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Quarry Tiled Floor Hidden Under Lino Restored in Ruislip

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 13:40:48 +0000

This client in Ruislip had discovered a Quarry tiled floor hidden under two layers of old (and now horrible) lino. Unhappy with the Lino she decided the best thing to do would be to investigate having the Quarry tiles restored. It is amazing how tastes change over the years and classic period floors are definitely making a comeback. Period features like these are quite sought after and can add a lot of value to a property, so restoring it was a wise decision and worth investigating.

On inspection the lino was well stuck to the tiles, it was clear it would take some time to lift and we wouldn’t know what to fully expect beneath until we started work. Non the less I gave her a quote for the work which she was happy to go ahead with and a date was booked in the diary.

Cleaning a Lino Covered Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

We started by removing the lino using various methods such as scraping, cutting, and pulling always mindful not to cause any damage to the tiles underneath. Unfortunately, the lino had been secured in place with strong adhesive so once we had removed the lino we were left with a thick layer of glue and a thin concrete screed that had been used to level the floor.

To deal with this the floor was soaked in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left to dwell for some time before being scrubbed in. We find doing this gives the product time to soften the compounds making it easier to remove. Hands scrapers were employed to scrape off the glue and again care was taken not to damage the tile. The process had to be repeated to get the glue off but overall, it did a good job dealing with the glue and cement.

Once the Quarry tiles had been exposed however it was clear more work was needed to clean them up. The main problem was cement residue, so I used a combination of Tile Doctor Acid Gel, steam and a needle gun to remove the rest of the screed from the floor.

The floor really did need a lot of work to restore it!

Once all of the cement was removed the floor was given a thorough rinse with water, the soil was then extracted with a wet vacuum and once I was satisfied it was as clean as it could be the floor was left to dry out overnight.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

On the second day the floor was first checked for moisture using a damp meter, its not a good idea to add sealer to damp tiles as it will effect the result. I was satisfied the floor was dry and began the process of applying a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow tile sealer. This is a colour intensifying sealer that will protect the Quarry tiles by soaking into the pores and occupying the space thereby preventing contaminates becoming ingrained in the tile. Additionally, Colour Grow is a fully breathable sealer which is an important consideration when sealing old floor like these which need to breath. Being covered in Vinyl for many years many also have trapped moisture under the floor.

The newly revealed quarry tiled floor responded amazingly well to the restoration and once the sealer had drier the Quarry tiles had a nice sheen appearance without looking too shiny. It was a lot of work but well worth the effort and my customer was delighted. For aftercare I recommended cleaning the floor with Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, this is pH balanced and will ensure the newly applied seal lasts and is not compromised.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Floor in South-Buckinghamshire

The post Quarry Tiled Floor Hidden Under Lino Restored in Ruislip appeared first on South Buckinghamshire Tile Doctor.

Travertine Floor Tiles Repaired and Polished in Old Near Brixworth

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 13:04:02 +0000

Polished Travertine is a popular tile which can look stunning, however without the correct maintenance regime in place it can soon turn dull and flat as my customer in the small village of Old near Brixworth discovered. In this case they had 40m2 of Travertine tiling installed in the living room and breakfast room which in particular had become dull, sticky, and hard to clean. On top of that a couple of holes had appeared in the main kitchen walkway areas which was causing concern.

I visited the property to carry out a site survey and conduct a test clean on the stained areas. My customer was relieved to see how well the grout and staining responded to the cleaning and we moved on to discuss how to repairs the holes. We see this a lot with Travertine where natural holes or pitting are usually filed with a resin before being sold but the problem can be exacerbated with the use of acidic cleaning products. Holes also trap dirt which can accumulates quickly as dirt is washed into the holes during cleaning detracting from the appearance of the stone.

To resolve I planned on filling the holes with a resin and then re-polishing the floor to make it blend in. A quote was issued via e mail which was accepted, and a date booked in the diary for work to be carried.

Cleaning and Restoring Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On the day I arrived the customer had prepared the work area by removing all small items of furniture. My first step was to brush and vacuum the area to remove any loose debris. I then sprayed the floor with a dilution of Tile doctor Pro-Clean focusing on the heavily soiled areas and grout lines throughout the breakfast area and then left to soak in for ten minutes. After scrubbing the grout with a grout brush the area was rinsed with a small amount of water and the area dried using a wet vacuum. This process was then repeated in the kitchen.

Tile Doctor has found the best way to renovate polished stone is to use a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads to hone the stone and build back the polish. Usually this involved applying a set of for or five pads of different grits depending on the severity of soiling and any surface scratches. I started with the coarsest grit and worked through in sequence to the finer grits to achieve a polished finish. Water is used to lubricate the process and the floor is rinsed and extracted between pads.

Once this process was completed, I dried the damaged tiles with a heat gun so I could fill them. I mixed a resin that closely matched the white and brown colours of the Travertine and filled in the holes, smoothing, and polishing with handheld diamond blocks to achieve a smooth finish.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

When we returned the next day, the floor had dried, and I was able to give the floor a final polish with a very fine 3000-grit burnishing pad applied with a little water sprayed onto the tile. Finally, the floor was then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which provides excellent protection without changing the colour of the stone to provide a natural look.

Last step was to provide some advice on how to maintain the floor going forward for which I recommend Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for cleaning polished stone floors. The client was over the moon with the outcome and surprised at the improvement, they also left the following review for me which is always a nice surprise.

Fantastic work, my floor looks wonderful it didn’t look this good when it was laid thirteen years ago, I will definitely look after the travertine now and have the floor cleaned and resealed every year.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Northamptonshire

The post Travertine Floor Tiles Repaired and Polished in Old Near Brixworth appeared first on Northamptonshire Tile Doctor.

Cleaning and Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Floor in Witney

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 12:10:25 +0000

I was called in by a client from the Cotswolds market town of Witney who had lifted up a carpet to discover a Terracotta tiled floor underneath. Although the floor was in good physical condition the carpet and underlay had been trapping moisture from evaporating resulting. Old floors like this one were laid before damp proof membranes became standard so covering them up can cause damp issues. It is important to allow moisture from underneath tiled floors to evaporate unimpeded otherwise moisture can reach out to the walls resulting in rising damp.

Moisture can also penetrate the pores of the clay Terracotta tile potentially leading to its degradation over time and in this case resulted in the appearance of white efflorescent salts being deposited on the tile surface causing unsightly staining.

Cleaning Terracotta Tile

I started cleaning the Terracotta by doing applying strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an effective alkaline tile cleaner. For best results I spread the solution on the floor and then leave it to dwell and soak in for up to twenty minutes. This gives the product time to eat into the dirt and old coatings before being scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary floor machine. This worked very well on the floor and the cleaning solution was soon dirty with the released soil which was removed using a wet vacuum and more water to rinse it away and dry the floor as much as possible.

To remove the white efflorescent staining the floor was given an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is designed for removing grout and other mineral stains from tiling. This was brushed into the tile and grout by hand and left to fizz as it reacted with the efflorescence. After another rinse and extract with the wet vacuum the floor was left to dry out for a couple of days. The next step would be to seal the Terracotta and for best results the tile needs to be dry.

Sealing Terracotta Tile

On my return I checked the tiles were dry by taking a few moisture readings with a damp meter. The readings came back fine so I need not have been concerned however Terracotta tiles being made from clay are very porous so its always a good idea to check.

Given the previous issues with damp I knew I would need to use a fully breathable sealer, so I opted to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This product will cope well with the moisture and contains a colour enhancing formula that really brings out the red colour of the Terracotta.

Except for a few deep efflorescent stains in the grout, the floor responded very well to the treatment and made a massive improvement to the overall appearance. My client was pleased with the transformation and the newly restored floor matched well with the character of the property.

Terracotta Floor Cleaned and Sealed in the Cotswolds

The post Cleaning and Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Floor in Witney appeared first on Oxfordshire Tile Doctor.

Maintaining a Slated Tiled Floor and Grout Recolouring in Epsom

Sat, 10 Oct 2020 14:42:00 +0000

I thought you might be interested to know that I have numerous clients that I visit every year to maintain the finish on their floor. We call this service “a maintenance program” and is ideal for clients who wish to maintain a deep polish on their stone which will diminish with use and over time. The example below details a recent maintenance visit to a client in Epsom who has a Slate tiled Kitchen and Conservatory floor and likes the high gloss finish of the Slate topped up every year.

The process usually involves a basic clean and the reapplication of a fresh coat of sealer and polish. The big advantage with a maintenance plan is I know the history of the floor so there are no surprises and no need for a pre-site visit. On this occasion however my client wanted me to do something about the colour of the grout. The problem is he has three spaniels and three cats who gradually discolour the white grout with dirt. Although I clean it on each visit it was clear that the white grout was a problem and so he asked me to colour the grout in a charcoal colour to match the slate to make the problem less obvious.

Cleaning a Slate Tiled Kitchen and Conservatory Floor

Over the years I had probably applied 15 plus coats of sealer to these tiles and grout. There is no way I could paint the grout colourant on top of the sealer as it just wouldn’t adhere. To resolve this, I started by using a Fein tool with an occulting abrasive blade along the grout line. It was painstaking work but did the job of removing the sealer and ironically any dirt.

I used a vacuum to clean up and then set about cleaning the floor and bringing up the polish on the Slate tiles using a 3000-grit diamond pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer. A small amount of water is squirted onto the tiles during buffing to help the process but essentially the floor is dry. Once done the Slate tiles were now ready for a new application of sealer but not the grout.

Colouring White Grout Charcoal in Epsom

For the next four hours I painstakingly painted charcoal grey grout colourant into the grout lines being careful not to touch the tiles. Grout colourant is an excellent product but dries very quickly. Any excess must be removed immediately.

Normally I recommend using a Grout Colourant Pre-Treater before applying the colourant as you get a better bond with the colourant. On this occasion however the Fein Tool had already cleaned and roughened the surface of the grout, so it wasn’t necessary.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Kitchen and Conservatory Floor

Once the grout colourant was dry, I was able to move onto the last phase of the visit and apply the sealer. The three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were used to seal the floor which I find works well on Slate and as you can see from the photos gave the desired gloss effect the customer wished for. Each coat is left to dry before applying the next one.

I don’t normally recommend using a gloss effect sealer on Slate where you have pets who can scratch the tile, especially in a high traffic area such as a kitchen however he understands this but I guess he likes the shine.

Professional Restoration of a Slate Tiled Kitchen and Conservatory in West Surrey

The post Maintaining a Slated Tiled Floor and Grout Recolouring in Epsom appeared first on West Surrey Tile Doctor.

Classic Black and White Marble Floor Renovated in Bamber Bridge

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 16:31:32 +0000

The tiles shown in the photographs below are classic distressed Black and White Italian Marble installed in the kitchen of a property in Bamber Bridge which is South of Preston. Some of the tiles had an issue with loose grout which I suspect was due to the suspended wooden floor and a small amount of movement had resulted in the grout cracking.

Ideally more support would be needed under the floor to prevent this, in the meantime however I recommended removing the grout and replacing with a flexible grout product that could cope with the movement. The tiles also needed a clean, polish and reseal so it made sense to address the issue with the grout as part of the work.

Cleaning and Re-grouting a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor

Working as a two-man team we started by cleaning the floor with a set of diamond burnishing pads starting with a coarse 400-grit, followed by 800 and 1500 grit. Water was used to lubricate the process and the floor was rinsed with water between pads with the fine slurry generated by the process extracted using a wet vacuum. These pads remove ingrained dirt and then slowly refine the appearance of the Marble building up its polished appearance in the process.

The next step was to rake out all the grout which as discussed was compromised and needed replacing. We had to be very careful when removing the grout due to the electric heating mat under the floor, any damage to that would require ripping the floor up. With the old grout removed and the floor cleaned the floor was then grouted using Mapei Ultra-colour which is a flexible and fully waterproof grout more than suitable for this situation.

Between us we managed to pack a lot into day one which was tough, however with the hardest tasks out of the way day two should be a lot easier.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor

Day two started with an initial clean making sure to remove any excess grout smeared on the surface that can affect the look of the tile if not removed. This was followed by the application of the last of the set of burnishing pads which is a 3,000-grit pad that really brings up the polish on the marble. You only need a small amount of water sprayed onto the floor when applying this last pad so by late morning the floor was dry and ready for sealing. The customer wanted a better sheen appearance than they previously had, fortunately we find the Diamond burnishing pads do this well, they also tighten up the pores of the stone as well which means less sealer is needed.

The floor was then sealed with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that improves colour and soaks into the stone occupying the pores and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained. Once complete the floor looked great and the client was very happy.

Sealers and Polish do wear down with use over time so before leaving I discussed our annual maintenance plan option which will ensure the appearance of the Marble floor always looks good. The plan involves returning once a year to further polish the floor with a high-grade burnishing pad and to add more sealer if required. We also discussed the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap for regular cleaning, it is a pH neutral cleaner which is ideal for stone floors like Marble which are acid sensitive.

Professional Restoration of a Marble Tiled Kitchen in Lancashire

The post Classic Black and White Marble Floor Renovated in Bamber Bridge appeared first on Tile Doctor Lancashire.

Gorgeous Yorkstone Floor uncovered at Sheffield Rental Property

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 13:55:11 +0000

A property investor recently purchased a house in Sheffield with a Yorkstone floor. His plan was to renovate the house and then let it as student accommodation. Not such a bad plan considering Sheffield is home to two universities and 60,000 students making it a real student city. The Universities here rank in the top 100 worldwide and Sheffield Hallam University is the 11th largest in the UK.

The Yorkstone floor had been covered up for a very long time and having ripped out the kitchen units decided not only was it a lovely feature he’d like to keep but it also made financial sense to restore the floor as to replace it would have cost a lot more. Having searched the internet for a solution he came across Tile Doctor and I was asked to call in to quote for restoring the floor.

On inspection the floor looked to be in good physical condition, it had been protected by the floor coverings but was very dirty. Additionally, I could see adhesive residue where the flooring had been laid on top of the stone. I conducted a test clean which went well so we agreed a price for the work and got the job booked in. Naturally, he was keen to fit in the work with the schedule of the new kitchen going in, fortunately we were able to work around the dates.

Cleaning and Restoring a Yorkstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

A nice empty room always makes a job easier, as we don’t need to do too much preparation to protect existing fittings. We started with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was applied to the floor and left to dwell for ten minutes. During this time, the Pro-Clean gets to work breaking down the old floor coatings including dirt and grime. The solution was then scrubbed into the floor using a Black pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer. The Black pad does a fantastic job of scrubbing away all the old dirt and getting the stone clean. Once this was done the thick brown slurry generated was extracted using the wet vacuum and the floor was thoroughly rinsed with water. After inspecting the Yorkstone I repeated the process in a couple of the areas where there were some stubborn stains until I was happy the stone was as clean as it possible could be. After a final rinse and extraction, the floor was left overnight to dry.

Sealing a Yorkstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

Returning the following morning, I used a digital moisture meter to test if the floor was dry enough to seal. You shouldn’t apply a sealer if the floor has a high moisture reading as it will impact the sealer curing which can lead to unexpected results.

To seal the Yorkstone and add protection from ingrained dirt I selected Tile Doctor Seal & Go which leaves a beautiful satin finish that adds a protective barrier over the stone. This will ensure that the floor stands up to the heavy traffic of the new tenants moving in, additionally it’s a water-based sealer so it doesn’t give off a smell as it dries.

It was amazing to see the transformation of the Yorkstone flagstones and my client was very pleased with the work. For aftercare cleaning of these floors I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner however I find with rental properties there is no guarantee the tenants will use it.

Professional Restoration of a Yorkstone Tiled Kitchen in South Yorkshire

The post Gorgeous Yorkstone Floor uncovered at Sheffield Rental Property appeared first on South Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

Cream Limestone Floor Refurbished in Cambridge

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 15:26:14 +0000

The pictures below are of a Cream Limestone floor that I was recently asked to renovate in Cambridge. Limestone tile had been installed throughout much of the ground floor and due to the original sealer wearing off it had started absorbing dirt into the pores of the stone. This is an inevitable problem with natural stone and once ingrained with dirt the tiles looked permanently dirty despite the efforts of the owner to clean them.

