovered a really nice-looking floor, which considering the covering was generally in good condition. The floor was left for a few days to ensure it was totally dry, ready for the sealing process.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

We used a lot of water during the cleaning process, so I left the floor to try out for two days before returning to apply the sealer. I had chosen to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow for the sealer; it leaves a matt finish whilst intensifying the natural colours in the tile. It works by occupying the pores in the tile thus preventing dirt from becoming trapped resulting in durable protection. It also allows the surface to breathe which is important on a floor of this age. We applied 2 coats to the tiles allowing each to dry before applying the next, the lovely colours of the floor were now enhanced.

Our client was amazed at the results and so happy they were finally rid of the old lino which was passed its best. For aftercare I recommended they should use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is designed for cleaning sealed tile and stone.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen in Gloucestershire

The post Restoring Quarry Tiles Hidden Under Vinyl Flooring in Filton appeared first on Gloucester Tile Doctor.

Changing Grey Grout to Cream at Nether Alderley New Build

Mon, 19 Aug 2019 05:37:48 +0000

We were contacted by a national builder of luxury homes to see if we could help sort out a grout problem with an expensive Porcelain tiled floor. Whilst most the work we do relates to the cleaning and sealing of tile and stone we also get asked to consult on related issues. On this occasion it turns out their tiler had done a great job tiling the floor with 240m2 of large format porcelain tiles, but the grout used was the wrong colour.

The property affected was in Nether Alderley which is a very desirable part of East Cheshire about a mile south of Alderley Edge. An appointment was arranged with the property developer to inspect the problem and advise on a solution.

On the day of the visit I was advised that they didn’t want to remove and relay the floor as the cost would be prohibitive and the inconvenience to the homeowner excessive. The developer suggested removing the grout and replacing with the right colour however I advised to do so would take a long time also there was a high risk of chipping the tiles.

The remedy I suggested was to recolour the grout lines with a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant. I have used this method successfully before and I could guarantee there would be no dust and minimal inconvenience to the family, it was an obvious solution. The original grout was grey which really stood out against the cream tile however being quite dark it was clear at least two coats of Ivory grout colourant would be needed.

The builder was happy to go ahead with this solution and we arranged a time to come back. The floor was a very large area so the work would take some time to complete.

Recolouring the Grout on a Porcelain Tiled Floor

Working in sections the first job was to wash and scrub the grout lines with Tile Doctor Grout Colourant Pre- Treatment Cleaner which lightly etches and cleans the grout lines to ensure an improved bond with the new colourant.

The grout was then dried off with some gentle assistance with a heat gun to speed up the process. Once dry the next task was to apply the first coat of Ivory colourant. The colourant is applied by dipping a small brush into the colourant then scrubbing it into the grout lines. Any residue left on the tiles is easily wiped off with a baby wipe to leave a nice crisp line. If you’re doing this yourself then it’s worth noting that Tile Doctor sell a Grout Colourant Kit that includes the pre-treater, colourant and the brush.

It took two days to complete the work saving the house builder thousands of pounds, there was no mess and the family were only slightly inconvenienced. The builder was that impressed we did six more homes on that estate and I understand he has since used the same process with another Tile Doctor in Yorkshire.

Another advantage of the grout colourant is that it forms an impervious layer over the grout, effectively sealing it in and making it much easier to keep clean going forward.

Professional Recolour of Grout on a Porcelain Tiled Floor in East Cheshire

The post Changing Grey Grout to Cream at Nether Alderley New Build appeared first on East Cheshire Tile Doctor.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Camden

Fri, 16 Aug 2019 00:46:23 +0000

This detailed Victorian tiled hallway at a property in Camden was overdue some much-needed repair and maintenance. The owners of the property appreciated that original period features like this add a lot of value to a property and asked me to visit the property to quote for renovating it. The property was in a terrace of similar properties most of which appeared to have retained their Victorian character.

I inspected the floor and found there were a couple of loose, cracked, worn and broken tiles that needed to be replaced. In addition, the floor tiles needed a deep clean and then seal to bring back the wow factor. I was confident we could renovate the floor but at that point unsure if we would be able to find exact match replacements for the damaged tiles. Fortunately, Victorian tiles are still in demand and I knew of several companies I could check with so I was confident they could be found.

