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Restoring the Polish on Marble Tiled Steps in Cwmbran

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 10:07:44 +0000

The marble steps shown in the images were installed at a property in Cwmbran roughly ten years ago. Supplied by Mandarin Stone the Marble was beautiful however over time they had lost their polish. Also, the plant pots that had been placed on either side of the steps had scratched the pieces of marble quite deeply in some areas.

I explained to the client what would need to be done to restore the appearance of the steps and the materials required. They had previously been told there was no possible way of removing the scratches caused by the plant pots so they were delighted to have found a solution.

Having agreed my quote a date was set for the work to start.

Cleaning Marble Tiled Steps

To remove the scratches and restore the polish applied a set of Tile Doctor Burnishing Pads, starting with a coarse 50-grit pad attached to a rotary machine. The pads area applied with water and the slurry generated rinsed off and extracted afterwards. The 50-grit was followed by 100, 200, 400, 800, and finishing on 1500 grit, again all applied with water and rinsed off after each pad.

For the corners that the machine could not reach I used a similar set of 6” burnishing pads attached to a hand-held rotary machine. The pads were applied in the same order starting with a 50 grit and finishing on 1500 grit. Again, after each pad the slurry was extracted with a wet vacuum and the steps washed with water.

Once I had reached 1500 grit, the steps were allowed to dry, and I was able to demonstrate that the scratches had been removed and the natural polish restored. They were still worried that I wouldn’t be able to remove the scratches so were delighted to see they were now gone! I then began the final step of polishing the Marble steps by spray burnishing them with a 3000 grit Tile Doctor Burnishing Pad which is the last step in the polishing process.

Sealing Marble Tiled Steps

My client was very fond of the steps when they were wet as the colour was “significantly enhanced“ so I suggested I we use Tile Doctor Colour Grow to create a similar effect. The sealer is fully breathable, with a colour enhancing matt finish which is perfect for exterior use and for slightly darkening natural stones.

Four coats of sealer were applied allowing each coat to dry for thirty minutes before applying the next. When Marble is polished to a high shine every mark becomes obvious so once the final coat was dry the steps were then buffed with a White buffing pad.

My clients were extremely happy with the job and asked me to return later to renovate the tiles in both their ensuite bathrooms.

To maintain the sealer and to prevent accelerated break down I left the client with a bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a gentle but effective stone cleaner that helps maintain the patina.

Professional Restoration of Marble Tiled Steps in Monmouthshire

The post Restoring the Polish on Marble Tiled Steps in Cwmbran appeared first on Monmouthshire Tile Doctor.

Damaged Sealer Replaced on Black Slate Wall Tiles in a Penge Bathroom

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 05:56:42 +0000

The photographs below are of a Slate Tiled Bathroom at a property in Penge. The customer had an open plan ensuite bathroom and feature wall in Black Slate, unfortunately however the topical sealer had become damaged and now looked terrible. The owner was clearly unhappy with its appearance and called us in to take a look.

I went over to the property to survey the tiles and work out what had happened. In this case I diagnosed that moisture had penetrated beneath the sealer causing it to become white and cloudy. Clearly the sealer used previously was not the best choice for a bathroom where a high level of moisture in the air is common.

The solution would be to remove the old sealer entirely, clean the tile and grout and then apply a suitable impregnating sealer which wouldn’t have the same issue. I worked out a quote along these lines which was accepted and a date set for my return to carry out the work.

Removing Sealer from Black Slate Wall Tiles

I set about removing the old sealer by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which as its name suggests is a coatings remover. Working in one section at a time the solution was decanted into a spray bottle and sprayed onto the wall tile, this mixes the solution with air making it lighter and helps it stick to vertical surfaces better.

After a few minutes the solution was worked into the stone by hand with a scouring pad, the delay gives the product time to start breaking down the old sealer. After scrubbing a section, it was rinsed with water and checked to see if more work was needed. Due to the thickness of the sealer I had to repeat this process several times aided by a steam cleaner before I was happy all the sealer had been removed.

When I was happy that all the damaged sealer had been removed from the Slate tiles, I continued to remove all the sealer from the remaining area. This is important as I would be applying an impregnating sealer later and any remaining sealer would prevent it from soaking into the tile. Also, the last thing you want is different depths of sealer on the stone as it will result in an inconsistent appearance.

Sealing Slate Wet Room Tiles

When all the sealer had been removed and the Slate was dry, I was then able to re-apply the new sealer. Its important that the stone was dry before applying the new sealer as any dampness in the stone can effect the way the sealer cures.

I chose two products to seal the Black Slate starting with a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which was selected for several reasons. First, its fully breathable so can cope with moisture, also as its name suggests it contains a colour enhancing formula which helps to bring out the best in dark stone. This product is also an impregnator which basically means it will soak into the stone, occupying the pores and thereby ensuring that any contaminants remain on the surface where they can be easily wiped away.

Once all the Black Slate was covered, I allowed a quick dwell time before rubbing off the excess sealer. After the first coat of Colour Grow had dried I the applied a second coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil, this really enhances the colour of the stone. The same application and drying process were used, before I carried out a third and final coast of sealer using Colour Grow again.

The combination of sealers brought out the best in the Black Slate which developed a lovely deep shine. The result was completely transformative and as you can imagine the owner was very happy with the improvement.

For aftercare I recommended they clean the shower tiles with Tile Doctor Aqua Pro, this is a gentle but effective spray on shower tile cleaner that has been created for cleaning sealed stone. The formula won’t harm the sealer ensuring it lasts longer.

Professional Slate Tile Restoration in a Kent Wet Room

The post Damaged Sealer Replaced on Black Slate Wall Tiles in a Penge Bathroom appeared first on South East London Tile Doctor.

Dirty Quarry Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Wollaston

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 06:27:25 +0000

This client from the village of Wollaston contacted Tile Doctor about cleaning and sealing their Quarry tiled floor. They were refurbishing the house and wanted to keep the original floor tiles as part of the renovation.

The tiles were installed throughout the ground floor, including the kitchen, lounge and hallway. However, as I was to discover myself, they were covered in years of grime, and they were not sure if they could be restored.

I went over to survey the floor and could see that any sealer that may have protected the tiles from ingrained dirt had long since worn off and as a result dirt had become ingrained into the pores of the quarry tiles. Once this happens its very difficult to keep clean.

I had to agree the floor was overdue a deep clean and re-seal and so took some measurements in order to work out a quote for doing the work. The quote was accepted, and a date set for starting the work which would take two days, one to clean and one to seal.

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Ground Floor

To deep clean the quarry tiles, a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go was applied to the floor and left to dwell for a short while. The solution was then scrubbed into the tile using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine.

The solution soon turned black with the dirt that was pulled out of the tiles and was rinsed away with water and extracted using a wet vacuum. I inspected the tiles afterwards and could see some paint splashes from years of decorating were still evident, so I re-applied the product and repeated the process to get rid of them.

The grout was then cleaned by hand using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and a scrubbing brush, again extracting the waste once complete. I find this is the most effective way to clean grout as the pads struggle to reach into the recess of the grout line.

To complete the cleaning process, I then gave the floor an acid rinse with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up, this was applied to remove old grout smears and further clean up the tiles. All soiling was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Ground Floor

Returning the following day, the first job was to test the floor with the damp meter to check it was dry. The tiles needed to be dry enough to accept the seal and applying sealer to damp tiles can result in a patchy appearance. This is always worthy checking when cleaning Quarry tiles as that are naturally quite porous so can take some time to dry.

Once satisfied the readings were within the correct range, I was ready to seal. I selected to use Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra for this, it’s a breathable sealer which is useful for older floors such as this where there is no evidence of a damp proof membrane being installed. Breathable sealers allow for moisture to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface, without this moisture can build-up under the floor causing it to reach out to the walls where it could cause rising damp.

I applied two coats of Seal and Go Extra waiting for the first to dry before applying the next. The sealer lifts the deep red colours in the Quarry tiles and adds a nice appealing shine. The sealer works by ensuring dirt remains on the surface where it can easily be cleaned away.

My client was very happy with their now clean quarry tiled floor and left the following feedback for me:

“I was looking forward to the results before it was even booked in, and I was not disappointed. A professional approach and very helpful throughout.”

Before leaving I took time to explain how to maintain the floor using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. Its important to use a product like this on a sealed floor as many tile cleaning products are simply too strong and will strip the sealer off the floor with regular use.

Professional Cleaning of a Quarry Tiled Floor in Northamptonshire

The post Dirty Quarry Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Wollaston appeared first on Northamptonshire Tile Doctor.

Damaged 135-Year-Old Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Fully Restored in Thirsk

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 06:54:41 +0000

This Victorian tiled hallway floor at a property on the outskirts of Thirsk was approximately 135 years old and was in need of deep cleaning and repair. As far as the owners were aware it had never been professionally cleaned but was sealed many times before with some type of varnish/linseed oil.

Unsurprisingly for its age the tiles were fairly worn and unfortunately had some suffered damaged due to the installation of heating pipework that was run under the floor. This area had simply been backfilled with cement and my client asked for this to be replaced with tiles that match the existing type and pattern. The was floor was then to be restored to the best condition possible given its age.

I’ve worked on these sorts of issues before so more than happy to take on the project. It took a little time to track down the replacement tiles but once I had everything costed, I was able provide an accurate quote to the owner who gave the go ahead to start the work.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

To start I gave the whole floor a deep clean with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go combined with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to remove the several coatings from the tiles worked in with coarse 100 and 200-grit diamond pads fitted to a rotary machine. I also used hand-held diamond blocks around the edges. The soiling was then rinsed off with water and extracted with a powerful wet vacuum.

Next, I turned my attention to the damaged areas where the tiles had been dug out and backfilled with cement. This cement was at the same height as the floor, so it had to be carefully removed and then replaced with a lower screed mix with protection over the pipes to stop any corrosion.

Once the screed had set the area was re-tiled using the replacements I had managed to source earlier making various cuts as required to achieve the original geometric pattern.

The repaired and cleaned floor was then left for approximately four days until it was dry enough to seal. These old floors don’t have the benefit of a damp proof course and sealers work best when applied to dry tiles, so it is always worth waiting if there is any doubt.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

On my return I used a moisture meter to confirm the floor was dry and ready to be sealed.
The hallway is above ground level and away from the problems of rising moisture, however it is important to use a breathable sealer on these old floors that will allow any moisture to evaporate at the surface and not get trapped underneath where it could cause problems.

< Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor During Sealing Thirsk 06094202.jpg>

So, for this floor we used Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is breathable and results in a nice shine finish which the client requested. Four coats where needed before the tiles were fully sealed.

The client was very pleased with the result and even added a tip to their payment.

“Thanks Chris, all paid. – I added something extra for some beers or a meal down at Piece Hall as a thank you!”

< Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor After Restoration 06121153.jpg>

The new sealer will keep the dirt on the surface of the floor where it can be easily cleaned away. For which I recommend using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s a gentle but effective product that won’t impact the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in North Yorkshire

The post Damaged 135-Year-Old Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Fully Restored in Thirsk appeared first on North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

Terracotta Tiled Conservatory Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Staplehurst

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 12:52:46 +0000

This Terracotta tiled floor was installed in the 11m2 Conservatory of a property near Staplehurst. The owner was unhappy with the water staining that was spoiling the appearance of the tiles and decided it was time to have the Terracotta cleaned and resealed.

I went over to survey the floor and provide a quote for the work. I could see that tiles were in good physical condition however Terracotta is very absorbent and it was clear that any sealer present on the floor was now failing making it difficult to clean and therefore mark free.

As part of the survey, I ran a test clean on part of the floor ed a tile as a test and the results looked good. I left, asking the owners to wait until the tile had dried fully to let me know the result. The next day, the report was that the tile had improved significantly and they were keen to progress pending a quote. I duly submitted a quote that they agreed upon and the work was scheduled in.

Knowing how much water would be absorbed into the Terracotta during the cleaning process this was always going to be a two-day job, one day to clean and then when dry one day to seal.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Conservatory Floor

Upon arrival, the owners had kindly removed all furniture and opened all the windows, this was much appreciated as the temperature that day was due to approach 29 degrees Celsius!

First job was to clean the floor with a generous dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a strong alkaline tile cleaner that’s safe to use on all types of tile and stone. The Pro-Clean was left to soak in for ten minutes to give it time to breakdown the dirt and any remaining sealing. The floor was then scrubbed with a Black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary buffer to loosen the dirt and bring it to the surface where it could be extracted with a wet vacuum.