Having visited the property to survey the floor, I discussed with the owner the process required to deep clean and polish the stone back to health. Happy with my quotation we agreed a date for the work to be carried out.

Cleaning and Polishing a Large Limestone Tiled Floor

To renovate the stone back to its original condition it need to be honed with a series of floor burnishing pads from 400 through to 3000 grit. Some areas were worse than others especially those which had a heavy traffic flow, i.e. kitchen, hallway, and dining room. For those areas I dropped right down to a very coarse a 200-grit burnishing pad to really get into the pores of the stone before moving on to the 400-grit.

During the first stage of honing I also applied a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was worked into the limestone with the burnishing pad. The process does generate a lot of soil which needs to be removed after each pad. For this I have a van mounted extraction system that applies hot pressurised water onto the floor and then simultaneously extracts the soil back into a collection tank using a vacuum. It is very efficient and saves a lot of time when cleaning a large floor like this, it also has the added benefit of keeping the floor reasonably dry and keeping the mess to a minimum.

I progressed through the other pads including 400, 800 and 1500-grit using water to lubricate the burnishing process and the van mounted cleaning system to clean up afterwards. The last 3000 grit pad is applied using a little water sprayed onto the floor which is a process we call a spray burnish and really brings up the polish on the Limestone. With the pad being applied dry it also leaves the tile dry and ready for sealing.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Ground Floor

Once the honing was complete, I did a quick test with the moisture meter to ensure the floor was dry enough to seal. Due to only using minimum water during the burnishing and the large area of the floor the areas I had started on were dry enough to seal. I applied multiple coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, this is an impregnating sealer which gives the floor protection and a nice sheen. Any excess sealer was buffed off with a red pad.

During the work there were multiple trades working on the house, so in all the work took five days to complete. The client was extremely pleased with the final finish and our flexibility in working around the other tradesmen. He also left the following testimonial on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“We cannot recommend Tom Conlon highly enough. Our indoor limestone floors hadn’t been attended to in 15 years and we are thrilled with the result. Our house is rejuvenated. Tom was always professional, punctual and accommodating over the five days the work took. We would definitely ask him back for any other work in the future. Thank you Tom.”

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Tiled Floors in Cambridgeshire

The post Cream Limestone Floor Refurbished in Cambridge appeared first on Cambridge Tile Doctor.

Removing Wax from 30-Year-Old Terracotta Flooring in Dursley

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 12:29:46 +0000

Our client contacted us to find out if anything could be done about his Terracotta tiled floor which has been laid thirty years prior in the Conservatory and Kitchen of his house in Dursley. I went over to survey the floors and conduct a test clean on part of the floor to see what would be needed to renovate it. Fortunately, the customer knew the maintenance history of the floor and had told me for the last thirty years they had been applying wax which can be tricky to remove.

The test clean went well and he was amazed how clean I managed to get the tile so confident in a good result a date was booked in for us to return to do the whole floor. We find surveying the floor before pricing is the most accurate way to provide a quotation as there are no surprises for all concerned.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Conservatory Floor

On arrival the first task was to cover all the skirting boards, walls, and units to protect them. The floor was really dirty, and I could see we would need to conduct a lot of rinsing with water to remove the soiling. Having been informed about the wax covering from my earlier visit I was able to start stripping off the old layers of wax using a Tile Doctor product called Wax-Away which is made for this type of work. The product was mopped onto the floor, left to soak in for ten minutes and then scrubbed in with a black burnishing pad fitted to a rotary floor buffing machine. The soil was then rinsed away with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

This process was repeated until I was happy the wax had been removed and then I turned my attention to the grout which was really ingrained with dirt. For this I sprayed on Tile Doctor Remove and Go, left it to dwell for ten minutes as before and then set about scrubbing it clean. Once this was complete and I was happy with the results the floor was washed with fresh water twice to remove any trace of product and the floor dried with the wet vacuum.

The floor was then covered with dust sheets so the customer could carry on using the floor as normal whilst we left it to dry out for three days. Terracotta is very porous and needs to be bone dry before sealing to achieve the best result.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Conservatory and Kitchen Floor

On our return 3 days later, I did a moisture test to ensure the floor was dry. The results were good, so I set about sealing the Terracotta with Tile Doctor Seal and Go which was the best sealer for this type of floor. I applied seven coats which takes some time as you need to ensure each coat has dried before applying the next. This sealer leaves a nice sheen but also allows the Orangey/Red colour in the Terracotta to come through.

Once complete it was clear the deep clean and fresh seal had given the rooms a new lease of life and my client could not believe how well it had come up. For aftercare I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is designed for the day to day cleaning of sealed tiles.

Professional Renovation of a Terracotta Tiled Conservatory and Kitchen Floor in Gloucestershire

The post Removing Wax from 30-Year-Old Terracotta Flooring in Dursley appeared first on Gloucester Tile Doctor.

Red Sandstone Kitchen Flagstones Renovated in Kirkby Lonsdale

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 11:57:19 +0000

The client in Kirkby Lonsdale called us in to sort out deep staining on the kitchen and utility floor area which was laid with Red Sandstone throughout. The stone flags were in quite a state mainly due to a failed sealer which allowed dirt to become ingrained in the stone. Sealers do wear down off over time especially in busy areas such as kitchens and once the sealer has gone the stone has little protection.

Cleaning a Red Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

Work started by removing the kick boards under the kitchen units where we could, some were stuck fast so to protect them from water ingress during cleaning a silicone sealant was applied. We have learned from experience that although kitchen units are often sold as solid wood the kick boards underneath the units are often made from cheaper chipboard and thus very susceptible to water damage. They can blow within 15 to 20 minutes of water standing underneath, and we find silicone is a simple and effective answer to this issue.

To renovate the sandstone, a very coarse 100-grit milling pad was worked into the floor using a heavy weighted floor buffer and water to lubricate the process. This process cuts into the surface of the sandstone to strip off a very thin layer to reveal uncontaminated stone underneath. The slurry generated is rinsed off with more water and extracted with a wet vacuum. The process is repeated with a 200-grit pad that refines the surface.

Following this the floor and especially the grout is given a scrub with Tile Doctor Pro Clean. This is worked in with a black scrubbing pad and then rinsed off with more water and the wet vacuum. We always make a point to clean behind washing machines, tumble dryers, fridges etc wherever we can as you can see in the pictures.

Once the cleaning process was over the floor was dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum and it was left to dry out overnight.

Sealing a Red Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

The next day we returned to seal the floor before doing so however moisture readings were taken from the stone; we are a big believer in letting the stone or tiles fully dry out before they are sealed otherwise if the stone or tiles are still damp then the sealer won’t cure correctly. There are occasions where you can clean and seal the same day i.e. upright showers but when it comes to a thick stone like sandstone it really needs time to dry out before applying a sealer.

I mention this because there are certain companies which will offer a clean and seal on the same day. At Tile Doctor we are trained to do the job correctly and not to cut corners, if there is a problem with the job you can rely on us to come back and put it right.

On this occasion three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within and enhancing the natural colours in the stone. It works really well on Red Sandstone and added a nice lift to the appearance of the floor.

The client was very happy with the renovated floor and before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare. I cannot stress how important it is to use the correct cleaning product when it comes to a cleaning a sealed floor, so for cleaning I always leave the customer with a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. Many regular floor cleaning products you find in supermarkets will strip the sealer off a floor, so it is well worth checking the label before choosing a cleaner.

Professional Restoration of a Red Sandstone Kitchen in South Cumbria

The post Red Sandstone Kitchen Flagstones Renovated in Kirkby Lonsdale appeared first on South Cumbria Tile Doctor.

Tile Restoration at Fishmongers Shop in Kingston

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 15:11:29 +0000

And now for something different. A customer called me in a flap before Christmas. He had just taken over the lease of a former fishmongers in Kingston Upon Thames and needed help renovating the white ceramic wall tiles and vinyl flooring which was in a state. But that was only part of the problem, his business was selling rugs and with the previous tenant being a fishmonger there was a fishy odour that also needed dealing with.

The previous shop fittings had been glued and screwed to the wall so when they were ripped out it took some of the ceramic wall tiles with them, leaving gaps in the tiling, glue staining and trapped dirt.

I popped in to have a look and was able to give him a quote for the cleaning and restoration work, he was happy with the cost and wanted to me to get started as soon as possible.

Restoring Ceramic Wall Tiles in a Fishmongers Retail Unit

I started by tackling the glue using sharp blades and a chisel combined with plenty of elbow grease. Then the ceramic tile and grout was cleaned with Tile Doctor Pro Clean which was diluted with water and decanted into a spray bottle so it could be sprayed onto the wall tiles. Doing it this way mixes it with air making it lighter and allowing it to stick to the vertical tiling for longer. After ten minutes of soaking into the dirt it was scrubbed in by hand into the tile and especially the grout lines with a stiff brush. There was a lot to do and so more elbow grease needed. Afterwards the walls were carefully rinsed off with water to remove the soiling.

The next task was to replace many tiles near the ceiling and electric sockets using rapid setting adhesive so they could be grouted later the same day. All holes and verticals were then filled with mastic. They were a generic white tile, so I was able to blend the replacement tiles in without too much trouble.

Deep Cleaning Vinyl Flooring in a Fishmongers Retail Unit

Once the wall tiles were done, I moved my attention to the vinyl flooring which was in good physical condition but in need of a deep clean. To resolve this, I applied more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean solution which was scrubbed in with a rotating floor buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad.

The soil was then extracted with a wet vacuum and left to dry off. There was a huge amount of dirt removed which had obviously built up over a long period of time.

The wall tiles were glazed ceramic so do not require a sealer to be applied, similarly the vinyl did not warrant any further treatment either so once everything was fully dry, I was done. I handed the unit back over to the new tenant who was ready to cover my carefully cleaned wall with rugs and start trading. Thankfully, the shop now smells good too.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Worcestershire

The post Tile Restoration at Fishmongers Shop in Kingston appeared first on West Surrey Tile Doctor.

Glazed Ceramic Mosaic Bathroom Tiles Restored in Levenshulme

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 01:13:59 +0000

I recently visited a property in Levenshulme where the bathroom tiling and grout needed renovation. Although they resembled small square mosaic tiles, they were actually large 45cm x 60cm sheets of glazed ceramic tiles which are easier to install and require less grouting.

Over time the tiles had attracted a lot of dirt from showering and now needed a good clean, additionally mould had got a grip on the lower tiling and mastic sealant between the tile and bath.

Levenshulme sits halfway between Manchester City centre and Stockport and was recently declared by the Times Newspaper as one of the best places to live in the North West. It’s actually only a few miles drive from my base so well within my service area.

Cleaning White Ceramic Mosaic Bathroom Tiles

Normally I would look to renovate the grout lines with a grout colourant however grout had only been used between the sheets of tiles and what appeared to be grout between the small square mosaic tiles was in fact part of the glaze. I knew the colourant would struggle to achieve a bond with a glazed surface and so my only option would be to give the tiles a good scrub with a strong cleaning product.

My solution was to spay the tiles with Tile Doctor Duo Clean which is an effective double action grout cleaner and mould remover. It’s designed for cleaning up bathroom tile and can remove mould and blackspot from grout and silicone. I worked in sections allowing the product to soak in for a good ten minutes before scrubbing it in by hand with a stiff brush. After rinsing the tiles down with water, they were inspected and the procedure re-applied if needed. I found in fact that I had to do this several times before I was happy with the tile, grout and silicone were as clean as the could be. I often find longer dwell times can help the situation.

The bathroom looked new by the time I had finished, it was quite the transformation and my client was really happy with the result and left a long testimonial for me which is copied below.

I could not be happier with Kamila’s work. She is delightful, efficient, and quite frankly a genius. My tiles were horrible and my bathroom seal mouldy and disgusting. Now thanks to Kamila I feel like I ha e a new bathroom all over again. She has done the most amazing job and I am so so pleased. I cannot recommend her highly enough! She has done the most outstanding job and the results are better than I could ever have dreamed of. Thank you so much Lancaster last year. It’s a great example of the typical problems we face with old Victorian floors, especially around door thresholds where the transition between the different foundation invariable cause problems.

I didn’t know the full history of the floor, but it was now in quite a state and recent renovation work had left the floor unstable with loose and cracked tiles. The tiles needed to be removed and then the damaged subfloor carefully scraped out and replaced. Once that was done the floor would need relaying and then cleaned and sealed so everything would blend in.

After visiting the property and providing a quotation we were given the go ahead and agreed a date to do the work.

Repairing a Yellow and Black Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

We returned on the agreed date and set about carefully removing the loose and cracked Victorian tiles and put them aside for later use. Some would need replacing however this would not present a problem and they are still widely available, and I have several contacts I can turn to for this.

Once this was done and the subfloor exposed and cleaned up, I used self-levelling cement to bring the floor level up and in-line with the existing. This now needed to set hard, so the rest of the day was spent cleaning up the tiles we removed earlier with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up and Pro-clean. Our goal is to reuse as many of the original tiles as possible to preserve the heritage of the floor.

The next day with the new subfloor set it was ready for tiling. This involves laying out the tiles first without adhesive carefully cutting and fitting new tiles as needed to maintain the overall pattern of the floor. Once I was happy the tiles were moved to a board and then fitted with fresh adhesive.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I came back on day three with the aim of cleaning the floor so it could be sealed however whilst inspecting my new tiling I was disappointed to discover some were not as level as I had hoped. I had noticed the replacement tiles were not the same thickness as the originals the previous day but I had worked around this by using different levels of adhesive, clearly this plan was not as effective as I had hoped for.

To counter this problem, I used a set of 50-Grit, 100-grit and then 200-grit diamond pads in sequence to mill the floor flat and remove the lippage between them. This is done with water to lubricate the process and a weighted floor buffer. The pads generate a lot of slurry and so you need to rinse this off with more water and extract all the soil after each pad.

I followed this up with various Diamond burnishing pads of increasingly finer grits across the whole floor until we achieved a consistent finish and had the added benefit of getting the whole floor clean. More water is used to rinse the tiles after burnishing and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum as before. Once done and inspected the floor was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Large Victorian Tiled Floor
Tile Doctor Colour Grow was applied to enhance the appearance of the tiles and protect them going forward. This product copes well with damp which can always be a problem with old floors like this one with no damp proof membrane present.

The floor looked amazing when finished and our attention to detail had really paid off, in fact you simply could not tell we had done any tiling work or replaced any tiles. For aftercare I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is designed for the regular cleaning of sealed tiles.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Lancashire

The post Yellow and Black Victorian Hallway Floor Tiling Restored in Lancaster appeared first on Tile Doctor Lancashire.

Encaustic Tiled Bathroom Floor Renovated Twickenham

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 13:55:59 +0000

The pictures below are of an Encaustic Cement tiled floor that had been installed in the bathroom of a property in Twickenham. At the time the tiles were installed, they did not seal them and had since accumulated dirt, especially in the grout lines.

Encaustic cement tiles have become extremely popular in the last few years with many beautiful artistic often geometric patterns available to choose from. The very nature of the cement-based tile however does make it slightly porous, and if left unsealed dirt will become ingrained in the tile making it difficult to remove and keep clean. Like grout they do therefore need to be sealed in order to keep them looking at their best for longer.

Cleaning Encaustic Cement Tile and Grout

Now we normally recommend using diamond encrusted burnishing pads when renovating Encaustic Cement tiles however in this case the face of the tiles were not too bad and it was really the grout that needed the most attention. So, to cut the cost for customer, I advised a straightforward alkaline scrub clean and seal.

To clean the tile and grout I sprayed the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and left it to soak into the dirt for ten minutes. Space in the bathroom was quite tight so instead of using a mechanical floor scrubber I scrubbed the tile and grout by hand working the alkaline cleaning solution into the pores to release the grout in dirt.

After scrubbing the floor was rinsed with a little water and the soil removed with a wet vacuum. Afterwards the floor was inspected, and any stubborn areas retreated with repeat of the process. After a final rinse, the floor was dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum.

Sealing Encaustic Cement Tiles

Fortunately, the weather has been amazing of late and so it did not take long for the floor to dry, being a small space and a little encouragement from a heat gun always helps. Removing excess moisture before sealing is essential as even a small amount can cloud the sealer resulting in an uneven appearance.