We discussed how long the work would take and assuming I could source the replacements agreed a price for the full restoration of the floor. After doing some research I managed to find suitable replacements with a company called Original Style and the work was scheduled for the following month.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Firstly, we prepared all areas with protective tapes to threshold edges and skirting.
This was followed by spaying the tiles with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go which is product designed to remove old sealers and coatings. After about ten minutes the tiles were scrubbed with black scrubbing pads and scrubbing brushes. Fresh water was used to rinse the floor and the slurry was extracted using a wet vacuum.

The floor was inspected and then a second clean carried out, this time using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a Tile and Grout cleaning agent. The same process of application was used and after rinsing and extracting the dirt the tiles were given a steam clean. This ensured all the dirt was lifted out of the pores of the tile and the floor was now as clean as it possible could be.

The next step was the remove the loose and cracked tiles using the reclaimed tiles we had sourced earlier. Some cuts were necessary to get the replacements to match the originals but overall the plan worked. A quick drying adhesive was used to secure the tiles so we could apply the grout shortly after. The whole floor was then re-grouted and cleaned off to ensure a good match. The floor was left to dry off overnight, and you could already see it was now looking considerably improved.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning the next morning we checked the floor was dry using a moisture meter, this is important as to apply a sealer to damp tiles will lead to a patchy experience. All was well so we were ready to apply the sealer.

To start a single base coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer was applied to the floor and left to dry. This sealer is an impregnator that protects from within by occupying the pores in the clay tile improving colour in the process. This sealer does leave a matt finish however and the client wanted a subtle shine so one dry it was followed by four coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go. The combination of the two sealers works really well to add long lasting protection to the tiles and provide the desired finish to the floor.

The floor was much improved, and the client was delighted. The detailed pattern and colours were now much more prominent, and the hallway looked much more inviting for both the owner and their guests. For the aftercare of Victorian tiles, I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is pH neutral and won’t prematurely erode the life of the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in North London

The post Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Camden appeared first on North London Tile Doctor.

Kitchen Slate Floor with Inlaid Granite Renovated in Harrogate

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 02:32:55 +0000

I was recently asked to survey an unusual stone floor at a house in in Harrogate comprising of Slate inlaid with Granite. The client advised that it had not been cleaned properly for 20 years and wanted it renovating! It was now definitely overdue a deep clean and professional attention. Fortunately, having worked on these floors for many years I knew I could make a substantial impact and transform its appearance. Fossilized slate is a beautiful stone when cleaned and sealed correctly.

The owner confessed they had actually been sealing the floor every two years but without a deep clean first, so they were effectively sealing in the dirt each time. I discussed with them the process I would use to clean and re-seal the floor and we agreed a price to carry to out the work.

Cleaning Slate and Granite Tiled Kitchen Floor

To remove the layers of old sealer and dirt used a set of Tile Doctor Diamond Burnishing pads. The pads are attached to a rotary floor machine starting with the coarse 400-grit pad which was lubricated with a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go to help strip the floor of dirt and layers of sealer. After rinsing and extracting the soil I worked through the different grades of pads in sequence finishing with the 1500-grit and this time using just water for lubrication.

A set of diamond handheld burnishing blocks were then used to clean up the edges and corners where the large 17” pads struggle to reach. This ensures all areas are treated and free of dirt and old sealer.

The floor was then rinsed and extracted again to remove the remaining soil. I find a wet vacuum is an invaluable tool for this. The floor was then left to dry out overnight ready for sealing the next day.

Sealing a Granite and Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I returned the next day to seal the floor, first checking with a damp meter that the floor was dry, and the moisture reading was below the acceptable level. These results were fine, so I had a green light to continue and seal the stone.

The customer wanted a shine on the floor so rather than apply a satin sealer which I felt wouldn’t adhere to the stone properly I decided to polish the floor further with a the last of the four burnishing pads which is a very fine 3000-grit pad. You don’t need to use a lot of water with this last pad just a small amount sprayed onto the floor using a technique we refer to as a ‘Spray Burnish’.