The floor was then inspected and Remove and Go used to spot clean several paint splashes on the tiles left over from decorating. I then turned my attention to the grout which needed further attention. The pads can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout lines so I find it more effective to get on my hands and knees and scrub these by hand with a wire brush and more Pro Clean.

During the inspection of the floor, I noticed some areas were stained with White efflorescent salts which were spot treated with a solution of Grout Clean-Up. The acid in this product dissolves the salts and the residue was sponged off. Finally, I rinsed the floor in stages, replacing the water every 10-12 tiles and extracted with a wet vacuum. I repeated this process 2 more times to make sure any trace of cleaning product had been removed.

Even with the heat and the glass, the tiles would not dry out that day and having gone as far as I could, I called it a day.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Conservatory Floor

I left it three days before returning to seal the floor; the tiles were certainly dry enough to seal but unfortunately the gallons of water had used during the cleaning process had resulted in more efflorescence salts being deposited on surface as it dried out.

To counter this the affected areas were given an acid rinse using more Grout Clean-up which was brushed in and then rinsed off and extracted with the wet vacuum. I then ran some errands and sat in the van doing some follow-up whilst waiting for the affected tiles to dry out.

With agreement from the owners, we had opted to use Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra to seal the Terracotta. This is a modern acrylic breathable sealer that leaves a nice low sheen finish on the tiles, additionally it has a built-in colour intensifier that will help highlight the unique patterns in each tile. Three coats were needed and mercifully, the day was cooler making the job so much easier! The new sealer will ensure dirt remains on the surface of the tile where it is easily cleaned away with regular cleaning.

Despite the sun and shadows coming through the conservatory glass, I think you can see from the photos how the stains were removed and a lovely finish was achieved! The last thing to do was provide aftercare instruction on how to best look after the sealer with Tile Doctor’s Neutral pH Cleaner which is a gentle yet effective product for cleaning sealed tiles.

Professional Cleaning of a Terracotta Tiled Conservatory in North Kent

The post Terracotta Tiled Conservatory Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Staplehurst appeared first on North Kent Tile Doctor.

Geometric Victoria Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Stoke-on-Trent

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 03:54:45 +0000

These pictures are of a Victorian tiled hallway floor laid in a striking geometric pattern at a property on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent.. The house was being renovated and the restoration of the floor was one of the remaining projects.

Hopefully you can see from the photographs that as well as being deeply ingrained with dirt the tiles were also stained with plaster dust and paint splatters from the renovation works. Although structurally sound there was some reconstructive tiling work required around the foot of the stairs where there were missing tiles and gaps in the flooring.

After visiting the property to survey the floor, I was able to come up with a plan for its restoration. The work would take four days and would address the tiling issues, deep cleaning of the floor to remove the dirt and staining and then sealing to protect it going forward. I was confident the work would transform the floor and happy with my quote I got the go ahead to start the work.

Cleaning and repairing a Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway

The first two days were spent repairing the flooring at the bottom of the stairs. I had to carefully remove the damaged tiles and level the floor with a self-levelling compound. This is tricky work as you need to take extra care not to upset the adjacent. The new base was left to set overnight and then the next day matching tiles were cut to size and laid into the prepared section of flooring with fresh adhesive. The replacement tiles were then left to set overnight.

With the floor now complete and intact I was able to start the restorative cleaning of the Victorian tiles on day three. To achieve this a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean (which is a strong alkaline cleaning product) was applied to the floor and left it to soak in for about fifteen minutes. This allows the product time to break down the soils and stains in the floor. A coarse 50-grit diamond pad was then run over the floor to scrub the Pro-Clean deep into the tile and bring the ingrained dirt and staining to the surface.

The floor was rinsed with water and the now dirty cleaning solution extracted with an industrial wet vacuum. The floor was then inspected, and the process repeated until I was happy the tiles were free of plaster, paint spots and dirt. A little bit of spot cleaning was required in some stubborn areas.

The last process was to give the floor an acid rinse using another Tile Doctor product called Grout Clean-up. This product further cleans up the tiles and neutralises the pH level of the floor after the use of Pro-Clean. Another advantage of giving the floor an acid rinse is that it will counter any alkaline salts that may have built up in the floor over time. Commonly known as efflorescence this is a common problem with old Victorian tiled floors. Once done the floor was given another rise and extract with the wet vacuum.

Sealing a Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway

The tiles needed to be completely dry before sealing so I left the property for six days before returning. Sealing a damp floor can lead to issues with the sealer curing and result in a patchy appearance.

To seal the tiles, I applied five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water-based sealer that leaves a lovely satin finish. The sealer will protect the floor and ensure dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily removed.

For aftercare I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which as its name suggests has a neutral pH. This is important as many floor cleaning products contain bleach which can strip the protective sealer off a floor leaving it vulnerable to ingrained dirt.

Professional Restoration of a Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway in Staffordshire

The post Geometric Victoria Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Stoke-on-Trent appeared first on Staffordshire Tile Doctor.

Classic Black and White Victorian Tiled Hallway Caerleon

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 04:05:05 +0000

A customer in Caerleon on the outskirts of Newport asked me to call in to discuss their classic Black and White Victorian tiled hallway floor. The had told me that their floor wasn’t that dirty and just needed a light clean and seal.

I conducted a moisture reading upon surveying with showed the floor was high in moisture in some areas, this information is important as it shows the need to use a fully breathable sealer that will allow moisture to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface. If we were to use a less breathable product moisture could build up under the tiles where it will reach out to the walls resulting in rising damp.

After conducting a cleaning test on part of the floor, it was evident there was a substantial amount of dirt being held by the tiles. My customer was gobsmacked by this as they clean the floor twice a week minimum. This test proved that the sealer was failing on the floor and dirt was being trapped in the pores of the tile where it is difficult to shift with normal cleaning.

Impressed with the amount of dirt I was able to pull out of the tiles I was asked to schedule a date to return and deep clean then seal the whole floor.

Cleaning a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I began cleaning by applying a mixture of Tile Doctor HBU Nanotech Remover combined with Pro-Clean and left it to soak in for a good ten minutes. This gives it time to work and breakdown the ingrained dirt from foot traffic and any remnants of old sealer. The solution was then agitated and scrubbed with a Silicone Carbide Brush attached to a rotary machine. This action lifted the soiling from the tiles to the surface where it was extracted with a wet vacuum.

The brush can struggle to get into the corners to these were hand-cleaned using a 200-grit diamond block and more solution. Once I was satisfied the floor was clean, I moved onto the final phase of deep cleaning. For this I applied a 200-grit burnishing pad lubricated with water followed by a 400-grit burnishing pad. The slurry generated from this process was then sucked up with a wet vacuum.

I then washed the floor with a sponge and water ensuring nothing had been missed then left it to dry for a couple of days leaving the customer with an air mover to speed up the drying.

Sealing a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

Once I returned and conducted a moisture reading, the results were good and showed the floor had returned to its previous level and was now ready for sealing. As mentioned previously I would need to use a fully breathable sealer for this work which does limit the options slightly. Having discussed this with the owner previously we agreed to use a Matt sealer called Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is a fully breathable colour enhancing Matt finish sealer that improves colour and helps the Black and White tiles stand out.

Two coats of Colour Grow were applied allowing thirty minutes between coats. This is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the tile occupying the pores and thereby ensuring dirt can no longer reside there. This ensures dirt or spillages remain on the surface where they can easily be cleaned away. Once dry I used a White buffing pad on my rotary machine to buff the floor ensuring a uniform matt finish.

The customer was ecstatic with the results as you can see by the images, a lot of dirt was removed. To maintain the sealer used on the floor I left the customers with a bottle of PH Neutral Tile Cleaner. You do need to be careful when choosing a floor cleaning product as most are simply too strong for use on sealed tiles and will strip off a sealer with repeated use.

Professional Cleaning of a Classic Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Monmouthshire

The post Classic Black and White Victorian Tiled Hallway Caerleon appeared first on Monmouthshire Tile Doctor.

Carpet Covered Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Hither Green

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 12:06:43 +0000

I was asked to view a Victorian tiled communal hallway floor at a property in Hither Green that serviced two Victorian maisonettes. The original Victorian tiles had been covered in carpet and an underlay for many years and now that had worn through the residents decided to investigate having the original tiles restored.

I went over to the property to inspect the floor and create a plan for its restoration. We pulled the carpet back and discovered that a section of tiles were missing and the gap had been backfilled with a sand cement mix. I didn’t know at this point whether the base was solid or if the tiles around the repair would also need to be lifted and replaced.

The Victorian tiles had also been imprinted with the pattern from the carpet underlay and the carpet had been secured to the floor with gripper and adhesive all of which would need to be removed as part of the restoration.

Undaunted with the task at hand I created a quote for this restoration which included replacing the missing tiles with matching replacements then deep cleaning and sealing the tiles to protect them going forward.

Happy with the quote I was given the go-ahead to start the work and pre-order the replacement tiles.

Repairing a Carpet Covered Victorian Tiled Hallway

When I started the work, I found that the base was generally in good condition and solid so not many additional tiles would need to be replaced. I then set about replacing the main body of the tiling and the border where it was needed, using new reproduction geometric tiles. They were as close a match to the original however being newer they were a slightly different shade.

Once all the tiles had been replaced and repaired, I turned my attention to cleaning the floor to remove the staining and years of dirt. I started this with an application of Tile Doctor Remove & Go which is designed to remove sealers and other contaminants. The tiles did not have a visible sealer on them however it did have years of grease and oil that would need to be broken down.

A strong dilution of Remove and go was applied to the tiles and then allowed to dwell and soak in for around half an hour. It was then worked into the floor with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. The dirty solution was then extracted using a wet vacuum.

Next the floor was treated to an acid rinse with an application of Tile Doctor Acid Gel. The acid gel sits on top of the clay-based tiles and doesn’t soak in giving me a longer working time on the tile surface. This was then worked in with soft diamond burnishing pads of 50, 100 and 200-grit. These pads cut into the surface of the tile leaving it very clean but are not strong enough to scratch or change the tile surface. It does however remove the pattern on the tile left by the underlay. The acid will also counter any efflorescent salt issues that may be dormant in the tile which is a common problem with old floors that don’t have the advantage of a damp proof membrane.

Once the acid had been vacuumed up, I rinsed the tiles thoroughly with a steam cleaner, this lifts all the cleaning chemicals out of the tile and dries quickly.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

When the floor was totally dry, I set about sealing the tiles which will protect them going forward and ensure that dirt remains on the surface where it easily cleaned away. I use Tile Doctor Colour Grow to seal original Victorian floor tiles, this is an impregnating sealer, that enhances the natural colour of the tiles and leaves the floor with a natural matt finish. Its also fully breathable so will allow moisture to rise through the tile and not become trapped underneath where it could reach out to the walls and cause rising damp.

I applied three coats of Colour Grow, but after the first coat, I noticed that there was a different shade of Red between the new reproduction tiles and the original tiles. As the original tiles were lighter, I applied a coat of Tile Dr “Stone Oil”, to the original tiles only, to help darken them, before applying the third and final coat of Colour Grow.

The restoration completely transformed the floor and the customers were very happy with the result. For aftercare I recommend they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, which is safe to use on sealed tiles. Many of the products you find in supermarkets are simply too strong and can remove the sealer so its always best to read the label.

Professional Victorian Tiled Hallway Restoration and Extension in Hither Green

The post Carpet Covered Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Hither Green appeared first on South East London Tile Doctor.

Tumbled Travertine Kitchen Floor Filled and Polished in Stanwick Near Wellingborough

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 09:56:03 +0000

A homeowner from the village of Stanwick near Wellingborough contacted me about their Tumbled Travertine Kitchen floor which was proving very hard to maintain. Having worked on similar floors before I was confident of helping and so arranged a date to pop round and come up with a plan for its renovation.

Surveying the floor, I could see the main problem was the pitting in the tiles which are basically small holes and is quite common with Travertine. Dirt was becoming ingrained in the holes which were proving very difficult to remove with regular cleaning and this left it looking dull and permanently dirty. I recommended deep cleaning the floor to remove all the dirt, filling the holes, polishing the stone to bring back its appearance and then sealing to protect it going forward.

Happy with the plan I created a quote for the work which was agreed and a date set for our return.

Cleaning and Polishing a Travertine Tiled Floor

I gave the floor a sweep to remove any loose dirt and grit and started with the application of the first pad which is a coarse 400-grit and designed to remove minor scratches, old sealers and ingrained dirt. The pads fit a 17” buffer machine and is applied with water to lubricate the process, then once the pad has been applied to each tile the floor is rinsed with water and the resultant slurry is extracted using a wet vacuum.