Once satisfied that the floor was dry, I proceeded to seal it by applying a couple two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow across the Encaustic tile and grout. As an impregnating sealer Colour Grow penetrates the pores of the cement occupying the space and thus prevent any dirt from becoming ingrained there. Colour Grow’s colour intensifying properties also helped to deepen the black colour of the tile enhancing the contrast between the tiles and grout.

Now the floor has been properly sealed it will be far easier for the customer to keep them clean in future. For maximum longevity of the sealer I recommend maintenance cleaning with Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner. Don’t be tempted to use supermarket cleaning products without reading the label first, many are simply too strong for cleaning sealed surfaces and will strip off the sealer prematurely leaving the tiles unprotected.

Professional Cleaning and Sealing of Encaustic Cement Tile and Grout in Middlesex

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Patchy Grout on Porcelain Floor Restored in Darton New Build

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 13:02:29 +0000

Recently it seems I am getting called out to an increasing number of new builds to sort out patchy grout issues. The reason why there have been so many issues arising is a bit of a mystery, but I put it down to a combination of things like poor quality grout, rushed installations, wet subfloors and the use of different batches.

This recently built house in the village of Darton is a great example and in this case, I suspect two different batches of the same grout had been applied. Darton by the way is a small village in the Borough of Barnsley.

Invariably these problems are picked up by the new owner on their snagging list, with the tiler long gone and the builder keen to get their final payment it is always a tricky situation to resolve. I find the best solution is to apply a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant, it’s a much quicker process than removing the old grout and replacing with new. Most new homeowners would not appreciate us ripping up their brand-new rooms and generating lots of dust in the process! Also, by using the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant it adds a barrier of the grout preventing dirt from discolouring it further down the line.

Restoring grout a Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor

Even though the house was brand new, the Porcelain Tiled floor was not looking great. The client was happy for me to go ahead and would take up the bill with the housebuilder. I first pre-treated it with Tile Doctors Grout Colourant Pre-Treatment. This removes any contamination from the grout which might affect the adhesion of the colourant and being an acid, it also etches the surface of the grout to ensure a superior bond with the colourant.

The client chose our Light Grey colour which is one of 10 colours we offer. Once the pre-treatment had been applied, scrubbed, rinsed, and vacuumed away the floor was left to dry. Once dry we started applying the colourant, this is done with a small brush (a toothbrush is ideal) carefully scrubbing colourant into each grout joint and wiping off any excess that gets on the tiles before it is able to dry.

Once complete the newly coloured grout lines totally transformed the floor and because the grout colorant is epoxy based the grout lines will stay stain free and never get dirty.
The porcelain tiles were factory sealed so there is no need to apply a seal to the floor.

I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to keep the floor in the best condition. It is pH neutral so is far less harsh on the surface than the everyday household cleaners available. It has a minty fragrance and is mild enough to use daily. They were very happy that the floor now looked as it should have from the start and was the finishing touch to their beautiful new home.

Professional Kitchen Grout Restoration in South Yorkshire Kitchen

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Restoring White Grout on a Ceramic Tiled Floor in Wilmslow

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 13:03:29 +0000

I was contacted by a lady in Wilmslow who had a ceramic tiled floor that had been installed around eight years ago with white grout. Any tiler will tell you that white floor grout gets dirty very quickly and most advise against it. You can seal the grout which will protect it for longer however even sealers wear down over time, especially on a busy floor. Cleaning is also an option but unless done frequently it will start to darken. This was the case with this floor and now eight years later the Ceramic Tiles which are protected by a glaze still looked good but were being let down by the grout which had indeed become black.

My customer had been cleaning the floor on a regular basis but was now unhappy with the appearance of the tiles due to the dark grout and wanted the colour restored. Grout cleaning is not an issue and I was happy to do that however it will only improve by 75-80% of how it was when new and I cannot guarantee the removal of deep-seated staining. The only way to get it 100% and looking like new was to apply our Tile Doctor White Grout Colourant which is a hard-wearing epoxy covering that adheres to the grout, restoring the colour whilst protecting it. Keeping that as an option my customer asked for the grout cleaning and sealing service that we offer. This involves deep cleaning the grout and then sealing it to prevent the dirt from becoming ingrained again. We agreed we could always look at recolouring the grout later if necessary.

Cleaning the Grout on a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor

To deep clean the grout I applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go across the floor, I left it to soak into the grout for ten to twenty minutes and then scrubbed it in with a stiff hand brush and followed up with a high pressure steam cleaner. The slurry was vacuumed off the floor using a wet/dry vacuum and the process reapplied where needed. This process really got a lot of the dirt out of the grout and returned the white colour transforming the appearance of the floor.

Sealing Grout on a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor

The grout was left to dry for a few hours and then sealed using Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is carefully applied onto the grout line using a pipette. Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal is a natural look sealer that is almost invisible, as a result it does not darken the look of the grout. Sealing the grout in will protect it from staining and ensure it keeps its white appearance for much longer.

My customer was very happy to see her white grout restored and so didn’t require the application of a Grout Colourant this time. She did say she would recommend us to friends and neighbours which is always a bonus!

Professional Restoration of the Grout on a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor in East Cheshire

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Terracotta Floor Restored at 400-Year-Old Cottage in Leatherhead

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 11:43:21 +0000

This client had acquired a 400-year old cottage in Leatherhead as part of his divorce agreement. The front room was tiled with Terracotta which is a soft stone and particularly porous. The tiles had seen a lot of wear and use over the years and were now in need of some love.

He emailed over some photographs however it’s difficult to tell the best remedy without doing any testing, so I arranged visit the property and take a proper look. It was immediately clear the Terracotta had become badly discoloured in places some of which was from burning logs which had previously fallen from the fireplace onto the tiles. There was also a considerable amount of red paint around the edges that would need removing.

This work would take two days with at least 48 hours in-between days to allow for evaporation as a wet tile cannot be sealed. The client was happy to go ahead with my quote and we arranged a suitable time to complete the work for him.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Living Room Floor

Firstly, as the terracotta is soft and more importantly red it can make a mess of the woodwork when cleaning with water, so I covered the kickboards with sticky plastic coating to ensure they were protected.

Then I removed the edging paint by softening it with an application of a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. Once left for half an hour the paint starts to soften and this makes it easier to remove, although this is a manual process carefully scrapping the remains of the paint away.

Next, I coated the floor with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel. This strong cleaning product is left for half an hour to work into the pores of the Terracotta. With some water I gently cleaned the floor with a rotary machine fitted with a nylon pad. This is a wet process, so no dust is created.

For the next few hours, I cleaned the whole room. The areas damaged by burning wood were worked on with a diamond encrusted pad to get deep into the tile. When finished, the tiles were clean and more consistent in appearance and colour. I left the floor for the weekend to fully dry.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On the Monday I returned to seal the Terracotta first checking the tiles had dried out using a damp meter. The customer didn’t want either a shiny finish or a matte finish. He did want a strong, protective sealer so we agreed on using Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which leaves a sheen finish and will last for years. The floor was now fully protected and should be durable for the foreseeable future.

The client was very happy with the work we had carried out, it had really transformed the room and he was looking forward to getting the furniture back in to position.

Professional Restoration of a Terracotta Tiled Living Room in Surrey

The post Terracotta Floor Restored at 400-Year-Old Cottage in Leatherhead appeared first on West Surrey Tile Doctor.

Removing Grout from new Mosaic Swimming Pool Tiles

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 14:45:40 +0000

A tiling company were in touch last month with an urgent request to assist on a project that had just completed tiling a swimming pool at a house in Sandy which is just south of St Neots. The company had done a lovely job of tiling the pool with 60m2 of blue mosaic ceramic tiles however were having issues removing the grout that was smeared on the tiles.

Grout has come on a long way in the last ten years and manufactures like Keracoll are producing some very durable products like Fugabella® which is described as a resin cement which has high water repellence characteristics. It was this product that had been used to grout the swimming pool however given the warm weather and the large tiling area involved it had dried quickly and set hard on the surface.

The tiling company was now struggling to remove the grout haze and naturally concerned the owner would not be impressed with the result quickly got in touch looking for a solution. We deal with these issues all the time so given the area involved and a photo of the pool I was able to provide a quote over email which was accepted, and I was booked in.

Removing Grout Haze from Mosaic Swimming Pool Tiles

My solution was to apply a product called Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which pretty much does what its name suggests. It contains concentrated phosphoric acid and a cleaning agent, a formula specifically designed to remove light grout smears (grout haze) but also effective on removing mineral deposits such as efflorescence, rust staining and hard water marks.

Working in sections the Grout Clean-up was diluted with water and sprayed onto the tile. It was left for a couple of minutes to soak into the grout smears and then worked in with a black scrubbing pad. I was able to use a floor machine for this at the bottom of the pool and smaller pads fitted to a hand buffer on the wall tiling. After agitation, the area was rinsed with water and the soil removed using our vehicle mounted extraction machine which is very effective.

The job took about ½ a day to complete and as you can image the tiling company was quite relieved, I had managed to resolve the problem, they even left the following feedback for me:

Left a lovely job, very happy with the finish, would definitely recommend.

Professional Removal of Grout Smears from Mosaic Swimming Pool Tiling

The post Removing Grout from new Mosaic Swimming Pool Tiles appeared first on Cambridge Tile Doctor.

Restoring a Damaged Marble Vanity Countertop in Oxford

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 14:25:19 +0000

Earlier this year I was working on the restoration of a floor in Oxford and the client asked if I would look at the Marble Countertop in the bathroom. I often get asked to look at additional items whilst on site and always happy to see if I can help.

Unfortunately, the stone had been cleaned with an unsuitable cleaning product (probably bleach based) and this had etched the surface leaving what appeared to be an unsightly splash mark ruining its appearance.

You do have to be careful with household cleaning products around Marble, always read the label first and check to see if it is safe to use on natural stone before application. Many products are acidic and will etch into Marble as was the case here. I explained to the client what I could do, and she agreed to add the cost onto the quote for the floor I was already doing. I took photos but it is quite hard to see the damage on the images.

My base in Chalgrove is only 11 miles outside of Oxford so it’s not a problem to pop back and pick up some extra materials if I need them. In this case I was able to bring them along on day two of cleaning and sealing the floor.

Polishing an Etched Marble Vanity Countertop

The only way to restore a polished Marble surface like this is to use a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads to slowly hone the stone and rebuild the polish. We do this all the time for Marble floors however the pads are the large 17-inch type, for this you need the smaller 6-inch pads which fit a hand buffer and the smaller handheld burnishing blocks.

I started with the handheld diamond blocks and water, starting with the coarse grit to remove the etching, and then working through the grades to leave a smooth but dull finish. I then followed this up with the 6-inch diamond pads in sequence from 800 grit up to 3000 grit to give the top the desired finish.

Sealing a Marble Vanity Top

When it was dry, I sealed it with a coat of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is almost invisible. This product is a no-sheen, natural-look, solvent-based penetrating sealer. It gives maximum protection without a shiny finish, so perfect for this vanity top as we wanted the natural colour of the marble to shine through without a shiny finish.

The client was not only over the moon with the work on the floor I had carried out, she was also delighted that I had been able to restore the vanity top in the bathroom as it had been annoying her for some time.

I discussed with the customer the best way to maintain the Marble surface was to use Tile Doctor Stone Soap cleaner, this is pH balanced and nice and gentle on the marble and helps maintain the patina. It’s supplied as a concentrate so you only need to use a small amount, it can also be used to clean their newly cleaned and sealed floor.

Professional Restoration of a Marble Vanity Countertop in Oxfordshire

The post Restoring a Damaged Marble Vanity Countertop in Oxford appeared first on Oxfordshire Tile Doctor.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Chesham

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 14:45:47 +0000

This customer had just moved into a property in Chesham around eighteen months ago. During that time, they had completely renovated the property and in the process had pulled up the hallway carpet to discover a lovely Victorian tiled floor which appeared to be in good condition but very dirty. Period features like these can add a lot of value to a house these days and so they decided to investigate having it professionally cleaned and contacted me for a quote.

Although I can give some indication of price over the phone you never know exactly what to expect so my preference is to visit the property a conduct a test clean. It’s a little trickier to do this now due to COVID-19 but using a combination of PPE, maximum ventilation and social distancing measures I was able to work on the floor. The tiles were in good order with no replacements needed so my focus would be removing carpet adhesive and ingrained dirt. The test went well, and I followed up with a quotation which was accepted, and a date arranged to do the work.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Chesham

I had worked out previously that the quickest was to deep clean the floor and remove the glue and any old seal was to apply Tile Doctor Remove and Go which as its name suggests is a coatings removed designed for Tiled floors. My method was to spray strong a dilution of Remove and Go onto the Victorian tiles and leave it to soak in for fifteen minutes. Then it was scrubbed in with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. The soil was rinsed off using a minimal of water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Once the floor had dried, I inspected the tiles and could see more work would be needed to get the white tiles really sparkling. For this I went over the floor using a 200-grit resurfacing pad using water to lubricate the process, I also used handheld burnishing blocks of different grits to do the edges. With this extra effort and another rinse with water to remove the soil the floor looked great, and so I left for the day so it could dry out ready for sealing.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I came back the next day and started by taking moisture readings with a damp meter to ensure the tiles were dry and ready for sealing. This is important as you don’t want to apply sealer to a damp tile and old floors can suffer from damp issues due to the lack of a damp proof membrane.

All was well with the floor, so I was able to move straight onto sealing which started with the application of a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the tile enhancing colour and adding protection. Once this had dried, I followed up with another seven coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds further protection and leaves a nice subtle sheen to the tiles. This product works really well on old Victorian Tiles like these and being water based it doesn’t leave a smell as it dries.

The Victorian tiles looked so much cleaner and brighter after I had finished, and my customer was very happy with the transformation. For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to maintain the floor, it has a nice fresh smell and can be used regularly due to its pH neutral nature which won’t prematurely erode the sealer like stronger bleach based cleaners.

Professional Victorian Tiled Hallway Renovation in Buckinghamshire

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Renovating a Brazilian Slate Floor in a Harrogate Kitchen

Sun, 02 Aug 2020 13:41:49 +0000

Pictured below is a Slate tiled kitchen floor that had been installed in the kitchen of a property in Harrogate around fifteen years prior. I discovered that the tiles had never been cleaned and resealed since installation and this explained why they were now looking dull and un-interesting. They had lost all character and it wasn’t until I started cleaning them that I realised the must be of the multicoloured Brazilian Slate variety.

As well as looking dull and unattractive, there was also some water damage to some tiles caused by a leak, this had resulted in some shaling and efflorescence staining. This had occurred some time ago and the floor had now dried out fully, so I was not expecting any further efflorescence issues going forward.

Brazil, I understand is the world’s 2nd biggest producer of Slate, it is also exceptionally durable and reasonably priced so its not surprising you see a lot of it over in the UK. Like any natural stone however it is porous and without a sealer to protect it and bring out those natural colours it soon ends up like the example on this pad.

Cleaning a Brazilian Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I cleaned the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean using my usual method of spraying the cleaning solution onto the Slate and grout and then leaving it for a ten minutes to soak in and get to work breaking down the dirt and old sealers. Although I doubted there was much sealer left on the floor after all this time you need to be sure to remove all of it to get the best result. The floor was then scrubbed with a rotary floor buffer fitted with a black scrubbing pad, then after rinsing with water and extracting the soil I inspected the floor.

I detected there was still some sort of sealer present in some of less used parts of the floor, it was proving stubborn to remove so I suspect it may have been an old fashioned wax based product that was used. Not a problem though we Tile Doctors have a solution to every problem, so I spot treated the stubborn areas with Tile Doctor Wax Away to see if I was right. After scrubbing that in followed by another rinse and extraction with the wet vacuum I was pleased to see I was right and was happy all the old seal had now been removed. I gave the floor another rinse at the end of the day and dried it as much as possible with the wet vacuum, then left it to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Brazilian Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I came back the next day and checked the floor was dry with a damp meter. The readings were good, so I was able to crack on and seal the tiles using several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. Each coat was applied leaving time to dry between each layer. This gave the floor a uniform appearance which disguised the damaged tiles. It will also help to stop more cracking and reduce the appearance of the efflorescence. The sealer really brought out the natural colours in the Brazilian Slate and the floor looked transformed.