To seal the floor, two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied. This is an impregnating matt sealer which intensifies the natural colours of this beautiful stone and provides long lasting durable protection.

Even I was impressed with the finished result but more importantly the client was over the moon. To keep the floor looking its best I recommended they use Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is pH neutral. You should always read the label in detail when choosing a floor cleaning product as many are too strong and not recommended for sealed stone surfaces as they will prematurely erode the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Slate and Granite Kitchen Floor in Yorkshire

The post Kitchen Slate Floor with Inlaid Granite Renovated in Harrogate appeared first on North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway Renovation in Sedbergh

Tue, 13 Aug 2019 00:36:05 +0000

This beautiful Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway at a property in the small Cumbrian town of Sedbergh had been covered by carpet and then Vinyl beneath the carpet. Far from causing an issue with the floor however it had protected the beautiful old tiles, but they needed a deep clean and seal. The client really wanted to make the most of the character features of the property and the hall floor was their first priority.

I discussed with the client the process of cleaning and we agreed a quote for the work, arranging a date for the work to be carried out later in the month. If you have never been Sedbergh is well worth a visit, it sits just within the Yorkshire Dales National Park at the foot of the Howgill Fells making it very popular with walkers.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor had a lovely decorative tile border that ran along the perimeter of the hallway however some damage had occurred when fitting central heating pipers many years earlier. There were also small holes around the edges that I suspect were used to secure the carpet gripper. To resolve this my first task was to replace the damaged tiles and fill the small holes with grout in a matching colour.

Once the repairs had set, I started the cleaning process with a coarse 200-grit Diamond pad followed by a 400-grit pad which were run over the floor using a weighed buffing machine. Only water is used during this process to add lubrication, no chemicals are needed and once done the floor is rinsed with water and the slurry removed with a wet vacuum.

The corners and edges which were are not accessible with the machine had to be done by hand, so we used small burnishing blocks for these. The Green block is great at getting the dirt off the tiles, but leaves the pores of the clay open, so this needs to be finished with the Black 100, Red 200 and Yellow 400 Diamond Block used in sequence which then matches the pores of the clay tiles in the rest of the floor.

We finished the clean, with a light acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up, left on the surface for no more than 5 minutes before rinsing and extracting. This process further cleans the floor and counters any potential efflorescence issues by neutralising alkaline salts in the floor. This is a common problem with old Victorian tiles which don’t have a damp-proof membrane.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor was left to dry out overnight and the next day I came back to inspect the floor and make sure it was dry so it could be sealed. Usually one night to dry is fine during the summer although in the winter sometimes it takes two or even three days. Sealers don’t cure well on damp floors resulting in a patchy appearance so before sealing we always check the floor is fully dry with a damp meter in several areas. Only once we are happy that the moisture readings in the floor are below a certain level do go ahead and apply a sealer.

To seal and protect the Victorian tile, a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied to the floor. Colour Grow is a fully breathable, colour enhancing sealer which ticks a lot of boxes for this type of floor as old floors don’t have a damp-proof membrane fitted. This is an important consideration as moisture will be also to rise through the tile from the subfloor and not get trapped underneath where it could spread to the walls. Other types of sealer such as acrylic, wax, polishes etc don’t last long if there is dampness in the floor. Tile Doctor Colour Grow copes well in these conditions and can be used in wet rooms, shower cubicles and external patio areas so its’s more than suitable for a slightly damp floor which is often the case with a Victorian base.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Cumbria

The post Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway Renovation in Sedbergh appeared first on South Cumbria Tile Doctor.

Restoring a Salt Satined Quarry Tiled Floor in Gamlingay

Fri, 09 Aug 2019 02:29:51 +0000

This quarry tiled floor in the village of Gamlingay had been subject to efflorescence salt staining over many years. This problem typically occurs in older houses where the floor has been laid without a damp-proof membrane allowing moisture to rise through the tile bringing with it salts from the sub floor. Gamlingay is located in South Cambridgeshire, near the border with Bedfordshire, is an ancient village which features in the Domesday Book. Not surprisingly a lot of the property here is quite old and includes sixty listed buildings.