Before moving onto the second pad in the set I gave the grout lines a clean with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was scrubbed into the grout using a stiff narrow brush. The pads can struggle to reach into the recessed grout lines, so I usually find this is the best way to get the grout clean.

The floor was given another rinse with water and then I continued to work through the medium 800-grit and then fine 1500-grit pads rinsing with water and then extracting the slurry with a wet vacuum after each pad.

The Travertine was now clean and after drying with fans I commenced the task of filling the larger holes with a resin filler that matched the natural colour of the stone as close as possible. The filler takes an hour to set and then the patches are rubbed down with handheld burnishing blocks.

Sealing a Tumbled Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

I returned the following day and started by completing the polishing process by applying the last 3000-grit very fine burnishing pad with the 17” rotary machine, the pad is applied dry with a small amount of water sprayed on the floor as you go along. With the floor now fully dry and the filled holes polished flat the last step was to apply the sealer which will protect the floor going forwards.

Last step was to seal the Travertine to prevent dirt from becoming ingrained in the stone going forward. To do this I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer which works by soaking into the pores occupying the space and thereby preventing dirt from residing there. This ensures that dirt remains on the surface where it is easily cleaned away.

Once done the floor looked so much healthier and the new sealer will ensure that the Travertine keeps its appearance and is much easier to clean in future. Regarding cleaning, I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap for the regular cleaning of this floor. This product is formulated for use on sealed stone and it help maintain the patina.

Professional Travertine Tiled Floor Restoration in Northamptonshire

The post Tumbled Travertine Kitchen Floor Filled and Polished in Stanwick Near Wellingborough appeared first on Northamptonshire Tile Doctor.

Planked Effect Porcelain Floor Renovated after Water Damage in Leigh

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 13:53:37 +0000

I was originally called to this home in Leigh to deep clean approx. 100m2 of porcelain floor tiles in the living area after recent works, but plans changed somewhat when I arrived.

On my arrival the owners informed me that since my last visit to quote for cleaning the Porcelain floor a leak had come through the ceiling. This had left the previously dark grout in the textured ‘plank’ effect porcelain looking washed out and, leaving the floor in need of a refresh. I strongly suspect it wasn’t the leak that caused the problem, but the use of strong cleaning products used afterwards to clean up the mess, a lot of these cleaning products contain bleach, and this can wash the colour out of grout.

Out of interest the main issue we encounter with this type of flooring is grout haze, which occurs when the installer doesn’t manage to remove all the grout. This results in a thin film of grout on the surface which detracts from the final appearance. This probably happens with all installations but is certainly very evident on porcelain. The solution is to give the floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up, but most tilers don’t bother.

After discussion it was agreed to re-focus the time, we had available on the grout. However, after a deep clean it became clear the grout would need recolouring to look it’s best.

Grout Colouring Porcelain Floor Tiles with Chocolate Grout Colouring

Applying a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in Chocolate colour was the ideal solution and after an urgent call to Tile Doctor HQ I set up a delivery to ensure it would be with us the next morning.

In the meantime, I continued the preparation of the grout and cleaning of the tiles using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which not only removes the grout haze but will also etch the surface of the grout to ensure a superior bond with the colourant.

That afternoon we also discussed the high gloss porcelain floor in the hallway, the owners had spent a lot of time polishing it themselves since installation and were not completely happy with it. I setup a floor buffer fitted with a 3000-grit pad and dry burnished a small section in the hallway. The difference was obvious, and they could see an immediate improvement, as a result they decided to rebook me to do a day polishing as well once the living room was completed.

I returned on day two to find the colourant had arrived and so started the process of recolouring the grout with the chocolate colourant. This is a straightforward process but very time consuming as with these thin planks there were a lot of grout lines to cover.

Afterwards the tiles were gently buffed with a White pad before leaving to dry. The owners were very pleased with the result commenting we had done a “brilliant job in the front room.” Later he added the following feedback:

“Kevin was excellent and did a fantastic job at the house.”

They also booked us in to do the polish on the next available date, but I’ll discuss that in a separate post.

Professional Restoration of a Porcelain Planked Tiled Living Area in Greater Manchester

The post Planked Effect Porcelain Floor Renovated after Water Damage in Leigh appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Limestone kitchen floor in Brighouse

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 12:16:46 +0000

This limestone floor in the kitchen at a property in Brighouse was laid over five years ago and since then the sealer had worn off allowing dirt to become ingrained in the stone and grout lines. It now needed to be deep cleaned with attention to the grout lines and then sealed to protect it going forward.

I visited the property to survey the floor and work out a restoration plan that would renovate the stone back to its original condition. The work required was straight forward so it didn’t take long to work out a quotation for the renovation.

Happy with the quote we agreed a date for my return.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Kitchen

To deep clean and renovate the Limestone I used a set of 17-inch diamond burnishing pads which included 400, 800, 1500 and 3000 grits. Before I could get to work though the wooden kitchen units had to be protected from the cleaning solutions by applying a thin line of clean silicone sealant between the floor and the base boards. Doing this ensures water doesn’t soak into the wood where it can cause them to warp.

The Kitchen was quite small and the equipment proved to be a challenge to operate in such a confined space. I was using a weighted rotary floor buffer and triple motor wet vacuum, so extra care was needed.

I began the stone floor cleaning with the application of a 400-grit pad fitted to a rotary buffer and ran over each tile four to five times using water for lubrication. The soiling generated from this action was then extracted with a wet vacuum and I turned my attention to the grout lines.

To clean the grout, I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to soak into the grout for ten minutes before being scrubbed by hand along joint lines. This was then rinsed off and extracted as before. Switching back to the limestone floor the burnishing work continued with the 800 and 1500 grit pads, applied as before with water for lubrication and rinsing and extracting afterwards.

After the end of the first day the floor looked much cleaner, and it was left overnight to dry out.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen

The next day I continued with the stone burnishing using the last pad in the set which is a very fine 3000-grit pad that adds a nice polish to the limestone. This pad is applied dry with only a small amount of water sprayed onto the tiles. This last pad leaves the floor dry and ready to be sealed.

The floor was then sealed with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which was chosen to keep the floor looking as close to its natural light colour as possible. Ultra-Seal is a virtually invisible sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within and works well on limestone.

The client was very happy with the result and the finish, and the new sealer would ensure dirt remains on the surface of the stone where it can easily be cleaned away with a product such as Tile Doctor Stone Soap. I always recommend this product for cleaning polished stone floors as its formula helps maintain the patina.

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor in West Yorkshire

The post Limestone kitchen floor in Brighouse appeared first on North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Caldicot

Thu, 30 May 2024 15:41:59 +0000

I recently cleaned and sealed this small Black Slate tiled kitchen floor in the market town of Caldicot. You can see from the before image below that the sealer that was applied when the floor was installed twelve years ago had completely failed and had begun to flake away. Kitchen floors and especially small floors like this one do get a lot of foot traffic resulting in wear to the sealer, they are also subject to staining from cooking.

To restore the Slate back to its original appearance what was left of the old sealer would need to be stripped back entirely, then the tiles would need deep cleaning and resealing. In this case the customer wanted to keep the permanent wet look finish however I had a sealer in mind that would provide this.

I discussed with the client the process to get the floor cleaned and restored and created a quote for doing the work which would only take a day. Happy with the quote a date was set for the work to start.

Cleaning a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

After protecting the kitchen unit plinths from splashing I started by brushing diluted Tile Doctor Pro-Clean onto each tile and left it to dwell for fifteen minutes. This gives the product time to breakdown and lift the remnants of the remaining sealer. The solution was then agitated with a seventeen-inch 120-grit poly brush that attaches to a rotary floor machine along with more water to help lubricate the process.

Fortunately, being a small floor with large format Slate tiles there wasn’t much grout so it didn’t take too long to get the grout clean with more Pro-Clean scrubbed in by hand with a scrubbing brush.

The scrubbing turns the cleaning solution black with the dirt and old sealer released from the tile which was then vacuumed up. I noticed however that not all the sealer had been removed so I repeated this process once again until I was satisfied.

After drying the floor completely using an air mover it was evident that all the previous sealer had been removed and the floor was now ready to be sealed

Sealing a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

The customer had requested a high satin finish, the same as it looked after it was first laid. To achieve this, I applied Tile Doctor Seal and Go, applying four even coats which left the floor glistening.

The new sealer will ensure dirt cannot find its way into the pores of stone and remains on the surface where it can easily be cleaned away by the client. This allows the customer to easily maintain the cleanliness of the floor.

My customer was delighted with the results and said that it even looked better than when it was installed over 12 years ago! For aftercare I left the customer with a bottle of Tile Doctor PH Neutral Tile Cleaner which will help maintain the appearance of the floor. You do need to be careful when choosing a floor cleaning product as most are simply too strong for use on sealed tiles and will strip off a sealer with repeated use.

Professional Restoration of a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in Monmouthshire

The post Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Caldicot appeared first on Monmouthshire Tile Doctor.

Renovation of Victorian Hallway Floor Tiles in Wolverhampton

Wed, 29 May 2024 12:20:03 +0000

This large area of Victorian floor lay hidden away for several years under carpet on a former care home in Wolverhampton. The building was being renovated, and the client wanted to bring the floor back to life as it was in a poor state.

I went along to survey the floor and conduct a test clean, which worked out very well and impressed the client. Happy with the potential result I was asked to do the work and the job was booked in.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On the first day I repaired the threshold tiles under four doorways, which had either been replaced with concrete or had tiles missing. I had to clean them up first to see exactly what was missing. After completing those I regrouted the areas that needed to be.

The next two days were spent deep cleaning the tiles which was covered in a very thick carpet adhesive, which was difficult to remove, especially in the hallway area. I gave the floor a coat of Tile Doctor Remove & Go and let that soak in to soften the glue so it could be removed more easily. The glue was then scraped off the affected areas with the help of a steamer.

Once the majority of adhesive had been removed, I applied more Tile Doctor Remove & Go combined with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel and let it dwell on the floor for ten more minutes. Then a 120-grit carbide silicone brush pad fitted to a weighted rotary machine was run over the tiles to remove the grime and dirt. The resultant slurry was then rinsed off with an Airflex machine which applies and removes hot water under pressure to give the floor a thorough rinse.

Next, the floor was treated to an acid rinse using with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up, this counters the formation of efflorescence which is a common problem with old floors that don’t have the benefit of a damp proof membrane. This product also removes old grout haze and other mineral contaminates which detract from the overall appearance of the tiles. This process was applied in a few sections at a time due to its size.

I set up a couple of air movers to help get the floor dry and to further improve the appearance of the tiles I went over the floor with a very fine 3000-grit pad. This pad is fitted to the rotary floor machine and applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the tiles.

Before finishing for the day, I gave the floor a single coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil and clothed off any excess. The floor was then left to dry off overnight with the help of the air movers.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The next day I returned to seal the Victorian tiling with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal buffing off the excess with a white pad. This product is fully breathable so will allow for moisture to rise through the tile from the foundation and not become trapped which could lead to damp problems later. Two coats were applied to add long lasting protection and a beautiful finish.

I think you will agree the pictures really show off the improvement to the floor. Certainly, my client was very happy with the work we carried out. For aftercare I left the client with a bottle of Tile Doctor pH Neutral Tile Cleaner to help maintain the floor going forward.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Birmingham

The post Renovation of Victorian Hallway Floor Tiles in Wolverhampton appeared first on Birmingham Tile Doctor.

High Gloss Marble Effect Porcelain Kitchen Floor in Atherton

Tue, 21 May 2024 06:25:07 +0000

The tiled floor shown isn’t Marble, it is actually high gloss Porcelain made to look like Marble installed in a house near Atherton. This was my second visit to the property after originally resolving several issues with another Porcelain tiled floor that was laid with wood grain effect Porcelain planks.

I had noticed the floor in the Kitchen whilst working at the property on my first visit and so I offered to improve its appearance using a 3000-grit polishing pad. Impressed with the difference I was able to achieve I was booked in to do the whole floor.

Cleaning a Marble Effect Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor

On arrival I took some readings with a gloss meter so I could assess the gloss levels before and after the work, this would enable me to assess the level of improvement once finished. Sometimes it is difficult to see the difference, so this meter is useful for validating the process actually made an improvement, in this case however I need not have worried!

This was a large area, but I was confident that the polishing could be done in a day. The process involves fitting a 3000-grit diamond burnishing pad to a floor buffer and slowly running the pad over each tile at least three times. This very fine diamond pad gently cleans and brings up the polished appearance of the Porcelain. The whole area is polished in this manner and then followed up with a soft white buffing pad just to further refine the polished appearance.