I’m sure you will agree it was a vast improvement, certainly my client was very happy and couldn’t believe the difference I had managed to achieve. Before leaving I recommended, they should invest in some Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which would ensure the newly applied seal was prematurely eroded away which is a problem with many of the stronger products you find in supermarkets.

Professional Restoration of a Slate Tiled Kitchen in North Yorkshire

The post Renovating a Brazilian Slate Floor in a Harrogate Kitchen appeared first on North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

Grout Haze Removed from Wood Effect Porcelain Tiles in Twickenham

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 14:56:09 +0000

These porcelain wood effect tiles were laid approximately two years ago after a large extension was completed in Twickenham, Middlesex. The customer had pointed out to us that ever since they were laid, they had struggled to keep them clean, even with hand scrubbing on their hands and knees. The pictures they sent over via email didn’t really show up the problem, so I arranged a visit to their property to take a closer look. Famous for being the home of rugby union in England, Twickenham is only 9 miles from our base in Shepperton so I’m often in the area.

After closer inspection, it was apparent that whoever had laid the tiles had not cleaned the grout away from the tiles well enough and had left a fine layer of grout haze (aka Grout Smears) across the floor. This explained it was difficult to clean the tiles as the grout was trapping the dirt making it extremely hard to achieve a clean smooth look. It was a shame as the kitchen looked fantastic, but the floor was letting it down.

Fortunately, Tile Doctor has a solution for every tile problem, and I explained that we could remove the unwanted grout haze using a product called Grout Clean-Up. The client agreed to my quote and we arranged to pop back later in the week to complete the work.

Cleaning a Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor

My method was straight forward and involved applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up to the Porcelain floor tiles and then leaving it to dwell for ten minutes. The with the aid of a heavy-duty floor scrubbing machine fitted with a black pad the solution was worked into the tile. The pads can fail to reach into the recessed grout lines so to ensure they were clean I gave them a scrub by hand.

All the chemical, dirt and grout were then rinsed off the floor and vacuumed away with a wet vacuum. The floor was then inspected, and any stubborn areas spot treated until I was satisfied all the grout haze had been removed.

Once the floor was dry my next step normally would be to seal the tiles but most Porcelain tiles (including this variety) are not porous and therefore won’t accept a sealer

With the floor dry my work was done and you could see it looked so much lighter and cleaner and will now be a simple case of mopping. My client was incredibly happy with the result and relieved the floor looked clean as it should have been following installation and happy that the there would be no need to scrub it vigorously going forward to keep it clean.

Professional Restoration of a Porcelain Tiled Kitchen in South Middlesex

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Old Bitumen Covered Flagstone Floor Restored in Morecambe

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 14:45:30 +0000

Late last year I was asked to survey a Flagstone floor in Morecambe which appeared to be beyond restoration. The floor had a long history and at some point in its past was covered with carpet which had been secured onto self-levelling cement with bitumen. All the companies that had visited before we got there said nothing could be done with it and recommended replacing the carpet or covering it with vinyl. As mentioned, it had been previously covered with carpet however this is an old floor and damp had been rising though the floor causing the carpet to rot. My client didn’t want to entertain that as a solution and so kept on looking for a company that could restore the stone.

Old houses like this one do not have a damp proof membrane installed under the floor and moisture rising through the stone needs to be allowed to evaporate or you will find damp spreads outwards towards the walls leading to rising damp. In this case I suspect the bitumen which acts as a water barrier had either failed or damp was coming up the wall and into the carpet and underlay. Certainly, in our experience, if you have an old natural stone floor like this it is best not to cover it with anything more than a rug.

Having inspected the floor, I recommended restoring the appearance of the flagstones by grinding the surface down a few millimetres to reveal new stone. We can do this using several different grades of coarse diamond encrusted diamond pads, a process we call Milling.

Cleaning/Repairing a Flagstone Tiled Hallway Floor

After being given instructions to restore the floor we returned on the schedule date and began by removing as much of the loose cement and bitumen by hand using hand tools.

milling the floor using a very coarse 50-Grit pad fitted with DRB segments (Diamond Resin Blocks). Cutting the surface of the stone like this is hard work and requires the use of a weighted floor buffer to apply the pads. The process is lubricated with water and generates a lot of slurry which is extracted off the floor with a wet vacuum. The 50-grit pad was followed with a 100-grit DRB pad and then 200-grit DRB pad which start the slow process of refining the surface. It’s a two-man job so I brought a colleague along, whilst one was milling the other could take a rest and help with the clean-up.

The milling did a great job of removing the Black Bitumen, Self-Levelling compound and old paint revealing the true beauty ` and colour of the Flagstones, in fact the stone had quite a variance of colour which was lovely to see coming through. Half the pointing was missing so after milling the stone we moved onto replacing what was left of the old pointing and replacing with a modern breathable product.

We called back the next day to finish the stone cleaning by further renovating the stone surface using finer grades of diamond encrusted burnishing pads of 400 and 800-grit. Again, you need to water to lubricate the process and rinse the slurry of the floor with water after each pad, then extract with a wet vacuum. This does leave the floor damp, so once we had finished it was left to dry out for a few days, old floors without a damp proof membrane can take longer to dry and especially so in the Winter months.

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning a few days later the stone was first checked with a damp meter to check it had dried out before sealing. The moisture readings were fine, so it was then sealed with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which penetrates deep into the stone protecting it from within and enhancing the natural colours in the process.

The flagstone floor was completely transformed by the process and our client was over the moon with the result. In fact, they have asked us back to do the same in the Kitchen as the vinyl in there has since been torn up and revealed the same stone.

Professional Restoration of a Flagstone Tiled Hallway in Lancashire

The post Old Bitumen Covered Flagstone Floor Restored in Morecambe appeared first on Tile Doctor Lancashire.

Victorian Hallway Tile Restoration at Ex Railway Property in Doncaster

Wed, 29 Jul 2020 13:47:54 +0000

Pictures below are from the restoration of Victorian Hallway Tiles that I carried out at a marvellous old property just south of Doncaster last year. The property was originally built and owed by the railways in fact its located metres away from the East Coast mainline which links Edinburgh with London and calls at places like Doncaster, York, and Newcastle.

The owner of this property was left a very old photograph by the previous owners showing two people stood by the front door and the floor tiles are just visible in the photograph.

Even though the house had been kept in great condition by the railways for well over one hundred years the large Victorian floor had unfortunately taken a hammering. In total around 130 damaged tiles would need removing and replacing with replicas. This would be a painstaking task but would make all the difference to the overall look of the floor.

Replacing Victorian Hallway Tiles

The current owner was keen to have the floor renovated and I was asked to do the work, old floors like these are a sought-after period feature and can add a lot of value to a property once restored. Fortunately, Victorian tiles are still popular today, and I was able to source replacements without too much trouble.

I started the restoration by removing the old cracked tiles and cleaning up the base. With this done I started the lengthy process of carefully cutting tiles to fit the original pattern and then fixing them in place with a modern adhesive.

Deep Cleaning Victorian Hallway Tiles

After leaving the tile adhesive to set overnight I came back the next day to deep clean the floor, by cleaning the old and new tiles together it will ensure the floor has a consistent appearance when finished.

Sometime in the past layers and layers of an old sealer had been applied to the floor, the sealer was flaking off and holding on to decades of dirt. To remove the old sealers, we used Remove and Go, it was sprayed on to the tiles and then left it to dwell and soak in for ten minutes.

The tiles were then scrubbed using a rotary floor buffer fitted with a 200-grit diamond pad which made short work of the old floor sealers. The floor was then treated with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to clean the tiles further, again a diamond pad was used to go over the tiles.

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 again 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.

Sealing Victorian Hallway Tiles

The property was left for a few days to let the floor dry out completely and when I returned seal the floor my first job was to check the moisture readings in the floor with a damp meter. I needed to ensure it was as dry as possible before applying a sealer and in this case, I didn’t have to worry.

Next, I applied four coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which works by seeping into the pores of the tile protecting it from within. I consider this to be best choice for sealing old Victorian tiles like these as it does a nice job of improving colour and its fully breathable. Being breathable is important due to the lack of the damp proof membrane and will allow 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.

PS.. If you have ever wondered if you have applied enough sealer all you need to do is drop some water onto the floor, if the tile is sealed sufficiently the water will form a bubble on the surface.

Professional Renovation of a Victorian Hallway Tiles in Doncaster

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Bleach Disaster Resolved in Hale Barns Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle

Fri, 17 Jul 2020 00:20:23 +0000

The pictures shown are from a Travertine tiled shower cubicle that was installed at a property in Hale Barns twenty years prior. The Travertine tiles were in desperate need of renovation and being stone they needed a specialist to sort it out.

In an attempt to clean the stone a cleaner ended up making it worse when she used a strong bleach cleaner all over the tiles which actually etched the stone due to the acidic nature of the product. We find this is quite a common problem, especially in areas with limescale, in fact Tile Doctor now offer a training course for commercial cleaning companies because of it. I discussed with the client the process I would use to restore the appearance of the Travertine and with our quote accepted we agreed a date to complete the work.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle

To begin with I applied a set of six-inch diamond burnishing pads fitted to a hand buffer to slowly remove the etching and gradually build the polished appearance of the stone. The pads are applied in sequence from 400-grit which resurfaces the stone through to 3,000 grit which builds up the polished appearance of the stone.

The Grout was then given a clean using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which was left to soak into the grout line for ten minutes before being scrubbed in by hand. Being a gel, it sticks better to vertical surfaces resulting in longer dwell time and therefore better cleaning results.

The combination of the two processes really got to grips with the ingrained dirt and the heavy limescale. The tiles were thoroughly rinsed which is nice and easy in a shower situation, and then left to dry for a few hours, prior to the seal being applied. During this time, I turn my attention to other bathroom areas for which I use a wet vacuum to extract the water and soiling.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle

We sealed the Travertine and Grout later that afternoon using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is a impregnating sealer which soaks into the pores to provide durable protection, it also enhances the natural colours in the stone to bring the best features out in the Travertine. The stone had been installed all the way up to the high ceiling, so I needed to climb up a ladder to reach all areas.

The customer was beyond happy with results and left the following feedback:

“Kamila turned a bleach disaster in a travertine shower into a just installed look, also clearing mould stains at the same time – in a long day. Fantastic service, great price: don’t hesitate to book her. Steve D, Hale, 10 February 2020”

For everyday aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Aqua Pro which is designed for cleaning bathrooms where a sealer has been applied. This will keep the shower cubicle looking in great condition moving forward. It will also help to keep the dreaded limescale and mould under control and with regular use it will also ensure the newly applied sealant stays in place for longer.

If you’re a commercial cleaner reading this then do take a look at Tile Doctor’s Agency Tile Cleaning training course. It will fill the knowledge gap many cleaners have when it comes to cleaning stone tiling and ensure you avoid being in a similar situation.

Professional Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle Restoration in West Cheshire

The post Bleach Disaster Resolved in Hale Barns Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle appeared first on East Cheshire Tile Doctor.

End of Tenancy Shower Cubicle Renovation in Woking

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 15:09:03 +0000

Example below of the end of tenancy clean of a Ceramic tiled shower cubicle in Woking student accommodation. The Ceramic tile, grout and shower base were filthy. The mastic had perished, shrunk, and turned black. Unattractive and unhygienic the landlord had little chance of re-letting the property with the bathroom in that state, so we were asked to step in. As you can see from the pictures it was pretty bad although I have seen worse.

If you have a rental property with a stone floor its worth giving Tile Doctor a call as we find landlords rarely give tenants instructions on how to maintain them and they often end up in a state by the end of the lease.

Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle

Ceramic tiles are exceptionally durable and as long as the glaze is intact, they can usually be cleaned quite easily. Grout however is slightly porous and traps dirt which can be a struggle to clean effectively. The grout in this shower was discoloured and permanently stained so the best way to renovate it was to apply a grout colourant.

Before applying the grout colourant, I cleaned the grout with the Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up and a wire brush. Being an acidic product, it can remove old grout smears, limescale, body soaps and fats, also being it will key the surface of the grout allowing for a superior bond with the grout colourant later.

Next, I cleaned the tiles using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which being gel based sticks well to vertical surfaces and allows for better dwell time so it can really eat into the dirt. The gel is applied to the tile, left for ten minutes, and then scrubbed it in with a 6-inch handheld polisher fitted with a black pad.

We then started on the shower base. I used Tile Doctor Remove and Go for this, again leaving it to soak into the surface dirt for ten minutes before scrubbing it in by hand with a brush. I managed to get into all the grooves in the plastic tray and removed all the dirt.

Once the cubicle was dry, I removed the mastic sealant from the two verticals and three horizontals around the base and behind the glass door. This is a fiddly job that can take a while with an assortment of knives and scrappers, taking care not to damage the tiles or the shower tray.

Now the shower was clean I coloured the grout back to its original white colour. This is tedious work carefully applying the colourant with a narrow paint brush. The product dries very quickly so any excess product the gets onto the tile must be wiped off immediately. Another advantage of using a grout colourant is it forms a barrier over the grout, sealing it prevent dirt from becoming attached to its cementitious surface. The smooth surface of the colourant also makes it much easier to clean.

Whilst the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant dried, I applied a new white mastic. Applying mastic takes some time to master and is best left to the experienced. It is not easily mastered but practice does makes perfect.

Once done the cubicle looked transformed. I managed to complete the shower by early afternoon advising my client that mastic needs 24 hours to dry before it can be used again. He was very happy, the shower cubicle looked as good as new and relieved it was in a rental condition again.

Professional Clean of a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle in West Surrey

The post End of Tenancy Shower Cubicle Renovation in Woking appeared first on West Surrey Tile Doctor.

Improving Kerb Appeal with a Classic Victorian Tiled Path in Cardiff

Wed, 15 Jul 2020 12:30:56 +0000

Details below of a tiling job I completed late in 2019 for a client in Cardiff who contacted me looking for a tiler. They were looking for a specialist tiler who could add character to the small area in front of their house. It is said when looking at properties kerb appeal is especially important as it forms your first impression and in this case the tiles surrounding the front of the property were sadly lacking and not in keeping with the period property.

I discussed various options with the client and showed them some sample tiles. They decided to go with traditional black and white reproduction Victorian tiles laid in a diagonal pattern. This was a classic look that would match the character of the property and sit well with the period in which the property was built.

Replacing a Victorian Tiled Porch Floor

The first task was to remove all the existing tiles and prepare the base incorporating falls where necessary to let the rainwater run away freely from the property and not pool in puddles. Before the tiling started, I discussed the set out of the pattern for the customers to give their opinion on any features they preferred. I laid out some examples so they could see what the result would look like and the layout was agreed.

The floor was laid on a diagonal pattern using 150mm square tiles enclosed in black border to frame the area. Victorian style tiles like these are still popular today and I managed to purchase these from a company called Original Style Tiles who stock a large range of period tiles.

The floor was tiled using rapid set adhesive and grouted later the same day. I left the floor overnight to dry off but due to bad weather overnight, the tiles became a little dirty, so they were lightly cleaned with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean.

Pro-Clean is a versatile tile cleaning solution which can be diluted at different strengths to suit the requirement. On this occasion only a weak solution was needed and after a light scrub was extracted using a wet vacuum. I needed the tile to be completely dry before applying the sealer, so I left it to dry and agreed to come back the next day to seal.

Sealing Reproduction Victorian Tiles in Cardiff

On my return the following day the moisture levels of the tiles were tested with a damp meter which confirmed the floor was ready to be sealed. Sealing is highly recommended as Victorian tiles are slightly porous and can absorb water and dirt. Sealing also makes the tiles easier to clean and makes it easier to remove staining.

The sealer preferred for this floor was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a breathable impregnator that soaks into the pores of the tile adding protection from within and allowing it to withstand much wear due to traffic and the elements. It also improves colour and provides a lovely finish to the floor without it looking shiny. The tiles now looked great and made for a very inviting entrance to the property.

The clients were delighted with the results and passed Tiled Doctors contact details to many envious neighbours. It is always nice to complete external work that people passing by can see, rather than just internal work.