Before the current owner moved in the property had been left dormant and empty with no heating which hadn’t helped the condition of the floor amongst other things. The white efflorescent salt staining was now very evident on the Quarry tiles and had caused a lot of damage to the surface of the floor. I discussed with the client how we could help and carried out a test clean. They were happy with the result and we agreed our quote to renovate the floor. We arranged to return later in the month.

Renovating a Salt Damaged Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

The cleaning began with the application of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was sprayed onto the tile and left to soak in for about ten minutes. The tiles were then scrubbed with a very coarse 200-grit diamond pad fitted to a rotary machine. The soil was then extracted using our van mounted hot water extraction system which makes light work of rinsing the floor and keeps the mess to a minimum. The combination of Tile Doctor Remove and Go and the coarse pad cleaned and resurfaced the tile improving the appearance of the floor and once the soil was removed you could really see the transformation.

We finished the cleaning process by giving the whole floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. The acid dissolves the alkaline salt still present in the floor and removes any grout haze still present on the tile. Once this had been scrubbed in it was rinse off and extracted using the hot water extraction system as before. The floor was then left to dry out which due to the lack of damp-proof membrane was expected to lake longer than usual, so we decided to leave the floor a few days.

Sealing an Old Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

We returned on a nice sunny day and first tested the floor with our damp-proof meter. This just tests the moisture levels in the floor to check they are to an acceptable level. If the floor is not dry the seal will not cure properly, and the process would be a waste. In this case the readings were fine, and I was happy the floor was dry enough to be sealed.

The client had requested the floor have a low sheen appearance and they didn’t want it to look too shiny. Given the floors history with Efflorescence however I needed to choose a sealer that would give the desired appearance but was also fully breathable and allow for moisture to rise through the tile. Trapping moisture under the tile with a non-breathable sealer can result in moisture spreading to the walls leading to rising damp.

On this occasion I opted to go with the application of Seal and Go extra which is fully breathable and leaves a subtle sheen appearance. The acid wash we gave the tiles should neutralise the alkaline salts and now the house was occupied the damp issues which had led to them occurring in the first place are less likely. I applied six coats of sealer, allowing each one to dry before applying the next.

As you can see from the pictures, the work made a dramatic difference to the floor and my client was delighted with the transformation.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Hallway in Cambridgeshire

The post Restoring a Salt Satined Quarry Tiled Floor in Gamlingay appeared first on Cambridge Tile Doctor.

Large Travertine Floor Renovated at Whirlow Rental Property

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 05:56:41 +0000

Travertine tiled floors are a great feature but do need regular maintenance to keep them looking good. This rarely happens correctly in rental properties and this was certainly the problem at this property in the affluent Sheffield suburb of Whirlow.

My client had rented out their beautiful house for the last ten years but were now moving back in. The property had been given a deep clean following the last rental and they were very disappointed with the Travertine tiled floor which looked dull, dirty and generally un-inviting. They were contemplating have the floor replaced but thought they would contact Tile Doctor first to see if could be improved.

I popped into the property to inspect the floor and work out the best method to clean the floor by completing a test clean. The Travertine responded well to the test and I was confident that the floor could be restored. The client was also pleased with the result and the potential of the floor and agreed our quote. We also agreed a date for the work which would take two days and booked it in for later in the month.

Cleaning a Travertine Tile and Grout

To rejuvenate Travertine, we use a system known as burnishing which gradually cleans and hones the stone to restore its polished appearance. It involves using a set of four diamond encrusted pads of different grits from coarse to fine. Each diamond pad is fitted to a rotary floor buffer and run over the floor with water for lubrication. The resulting slurry is then rinsed away with water and extracted using the wet vacuum.

Halfway through the pads I turned my attention to the grout which due to being recessed can be missed by the pads. To get this clean I apply a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, leave it to soak into the grout for five minutes and then scrub it in by hand with a narrow brush. The soil was then rinsed away with water and extracted with a wet vacuum as before.