In addition, we removed some silicone sealant that had spread onto tiles from the adjoining expansion joints.

The gloss meter readings confirmed an improvement and as the owner pointed out the floor now looked like it had water on the surface, such was the deep nature of the polish I had managed to achieve.

Sealing High Gloss Porcelain Tiles

In this instance there was no need to seal the floor as this type of Porcelain is sealed in the factory during production. However, the last step before leaving was to discuss aftercare cleaning.

For this floor I recommended Tile Doctor Stone Soap, whilst I appreciate this is not a stone floor this product contains a patina enhancer that will help maintain the polished appearance of the tile.

My clients were delighted with the work we carried out.

Professional Polishing of a High Gloss Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor in Greater Manchester

The post High Gloss Marble Effect Porcelain Kitchen Floor in Atherton appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Colour Restored to a Newly Installed Black Limestone Patio in Horsforth

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 09:25:06 +0000

I was recently asked to work some Tile Doctor magic on a Black Limestone patio at a property in Horsforth, Leeds. The gentleman had just had the patio and steps paved with Black Limestone in time for the summer, however it had lost its rich dark colour due to the use of the wrong cleaning products and methods. The installer had literally bleached the colour out of the stone as well as etching it. The client had attempted to rectify this himself and made matters worse, so he called us in to see if we could put this right.

This is in fact a common problem with Black Limestone and Slate patios; builders typically use brick acid after laying a patio to remove excess grout or mortar, but this washes out the oils in the stone which give it that desirable Black colour. Also, many types of stone are sensitive to harsh chemicals such as acids and they can etch the stone.

I reassured my client that there was no need to worry and that I would be able to renovate the patio and restore the colour. We agreed a price, which he said he would pass onto the builder, and we arranged a time for the work to be carried out. We selected a couple of options, subject to the weather.

Cleaning and Restoring a Faded Black Limestone Tiled Patio Floor

Due to the etching the stone surface had experienced, my first job was to renovate the surface using a series of Tile Doctor Milling pads. These are fitted to a rotary buffer machine that has had extra weights added to increase traction. This was tricky on the steps but with a bit of persistence I endeavoured and successfully completed the first stage. The slurry generated by the pads was then rinsed off with water and this was then extracted with a wet vacuum.

Sealing a Black Limestone Tiled Patio Floor

The patio was then left to dry, luckily, we had picked a good weather window, and the temperature was quite mild for this time of year. Once the moisture readings of the stone had dropped within the correct tolerance, I was able to start the second stage of the restoration which involved applying a sealer.

I chose Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal to seal this stone, applying two coats. This is an oil-based product that restores the beautiful Black colour to the limestone resulting in a nice finish. This product is also rated for external as well as internal use so ideal for this application.

My client was very happy with the result and relieved that we had managed to achieve the finish he had originally hoped for. They were delighted they could now use the new patio to its full potential throughout the summer.

Before leaving I recommended avoiding acidic cleaning products going forward and suggested they make use of our annual maintenance offering, we would then return every spring to get the patio ready for the summer.

Professional Restoration of a Black Limestone Tiled Patio in North Yorkshire

The post Colour Restored to a Newly Installed Black Limestone Patio in Horsforth appeared first on North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Maidstone

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 16:50:21 +0000

A couple from Maidstone contacted Tile Doctor earlier this year regarding their Sandstone tiled floors which needed rejuvenating. After a brief exchange of emails, we arranged a date for a site visit so I could survey the floors and come up with a renovation plan.

They had two tiled floors that required attention, totalling around 30m2. There were two rooms that required attention, that larger of which was covered by a carpet and the other was a utility room. Tests in the Utility Room proved that the stone and grout would clean up well and demonstrated that the varied natural colours in the stone would result in a lovely finish.

Based on the tests I put together a renovation plan and quote which was readily accepted, and a date agreed for the work to commence. My only proviso was that the carpet needed to be taken up prior to my arrival.

Cleaning a Sandstone Tiled Floor

Upon arrival for the start of the work, it was clear that the carpet had been protecting the floor and keeping the Sandstone in good condition. However, there were some stubborn adhesive marks where the carpet gripper had been stuck to the tile that would need dealing with. I had anticipated this and was able to soften the glue with an application of Tile Doctor Remove and Go so it could be removed with a stiff brush.

Given the uneven, riven nature of the stone and the wide grout lines, I opted to use a Silicon Carbide Brush to clean the floor. The pad is applied with a rotary floor buffer in conjunction with plenty of water and Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline tile and grout cleaning agent.

The process pulled the dirt out of the Sandstone turning the water black and this was the removed using a wet vacuum as I went along. The floor was then inspected, and it was onto my hands and knees to clean the grout, stubborn marks and any areas that the buffer had been unable to get to.

Last step of the cleaning process was to give the floor and acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to further clean the floor and neutralise its pH level after the alkaline cleaner. Another rinse with water, extraction with the wet vacuum and the cleaning was complete.

Both floors were then left to allow them to dry out overnight so they would be ready for sealing the next day which is when the magic happens.

Sealing Sandstone Floor Tiles

The next day, I returned and although the floors looked dry, I tested several areas with my moisture meter to be sure. Its not a good idea to apply a sealer to a damp floor as it can affect the result.

To seal this floor, I used Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an oil-based impregnator sealer that contains a colour intensifier. It’s a hard-wearing sealer that’s perfect for enhancing the natural colours within the stone. Only one coat of sealer was needed which was applied by rubbing into the stone with a cloth, it dries very quickly however it can take up to twelve hours to fully cure.

Being an impregnator, X-Tra Seal soaks into stone occupying the pores and preventing dirt from residing there. This ensures dirt remains on the surface where its easily cleaned away.

As I progressed, I was pleased to see that my expectations on the outcome were being met! One tile, when sealed, even showed evidence of a prehistoric, fossilised plant that wasn’t obvious before.

With the floor cleaned and sealed, all that remained was to advise the couple on aftercare cleaning for which I left them with a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral pH Tile Cleaner.

Professional Restoration of a Sandstone Tiled Floor in Kent

The post Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Maidstone appeared first on North Kent Tile Doctor.

Renovation of Victorian Hearth in Altrincham

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 16:59:28 +0000

Our client was renovating the front room of her Victorian home including the old Fireplace in Altrincham South of Sale in Manchester. After lifting the carpet directly in front of the fireplace with a view to stripping back the wooden floorboards she found an original tiled hearth which she liked and decided she wanted to have restored.

The property had several other original features, so my client was very keen to try and retain as many as she could. After trying several specialist fireplace restorers without any success, she contacted us.

The tiles were in quite a state, but the main issue was the adhesive that the carpet has been secured with. With reasonable expectations of what could be achieved she hoped we could improve this little bit of history and we offered to see what we could do to improve them.

Armed with a range of Tile Doctor products we sampled various options before settling on a combination of Pro-Clean and Nanotech HBU cleaner. HBU stands for Heavy Build Up and is especially effective on textured surfaces. I gave her a quote for the work which she was happy to accept, and we booked in a time to carry out the work.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hearth Floor

The combined products were applied to the hearth tiles and left to for fifteen minutes so they could get to work breaking down the old adhesive and dirt. Then the solution was gently agitated with a small brush to work it in further and loosen the adhesive, mortar, dirt and grime allowing it to be carefully scraped off. I used a wet vacuum to extract the resultant soiling followed by rinsing and more vacuuming.

With the tiles clean the next step was to fill any gaps that had now appeared before drying. As the area was small there was only a short time needed to dry the tiles, enough time for a cuppa.

Sealing Victorian Hearth Tiles in Greater Manchester

To improve the look of the tiles even further I gave them a very gentle dry burnish using a six inch 3000-grit diamond polishing pad fitted to a small buffer running at slow speed. This was used to remove light scratches and bring back a gentle sheen to the tile.

Finally, I gave then tiles a coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer to improve colour and add protection.

The hearth tiles were transformed by the work and my client commented it was so much better than they had dared hope could be achieved and plans to dress the area with candles or a fire basket. It is amazing what a small feature can do to the overall look of the room, and it really brought the colours out of the patterned tiles which surround the fireplace.

For their next project they are planning to strip the wood floorboards back, hoping for similar success, however I can’t help them with that.

Later my client posted the following 5 Star review on the internet:

“Kevin cleaned the hearth tiles on my Victorian fireplace which had been hidden by carpet and underlay for many years and they now look beautiful. All done quickly and efficiently and at a reasonable cost.”

For aftercare cleaning of any sealed tile, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. It’s a gentle but effective tile and grout cleaner that won’t impact the sealer which can be the problem with some of the more aggressive products you find in supermarkets.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Hearth Tiles in Greater Manchester

The post Renovation of Victorian Hearth in Altrincham appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Party-Stained Limestone Floor Renovated in Sleaford

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 07:50:55 +0000

Recently we were called to deep clean and seal a semi polished Limestone floor at a property near the Lincolnshire market town of Sleaford. Unfortunately, a teenage party had become rather boisterous and resulted in the floor getting in quite a state during their enthusiastic celebrations.

The main culprit was alcohol from split drinks and as you can see from the pictures it had soaked into the stone and stained it and would not simply wipe or clean off. Having visited the property to survey the floor I came up with a restorative cleaning plan and provided a quote for restoring the floor back to its polished and clean look.

Happy with the quote we set a date for my return.

Polishing Limestone Flooring

To clean the floor and remove stains Limestone needs to be stripped back and then polished using a set of diamond burnishing pads. The pads come is a set of four and you start with the coarse pad which fitted to a buffing machine running on slow speed, the coarse 400-grit pad which removes old sealers and opens the pores in the stone so the dirt can be flushed out. Once the pad has been run over each Limestone tile at least three times you move onto the medium 800-grit and then fine 1500-grit pads which then close the pores again and build-up the polish.

The pads generate a lot of slurry which is then rinsed off with water and then extracted using a wet vacuum. The burnishing process is then finished with the application of a very fine 3000-grit pad which is applied in the same way but with only a little water sprayed into the floor.

The last step is to use handheld burnishing blocks to get the same result in those places where the pads struggle to reach such as floor edges and corners.

Once complete a floor dryers was setup and left to run overnight to ensure the floor would be nice and dry and ready for sealing the next day. The customer can still use the floor in-between; they just have to be careful not to spill anything on it before it’s sealed.

Limestone Floor Tile Sealing

On our return the Limestone was checked for moisture using a damp meter. This confirmed the stone was dry and work could then start to apply the sealer to the floor.

I used a quality sealer called Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal for this which is a natural finish sealer that is virtually invisible. It’s also an impregnator which means it works by soaking into the stone, occupying the pores, and thereby preventing dirt from residing there. This ensures dirt remains on the surface where it can easily be cleaned away.

The customer was over the moon that we had not only removed the etching from the partying but also fully restored the floor to its original shine. The new sealer should ensure the floor is easily cleaned going forward using a mop and a suitable cleaning product which for this floor I recommended Tile Doctor Stone Soap.

Limestone Tiled Floor Professionally Polished in Sleaford

The post Party-Stained Limestone Floor Renovated in Sleaford appeared first on South Lincolnshire Tile Doctor.

New Porcelain Patio Ruined During Installation Restored in Wendover

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 07:03:56 +0000

The pictures below are of a newly laid Porcelain patio at a property in Wendover. The builder had done a decent job of laying a level tiled patio, but completely ruined it when applying the grouting.

At the customer’s request the builder had used a modern cement-based grout and applied it as a slurry so he could use a squeegee to spread it into the grout lines. Unfortunately, he did not have much experience using this method or type of grouting and as he began grouting it started to rain heavily. Then instead of trying to rinse it all off before it could set, he and the customer left in place. The grout then hardened on the surface where it proved impossible to remove.

Having spoken to the customer over the phone I agreed to pop over and take a more detailed look at the problem. When coming to have a look at the job I knew how difficult it would be however after evaluating a couple of options I worked out a plan for cleaning away the excess grout and provided the customer with a quote. Happy to hear the situation could be resolved my quote was accepted and a date scheduled for the work to begin.

Removing Grout Staining from a New Porcelain Tiled Patio

From the testing earlier I knew the only product that would have a chance of removing the thick layer of grout would be Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. It’s an acidic cleaning agent designed for this sort of problem and it this case it needed to be as strong as possible so I applied it neat.