Professional External Victorian Tiling Installation in South East Wales

The post Improving Kerb Appeal with a Classic Victorian Tiled Path in Cardiff appeared first on South East Wales Tile Doctor.

Deep Cleaning Anti-Slip Ceramic Tiles at Banbury Sports Centre

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 12:53:43 +0000

We were contacted by a Sports Centre in Banbury regarding the shower facilities in the changing rooms. The rough nature of the anti-slip ceramic tiles had been trapping dirt and it had a build-up of mould in some areas. In addition, the grout on the wall tiles was very discoloured. Obviously, they are very heavily used, so keeping them maintained is paramount to extending the life of the area and of course keeping the customers happy too!

With Sports Centres and Gym’s closed around the country this was the perfect time to get some maintenance work done so I when they called, I was happy to take a look. They accepted my quote and I booked them in for a deep clean. With the facility closed to the public I pretty much had the whole facility to myself so social distancing was not a problem.

Banbury is at the North end on Oxfordshire but fortunately the M40 runs right through it, so it doesn’t take long for me to reach it.

Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Shower Area

My first task was to give the shower tiles a clean with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was sprayed onto the tile. It was left for ten minutes so it could have time to break down the dirt before being scrubbed in.

After inspecting the shower tile, I could see more work would be needed, so I followed this with an application of another Tile Doctor product called Duo Clean. Again, this was sprayed onto all the shower tile including the floor but this time I left it to soak in for an hour. I then scrubbed the walls and floors and rinsed with water. Tile Doctor Duo Clean is a fast, effective double action grout cleaner and mould remover. It cleans up grout and can also remove mould and blackspot from grout and silicone.

It was necessary to repeat the process as the tiles really were dirty, so I repeated the Tile Doctor Duo Clean process left for another hour, then scrubbed and rinsed. There were several shower areas to clean so I moved onto another shower whilst waiting for the first.

Ceramic tiles are sealed at the factory and so will not accept a sealer however grout is cementous and does benefit from being sealed so for this I recommend using an aerosol grout sealer as this is easy to apply.

Once dry the shower looked 100% cleaner and fresher than before unfortunately due to the Sports Centre being closed it will be a while before their customers will be able to appreciate my work.

Before leaving I advised the centre manager about the common issues with shower tiles and how best to maintain them in the future. I suggested the use of our Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro cleaner which is a pH neutral tile cleaner which could be used in addition to their existing cleaning regime. Hopefully, this information gets passed to the cleaning team who look after the building however it might be a while before they return.

Professional Cleaning of Commercial Shower Tiling in Oxfordshire

The post Deep Cleaning Anti-Slip Ceramic Tiles at Banbury Sports Centre appeared first on Oxfordshire Tile Doctor.

Twenty Year Old Terracotta Floor Renovated in Crowthorne

Mon, 13 Jul 2020 16:10:24 +0000

I was asked to visit a property in Crowthorne near Sandhurst to take a look at a Terracotta tiled floor that was installed twenty years prior and had now become dull and dirty. The client had recently had the house redecorated and attempted to clean the terracotta tiles themselves, however they quickly discover the process was difficult and rather time consuming and thus got in touch with Tile Doctor.

As part of my visit I carried out a cleaning test on a small patch of Terracotta flooring which they could clearly see made a huge improvement. It was also an opportunity for me to see which products would work best on the tiles which is useful as it means I can create a more accurate quote for renovating the floor. This is specially useful when quoting for Terracotta floors as many are protected with wax coatings which can be a struggle to remove.

They were more than happy to go ahead with my quote, and a date was arranged to carry out the work. This was just before the COVID-19 epidemic broke out and I manged to get the work done before the lockdown started. Its worth knowing that we have now changed our working practices since then including risk assessments, new PPE and social distancing measures.

Deep Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

To clean the floor and remove old coatings such as sealers etc a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go was sprayed onto the tiles and allowed to dwell for ten minutes. The grout lines were then given a good manual scrub with a stiff grout brush before turning my attention to the Terracotta tiles which were scrubbed mechanically. For this we use a black pad fitted to a rotary buffing machine adding more water as needed to help lubricate the process.

The scrubbing released the dirt from the tiles and the soil was extracted with a low-pressure extraction machine. The client was amazed how much dirt was coming out of the floor. Some of the grout lines and textured inserts needed double treatment due to heavy build-up of sealer. I continued this process until the floor was completely stripped back and clean.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

Stripped back terracotta is very porous so I allowed the floor to dry out over the weekend to make sure it would be bone dry before sealing. Returning on the Monday I conducted a moisture test with a damp meter to check the floor was dry before starting to apply the sealer. Tile Doctor Seal and Go was used to seal the terracotta, a total of eight coats was applied leaving roughly twenty minutes between coats. Having air movers placed around the room helped with the drying time. Seal and Go is a water-based sealer so it doesn’t leave a smell as it dries, it works very well on Terracotta leaving a subtle sheen to the tile which puts new life in the floor.

The client was delighted with their new floor and left a lovely testimonial which I have copied below:

i>”Dennis was punctual, professional and proficient. He was a pleasure to have around. We are delighted with the result of his work and we would have no hesitation in recommending him to friends and family “

Before leaving we discussed recommendations to keep the floor clean and what products to use. To this end a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Floor Cleaner was left for their use. This as its name implies is pH neutral so will ensure the newly applied seals stay in place unlike many acidic household cleaners that can strip the sealer from the floor. It is mild enough to use daily and has a nice fresh smell, so should ensure the integrity of the newly restored floor for some time to come.

Professional Restoration of a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen in Berkshire

The post Twenty Year Old Terracotta Floor Renovated in Crowthorne appeared first on Berkshire Tile Doctor.

Restoring a Neglected Victorian Tiled Hallway in Cwmbran

Sat, 11 Jul 2020 16:28:51 +0000

I recently worked on the restoration of a Victorian tiled hallway in Cwmbran Wales which is six miles North of Newport. As you can see from the photographs the floor was in quite a neglected dirty state and many of the the black and white border tiles needed removing and replacing. The worst part was the area by the front door where most of the tiles had been removed and then backfilled with concrete. I can only assume at some point in the past it was deemed to difficult or expensive to restore the floor, so they simply covered it up.

After visiting to survey the floor I did offer to source replacements for the concreted section and restore that as part of the work however my client’s budget would not stretch to that at the time. My quote was therefore focused on the main section of flooring and included replacing border tiles, deep cleaning the whole floor and then sealing the tiles to add protection. Although I did need to check that I could indeed source the replacement tiles before being able to provide the quote which as it turned out would not be an issue.

They were happy to go ahead and we arranged a suitable time to carry out the work which would enable me to work in the property whilst minimising contact with the owners due to the Covid-19 situation.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I spend the first day sorting out the black and white border tiles which needed to be gently prised out of position without upsetting the main part of the floor. The exposed subfloor was then cleaned up to remove old adhesive and replacements were fitted where required and secured into place. The floor would need to be solid before cleaning so that was left for day two so the new adhesive could go off overnight.

On day two I gave the floor an initial clean using a combination of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and Remove and Go diluted with water. This produces a strong cleaner/stripper that will tackle dirt and remove coatings such as previous sealers. The old tiles had accumulated years of ingrained dirt, so I needed this extra power to remove the years of dirt and contaminates from the tile. It was sprayed onto the tiles and then left to soak in for ten minutes before being actively scrubbed into the tile using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The soil was then rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was inspected, and the process repeated on the tough stains until I was satisfied all the dirt had been removed.

Next the floor was treated to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel using a similar method as before. This is an important treatment for these old Victorian floors that have no damp proof course as it neutralises efflorescent salts trapped in the tile which can appear as white salt deposits later. Once I was happy with the condition of the floor it was given a final rinse and left to dry off. I use a wet vacuum to remove liquids from the floor and on this last extraction I spent extra time to remove as much moisture from the tiles as possible.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I came back a few days later and after checking the tiles were dry using a damp meter, I started the application of the sealer. For this floor I applied seven coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go for a satin finish. Tile Doctor Seal and Go is a specially formulated water-based sealer that provides both stain resistance and a durable low-sheen finish. It is perfect on a floor of this age where it leaves a lovely finish and will remain durable in what is a essentially a high traffic area.

Although we didn’t manage to sort out the area by the front door the client managed to fit a made to measure coir door mat along with carpet bar which was quite practical and looked fine so they were able to resolve that problem without blowing their budget.

The client was over the moon with results, the floor had a lovely pattern and the colours now shone through. I suggested the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to keep the floor clean and in good condition. It is neutral in pH so will ensure that the newly applied sealer stays in place and will ensure maintenance is nice and easy for them.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Monmouthshire

The post Restoring a Neglected Victorian Tiled Hallway in Cwmbran appeared first on Monmouthshire Tile Doctor.

Quarry Tiled Floor Layout Altered and Renovated in Rugby

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 13:48:04 +0000

This customer in Rugby had some major internal work done on their property to increase the size of the kitchen. Effectively they had combined two areas together, but this had left gaps in the floor tiling where the walls had once been. Although I had discussed the floor in detail over the phone, I visited the property so I could survey the floor and give the owners an accurate quote for the remedial work.

If you look closely at the image above, you will see where the under-stair cupboards and support posts have been removed. The changes meant sections of untiled floor were now visible and needed new matching quarry tiles added to fill the gaps including large deep holes where the support post had once been.

After inspecting the floor, I prepared a comprehensive quote that included cutting and fixing replacement Quarry tiles and giving the whole floor a deep clean and seal so the new would blend in with the old. My quote was much a much cheaper option compared with ripping out the whole floor and replacing with new. Also, I was confident I could find a good match for the Quarry tiles among my collection of reclaimed tiles I had available. Being a Tile Doctor I focus a lot on restoration and have accumulated quite a collection of old tiles as you never know when they might come in handy.

After weighing up the options the customer confirmed they would like to go ahead with the work, so we agreed a date for my return.

Fitting Matching Quarry Tiles to a Kitchen Floor

The first job was to hand cut matching quarry tiles to fit, clean out the holes in the floor and prepare a new level base within with cement. I had to wait for the new base to harden so I wasn’t able to fit the tiles until the next day however I was able to use a quick setting tile adhesive for that so I was able to grout them in later that day once the adhesive had gone off.

As well as the Quarry tiles there was a section beneath a door threshold that needed fixing with matching replacements. I left the adhesive and grout to fully harden overnight leaving behind yellow cones to mark the affected tiles so the owner would know where not to walk.

Deep Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

On day three with the tiling work completed I was able to move onto deep cleaning the floor. For this I used Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which I prefer when working in smaller areas as being in gel form it is much easier to control. The gel is applied with a little water to help dilute it and then left to soak in for ten minutes. The floor is then scrubbed with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a buffing machine and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum.

Next, I treated the tiles to an acid wash using an application of Tile Doctor Acid Gel, again this is in gel form and is left on the tiles for ten minutes before being scrubbed in with a pad. This product further cleans the tiles by removing grout smears, hazing and other mineral deposits. Afterwards the floor was rinsed with water and the resultant slurry extracted with a wet vacuum to remove any trace of cleaning products.

Before leaving for the day, the floor was inspected, and any stubborn marks spot cleaned until I was happy the floor was as clean as it possibly could be. I was pleased to see that the newly laid tiles were already blending in nicely.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

It’s not a good idea to apply a sealer to damp tiles as the result can be inconsistent so I agreed with my customer to come back five days later to seal them. On my return I checked the moisture levels with a damp meter to be certain the Quarry tiles were dry before applying an initial application of Tile Doctor Stone Oil. Stone Oil seeps into the pores of the Quarry tiles adding protection and restoring colour and texture.

Once dry I followed up with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which like the Stone Oil impregnates deep into the pores of the tile to prevent dirt becoming ingrained there. This sealer also enhances colour and combined with the Stone Oil will provide long lasting durable protection to the floor. Kitchens generally tend to be high traffic areas with people coming and going all the time so it’s important the tiles are protected.

Once complete the floor looked great, as promised the new tiles blended in well with the original, and most importantly my client over the moon as the renovated floor had added the finishing touch to the newly fitted kitchen.

Professional Renovation of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen in Warwickshire

The post Quarry Tiled Floor Layout Altered and Renovated in Rugby appeared first on Warwickshire Tile Doctor.

Failed Travertine Tile Sealer Resolved in Great Green, Thurston

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 15:08:46 +0000

The pictures below are of a Travertine tiled floor installed in the large Kitchen of a barn conversion in the small village of Great Green near Thurston which is four miles from Bury St Edmunds. The floor had been laid ten years prior and the customer was now finding it increasingly difficult to get the tile and grout clean.

I visited the property to survey the floor and quickly confirmed that the problem was quite clear, the sealant had been worn away over the years and now unprotected dirt was getting into the surface and pores of the stone. Once ingrained with dirt it becomes impossible to get them clean with everyday household cleaners. The floor was in the kitchen which being one of the busiest areas in the house so really needed to be protected.

I ran a test clean on a small patch of travertine and they could see straight away the colour the floor should have been. It was clear the tile and grout would need a deep clean and then resealed however due to the inevitable wear I advised the customer stone floors like these really need continual attention and recommend that after the initial renovation they consider getting us back in once a year to do a surface clean and seal.

Happy with our test clean and quotation we got the go ahead to do the initial clean and seal and we arranged complete the work the following month.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On arrival I first taped up the skirting boards and kitchen plinths to protect them from splashing during cleaning. The floor was then scrubbed with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was first left to dwell for ten minutes so it could soak into the pores and break down the dirt. For best results I use a rotary buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. Pro-Clean is a multi-purpose tile and grout cleaning product that really gets to grips with ingrained dirt and grease as well as removing the remains of old sealer.

Scrubbing pads struggle to reach into the grout recesses so I scrubbed the grout lines by hand using a wire brush and more Pro-Clean. The resultant slurry was then vacuumed off the floor using a wet vacuum, the floor was then rinsed with water and vacuumed again.

To improve the appearance of the Travertine tiles further it was given a light burnish using a 400-grit then 800-grit diamond burnishing pad. These pads are attached to the rotary machine and then run over each tile several times using only water for lubrication. This action brings up the natural polished appearance of the stone to leave a mild sheen as per the clients’ request. After another rinse and extraction to remove the slurry generated during burnishing the floor was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

The following day I returned and first took some moisture readings from the floor using a damp meter. I needed to be sure the floor was dry enough to accept the sealer as applying sealer to a damp floor is not recommended.

The floor had dried out nicely, so I began the application of the sealer, Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This product is a colour intensifying impregnating sealer that penetrates the stone, occupying its pores, improving colour, and resulting in long lasting protection. I highly recommend this for use on Travertine and it enhances the natural brown colours in the stone beautifully.

The job took 2 days in total to complete and the clients were very happy with the result. For aftercare I have advised the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which will help maintain the patina whilst keeping the floor clean. I’ve also made a note to give them a call in a years’ time to discuss giving the floor a light Maintenance Clean and apply a new coat of Colour Grow.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen in Suffolk

The post Failed Travertine Tile Sealer Resolved in Great Green, Thurston appeared first on Suffolk Tile Doctor.

Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration at Caernarfon Holiday Cottage

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 14:18:46 +0000

Details below of a Quarry tiled floor renovation in the kitchen of a holiday cottage in Caeathro which is a small village close to Caernarfon. This work was before the whole of Wales was put on lockdown due to the Coronavirus and my client had bookings for the upcoming holiday season so the wanted the floor renovating in time for their next guests.

Having discussed the floor over the phone I went over to the property to carry out a survey of the floor so I could fully understand the issues and provide a quote for the work. I’m glad I went over, as during the test clean, I discovered the quarry tiles appeared to have been covered previously by a few layers of wax polish which can be tricky to remove. Additionally, there were quite a few tiles that were broken and would need replacing.

I managed to work out the best way of removing the wax and cleaning up the floor and provided a quote for stripping, repairing and then resealing. My client was happy to go ahead with my quote and we booked the work in for the next available date, being a holiday cottage, the property was empty so all we needed was the key.

Cleaning/Repairing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

The first job was to repair the floor which was in quite a state. We removed the broken tiles and replaced with matching tiles that fortunately I already had available. Being a Tile Doctor, you tend to end up with a collection of tiles which you know will come in handy at some point. A fast setting flexible tile adhesive was used to set the new tiles in place which allowed us to quickly move onto cleaning the floor shortly after lunch.