It was a large area, so the tile and grout cleaning process took some time to complete. Once done the floor was given a final rinse and extraction and then left to dry out overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Downstairs Floor

The following morning, I returned to site ready to seal the floor first checking with a damp meter that the tiles were dry. We selected to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow to seal the floor, this is a colour enhancing sealer which improved the colour in the stone whilst protecting it from the inside by occupying the pores. It provides durable protection but also allows the floor to breathe. Three coats were applied, each coat is left to dry before applying the next.

Our client was over the moon with the results and was so thankful they didn’t end up ripping the floor up. Not only had it saved them the additional cost but also the disruption of the work as they were keen to move back in.

I suggested that to keep the floor maintained, they should invest in some Tile Doctor Stone Soap. This product improves patina and is pH neutral so will ensure that the newly applied seal stays in place and the floor remains protected.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Downstairs in South Yorkshire

The post Large Travertine Floor Renovated at Whirlow Rental Property appeared first on South Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

Removing Polymer Grout Haze from Wood Effect Ceramic tiles in Guildford

Mon, 05 Aug 2019 01:55:08 +0000

Grout haze or grout smears as it is often called can be a huge problem when laying tiles. Grout haze is basically grout that has been left to dry on the surface of the tile after installation. It’s a common problem which is exacerbated by the use of quick drying products. Take for example this interesting Wood Effect Ceramic Tile installation at a house in Guildford following installation by a builder.

I was a bit slow in following up on the initial enquiry as we had been very busy so by the time, I got in touch I was told they had employed someone else to carry out the work. I apologised for my late response and said to call me if he needed help in the future. Three days later I got a call so we arranged a visit so that I could carry out a test and quote a price.

As it turns out the builder had returned and failed to remove the grout haze and so had a rival firm that seemed more interested in selling unnecessary sealer than fixing the problem. I was astonished to see what a state the builder had left his floor. Grout was all over the floor with footprints walked across thresholds and more. I could understand it if there was some grout was missed after installation but not to this level!

I carried out a successful test and confirmed to the customer that there was absolutely no need to rip and replace his £2k floor. We agreed a date to resolve the problem and to say he was relieved was an understatement!

Removing Polymer Grout Haze

The builders had used Mapei grout which contains polymers. Polymers offer better flexibility and adhesion, however in order to remove the grout haze we would first need to break down the polymers in the grout first and this is why the rival firm failed.

With that in mind, my first action was to apply Tile Doctor Remove and Go to the floor and leave it to dwell for five to ten minutes. I then worked it into the tile using a scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine.

After washing the soil away with warm water and extracting with a wet vacuum I applied Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up to treat the grout. Grout Clean-up is an acid-based product that breaks down the grout so it can be rinsed away and extracted as before. Afterwards I rinsed the floor with warm water and extracted again to remove any trace of product and neutralise the floor. After removing as much moisture as possible with the wet vacuum I speed dried the tiles with a blower.

Wood Effect Ceramic Tile Installation Problem Resolved

Ceramic tiles won’t accept a sealer so once the floor had dried the job was finished and it took less than a day.

The customer was over the moon with the difference. While his floor was in such a state, he has been unable to bring in new furniture as the serious possibility of removing the tiles was hanging over him.

Relieved that the problem was now resolved he kindly left the following review:

“I had a floor that had just been laid with very heavy grout haze. I had already had advice from two other professional floor cleaners who had advised me that the floor was irreparable and would need to be pulled up. As soon as I spoke with Rupert, it was clear he was extremely knowledgeable. He asked questions none of the other companies had. By understanding the specific nature of the problem, he was able to solve it by first removing the grout polymers and then applying an acid wash. The floor came up brilliantly. Rupert was the only person I spoke to that could fix this, everyone else told me I needed to replace my floor! Superbly knowledgeable, professional and did an excellent job. Don’t bother speaking to anyone else, just call Rupert! “

Professional Clean of a Wood Effect Ceramic Tiled Hallway in West Surrey

The post Removing Polymer Grout Haze from Wood Effect Ceramic tiles in Guildford appeared first on West Surrey Tile Doctor.