Once applied I left it a few minutes before running over the Porcelain Tiles with a Rocky floor buffer fitted with a Silicon Carbide brush. I added extra weights to the machine to increase traction so in total it weighed in at about 65kg. All that weight going onto the patio helped scrub in the cleaning agent and although it did remove some of the cement-based grout it was not as much as expected.

The solution was to scrape off the thicker chunks of grout and I then follow up with a rotary hand tool fitted with an 80-grit brush on the end. Using the hand tool allowed me to get into the grooves of the tiles making it easier to clean as it was a rough textured porcelain tile. As I was cleaning with the hand tool, I also added more Grout Clean-up onto the tile to help soften the grout. By the end of day one we had two sections left however I know had a working solution and knew exactly what was needed to restore the patio.

By the end of day one with about 45m2 of patio remaining I realised it would be quicker with an extra pair of hands so I called neighbouring Tile Doctor Barry Woodward who covers Oxfordshire. Fortunately, Barry was available and so the next day we set about repeating the previous days method of scrapping off as much grout as possible and then going round with the hand tool spraying more Grout Clean-up on every inch of the patio. Slowly but surely, we made it through the last two sections and removed all the grout staining.

After that we gave the patio one last clean with a Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to neutralise any acid which might still be on the surface of the Porcelain tile. In total twenty litres of Grout Clean-up were used on this job, not to mention the sweat.

Once complete the patio was completely transformed and looked like it had come out of a showroom. I’m pleased to say my customer was over the moon and later that day sent the following message:

My apologies when you left, I was slightly distracted by a work issue but I wanted to add my heartfelt Thanks to you and Barry for helping sort this patio out. The patio Situation has been a constant stress for the last 2 months And I’m amazed to see it in such great shape I realise it wasn’t easy and a great deal of effort was spent, you guys really are magicians. Once again thank You so much for your hard work.

Professional Restoration of a Porcelain Patio in Buckinghamshire

The post New Porcelain Patio Ruined During Installation Restored in Wendover appeared first on South Buckinghamshire Tile Doctor.

Victorian Tiled Hallway restoration in Urmston

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:45:42 +0000

I was contacted by a couple from London who were relocating to a 1850’s Victorian property in Urmston, Manchester which they were renovating before the move. During the renovation they uncovered a Victorian tiled floor in the hallway and having decided to retain as many original features in the property as possible they made a decision to renovate the floor.

With our clients wanting to move in early Feb 2024 I quickly arranged to survey the floor and work out what could be done. Whilst there I was able to re-assure them that the tiles could indeed be restored however, we would need to minimise the use of water in case it leaked through into the cellar below.

To work around the cellar issue, I recommended using Tile Doctor low moisture products to strip and clean the floor of old sealer, dirt and grime and then to apply a sealer to protect it going forward. As part of the work, I agreed to complete several minor repairs which included re-sitting some loose tiles and replacing the worst of the missing/broken tiles.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Before starting work, I took a moisture reading from the floor so I could establish a base level. This followed with the application of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel cleaner, which because it’s a gel it is very easy to control and won’t cause any issues with the cellar below. The gel is applied to the tile and grout, brushed in and then left for ten to fifteen minutes so it can get to work breaking down old sealers and dirt. The gel is then scrubbed into the tiles using a rotary machine and the soiling generated is removed with wet vacuum.

The floor was then inspected, and I used more Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel with handheld diamond burnishing pads along the edges. Further work was also needed to remove stubborn marks so for this I used a scraper and small amounts of Tile Doctor Remove and Go and Nanotech HBU cleaner which are stronger products. The floor was then given a quick rinse with minimal water and then extracted quickly with the wet vacuum.

Finally, I gave the floor an acid rinse with Tile Doctor Acid Gel which can remove old grout smears that can detract from the tile’s appearance. This product also neutralises the ph level of the floor following the use of the alkaline cleaners used earlier.

Work then started on the repairs which involved lifting the loose and broken tiles, cleaning out the subfloor of old adhesive and then re-fitting with fresh adhesive. The broken tiles were replaced with tiles I had managed to source before starting the job.

With the bulk of the work done the floor was left to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Before beginning the work the next day, I took several moisture readings to ensure the floor was as dry as it was the previous morning. All was well and I was able to apply the first coat of sealer for which I used Tile Doctor Colour Grow which as its name suggests contains a colour enhancer that really brings out the colours in Victorian tiles. This product is also an impregnator which works by soaking into the pores of the tile adding protection from within.

Once the base layer of sealer had dried, I added a coat of Tile Doctor X-Tra seal to add further protection and add a satin sheen to the floor. I left this to dry and then gave the floor a quick buff with a white pad to remove any excess sealer and bring up the appearance of the tiles even further.

The results where exactly what our customers wanted with them commenting “Wow what a difference the tiles look beautiful ?? thank you so much for your work”.

For aftercare cleaning I made a point to recommend they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s especially formulated for cleaning sealed floors and won’t impact the sealer which can be an issue with the products you find in supermarkets.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Greater Manchester

The post Victorian Tiled Hallway restoration in Urmston appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Removing Staining from a Terracotta Floor Due to a Leaking Dishwater in Green Hammerton

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 13:05:27 +0000

These photos came from a property in the village of Green Hammerton on the outskirts of York. The terracotta floor tiles were fairly old, we believe around 30 years and had been the victim of a leaking dishwasher which had resulted in staining and efflorescent salt deposits. You can see this next on the tiles next to the kitchen kick boards in the photograph below.

The client wanted the staining removed and the tiles restored to their original condition, however they were happy with a large part of the floor and so only wanted the impacted section cleaning. I was happy to do this however, I did raise a concern that the section I would be working on wouldn’t blend in with the rest of the floor.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

I first treated the tiles with Tile Doctor Remove and Go to clean and remove the old sealers. This was applied in the usual way of spraying the affected section with a strong dilution, letting it soak in for ten minutes and then scrubbing it in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The resultant slurry was then removed using a wet vacuum.

To cure the efflorescent salt problems the tiles was then treated to an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. The gel was applied to the floor and scrubbed in with a deck brush before being rinsed off and extracted as before. Being a gel its is very easy to control allowing the acid to dissolve the alkaline salts in the floor and further cleans the Terracotta to remove old grout stains.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

I let the tiles dry out for a few days, then used a handheld polishing machine to remove any residues and prepare the surface for a fresh sealer. I used a few coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow as a base and then a light coat of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra for the finish to match the rest of the floor. This saved the client the expense of having all the floor stripped, deep cleaned and re-sealed. My client was happy with the result which had solved their problem.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to keep the floor in great condition. This is a pH neutral product which means it ill not strip the newly applied sealer like an acidic household cleaner would. It is mild enough to use daily if needed and has a lovely fresh fragrance. It is therefore perfect for a heavy traffic area such as the kitchen.

Professional Renovation of a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in North Yorkshire

The post Removing Staining from a Terracotta Floor Due to a Leaking Dishwater in Green Hammerton appeared first on North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor.

Green Riven Slate Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Chepstow

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 08:49:03 +0000

This client in Chepstow had a beautiful Green Riven Slate Tiled floor installed in their living room some year prior but were now unhappy with its appearance. What was once a real feature of the property had lost its deep shine and now looked flat and unappealing.

The client called us in to see what could be done to put the life back in the stone and so I went over to survey the floor and come up with a renovation plan. The owner explained that the floor was sealed with a satin finish sealer and although they liked the way that looked it had deteriorated over time and now the floor looked patchy.

This is a common problem with sealed stone floors, sealers do wear off in the busiest parts of the floor and once this happens, they will lose their appearance as dirt gets trapped in the pores of the stone where its difficult to flush out with regular cleaning. The other problem we see is the use of harsh unsuitable cleaning products which can reduce the life of the sealer.

To resolve I recommended stripping off all the old sealer back to the natural stone, deep cleaning the pores and then re-sealing with a product that would give them the satin finish they had before. Happy with my proposal and quote a date was agreed for the work to start which would take two days, one to strip and clean and the other to seal.

Cleaning a Green Riven Slate Tiled Floor

Work started by stripping off the old sealer with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was brushed over the tile and grout, and then left to soak in for ten minutes. This dwell time gives the product time to start breaking down the old sealer and dirt. The solution was then agitated with a poly brush fitted to a large buffer machine which was run over each tile several times. This process released the remaining sealer and dirt from the stone resulting in lots of soiling which was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

The tile and grout were then inspected and spot treated with a hand scrubbing brush where needed. This is especially useful to get right into the grout and tight corners where a machine will struggle. This was then followed by more rinsing and extracting to remove the resultant soiling and neutralising the entire floor to remove all trace of cleaning products prior to sealing.

The floor was then left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Green Riven Slate Tiled Floor

The next day I returned to the property and checked several sections of the floor with a damp meter to ensure the Slate had dried off and was ready to be sealed. Sealing a damp floor is never a good idea as it can affect the sealer curing and result in a patchy appearance.

To seal the floor four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were applied which is a water-based sealer that has the advantage of not leaving a smell as it dries. This produced the appealing satin finish they were after and brought out the best in the stone as you will see in the photos. The sealer will protect the stone from everyday use and can last up to five years if maintained correctly.

After the job was completed, the Green Slate looked fantastic and my customer was beyond happy. I took time to explain how to clean the floor and recommended they use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This is pH neutral product that is effective yet won’t impact the newly applied sealer.

Professional Cleaning of a Green Black Slate Tiled in South Cumbria

The post Green Riven Slate Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Chepstow appeared first on Monmouthshire Tile Doctor.

100 Year Old Red and Black Victorian Tiled Floor Restored in Edenbridge

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 12:16:12 +0000

I was recently asked to renovate a Red and Black Tiled floor at a Victorian era house near Edenbridge. The property had recently been purchased and the new owner was performing a complete makeover before he and his wife moved in.

The tiled floor in question in the building site was to be the Kitchen floor. It was a heavily soiled however the good news was that the tiles themselves were in good physical condition. They were thick tiles at approximately 18mm deep and this undoubtedly contributed to them withstanding the rigours of time. I worked out a comprehensive price for the restoration, submitted the quote and was awarded the work.

Deep Cleaning a Red and Black Victorian Tiled Floor

This was a two-day job and the first day was all about the clean. Upon arrival, and fearing drying issues, I organised for heaters and a dehumidifier to be supplied. Old floors like these don’t have the benefit of a damp proof membrane under the floor so can take much longer to dry out.

With plenty of water and a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, a powerful alkaline cleaner, I worked them in with a Carbide brush attached to the big buffer. This gave a good initial clean and the brush was able to flex into the pits of the 100-year-old worn tiles. The resultant slurry was removed with a wet vacuum as I went. Then, it was a hands and knees job with the rotary with a smaller brush attachment to get right up to the edges and into the corners.

The floor has some remnants of cement remaining which I removed with a chisel as I went along. I then changed the brush attachment on the big buffer for a 400-grit burnishing pad and repeated the process, giving the floor a 2nd treatment, followed by hands and knees and a six-inch version of the same pad.

Another issue I had to deal with were old paint marks which were spot treated with Tile Doctor Remove and Go. The last thing to do was neutralise the alkalinity of the floor after using Pro-Clean with an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. This was mopped onto the floor and then rinsed off.

Normally, with newer floors, I would return the next day to seal the tiles but given my concerns over the floor conditions and thickness of the tiles, I felt more time was needed. The tiles needed to fully dry with the aid of the heaters and dehumidifier.

Sealing a 100-Year-Old Victorian Tiled Floor

Two days later, I returned and took damp readings from several areas using a moisture meter. This showed the tiles were dry enough but my more immediate issue was the prolific efflorescence that had appeared. Efflorescence can occur when wet tiles dry and soluble salts come to the surface as a white foam and dry as a White salt.

I consider this to be a good thing, as if it is going to happen then you want it to happen on your terms. i.e. before the sealing process starts. A very hot bucket of water and a wrung-out mop with another dose of Grout Clean-Up shifted the efflorescence and left the floor to dry for a while to allow the tiles to dry again.

Later, more moisture tests proved the floor was ready to be sealed and I was able to make a start on sealing the tiles. For this type of tile and situation, my strong preference is Tile Doctor’s X-Tra Seal, an oil-based, impregnator sealer which is formulated with a colour intensifier. Additionally, this sealer is fully breathable so any moisture will rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface un-hindered. I applied one liberal coat, allowed it to soak in and buffed off the excess with a White pad and allowed the floor to dry once again.

I then returned to apply a very thin second layer and buffed that off, too. The colour intensifier ensured that the black became blacker and red tiles a deeper red resulting in a very satisfying finish!