Tile Doctor have a solution for every tile problem and in this case, we applied a strong solution of Tile Doctor Wax Away which as its name suggests was made for the job and ideal for this situation. It was left to soak for fifteen minutes to break down the wax before being scrubbed into the tiles with a buffing machine fitted with a black stripping pad.

The floor was rinsed, and the slurry extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was then inspected, and I could see another treatment would be required to ensure all the wax had been removed. When renovating a tiled floor, it is important to remove any old coatings and strip the surface back to the tile, if this is not done properly it will result in a patchy appearance later.

Once the remains of the wax had been removed from the floor, the floor was washed with a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to soak into the tiles and then scrubbed in as before. The soil was then rinsed off with water and removed by wet vacuum.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

The floor was left to dry overnight, and I returned the next morning to seal the quarry tiles. As usual I tested the floor first with a damp meter to make sure it was dry and ready for sealing. I was happy that the moisture readings were within range so we could go ahead.

The floor was sealed with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. This sealer is recommended for quarry tiles and adds a nice low sheen to the floor, without making it too shiny. Seal and Go is also water based so its doesn’t leave a smell as it dries making it much nicer to work with.

The client called in to the property later in the day, after we had left and called to confirm they were very happy with the end result. Hopefully, they will be able to result lettings soon and get some return on their investment.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor in North Wales

The post Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration at Caernarfon Holiday Cottage appeared first on North Wales Tile Doctor.

Grubby Tumbled Travertine Shower Cubicle Renovated in Didsbury

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 15:18:14 +0000

Travertine like any natural stone is porous and needs to be sealed if you want to maintain its appearance. As a result, it is not something I would recommend for use in a shower cubicle such as this example at this property in Didsbury. The sealer had long worn off leaving the stone vulnerable to stains from soap dyes and washed in dirt. The shower cubicle was also stained with mould which had taken a hold in places.

My client had tried all sorts of cleaning products and recommended solutions but had failed to get a handle on the problem and so decided to call us in. I popped along to the property to do a site visit. It is always better for us to see the job so we can present an accurate quote, rather than just from pictures. I carried out a small patch test to with several different products to see what would work best and to show the client it could be solved. They were happy with the potential result and agreed to my quote. With that agreed we arranged a mutually convenient time to return and complete the work.

Cleaning a Tumbled Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle

My approach was to deep clean the travertine with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean sprayed onto the tile and grout and then scrubbed in by hand. This is assisted with a steamer to help lift the dirt from the pores. Tile Doctor Pro-Clean is a concentrated, multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, which strips and degreases. It is diluted dependent on how dirty the area is and can be applied neat to help lift the most difficult stains. The dirt and cleaning solution was then rinsed off with water and I turned my attention to renovating the appearance of the Tumbled Travertine with a series of six inch burnishing pads fitted to a hand buffer.

The burnishing pads are applied in series from coarse to fine starting with the 400-grit pad which deep cleans the stone and removes old sealers, coatings and any remaining contaminates. Water is used to lubricate the process and the soil generates is rinses off the Travertine before moving onto the next pads (800-grit, 1500-grit and finally 3000-grit) which refine of hone the stone back to its original appearance. This process is always easier in the shower as the water can be drained away, in other areas we would use the wet vacuum to extract the waste.

Sealing a Tumbled Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle

Once the shower tiles were dry, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow to seal the tiles and protect them going forward. This is a colour intensifying sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there and thereby providing long lasting protection. As well as an excellent stone and grout sealer, Colour Grow is fully breathable so any damp trapped behind the stone can rise through the tile and evaporate.

Once that was completed, I stripped out the old silicone sealant around the base of the shower wall and tray and then replaced it with fresh using Jasmine coloured silicone.

The Tumbled Travertine shower cubicle looked unrecognisable after I had finished and my client who was most impressed with the transformation left the following glowing feedback:

“Kamila was absolutely fantastic – very professional and friendly, knew exactly what to do and shower looks brand new. Would definitely recommend!”

Most supermarket tile cleaning products are unsuitable for cleaning sealed natural stone (always read the label) so for regular cleaning going forward I recommended Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro. It’s a spray on cleaner that has a neutral pH formula so its safe to use on sealed stone yet its strong enough to eliminates soap scum build-up and hard water deposits when used regularly. The fresh lemon scent leaves the shower smelling clean and fresh.

Professional Renovation of a Tumbled Travertine Shower Cubicle in Greater Manchester

The post Grubby Tumbled Travertine Shower Cubicle Renovated in Didsbury appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Colour Restored to Limestone Patio Tiles in Stourton

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 15:31:37 +0000

I was recently contacted about a faded Limestone patio which needed attention in the small village of Stourton. Having spoken to the owner on the phone I arranged to visit the property so I could assess the issues in full and prepare a quote. We have found that during the Covid-19 pandemic, people have been spending so much time at home outside, Tile Doctors have been getting more requests for patio restorations which are ideal considering the situation.

We visited site to carry out a survey following social distance guidelines. The limestone flags were very washed out and grey, nothing like when they were first set in the patio area. The owner of the house explained that the flagstones had never been sealed and had been washed weekly with a jet wash. Over time the elements had got to the stone and disrupted the oils which are present in the stone causing the washed-out look. I recommended a restorative treatment involving deep cleaning, oiling and the application of a colour enhancing sealer. This process which restore its original appearance and get the patio looking great again.

Cleaning and Restoring a Limestone Tiled Patio

My quote was accepted, and I set to work cleaning the stones with a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. Pro-Clean is a concentrated, multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, stripper and degreaser that can be diluted at varying strengths (see directions) and is safe to use on stone. The slurry was then extracted with a wet vacuum and the process repeated until I was satisfied.

On this occasion the stone wasn’t that dirty, it was just bleached of colour so I was able to clean it with Pro-Clean, had the stone been heavily stained I would have opted for Tile Doctor Patio Cleaner. You must be very careful with that product through as its very strong.

After several hours of scrubbing, the stones were looking clean, so I left the patio to dry out in what was becoming a very hot day. The Limestone dried quickly so it wasn’t long before I was able to move onto the next treatment which was to apply Tile Doctor Stone Oil. Stone Oil puts back the natural oils in the stone improving texture and colour. Once done I left the patio to dry out overnight.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Patio

This work was done in May which turned out to be a really hot month with hardly any rain, ideal conditions for applying a sealer to external stone. Therefore, I was able to return the following day and seal the patio. For this I used three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer, this is a breathable colour intensifying sealer which will protect the stone going forward and make it easier to clean. In this instance it enhanced the beautiful natural colours of the limestone and left it sealed and in great condition.

Being breathable this sealer will cope well with the damp weather we often get in the UK, however its worth noting that particularly cold winters where the temperature consistently drops below minus 5 degrees Celsius can cause problems.

The client was very satisfied with the work we had carried out and they were looking forward to the lockdown easing so they could show it off to family and friends once they are able to visit again- hopefully very soon.

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Patio in Worcestershire

The post Colour Restored to Limestone Patio Tiles in Stourton appeared first on Worcestershire Tile Doctor.

Renovating a large Sandstone Floor in Disley

Thu, 25 Jun 2020 15:55:44 +0000

This is a large 17.2 m2 Sandstone Floor installed throughout the living and kitchen areas of a property in the beautiful village of Disley close to Lyme Park which is run by the National Trust. The floor had been installed four years ago and my client was unhappy with the original sealer which hadn’t lasted very long. Without the protection of a sealer dirt had become ingrained in the pores of the stone which was now difficult to clean. Another issue was the rough nature of the Sandstone meant it was impossible to mop as it shreds the mop! As a result, the floor was mainly cleaned with a hoover which was not ideal, especially in a kitchen.

I went over to survey the floor and before quoting I ran a small test clean in the kitchen which took the floor back to its natural pale colour and really showed how dirty the floor had become. Test cleans are great as it helps me to formulate an effective cleaning plan and provide an accurate quote. My client was impressed with the result and so I was booked to come back and deep clean and then reseal the whole floor. Due to its size I estimated the floor would take two days to deep clean and a further day to apply a new sealer, so three days in total.

Deep Cleaning and Restoring a Sandstone Tiled Floor

Working in large sections I started by cleaning the floor and stripping off the old sealer with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a coatings remover that is safe to use on stone. The solution was left to soak into the pores of the Sandstone for ten minutes before being worked in with a 200-grit diamond pad fitted to a rotary floor machine. This action not only removed the old sealer and cleaned the floor but the 200-grit pad being vey coarse removed a lot of the roughness from the surface of the Sandstone so it shouldn’t shred any more mops.

After rinsing the floor with water and removing the slurry with a wet vacuum I set about cleaning the grout with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked into the grout line with a stiff brush and assisted with steam from a professional steam cleaner with a grout attachment. Once done the floor was rinsed and extracted again to remove the soil from the grouting. There was also an area near one of the doors where the grout had become loose and needed replacing so I made up a batch of matching grout and filled this in. The floor was then left overnight to dry with assistance from a couple of air movers.

Sealing a Sandstone Tiled Floor

I returned the next day to finish the floor by applying a sealer. First, I double checked the floor was dry with the damp meter. The readings confirmed the air movers had done a good job and that the floor was within the accepted parameters, so I was ready to seal. The sealer I chose was Tile Doctor Seal and Go which being water based doesn’t leave a smell as it dries, it really works well on Sandstone and adds a nice subtle sheen to the stone.

Once finished the floor looked much cleaner, lighter in colour overall more inviting, you could even see the fossils in some of the tiles.

The surface was also smoother so the customer should find cleaning with a mop much easier in future. On that subject its worth pointing out that owners of sealed floors should always use a neutral pH tile cleaner on their floors as most supermarket products are simply too strong and will prematurely strip the sealer off a tile if used repeatedly. Tile Doctor sell a product called Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is ideal for cleaning sealed Sandstone floors like this one.

My client was really happy with the results and sent me a message later saying: “the floor looks amazing!”

Professional Renovation of Sandstone Tiled Kitchen and Living Room in Cheshire

The post Renovating a large Sandstone Floor in Disley appeared first on East Cheshire Tile Doctor.

Cleaning and Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Patio Area in Epsom

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 14:54:13 +0000

This property in Epsom featured a small enclosed Terracotta Patio which the owner wanted deep cleaning in time for the summer. She had a huge shared garden and was hoping to host a family BBQ later in in the year, so wanted it to look good for the event. Given the situation with the COVID-19 epidemic I was happy for the opportunity to work outdoors and agreed a time to pop over and take a closer look.

I went over to survey the Terracotta tiling and except for a few stains I could see it was in good order, however the old sealer was wearing thin and it was due a good clean and re-seal. It was roughly 18m2 and I was confident weather permitting it could be done in one day. I worked out a price which was accepted, and we agreed a date for my return.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Patio Floor

Focusing on the grout first I sprayed on a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, and then left it to soak in for ten minutes. The Pro-Clean was then scrubbed into the grout lines by hand using a stiff brush. This action cleaned up the grout and using minimal water the soil was rinsed off the tiles and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Having inspected the tiles on my initial visit I had decided the best course of action to remove the old sealer and clean them up would be to apply a coarse 200-grit diamond pad. This would deep clean the tiles, remove the old sealer, renovate the surface, and remove the stains. This can be a little messy but gives a great result. After the 200-grit pad I closed the pores in the tiles with a 400-grit and then 800-grit burnishing pad. Terracotta is very porous so by closing the pores it should ensure the sealer doesn’t rapidly soak into the Terracotta during sealing.

After the application of each pad the tiles were rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum. I used minimal water during the rinsing to improve my chances of them drying quickly so I could apply the sealer later that day.

On this occasion the tiles were in reasonable condition, however, that’s not always the case and for tougher patio cleaning work I would of used Tile Doctor Patio and Driveway cleaner which really cuts through dirt and can pretty much clean up any external patio regardless of condition.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Patio Floor

It was a warm June afternoon which greatly aided the drying; I know from experience that applying a sealer to a damp tile can result in an inconsistent finish so I used a damp meter to measure the moisture levels before proceeding.

My plan had worked, and the moisture reading soon reached an acceptable level allowing me to apply the sealer. The sealer I selected was Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra, this is a tough sealer that will provide plenty of protection for many years to come and its breathable so will cope with external environment. Seal and Go Extra also contains a colour enhancer which gave the natural red colour of the Terracotta tiles a real boost.

The patio looked great and my client was over the moon with the results. Hopefully, she won’t have to wait too long before she can have that barbeque with her family.

Professional Renovation of a Terracotta Tiled Patio in West Surrey

The post Cleaning and Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Patio Area in Epsom appeared first on West Surrey Tile Doctor.

Full Restoration of a Minton Tiled Victorian Hallway Floor in Kings Heath

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 12:52:22 +0000

Details below of the full restoration of a Victorian Minton tiled hallway floor that I restored earlier this year in the South Birmingham suburb of Kings Heath. The owner had recently purchased the property and discovered a Victorian tiled floor underneath an old carpet in the hallway.

The floor was in a very poor state with areas where tiles were missing and had been backfilled with a cement levelling compound. The adjacent vestibule also had a large area of tiling missing. My client was delighted when they had found some of the missing original tiles and now wanted to investigate having the floor returned to its former glory.

I went along to quote and give a demonstration of the restoration process and provide an indication of the expected results. The test area responded well to the treatment and they were happy with my quote to repair and renovate the floor, so were booked in to restore the whole floor and I set about sourcing matching replacement tiles.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first two days were spent carefully removing the leveller, cleaning up the exposed subfloor then cutting and fitting replacement tiles. One of the areas that needed extra work was a doorway which required a sub-floor installing before being able to tile with a matching pattern.

With the main hallway tiling completed I started on the tiling in the adjacent vestibule. I had been given a couple of bags of original tiles to sort out by the owner and fortunately most of them were in good condition, so I was able to repair the vestibule with approximately 90% original tiles. The rest were made up of reproduction tiles that I had managed to source. Additionally, the floor had numerous loose tiles which needed resetting and finishing with replacements. Due to so many of the tiles being original the appearance between the newly replaced area did not look too much different however I was confident the following deep clean and seal would blend them in well.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

With the tiling now repaired my next focus was the cleaning which I started on day three with an application of neat Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to help loosen the carpet adhesive and paint splashes that were staining the floor.

The Pro-Clean was mopped onto the floor and then worked in with a 200-grit diamond pad fitted to a weighted rotary buffing machine. The extra weight, cleaning agent and coarse pad gets into the pores of the tile releasing years of ingrained dirt and removing old sealers and coatings. The floor was then rinsed with water and the waste extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to give the floor an acid rinse using another Tile Doctor product called Grout Clean-up which is designed to remove grout smears and mineral salts that will have been trapped into the pores of the tile after years of being covered in carpet. The grout clean-up was worked into the tiles using a 400-grit burnishing pad to refine the tile surface and close up the pores. The floor was rinsed and extracted again and left to dry out for two nights.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned a few days later and after testing the floor was dry set about applying a sealer. For this floor I chose to apply six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which gives a lovely sheen finish and really brought out the character in the beautiful tiles. It’s also water based so it doesn’t leave a smell as it dries.

By the time I had finished the floor was looking transformed and the client was delighted, so much so they left this fantastic review:

Kieron was fantastic. He brought our Minton flooring back to life and kept us informed every step of the way. He really knew what he was talking about and has done a fantastic job. Not to mention he was a really really lovely guy and great value for the incredible workmanship he offers.”

I left the customer with a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to help maintain the tiles appearance. It is important to use a neutral pH cleaner when maintaining sealed floors as stronger tile cleaning products that you find in supermarkets are too strong and will prematurely strip the protective sealer off a floor.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in West Midlands

The post Full Restoration of a Minton Tiled Victorian Hallway Floor in Kings Heath appeared first on Birmingham Tile Doctor.

Renovating an 1890’s Terrazzo Floor at a Church Vestry in Penarth

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 14:16:37 +0000

Detailed below is a fine example of what can be achieved restoring old Terrazzo flooring. The work took place earlier this year in the Kitchen of a Church Vestry in Penarth where the floor dated back to the Victorian 1890’s. Penarth is the wealthiest seaside resort in the Cardiff area and the second largest town in the Vale of Glamorgan, next only to the nearby Barry.