With the job done, I left the premises having texted the owner photos of the finished floor. Later, I got the following response:

“Just went and had a look. Really pleased with it thanks.”

For aftercare cleaning of Victorian tiles I recommend the use of Neutral Tile Cleaner which is designed for the maintenance of sealed floor tiles.

Professional Cleaning of a Victorian Tiled Floor in North Kent

The post 100 Year Old Red and Black Victorian Tiled Floor Restored in Edenbridge appeared first on North Kent Tile Doctor.

White Staining Removed from Slate Wet Room in Stafford

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 08:26:07 +0000

This client from Stafford needed some help with the Slate tiles in their bathroom wet room which as you can see from the photos had suffered with lot of white staining. The staining was either Limescale or efflorescent salts which are salts deposits on the tile which appear as the stone became wet and then dries out.

The staining had built up over time and was all over the wet floor and wall areas. I quoted for cleaning the tiles, removing all the staining in the process, and then sealing to prevent this happening in the future. Happy with my plan and quote I got the go ahead and we agreed a date for the work to start.

Cleaning a Slate Tiled Bathroom Wet Room

The first job was to clean the wall and floor tile and grout with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. This was decanted into a spray bottle and sprayed onto the Slate tile and Grout where it was left to soak in for five to ten minutes before being scrubbed in using a stiff brush and small black scrubbing pads.

The soiling was then vacuumed away with a wet and dry vacuum. For stubborn staining Tile Doctor also sell a product called Oxy-Gel which is a gel-based version of Pro-Clean that really sticks well to wall tiles allowing for longer dwell times.

The next step was to tackle the White staining so I repeated the cleaning process with Tile Doctor Acid Gel. Like Oxy-Gel this is a gel-based product that sticks well to wall tiles. This product however is acid based and so can dissolve the salt staining allowing it to be removed with the wet vacuum as before.

Last step was to inspect the bathroom for any further staining and repeat the relevant process until I was satisfied. I then rinsed all the tiles with cold water to remove any trace of product and then left the bathroom to dry out overnight.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Bathroom Wet Room

The next day I applied Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal to the Slate which is an oil-based sealing product that is rated for internal and external use. This sealer restores oil into the stone improving its general appearance and improving the colour in the stone.

X-Tra Seal is a breathable impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the pores of the stone preventing dirt from residing there and thereby leaving it on the surface where it can be rinsed away. It creates a strong water repellency over the tile so will ensure water simply drains off and doesn’t collect. If you apply the second coat as we did, it gives the tiles a nice sheen, allowing the colour of the tiles to shine through.

The lighting in the wet room wasn’t great so I don’t think the photos on this page have done the job any justice however it was certainly a massive improvement, my customer certainly thought so and left the flowing glowing feedback:

Great communication start to finish. Attention to detail and pride in workmanship. Really happy with the result. Our slate wet room tiles look like new!

For after care cleaning I recommended the regular use of Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro, which is pH neutral and is designed for the daily cleaning of sealed bathroom tiles. This will keep the wet room looking as good as it is now.

Professional Renovation of a Slate Tiled Wet Room in Staffordshire

The post White Staining Removed from Slate Wet Room in Stafford appeared first on Staffordshire Tile Doctor.

Stained Limestone Fireplace Renovated in Great Barr

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:47:55 +0000

I recently cleaned and sealed a stone floor for a customer in Great Barr who called me a couple of weeks later and asked if I could restore his Limestone fireplace. The hearth was heavily stained and that along with the usual soot markings made him decide it was overdue a clean.

Having been to the house before I was able to quote for the work quite easily. It was just a matter of explaining the process and agreeing a date for the work which should only take a day.

Deep Cleaning a Limestone Fireplace

After protecting the surrounding woodwork, I set about cleaning the fireplace first using hand-held 60 grit diamond blocks with only water for lubrication. The water is sprayed onto the stone and the block is worked in using a circular action to get deep into the pores.

The whole fireplace was cleaned using this method before turning my attention to the hearth. The staining on the hearth was worse so for this I first applied a coating of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel to help breakdown the stains. Being in a gel form makes this cleaning product much easier to handle in a tight space. The gel was left to soak in for fifteen minutes before being scrubbed with a black pad. The hearth was then carefully rinsed and the released soiling extracted with a wet vacuum.

I followed up with further cleaning using the 60-grit diamond block to get the stone hearth as clean as possible. I then rinsed the fireplace, and went through the process again with 120, 200 and finally a 400-grit block to bring up the appearance of the stone. Only was I was satisfied did I give the Fireplace a final rinse and then dried it off with towels, air movers and a heat gun until the stone was fully dry.

Sealing a Limestone Fireplace

To seal the Limestone and make it easier to clean going forward I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal. This product is almost invisible and leaves a natural finish, it works by soaking into the stone, occupying the pores, and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there.

For aftercare cleaning I left the customer with a bottle of Tile Doctor pH Neutral Tile Cleaner which will help maintain the appearance of the fireplace. The customer was delighted with the results and said that it even looked better than when it was installed over 15 years ago!”

Professional Clean of a Limestone Fireplace in Birmingham

The post Stained Limestone Fireplace Renovated in Great Barr appeared first on Birmingham Tile Doctor.

1850’s Flaking Flagstone Flooring Renovated in Saddleworth

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 04:52:50 +0000

A couple from Saddleworth contacted us about their flagstone flooring which was laid throughout the ground floor in their home which was built around 1850. Since buying their home they had decided to take up the carpets and floor coverings to most of the ground floor (approx. 60sqm) to allow the floor to breathe and help with some damp issues in the walls. In addition, it would be in keeping with the house to have its original floor back in use and make a great period feature.

With the stone covered for such a long period the main issue was ingrained dirt and grime as well as the remnants of self-levelling compound and paint. The whole floor also had flaking issues on numerous stones and was very uneven in parts.

After some discussion over the phone around the options of cleaning, stone milling, repointing, and sealing I scheduled a survey. I recommended the floor needed the render removed, stone milled (and possibly repointing) before cleaning and finally sealing. An impregnating sealer which provided a matt, colour-enhancing finish was recommended in view of the damp and animals. In addition, we suggested the use of breathable pointing.

Whilst the work was more involved than initially anticipated, they fully understood the scale of the problems and what was needed and so decided to go ahead.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started with the application of 50-Grit Extra Coarse Milling pads which were fitted to a weighted rotary floor machine. The pads were run over each of the rough Yorkshire flagstones to remove the top of the flaking stone and reveal new stone underneath. The process was lubricated with water and Tile Doctor Remove and Go, the water helps keep the dust down and the Tile Doctor Remove and Go helps clean up the stone. We used quite a lot of these pads to clean up the whole floor. The resultant slurry was rinsed away with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Once done, the process was then repeated using 100-grit and then 200-grit milling pads to improve the surface of the stone. I must give credit to Russell Taylor from Lancashire Tile Doctor for his experience and assistance on this job, an extra pair of hands were needed given the scale of the work and to speed up work given the owners were still living in the property.

We next used an acid wash Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up, this is to counter any efflorescence salts that can be generated with floors like this that have no damp proof course. After application it was rinsed off and extracted with the wet vacuum.

After this the pointing was then redone using a modern flexible product.

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Floor

The floor was then left to dry out for a few days before returning to seal the floor using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that contains a colour enhancer to bring out the natural colours in the stone. This product is also breathable which is an important consideration for old floors like this.

The project went well, and the floor was completely transformed. My clients were very happy with the work and left the following feedback for us.

“Kevin and Russell did a great job on our flagstone floor. They regularly checked in with us throughout the process and worked around us being in the house most of the time with no problems! Highly recommend.”

For aftercare cleaning I recommend they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild yet effective tile cleaner that won’t harm the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Flagstone Tiled Floor in Greater Manchester

The post 1850’s Flaking Flagstone Flooring Renovated in Saddleworth appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Replacing the Sealer and Polishing a New Travertine Tiled Floor in Boston

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 11:03:20 +0000

A regular customer from Boston got in touch with us before Christmas to help with a Travertine floor they had laid in their front room. It turns out that they were so impressed with our previous work that they had decided to replace their lounge carpet with more Travertine.

Unfortunately, however the new travertine floor turned out dull and lack lustre despite the tiler putting a sealer on after fitting. Unhappy with the floor appearance I was asked if the floor could be re-finished to match their original Travertine floor that I had worked on previously.

I visited the property to survey the new floor and came up with a plan to strip off the current sealer, polish the stone and then re-seal with the same product that I used previously. They were happy for me to go ahead and we set a date for the work to start which would take two days.

Cleaning and Burnishing a Travertine Tiled Floor

I returned on the agreed date and spent the first day burnishing the new Travertine floor tiles with a set of burnishing pads of different grits. Work starts with a coarse 400-grit pad, attached to a rotary floor buffer. Using water to lubricate the process the pad is run over each tile several times removing the sealer and any remaining dirt in the process.

Afterwards the floor was rinsed using our Rotovac system which applies water under high pressure to the floor dislodging the soils and then extracts the dirty water off the floor at high speed. The burnishing process was then repeated with the finer 800-grit and 1500-grit pads which start building the polish on the stone.

After a final rinse the process was repeated using a very fine 3000-grit pad which is applied dry to the floor using only a little water sprayed onto the tile. This last pad is the final step in the polishing process and leaves a lovely, honed finish on the stone.

During the polishing however it became apparent that the Travertine tiles contained a lot more holes that the other floor. These holes or pits as they are often called are a natural feature of this stone however, they do trap dirt easily so I agreed to fill them. I use a flexible filler for this which is colour matched to the stone and then to go off, I also left a floor dryer system in place overnight to assist with this and further drying out the tiles.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Floor

Returning the following morning the floor was tested the flooring with a damp meter to make sure it was fully dry. All was well and it was ready to seal with our quality impregnating sealer Tile Doctor Colour Grow which protects the floor from within whilst enhancing the natural colours and tones in the stone. Three coats of sealer were used to ensure the tiles were fully sealed and the result proved to be a good match to their other Travertine floor.

The customer was over the moon with the results and I took time afterwards to remind them about the best way to maintain the floor. For polished stone floors like this one I recommended Tile Doctor Stone Soap which will help maintain the patina on both Travertine floors.

Professional Tile Cleaning, Burnishing and Sealing for a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Sleaford

The post Replacing the Sealer and Polishing a New Travertine Tiled Floor in Boston appeared first on South Lincolnshire Tile Doctor.

Pitted Limestone Floor Deep Cleaned, Polished, Filled and Sealed in Geddington

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 17:53:07 +0000

This client from Geddington called me in to renovate their Limestone tiled floor which had been installed throughout much of the ground floor. Limestone like any natural stone is porous and will suffer from ingrained dirt if the sealer isn’t maintained, so it’s not unusual to need work like this doing every three to five years.

I visited the property to survey the tiles and could see the stone had quite a lot of surface pitting which was trapping dirt and making it very difficult to keep clean. Pitting is quite common in this type of stone, and they are usually filled at the factory, however the filler can become dislodged with wear and the problem can be made worse by the use of acidic cleaning products.

After surveying the floor, I came up with a comprehensive renovation plan that included deep cleaning the stone, filling the pits, polishing, and then sealing. I also made a note to discuss aftercare cleaning at the end so the floor wouldn’t get so bad in future.

Happy with my plan and quote a date was agreed for the work to commence.

Cleaning a Pitted Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

It was a large floor so to minimise disruption to the owner I split the job up into several areas and worked through the following process.

Work started with a general clean of the floor using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean with a focus on cleaning the grout. I used a strong dilution of Pro-Clean, left it to soak into the stone and grout for around ten minutes and then scrubbed it into the floor using a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. I also ran a stiff grout brush along the grout lines to get them as clean as possible. Once done the floor was rinsed and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to hone the Limestone using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads. These pads are great for bringing up the polish on a stone floor like this and you start with a coarse 400-grit pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer. Water is used to lubricate the process and the pads are run over each tile three or four times. The floor is then rinsed and extracted as before, and the process repeated with the 800 and then 1500 grit pads.

Once done the floor was looking much cleaner and brighter and ready for the next step which was to fill the pits. To do this I inspected the floor, identifying all the areas that needed attention and then filled those holes with a resin filler that is colour matched to the stone.

Sealing a Pitted Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

The last step was to seal the limestone and for this I used Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the stone, occupying the pores of the stone and thereby preventing dirt from residing there. Sealing keeps the dirt on the surface where it can easily be cleaned away. Ultra-Seal doesn’t contain any colour enhancers, so it leaves the stone with a very natural appearance which is what my client wanted.