During the Victorian era Penarth was a popular holiday destination, known nationally as “The Garden by the Sea” and was often packed by visitors from the Midlands and the West Country. Along with the day trippers from the South Wales valleys, mostly arriving by train. Today, the town, with its traditional seafront, continues to be a regular summer holiday venue but with fewer visitors.

The client wanted a deep clean and shine finish, the floor had never been cleaned properly and as you can imagine it had a lot of footfall over the years and it really needed doing professionally. I visited to look first and carried out a small test clean to see how it would come up. Satisfied with this they were happy to accept my quote and we booked to return the following month.

Cleaning a Terrazzo Tiled Vestry Floor

With the aid of a rotary floor buffer I started the cleaning process with the application of a coarse 50-grit pad. The pad was run over the floor using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean for lubrication. Pro-Clean is a concentrated, multi-purpose alkaline cleaner, which strips and degreases the floor. It is first left to dwell for 10 minutes or so and then agitated with the machine. Applied with the pad it cuts through old sealers, coatings, and of course ingrained dirt.

This process generates a lot of soil which is rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. This was then followed by repeating the process with a 100 and then 200-grit pad. The area was given a thorough rinse with water and then dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum.

Some repairs were then carried out at the edges of the Terrazzo floor which involved sympathetically filling with cement. Once this had hardened the floor was treated to a burnish using finer grits of Tile Doctor burnishing pads ranging from 400, 800 and 1500 grits rinsing and extracting with water after each one.

After a final rinse, the floor was dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum and then left to dry off fully overnight, we would return the following day to carry out the sealing.

Sealing a Terrazzo Tiled Vestry Floor

The next day I was concerned the floor might not be dry enough after using so much water to clean it previously so before applying the sealer I checked the moisture levels with a damp meter. The readings were within tolerance however my next step was to give the Terrazzo a further polish with a 3000-git pad which is applied dry so would further dry the floor and bring up the surface appearance.

The last task was to seal the floor and for this we selected to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow, this is a colour intensifying impregnating sealer which soaks into the pores of the stone and provide durable stain protection. This product will cope well with the needs of a kitchen and is fully breathable which is important when choosing a sealer for old floors which do not have a damp proof membrane installed.

Two coats of colour grow were applied to the Terrazzo, allowing about thirty minutes drying time before applying the next. After the second coat had dried the floor was treated to an application of Tile Doctor Shine Powder which is buffed into the floor using the rotary machine to achieve a super durable and deep lustre to the floor.

The Terrazzo responded very well to the treatment and the sealers applied will ensure it keeps its appearance for many years to come.

Professional Restoration of a Terrazzo Tiled Vestry Floor in South East Wales

The post Renovating an 1890’s Terrazzo Floor at a Church Vestry in Penarth appeared first on South East Wales Tile Doctor.

Quarry Tiled Floor Restored Following Cottage Remodel in Broughton Village

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 13:59:30 +0000

The following photos are from a 16th Century cottage in the village of Broughton near Kettering which was undergoing major restoration works. The Quarry tiled floor was not as old as the house and was probably installed in the Victorian era. The clients wanted the floor restoring before the plastering of walls and new kitchen was installed. There was also a section where a pantry wall had been removed with tiles missing, so these needed to be replaced with reclaimed tiles that the customer had sourced.

I visited site to look at the project, survey the Quarry tiled floor and give them a firm price for the work. I was confident that we could replace the tiles and we could blend the area in to match the existing. Once the floor had a good clean and seal it would look a lot better.

With the quotation agreed I arranged a date where I would have sole access to the property which is always preferred as it means you do not have anyone walking through whilst your cleaning. This also has the added advantage of not having to take precautions over social distancing.

Restoring a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

On the first day on site I carried out the replacement of the missing tiles. This work started by cleaning up the holes in the floor left by the now removed wall and getting the base level and ready for tiling. Next the reclaimed tiles we cut down to fit the shape left by the wall to match the existing tiling. The fit needed to be exact as any mismatch would show later. Once I was happy with the cuts the tiles were fixed in place with rapid set adhesive and once that had set were grouted in place. The next step would be to give the floor a deep clean, so it was left to dry off overnight.

The next day with the tile adhesive and grout having gone off overnight I was able to start the cleaning process. Working in sections I began by applying Tile Doctor Oxy Gel to the tile and grout with a little water, leaving it to soak in for ten minutes and then working it into the tiles using a 17 inch rotary scrubbing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. A stiff brush was also used along the grout lines to make sure they were equally treated. After scrubbing the now soiled solution was vacuumed off with an industrial wet vac and repeated the process until the entire area had been cleaned.

Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up was then applied using a 1:10 dilution with water. It was mopped it over the entire area to neutralise the tile and remove any grout smears, hazing and mineral deposits which are quite common with floors of this age. The entire area was then given a good rinse with clean water to remove any trace of cleaning product. An industrial fan was also installed and left on site to assist with the drying process until we returned a week later. This would ensure the floor would be bone dry for our return and ready to accept a sealer.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

Returning the following week, I tested the moisture levels in the tiles with a damp meter. I was conscious that due to the age of the tiles there may be some inherent damp however my plan had worked, and the tests confirmed the floor was indeed dry and ready for sealing.

The client required a silk finish so I opted to apply several coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra which would provide the required finish yet is breathable and so will not impeded moisture rising through the floor allowing it to evaporate and not become trapped. This is an important consideration when choosing a sealer for an old floor which don’t have a damp proof membrane installed as trapping moisture under the floor can lead to it reaching out to the walls where it can result in rising damp.

The client was extremely happy with the results and has left the following comments on our feedback page.

“Phil was great. On time and a good worker. Gave good advice and carried out all the work thoroughly. The tiles are now looking much better. Very happy. By Peter B, Kettering”

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor in Northamptonshire

The post Quarry Tiled Floor Restored Following Cottage Remodel in Broughton Village appeared first on Northamptonshire Tile Doctor.

Cleaning and Sealing an Edwardian Hallway Floor in Coundon

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 10:01:21 +0000

This Edwardian tiled hallway floor was a real hidden feature of this 1940s house in Coundon Coventry. I say hidden as it had spent years under the carpet which had protected it but had also left it ingrained with dirt. The owners decided to lift the carpet and had left the floor to dry over a few months, old floors like these do not have a damp proof membrane installed and so moisture in the subfloor was being trapped underneath. Now it was dry they were now keen to get the floor fully restored and late later last year they got in touch to have it renovated.

I popped in to survey the floor and unusually for a floor of its age could find no damage or loose tiles, there was some adhesive tape to deal with along the edges but generally the floor just needed a good clean and seal. I gave them my quote which they readily accepted, and we arranged a date.

Cleaning an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first part of the clean which involved removing the old adhesive tape and paint on the edges and corners was carefully done by hand with a scraper. The whole floor was then given a deep clean using a 45kg floor buffer fitted with a scrubbing brush to work in different products. First, I applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go to remove the old wax polish. I find it works best if you leave products to soak in for ten minutes before scrubbing it into the tiles, this gives it time to activate and breakdown the coatings. The slurry is then rinsed off with a little water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

I repeated the process, but this time using Tile Doctors Acid Gel using as little water as possible. The Tile Doctor Acid Gel will remove old grout and other mineral deposits from the tiles and it also counters any alkaline salts which can be a problem in floors of this age. This is important as the lack of a damp proof membrane will allow salts to rise through the floor as moisture evaporates on the surface resulting in white deposits, a process known as efflorescence. Again, this was rinsed off with a little water and extracted with the wet vacuum.

This work was carried out over the winter and I was careful not to over wet the tiles as they can take a long time to dry out naturally at this time of year. The moisture levels in the tiles are always a concern as my next task would be to apply a sealer and the tiles would need to be dry for the best result.

Sealing an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

Conscious of the damp issue I arranged to return to seal the floor seven days later, checking the moisture levels of the tiles with a damp meter in numerous places before starting. Fortunately, seven days had been plenty of time and the floor was dry.

The floor was then sealed with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which allows for moisture to rise through the tile, again an important feature for a floor with no damp proof membrane. To use a sealer that was not breathable would lead to a build-up of damp under the floor where it can cause damage to the tiles and potentially work its way into the walls causing rising damp.

The client was very happy with the newly revived floor, it was nice to have an additional period feature revealed. Going forward I suggested the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is ideal for the regular cleaning of sealing floors and will ensure the tiles remain in this lovely condition for a long time.

Professional Restoration of an Edwardian Tiled Hallway in Warwickshire

The post Cleaning and Sealing an Edwardian Hallway Floor in Coundon appeared first on Warwickshire Tile Doctor.

Renovating a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Rhos-on-Sea

Mon, 15 Jun 2020 15:03:57 +0000

Recently we were asked to quote on restoring a Victorian tiled hallway floor in one of the large houses in the North Wales seaside resort of Rhos-on-Sea. It was a lovely period property that overlooked the sea and the floor a fine example of Victorian tiling and a real asset to the property.

Naturally, we have to take precautions when visiting properties these days, especially when surveying floors inside properties however we have amended our working practices to include more PPE and social distancing and so its not a problem.

On first impressions the floor looked to be in good order however it had some broken and loose tiles that needed replacing and then the floor given a good clean and seal. Fortunately, Victorian tiles are still popular, and you can find replacements, I also know that difficult to source tiles can often be found by asking other Tile Doctors many of whom have quite a collection. A quote was given for the work, which was accepted, and a date set to commence the work which would take three days.

Rhos-on-Sea is a very picturesque town situated between Llandudno and Colwyn Bay by passed by north wales main trunk road A55 leading to the main ferry port of Holyhead to Ireland. When you turn off the A55 into Rhos-on-Sea your transferred to a large seaside promenade with a wide walkway which is used by the towns many retired residents who appreciate the splendid coastal views.

Repairing and Cleaning Victorian Hallway Tiles

The first job was to cut out and remove the damaged tiles then prepare the subbase with rapid set self-levelling compound to take the new tiles. Once this had set, I was able to cut and fit the replacements. There were a few areas that needed attention and so this work took up by most of the first day.

The next day was cleaning day, first we checked the repairs where fixed and dry. To clean the floor, we use a slow speed buffing machine with extra weights which can be removed to suit the pressure required. The pad we use with the machine is a 200-grit milling pad lubricated with water, this cleans the tiles as it moves along, and the waste is removed by wet vacuum.

Pads struggle to reach into the corners and along the edges so to ensure all the old sealer is removed the floor is cleaned with a treatment of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a strong coatings remover that is safe to use on tile and stone. Its left to dwell on the tiles for ten minutes and then scrubbed in, the waste is then removed as before using the wet vacuum.

Tile tiles were then treated to a process we call and Acid Wash which we highly recommend for old Victorian floors which do not have a damp proof membrane installed. As a result, moisture can rise through the tiles leaving white salt deposits on the floor which is known as Efflorescence. To prevent this we try not to use much water when cleaning Victorian floors however we find if you apply a coat of Tile Doctor Acid Gel it counters the salts in the floor and eliminates the problem, the gel will also remove old grout hazing and helps bring out the beauty of the floor. The gel is washed off and removed with the trusty wet vacuum which is an essential tool for any Tile Doctor. The floor was then left to dry out for two days to ensure it would be completely dry on our return and ready for sealing.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Its important the floor is dry before sealing so on our return the first task was to take moisture readings with a damp meter in different parts of the floor. The readings were fine, so an initial coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow was applied to the floor. This is an impregnating colour enhancing sealer that soaks into the pores of the tile protecting it from within. Once this was dry its was followed to with three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which leaves a subtle semi sheen when dry. Both these sealers are breathable and so won’t trap any moisture below the tiles, this is an important feature as trapped moisture can find its way to the walls resulting in rising damp.

Once the sealer was dry, we were able to let the owner see the result who was really pleased and apparently has since received many compliments. For aftercare we recommend using Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which has a effective neutral pH formula that won’t prematurely erode the sealer with use like stronger products you find in supermarkets.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in North Wales

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Sandstone floor clean and seal in Conisbrough, Doncaster

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 14:14:25 +0000

The owners of this stunning 400-year old property in Conisbrough had occupied it for a few years and were now having a lot of work done to the interior. They never liked the Sandstone Kitchen floor as it always looked dull and unclean, and this was made worse during the renovations. As a result, they had decided they would try and have it professionally cleaned and if not happy would look to replace it.

Conisbrough is a town within the borough of Doncaster. It’s most famous for its’ spectacular castle, Conisbrough Castle. It was originally built in the 11th Century after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Needless to say, the area has a lot of history including the residential property.

Even though the house was 400 years old this floor was part of a recent addition which used to be a tearoom. It was immediately obvious from our initial inspection the floor had never been sealed properly leaving it susceptible to stains, ingrained dirt and grime. We gave them a quote for the work which they were happy to accept, and we arranged a convenient date to return.

Deep Cleaning a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor in Conisbrough

To ger the dirt out of the stone I decided to start with a medium strength dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. It was sprayed onto the floor and then left it to soak in for about ten minutes so it could get to work on breaking down the soiling. After the 10 minutes was up it was worked into every inch of the stone using a scrubbing brush fitted to a rotary floor machine. This product is perfect for removing built up grease and deep ingrained dirt. As the floor had no seal for protection it was pretty dirty.

This action released a dark brown soil from the stone, and this was extracted with an industrial wet vacuum and quickly rinsed the floor with water. It was a reasonably large floor, so it was cleaned in sections working our way across the room making sure the floor was 100% clean as we went. After cleaning the floor twice, it was inspected, and further work carried out to the high traffic and stubborn areas.

Sealing a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor in Conisbrough

The floor was left to dry out overnight and then checked with a damp meter then next day to ensure the moisture level had returned to normal. Applying a sealer to a damp floor is not recommend and can lead to an inconsistent result so I always check first.

To seal I applied Tile Doctor Colour Grow to the floor, this in an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within and enhancing the natural colours in the stone in the process. It really brings out the beautiful colours and patterns of the stone transforming its appearance.

The floor looked great and the client was very happy with the overall appearance and decided they would stick with the floor, actually Sandstone is quite nice!

I recommended to the client they should use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to keep the floor looking good, this is a pH neutral cleaner which will not compromise the newly applied seal and will keep it in place, preventing the problems they had previously experienced. It has a fresh smell and is suitable for regular use.

Professional Restoration of a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen in South Yorkshire

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Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in York

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 16:15:59 +0000

This client had just moved into a property in York and having pulled back the old carpet revealed a lovely old period Victorian tiled floor she didn’t know existed when she bought the house!

I went over at the beginning of this year to survey the floor and could see that fortunately, no glue or carpet grips had been used to secure the carpet; additionally the floor was in good physical condition considering its age with no cracks or loose tiles. The tiles were however very dusty and dirty with ingrained dirt and so had probably been covered with carpet for a very long time. The hallway was quite dark I’m afraid with little natural light so apologies for the photographs.

With old houses like this you never know what you are going to find so whilst I was there surveying the floor, I took some moisture readings with a damp meter on the floors and walls. The readings came back low so no sign of damp which was a relief to the owner.
We agreed a price for the work, and I arranged to come back the following week.

I must admit I do like York, its steeped in history and famous for its Cathedral and Viking museum. The houses in the city have loads of character and period features like this floor are quite common.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in York

I deep cleaned the floor with a strong 1:3 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. Initially the solution was left to soak into the tile before being agitated by the machine. The soil was then rinsed off with minimal water and then extracted with a wet vacuum.

I followed this up with an Acid Wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel to further clean up the tiles and help inhibit any potential efflorescent salt issues which are common in floors of this age due to the absence of the damp proof membrane. The floor was given a further rinse and extraction and allowed to dry out fully overnight. I needed the floor to be dry for the next day so it could be sealed.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I came back the next day and started by taking more damp readings which showed similar readings to the day before. Given the low readings I was able to move straight onto sealing which was done using four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. This product works really well on old Victorian Tiles like these and being water based it doesn’t leave a smell as it dries.

Once the final coat of sealer had dried there was a significant improvement in the appearance of the floor which was much appreciated by client who was very happy with the end result.