The floor was transformed by the work and my client was very happy with the result, they even went to the trouble to leave the following review:

“We are absolutely delighted with the work undertaken by Philip, the Northamptonshire Tile Doctor. He has completely transformed very dirty limestone floors into something of great beauty – better than new. Philip was a pleasure to deal with throughout and we can highly recommend him.”

With regards to aftercare cleaning, I recommended they use Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for cleaning polished stone floors and helps maintain the patina.

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Tiled Floor in Northamptonshire

The post Pitted Limestone Floor Deep Cleaned, Polished, Filled and Sealed in Geddington appeared first on Northamptonshire Tile Doctor.

20m2 Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor Manchester

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 10:47:01 +0000

A lovely lady from Manchester contacted us early in the new year about her beautiful Indian Slate floor that had been laid in her Kitchen 18 years ago. It turns out over Christmas, a leak occurred under the kitchen units and although the kitchen itself wasn’t flooded, water had seeped under the tiles and has caused them to look quite ‘cloudy.’ In addition, she explained there was also some flaking of the tile which happened when she had a new integrated dishwasher fitted a few months ago. Keen to have the problem resolved we were asked if we could possibly restore her once lovely floor to its former glory.

After further discussion I paid a visit to the property to take a closer look. It was clear a mixture of impregnating sealers and topical sealers had been used previously. These had degraded due to wear and tear and the flood had left the floor looking damaged and patchy. The floor was around 20m2 and the slate was multi-coloured.

I recommended carrying out a deep restorative clean of the slate tiles and grout to remove the old sealers and then re-seal to protect the floor going forward. I created a quote for the work which was accepted and a date set for the work to begin.

Cleaning an Indian Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I was wary the Slate tiles had been exposed to a lot of water previously, so I decided to do the initial clean with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which being in gel form is a low moisture cleaner. This was worked in with a silicon carbide brush fitted to a mechanical slow speed buffing machine and then extracted with a wet vacuum. This worked well but it was clear something stronger would be needed to remove all the sealer.

I next applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a dedicated coatings remover and this was worked in using a coarse 100-grit pad. Except for the edges and grout lines which were hand cleaned, I used the buffer machine to work the product into the tile. All soils were then removed using a wet vacuum.

Next the area was neutralised by giving the floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was worked in using a 200-grit pad before rinsing with water, again all removed with a wet vacuum system. It was then left to fully dry overnight assisted by a couple of air blowers.

Sealing an Indian Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

After sampling a couple of different sealers, it was agreed that Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal worked best to bring out the colour and give a low sheen to the floor. Just one coat was needed and after wiping off the excess sealer a white pad was used to finish with a short burnish.

My client was very happy with the result and left the following feedback.

“From start to finish, contact and communication with Tile Doctor has been straightforward and easy. Kevin explained in detail what renovating my Indian slate floor would require and consulted me on each step of the process. The work has been carried out in an extremely efficient and thorough manner. Kevin obviously knows his stuff! His communication and timekeeping skills are excellent and yes, I am obviously delighted with the renovation of my now beautiful kitchen floor.”

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective product that won’t affect the new sealer.

Professional Restoration of an Indian Slate Tiled Kitchen in Greater Manchester

The post 20m2 Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor Manchester appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Renovation in Woodbridge

Sun, 25 Feb 2024 17:35:00 +0000

This Terracotta tiled floor was in the kitchen of a house in the river side town of Woodbridge. The client had inherited the property and was looking to freshen it up prior to selling. The house had terracotta floors in nearly every room on the ground floor including a cellar, some areas of which were showing signs of damp.

After visiting the property, I could see the terracotta clearly hadn’t been sealed for some time as the dirt was well ingrained into the pores of the tile and it would need a deep clean to get it all out. After carrying out a few tests I was able to come up with a renovation plan and produce a quote for the work. Happy to proceed we agreed a date for the work to begin which would take four days.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Ground Floor

To get the floor clean I started with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which was applied to the tiles and left to soak in for ten minutes. The dwell time gives the product time to break down the soiling before scrubbing. The product was then worked into the tile and grout using a Black pad fitted to a rotary floor machine.

The grout was also scrubbed by hand using our wire brushes to get it as clean as it could be. All the soils released from the tile were rinsed away with water and then extracted using a wet vacuum. Most of the floors were quite dirty so after inspecting the floor they were re-treated until we were satisfied. Five litres of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean were used in the process.

The damp areas were treated to an acid wash using a product called Tile Doctor Acid Gel, this neutralises any alkaline efflorescence that may have built up in the floor. The gel was brushed into the floor and then the resultant slurry removed by rinsing and the wet vacuum as before.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Ground Floor

The floors were then left to dry out over a weekend, and we then returned the following week to apply a sealer. Before doing so several moisture readings were taken with a damp meter to make sure the floor was dry. The readings were satisfactory, so the floors were then sealed with Tile Doctor Colour Grow, which is a breathable impregnating sealer. There were several floors to do and with Terracotta being quite porous five litres of sealer were needed for this.

The client was happy that we had managed to get the floors looking so good. We left a free bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner for the client to use to maintain their floor. This should keep it looking good and the property now looked much more appealing to a potential purchaser.

Professional Restoration of a Terracotta Tiled Ground Floor in Suffolk

The post Terracotta Tiled Floor Renovation in Woodbridge appeared first on Suffolk Tile Doctor.

Marble Tiles Hidden under Parquet Flooring Restored in Monmouth

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 15:18:05 +0000

We discovered these Black and White Marble tiles under Parquet flooring at an 1890’s mansion house near Monmouth. The property had been converted into flats in the 1980’s and originally there was polished black and white marble throughout the entire ground floor however over the years, maintenance had been carried out resulting in parts of the floor having to be ripped up and filled with concrete.

Our customer had recently purchased the flat on the ground floor and were hoping to move in within the next couple months following renovation work. We were asked to remove the wooden parquet, restore the Marble floor, and lay 50sq m of tiles in their dining area.

During our survey we noticed there were several small areas in the bedroom where the Marble tiles had been taken up and backfilled with concrete so after discussing this with the owner, we agreed to replace this floor with matching Black and White Marble tiles from a reclamation yard.

With the scope of the work and our quote agreed a date was set for the work to begin and in the meantime, we started looking for Marble tiles in local reclamation yards.

Restoring Parquet Covered Marble Flooring

The first job was to prepare all the floors for cleaning which in this case involved completing the removal of the Parquet flooring and concrete backfill that had been used in some areas. This was a large enough job on its own but the most difficult part was to clean all the bitumen and adhesive that had been used to secure it in place.

The main challenger we faced on these two floors were breaking up and removing the areas where concrete had been filled in without disturbing neighbouring tiles as they are expensive to replace. With the floor clear of rubble, the replacement matching Marble tiles were laid to the original pattern and grouted in.

The bitumen adhesive issue was tackled initially using a dry scrape of the tiles to remove as much of the gluey substance as possible. Once done there was a vast improvement on our visibility of the tiles and condition of the floor and this revealed that every White tile in the hallway had been painted Red at some point in its long history. We hadn’t anticipated this problem however our next step was to further clean up the tiles using Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a coatings remover and should help.

The Remove and Go was applied neat for maximum impact and left to soak in for ten to twenty minutes before being scrubbed in. The dwell time gives the product time to breakdown the coatings, softening them and thereby making them easier to remove. The method worked and we were able to scrape off all the glue and red paint which it turned out had been applied to the whole floor and not just the White tiles.

Once done both Marble floors were inspected and it was clear they were still substantially soiled with dirt and further cleaning would be required. To this a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to both floors, left to soak in as before and then scrubbed with a course deck brush to release the dirt. The soiling was then removed using a wet vacuum and the floor given a further inspection. This removed 95% of the dirt but we were not 100% satisfied so the whole process was repeated.

Polishing Restored Marble Tiled Flooring

Our final step in restoring the appearance of the original Marble tiles was to restore the polished appearance of the stone using a series of burnishing pads of different grits. This process began with a very coarse 100 grit pad which really cuts into the stone removing a thin layer of stone from the surface.

This 100-grit pad was followed by 200, 400, 800 and 1500-grit burnishing pads, water is used to provide lubrication and the floor is rinsed and soiling extracted using the wet vacuum after each pad. This process slowly rebuilds the appearance and polish on the Marble. The polishing process is finished the application of a very fine 3000-grit burnishing pad which is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the Marble tile.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Entrance Hall Floor

We Left the floor for 24 hours to fully dry out and returned on the last day to protect the Marble with a sealer. The customer specified they wanted a durable satin, wet look finish but so we suggested using Tile Doctor Seal and Go.

This product is a water-based sealer that gives the desired effect and make it easy to keep clean, additionally being water based it doesn’t leave a smell as it dries. Several coats were applied and once done the customer was thrilled.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended they use Stone Soap as its designed for the regular cleaning of sealed and polished stone, as well as cleaning it also helps build the patina.

Professional Restoration of a Mable Tiled Hallway in Monmouthshire

The post Marble Tiles Hidden under Parquet Flooring Restored in Monmouth appeared first on Monmouthshire Tile Doctor.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Faversham

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 11:29:00 +0000

I was called to a rural area near Faversham where my clients owned a large old house with an expansive Terracotta floor that needed renovation. The house had been extended at some point and the whole lower floor was tiled with Terracotta which had previously been professionally deep cleaned and sealed some years prior by one of my Tile Doctor predecessors. As such, they were aware of the processes involved and had high expectations!

Although the sealer had stood the test of time, it had now worn thin on the most heavily used areas of the floor. Those areas were now allowing dirt to become trapped in the pores of the tile, so it was now due another deep clean and reseal. I performed a survey, discussed which sealer options they preferred, and submitted my quote. With the quote accepted, the dates were agreed, and the products were ordered to be delivered to their property well ahead of my arrival.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Hallway Floor

Previously, this had been a three-day job, but I enlisted the help of a colleague for day one to help get the work done in two. Work started with the use of a carbide brush attached to a rotary buffer machine to work a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean into the floor. This is our go to Tile and Grout Cleaner which is safe to use on all types of hard floor.

This not only took most of the old sealer off, but as the bristles flexed, they also cleaned most of the wide grout lines. The muck and the slurry were extracted with a wet vacuum. The next stage was for the pair of us to get on our hands and knees with wire brushes and more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to get the grout lines fully dirt-free. A black pad was then fitted to the buffer and the tiles were cleaned again, and the last vestiges of the sealer removed.

Next the floor was treated to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which was mopped onto the floor. This further cleans up the tiles by removing any stubborn mineral deposits and grout smears, being acidic it also neutralises the pH level of the floor following the use of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline. This was then rinsed off with water and extracted with the wet vacuum as before.

Terracotta is a very porous stone and given a lot of water had been applied during the cleaning process I was aware it could take some time for the tiles to dry. As a result, I left the floor to settle down and dry out for the following couple of days before I revisited to apply the sealer.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

The couple had been very happy with the look of the last sealer and its durability. So, they opted to go for more of the same. The product used was Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is a water-based sealer that results in an attractive low sheen finish. Three coats were needed to fully seal the Terracotta.

They were very happy with the results and that I had lived up to their expectations. The last thing to do was provide aftercare instruction on how to best look after the sealer with Tile Doctor’s Neutral pH Cleaner.

Professional Cleaning of a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen in North Kent

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Efflorescence Stained Quarry Tiled Floor Renovated in Great Barr

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 08:57:32 +0000

A client from Great Barr in North Birmingham discovered a leak in a water pipe, which had been running in to the Quarry tiled living room for some time. The leak was repaired but had resulted in a lot of water soaking into the quarry tiles. This led to a significant amount of efflorescence appearing as the floor dried out leaving them in a poor condition.

I paid a visit to the property to see the condition of the tiles for myself and conducted a few tests to work out the best method to remove the efflorescence and restore the appearance of the quarry tiles. From this I worked out a quote which was submitted to my client’s insurance company.

The job was then put on hold for a couple of months until the client’s insurance company agreed the claim. This as it turns out was not such a bad thing, as the floor needed time to dry out completely (aided with dehumidifiers) before work began.

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Living Room Floor

On the first day I started by taking moisture readings from the floor, which were quite low, and confirmed the floor had indeed dried out. Next, I gave the floor a general clean using Tile Doctor Remove & Go, I used a strong dilution and sprayed it onto the floor allowing it to soak in for ten minutes. Then I went around the edges and corners with a piece of black scrubbing pad to get the awkward areas clean first. I then used a 120-grit carbide silicone pad fitted to a rotary machine to loosen up the dirt.