For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to maintain the floor, it has a nice fresh smell and can be used regularly due to its pH neutral nature which won’t prematurely erode the sealer like stronger bleach based cleaners.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Yorkshire

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Revitalizing Limestone Floor Tile & Grouting in Silfield

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 14:51:31 +0000

Earlier this year I was invited over to a property in the village of Silfield near Wymondham in Norfolk to inspect a Limestone tiled floor. Now I don’t usually quote my clients, but this is how the owner of the property had described the floor in the enquiry I received from Tile Doctor.

“Grout Black, where tiles have divots, dirt is encased,
plus no shine to floor, sealant non-existent.”

The problems listed were quite comprehensive and having had chance to survey the floor we found them to be quite accurate and really could not disagree with her comments! The Limestone tiles had been laid throughout the Kitchen diner and it was clear the sealer had worn off completely allowing dirt to become ingrained in the Limestone tiles and especially the grout which had turned black.

I understood from the owner that the grout lines should have been a pale cream colour rather than the black it was now, additionally the natural pitting in the Limestone was full of the same black contaminants. I ran a quick water test on the tiles to see if there was a seal present and it confirmed that if there had ever been one it was now completely compromised. The lack of sealer had allowed all liquid spills and dirt to soak straight into the tile making it dirty and exceedingly difficult to clean.

A large birthday celebration party had been planned and our client was desperate for the floor to be brought back to life beforehand. Although I couldn’t start immediately due to other commitments, it was able to return in time to get the floor clean for the party.

Deep Cleaning Limestone Tile and Grout

Our first job was to tackle the severe soiling trapped in the pits and grout lines. To do this a very strong dilution (2:1 ratio) of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the floor and left to soak into the tile and grout for about 10 minutes. Then is was scrubbed into the tiles with help from a rotary buffer fitted with a soft/medium long-bristled nylon brush. The resulting slurry was then power rinsed with 60-degree hot water and extracted with our 400psi machine which jetted out all the black, oily contaminants from the grout and pits.

The floor was speed dried with the assistance of a large air mover. Once dry to the touch our attention was turned to filling the now exposed pitts in the Limestone tiles and two cracks with an appropriately coloured fast cure epoxy compound. Having allowed the filler time to reach full hardness, we ground down the excess material with 100 and 200 grit hand burnishing blocks in preparation for the next stage.

We find the best way to renovate the appearance of stone is to use a process called burnishing which hones the stone and beings up the polish. For this you need a set of 17-inch diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The pads fit the rotary buffer and are applied to the floor in sequence from 400, 800 and then 1500 grit using water to lubricate the process. The waster turns into a slurry as you work, and this is then rinsed off the floor with water after each pad and extracted using a wet vacuum. The floor was then left to dry thoroughly overnight with the assistance of our large capacity dehumidifier.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Diner Floor

Returning the following day, we thoroughly vacuumed the floor to remove any remaining powder and grit left from the previous day’s wet work before spray burnishing the surface with a Tile Doctor 3000-grit diamond pad. This last pad really beings up the polished appearance of the Limestone and gave the tiles a deep and rich shine.

This last pad is applied without water and so leaves the floor dry and ready to for a new sealer to be applied. Our sealer of choice was Tile Doctor Ultra Seal, it’s a premium penetrating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within. Ultra-Seal doesn’t alter the natural appearance of the stone giving it undetectable protection from staining. Having allowed the sealed floor to dry with the assistance of our air mover, the whole area was buffed using a white buffing pad and a small amount of finely sprayed water to remove any light smearing before vacuuming once again to finish.

My client was delighted with the result and left the following feedback for us:

“Totally renewed two flooring areas in our house to what looks like a recently laid floor. I have already had so many compliments without even telling people it had been professionally cleaned! Nick and Sue are always very easy to have about, inconspicuous and hard working. Absolutely delighted with the outcome and would recommend without hesitation. Thank you so much!”

For aftercare cleaning I recommended Tile Doctor Stone Soap, its designed for cleaning polished stone floors and will help build-up the patina. It’s a neutral pH product so won’t prematurely erode the sealer like many tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets which are really sold for cleaning glazed ceramic tiles not sealed natural stone.

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Diner in Norfolk

The post Revitalizing Limestone Floor Tile & Grouting in Silfield appeared first on Norfolk Tile Doctor.

Large Slate Patio Renovated in Wantage

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 13:53:30 +0000

These photos of a Slate Patio were taken in 2019 at a property in Wantage. It’s an excellent example of the transformation that can be achieved with stone patios and given the current situation something we would like to do more of.

Although structurally sound the stone looked bleached by the weather and the owner of the property wanted the patio to look like it did when it had been first laid with the colour and character of the Slate restored.

I called in to do site visit to take a closer look. The patio was situated in a sunny spot, so had indeed been bleached by the weather. I discussed what we could do to restore the tiles and they were very happy to go ahead with my quote. We booked to return the following week weather permitting.

Incidentally Wantage is an historic market town that was part of Berkshire, but it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. The town is situated around 8 miles from Abingdon, with Reading, Newbury and Oxford nearby.

Deep Cleaning a Slate Patio in Wantage

It was a large patio, so I did the work in sections starting with the application of a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to soak in for ten minutes. This is a concentrated, multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, stripper and degreaser that can be diluted at varying strengths, its effective on mildew and algae in areas that have been neglected or subjected to heavy use. Tile Doctor have numerous products that could have been used to renovate stone patio including a dedicated Patio Cleaner which is something I considered using if I needed extra cleaning power.

After ten minutes the solution was scrubbed into the patio with a rotary floor scrubber fitted with a black scrubbing pad. This action lifted the dirt and previous coatings out of the stone turning the cleaning solution into a dark slurry. The slurry was rinsed off and extracted with a wet vacuum.

I then gave the patio an Acid Wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to further clean up the stone and disperse any residues, after another rinse with water the patio was dried with a wet vacuum. This product is a cleaner designed to penetrate below the surface to remove light grout smears (grout haze), mineral deposits, rust stains and efflorescence. We also use this product for the removal of most hard water stains, lime deposits and soap scum, it is very effective especially when used in conjunction with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. Our client had not realised quite how dirty the patio had been!

Sealing a Slate Patio in Wantage

To apply the sealer, I had to wait for a weather window when it would be dry for a few days. I know from experience that applying a sealer to damp stone results can lead to an inconsistent result that customers are rarely happy with.

After returning, I started the sealing process with the application of a pre-sealer called Tile Doctor Stone Oil which soaks into the stone and adds the deep colour the slate really needed. Once this was dry, I applied a single coat of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal to lock in the Stone Oil and add protection.

The Slate patio was completely transformed and needless to say, the owner of the property was very pleased with the result. They were looking forward to using the space and entertaining friends and family.

Professional Restoration of a Slate Tiled Patio in Oxfordshire

The post Large Slate Patio Renovated in Wantage appeared first on Oxfordshire Tile Doctor.

Restoration of Famous Palm Court Marble Tiled Floor in Felixstowe

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 16:14:22 +0000

Earlier this year I was asked to restore a large 290m2 Marble tiled floor in a room known as Palm Court at the famous clifftop Grade II listed Felix Hotel in Felixstowe which has now been redeveloped into 61 retirement apartments with communal areas. The Felix Hotel was originally opened in Felixstowe in 1903 and was advertised as the Finest Hotel on the East Coast. It is said that Ms Simpson stayed at the Hotel during her divorce proceedings In Ipswich to allow her free to marry King Edward VIII.

The building was taken over by Fisons in 1952 who used it as their HQ and it is believed that they covered the Marble floor with carpet so they could use it for office space.
Our task was to remove all the carpet glue and restore the Marble tiles of Palm Court back to its original glory. The room is used for wedding ceremonies and the company that runs the property wanted to restore the floor as an original feature. There are some photos below of the room as it used to be when it was opened.

With 290m2 of Marble flooring to restore it was clearly large project however having worked on numerous stone floor restorations previously I was confident we could restore it and was able to bring Dean who runs the North Essex Tile Doctor to assist.

To provide an accurate price for the work however I visited the property to survey the floor and ran a test clean in one section. This allows me to work out the best method and products to use on the floor and ensure there are no surprises, the test worked out very well and transformed that small section of Marble remarkably well. The quote was agreed, and a suitable time was arranged to start the restoration which would take place over a few weeks.

Removing Carpet Adhesive from a Marble Tiled Floor

I started the work by tackling the old carpet adhesive which covered the entire floor. The method I used involved applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go which is a coatings remover that is safe to use on stone. Working in sections the product was applied to the surface and then covered with plastic sheeting to prevent the solution from drying out. It took the best part of a day to achieve this as the area was so large.

The following day we started removing the plastic in small sections and got to work scrubbing the Marble clean using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. Scraper blades were also used by hand to remove stubborn areas of glue and carpet backing. The floor was rinsed with water and the slurry extracted using an industrial wet vacuum. This part of the job took four days in total to complete but we could now see the beautiful marble that had been hidden beneath.

Restoring the Appearance of Polished Marble Tiles

The next step was to restore the appearance of the Marble using a process we call Burnishing but is also referred to as Honing. This involves applying diamond encrusted pads of increasingly finer grits to the Marble tiles to grind off the dirt and polish the surface. We started with a very coarse 200-grit pad which was run over every tile three times using water to lubricate the process. This generated a fine slurry which is then rinsed off with water and then extracted with the wet vacuum The 200-grit pad was then followed using a sequence of 400, 800 grit pads rinsing each time between pads and extracting the slurry as before using the wet vacuum.

Re-grouting a Large Marble Tiled Floor

Burnishing the stone tiles took care of renovating the appearance of the Marble but did little for the grout which had been badly stained and over the years and now needed to be removed and replaced. Removing the old grout and replacing with new was a mammoth job but I knew it would make all the difference to the final appearance of the floor

With the grouting redone the floor was given a further polish with the application of a 1500-grit pad, again the floor was rinsed with water and extracted afterwards. This stage of re-grouting and polishing took another four days to complete.

Sealing a Large Marble Tiled Floor

The last stage was to seal the marble. To do this, two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal were applied which took a further two days to apply and that’s with two of us doing the work. Tile Doctor Ultra Seal provides a protective seal and gives a no sheen natural look finish, so the floor is not left too shiny and slippery. The natural beauty of the marble was then allowed to shine through.

Once finished the floor looked amazing, the stone looked lighter in colour and overall, it gave the impression it has only recently been installed. I was incredibly pleased with the result and most importantly the Directors of Harvest House Ltd were delighted with the outcome. It had been hard work to bring such a large Marble floor back to life but a real pleasure to restore a historic 117-year-old floor back to its former glory.

Professional Restoration of a Large Marble Tiled Floor in Suffolk

The post Restoration of Famous Palm Court Marble Tiled Floor in Felixstowe appeared first on Suffolk Tile Doctor.

Post Installation Clean of Wood Effect Porcelain Tiles in Middlesex Hampton

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 14:24:49 +0000

This kitchen floor at a property in Hampton may look like it is made from wood but is in-fact Porcelain tile in a very convincing wood effect. The tiled floor had been laid well but had not been cleaned off properly afterwards by the tilers. This is a common problem with tile installations and what should happen is the excess grout is polished off the tiles before it sets hard on the surface, a problem we call Grout Haze. This is especially important where the tile has a textured finish which can trap the grout much more easily and this was the case with these wooden plank effect Porcelain tiles. The grout also increased the textured nature of the surface, so it attracted dirt more easily and after a while the customer was finding it impossible to get the floor looking clean.

The kitchen had been newly installed, and the state of the tiles were dragging down the overall appearance of the room. Naturally, the owner was not happy and called us in to rectify the situation. The property is in Hampton which is a suburban area on the north bank of the River Thames, it is situated in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, which includes the historic Hampton Court Palace, once the home of Henry VIII.

Removing Grout Haze from a Wood Effect Porcelain Tiled Floor

This work actually took place earlier in the year and after visiting the property to survey the floor it wasn’t long before I was able to return and give the floor a deep clean. I got to work preparing the area first by taping the plinths and woodwork to prevent any damage to them.

Next, I tackled the grout haze by giving the floor a wash and scrub in Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. This product is designed for removing grout haze or grout smears as its sometimes referred to. The kitchen area was a little tight for a rotary floor scrubbing machine, so I decided to tackle the problem by scrubbing each tile by hand. The method I used was to apply a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to the tiles and leave it for about ten minutes before scrubbing it in. Once done the floor was rinsed with water and the now released grout haze and dirt is extracted using a wet vacuum. Whilst this was a more time-consuming method than using the rotary machine the overall result was the same.

With the grout haze removed the kitchen now looks stunning as was intended and our client should find the floor much easier to maintain going forward. Most Porcelain tiles are glazed at the factory and so in this case there was no need to apply a sealant to protect them and so the job was completed in a day.

For aftercare I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to ensure the floor was kept in great condition. It won’t leave any residue like some household cleaners and will ensure the Porcelain tiles are maintained and continue to look this great.

Wood Effect Porcelain Tile Cleaning in Middlesex

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Listed Victorian Floor Restoration at Aston Park House Great Budworth

Thu, 28 May 2020 11:43:39 +0000

Earlier this year were contacted by the The Vintage Floor company who have supplied me with reclaimed tiles in the past to see if we could help one of their customers restore a Victorian floor at Aston Park House in Great Budworth. A section of flooring in the mansion house had been ripped out by a property developer along with most of the other features in the building. According to Cheshire Live news the developer was taken to court and fined for the “reckless vandalism” of a rare Grade II listed building.

The property dates to 1715 and at one time was part of the nearby Arley Hall Estate which has been used for many film locations including Peaky Blinders and War of the Worlds. English Heritage were now keeping a close eye on the renovation work, so needless to say the standard had to be high.

On the first day of work a person from English Heritage met me with old plans of the floor and how it was to be restored. Fortunately, half the floor was still there so that section just needed a good clean and seal, but there was a twelve-foot section of the floor missing which needed to be replaced to English Heritage standards.

Rebuilding a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

English Heritage had arranged to have a new sub-base installed so I was able to get straight onto tiling the floor. I used a modern flexible adhesive to lay the tiles which alone took two weeks as there were 2,450 tiles of different sizes. Keeping the tiles butted up to each other level and smooth and following the correct pattern is meticulous work. Once the new tiles were laid it was left for three days to set before I returned to grout the floor. With part one of the project done English Heritage returned to check my work which was a nerve-racking experience.

English Heritage has specified that the floor needed to be levelled so to ensure the tiles were completely flat I applied a system that Tile Doctor use called Milling. This involves the application of a coarse 200-grit DRB pad to take out any lippage and flatten the tiles. DRB stands for Diamond Resin Block which refers to the segments in the pad that do the heavy lifting of milling the tiles. The pads are applied using a rotary machine which is fitted with extra weights to make better contact with the tile and is run at a slow speed. Water is used as a lubricant and the fine slurry generated is removed with a wet vacuum.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Next step was to get both floors clean using a 200-grit pad (without segments) followed with a set of burnishing pads from 400, 800 and finally 1500-grit to restore the surface. Again, each pad is applied with water for lubrication and is rinsed and extracted after each pad. This process really gets the floor clean and reduces any noticeable difference between the new and old floors.

After completing the burnishing, the floor was treated to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. This is applied to the floor and left to soak for ten minutes before being rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. Old floors don’t have a damp proof membrane so this neutralises any efflorescent salts in the tile which could cause a problem later, it also ensures grout smears are removed. The floor was then left to dry out for seven days.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On return we tested the floor to check it was dry enough to seal, this is important as any moisture in the tile can affect the sealer leading to an inconsistent finish. One coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow was applied to start, this is a colour intensifying breathable impregnator that soaks into the tile improving its appearance and adding protection from within. Any excess sealant was removed by wiping the floor with a microfibre cloth and then it was left to dry for an hour.

We then applied four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is an acrylic sealer and breathable. This is an important feature when choosing a sealer for old floors where moisture needs to be allowed to rise through the tile, otherwise it can become trapped under the floor and reach out to the walls causing rising damp.

We returned two days later for a final inspection with English Heritage which thankfully we got the nod that the floor had passed!

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in West Cheshire

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