The floor was then rinsed with an air flex pro machine which applies water at high pressure to the floor and then simultaneously extracts the dislodged dirt with a built-in wet vacuum.

To deal with the efflorescence I applied Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up and worked it in with a 240-grit carbide pad as before. This product is acidic and is perfect for dissolving the alkaline salts that form efflorescence. The solution was then rinsed off and extracted as before, and I set up a couple of air movers to aid drying the floor, for a couple of hours.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Living Room Floor

Before leaving for the day I applied a coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil and let that soak in for twenty minutes before towelling off the excess, the floor was then let to dry off fully overnight, again I left a couple of air movers in place to assist with the drying.

The next day I applied two coats of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal, leaving an hour between coats to dry. The Stone Oil and X-Tra Seal will give great protection going forward and give the quarry tiles a slight sheen which really lifts the appearance of the tiles. Another benefit of the sealer is it improves the colour of the tiles and being fully breathable it will allow moisture still in the floor to rise through and evaporate at the surface.

Finally, I buffed the Quarry tiles with a white pad to bring up their appearance even further. My client was very happy with what was a complete transformation to the floor and left the following review.

Very helpful insurance repair. Visited whenever necessary to give advice and helped with ongoing maintenance suggestions. Before leaving took time to discuss aftercare cleaning for which I left them with a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor pH Neutral Tile Cleaner.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Living Room in Birmingham

The post Efflorescence Stained Quarry Tiled Floor Renovated in Great Barr appeared first on Birmingham Tile Doctor.

Renovating an Indian Sandstone Patio in Rushden

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 07:54:39 +0000

The following photos show an Indian Sandstone patio of about 100 m2 in size at a property in Rushden. It had been some years since it had been cleaned and as you might expect the patio was now covered in green algae and staining. Also, much of the grout had become cracked or loose from the effects of frost and had broken down and needed replacing.

The beginning of the year is a perfect time to get a patio ready, the autumn leaves have fallen so there’s less debris causing stains, and of course you will be ready for the spring sunshine.

Cleaning an Indian Sandstone Patio

I started the renovation by digging out all the loose grout between the pavers. There isn’t really a quick way of doing this, so it’s just a question of getting down on my hands and knees and scraping it out.

I cleared up the debris and decanted a few litres of Tile Doctor Patio and Brick Driveway cleaner into a pump-up sprayer. This product is a powerful outdoor cleaning solution formulated to power through blackspots, lichen, moss, and stains. It’s a very strong product, so if you’re doing this yourself do wear protection. It was then sprayed onto all areas of the patio and left to soak in.

This is used as a pre-treatment to pressure washing and is best left to dwell on the surface for fifteen to thirty minutes depending on the severity of the soiling. The longer you leave it the more time it has to work on breaking down embedded soiling, green algae and lichen etc. A five-litre bottle can cover up to 25m2 so for a patio of this size you need around four bottles.

My next course of action was to set up the pressure washer so I could clean and rinse down the patio. I use a van mounted Briggs & Stratton petrol pressure washer for this which can generate pressures of up to 300 bar. This is much more powerful than general domestic electric machines and the high pressure of the machine also removes any loose grout I missed earlier.

The client had asked me to replace the missing grout, which was approximately half of the area. I was prepared for this and had sourced a wet mix grout of a similar colour to the original. This was mixed with water and brushed into the grout lines, then re brushed to leave a level finish.

Sealing a Sandstone Patio Tiled Floor

Allowing for the patio and grout to dry overnight, I returned the following day to brush over excess grout that had dried on the tiles before applying Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer to help protect the patio from further staining and make it easier to clean going forward.

This product works by soaking into the stone, occupying the pores, and thereby preventing dirt from residing there, this keeps it on the surface where it can easily be rinsed away. Colour Grow also contains a colour enhancer that brings out the colour in the stone, something it does rather well on Sandstone which has a lot of natural character.

My client was very pleased with the transformation and left the following comment on our website:

“Very professional our patio was awful now it looks the same as when installed 10 years ago.”

Before leaving, I discussed our Tile Doctor Maintenance Plan which would mean we would return every year to maintain the patio. This would be a good investment each spring to keep the area looking good and ensure they could enjoy the outdoor entertainment area for longer.

Professional Restoration of an Indian Sandstone Patio in Northamptonshire

The post Renovating an Indian Sandstone Patio in Rushden appeared first on Northamptonshire Tile Doctor.

Restoring a Victorian Tiled Vestibule Discovered Under Carpet in Cheadle

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 14:26:41 +0000

The owner of this property in Cheadle discovered a small Victorian tiled floor in the vestibule at the front of the house, under what they described as a “grotty grey carpet”. They couldn’t believe they had been covered over by a previous owner and were made up to find such a lovely period feature which although very dirty appeared to be complete.

I was asked if I could replace the loose grouting and renovate the tiles to bring back as much of their original character as possible. Happy to oblige, I visited the property to inspect the tiles and confirm the work needed to restore the floor. From this I provided the owners with a quote which they were happy to accept, and we arranged a time to complete the work.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I started the renovation of the Victorian vestibule tiles with a deep restorative clean to remove heavy soil and old sealers. Properties of this age do not usually have a damp proof membrane and I was wary that using a lot of water on the floor may exacerbate damp issues and take much longer to dry out; with that in mind I decided to use a low moisture Gel cleaning product called Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel.

The product is applied to the tiles, the after about ten minutes it’s worked in with a mechanical buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. This process brings the dirt to the surface and turns the gel black in the process. The machine just about fitted into the space however the circular pads struggle to get into the corners so for that I then reverted to a handheld scrubbing brush and more Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel. The now soiled gel was then removed using a little water and a wet vacuum system designed to keep the mess to a minimum.

There was evidence of white efflorescence salts on some of the tiles which isn’t surprising considering the age of the property and the location of the tiles. To resolve this, I gave the tiles an acid rinse and sticking with the low moisture then I applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel. This product further cleans up the tiles and being acidic dissolves the salts and neutralises the pH level of the floor after the use of Oxy-Gel earlier. I used the same system as before, working the gel in with a pad and by hand then extracting with a wet vacuum.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

After carrying out some minor grout repairs, we left the area to fully dry overnight before returning the following day to seal with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal. This product is fully breathable and so will allow for moisture to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface, perfect for a floor without a damp proof membrane. Once done the floor had a nice matt finish, but the delightful colours of the original tiles now really shone through and lifted the whole entrance area.

My client was very pleased with the outcome and left the following glowing comment on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“Absolutely amazing craftsmanship. I asked for the tiles to be preserved with their characteristics rather than ‘repaired’ and he did exactly that. They somehow look brand new while still showing their story from the day they were laid. He has cleaned them up beyond expectation and protected them for hundreds of years to come!”

For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s a gentle yet effective floor cleaning product that’s safe to use on sealed tiles and will help to keep the area looking pristine in the future.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Vestibule in Greater Manchester

The post Restoring a Victorian Tiled Vestibule Discovered Under Carpet in Cheadle appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Renovating Indian Slate Floor Tile and Grout in a Harrogate Kitchen

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 06:59:04 +0000

A couple of weeks before last Christmas I visited a property in Harrogate to renovate an Indian Slate tiled kitchen floor. The end of the year is always a busy time for Tile Doctors as understandably people want their floors looking at their best in time for the festive season.

The floor was in a poor state and in need of a deep clean and seal to bring back the natural beauty and colours of the stone. The Slate tiles were the small twelve-inch square variety which had resulted in a lot of wide grout lines that were so heavily stained I was unsure if grout cleaning would make a difference.

Having worked through the options I came up with a restoration plan that would include the option of colouring the grout if necessary to provide a consistent look. Unlike the grout touch-up pens you find in DIY stores the Tile Doctor grout colourants are very hard wearing and provide an easy to clean barrier over the grout that ensures it keeps its appearance.

Deep Cleaning a Slate Tiled Floor

To begin the cleaning process, I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to the Slate tile and Grout and left it to soak in for ten to twenty minutes. This dwell time is important as it gives the product time to break down the dirt and any old sealers still present on the floor.

The floor was then scrubbed using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer to get the tiles as clean as possible. The pad can struggle to reach into recess of the grout lines, so I followed this up by scrubbing the grout with a stiff wire brush and more Pro-Clean. The floor was then rinsed with water, and the now soiled cleaning solution removed with a wet vacuum.

After cleaning all the slate and grout I inspected the floor and repeated the process on any stubborn areas that needed more work. After a final rinse the floor was looking much better already and was left to dry off overnight.

Applying Grout Colourant to a Slate Tiled Floor

The next day the floor had dried, and I inspected the grout which despite all the scrubbing it had received they day before was detracting from the overall look of the floor. Fortunately, I was prepared for this and set about applying a Light Grey grout colourant.

The grout colourant is applied using a small brush directly onto the grout line and then any excess is wiped off the adjacent tile before it gets time to set. Its quite easy to do however there was a lot to cover and because of the wide grout line several coats were needed to get a consistent look.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

The grout colourant dries quite quickly that afternoon I was able to move onto the last stage of applying a sealer to the stone. For this I applied several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water-based sealer (so no smell) that brings out the colour in the stone and leaves a lovely subtle satin finish.

After two days the floor was transformed, and all completed in time for Christmas guests. I think you will agree how much better it looks and with the new sealer it will be much easier for them to clean and maintain in the future. Certainly, my client was very pleased with the finished floor and took time to leave a glowing 5-star review which I’ve copied below.

Chris was very polite turned up early each day and did a very thorough job. He kept us informed what he was doing throughout and I would have no hesitation in recommending him to others.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which has been especially developed for cleaning sealed floors. It has a pH neutral formula that won’t impact the sealer, this is an important feature as many of the products you find in supermarkets are simply too strong for use on sealed floors.

Professional Restoration of an Indian Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in North Yorkshire

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

Deep Cleaning Textured Porcelain Floor Tile and Grout in Eyke

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 04:58:04 +0000

This Textured Porcelain tiled floor was installed in a house in the small village of Eyke. The customer was tired of the tile and grout looking dirty and so decided to have the floor professionally cleaned. Although textured porcelain is less likely to result in a slippery surface, it does trap dirt easily and this will build-up over time.

I visited the property to survey the floor and quote for its renovation. After taking measurements I carried out a cleaning demonstration on a small area of the floor to show how well the floor would come up. They were very happy with the result and agreed to go ahead with the work, so a date was booked in the diary for the following month.

Cleaning a Textured Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor

To get the Porcelain tile and grout clean it was initially sprayed with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is our go to tile and grout cleaner. The solution was left to soak in for roughly ten minutes before being worked in with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor machine. These pads can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout lines, so this was followed up by scrubbing the grout by hand with more Pro-Clean and wire brushes.

The floor was then rinsed with water and the resultant slurry removed with a wet vacuum. The work was done in sections and once a section had dried it was inspected and the cleaning process repeated until I was satisfied the floor was as clean as it could be. In total I spent a whole day at the property and used two litres of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to get the tile and grout clean. The customer was thrilled that we had managed to get the floor looking like new again.

Normally at this stage my next step would be to seal the floor, however these Porcelain tiles were not the micro-porous type and therefore won’t accept a sealer and so no further treatment was required. Not being porous will ensure the dirt can’t get into the pores of the tile and will remain on the surface where it can be removed with regular cleaning. Had they been the porous variety we would have returned the following day when the tiles had dried to apply a sealer.

Although not porous the textured nature of the surface will trap dirt so they will need more regular cleaning. With this in mind, I left a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner for the customer to use to maintain their floor.

Professional Cleaning of a Textured Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor in Suffolk

The post Deep Cleaning Textured Porcelain Floor Tile and Grout in Eyke appeared first on Suffolk Tile Doctor.

Dirty Terracotta Farmhouse Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Herne Bay

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 14:05:31 +0000

I was called to a large working farmhouse near Herne Bay to look at renovating a heavily soiled Terracotta tiled kitchen floor. Kitchen floors are one of the busiest in any house but even more so in a farmhouse where muddy boots and paws were frequent visitors.

Having inspected the floor I asked if it would be ok to do a cleaning test, so they could see the potential improvement and I could work out which products would have the best effect. I was confident I could have a major impact on the floor so I chose an unobtrusive tile under one of the counter tops to do the test, this way if the family decided not to progress with the work, then a glaringly clean tile wouldn’t be centre stage!

I cleaned the tile and demonstrated my results to the husband who would show it to his wife later that day. In the meantime, I put together a quote and emailed it through. Suitably impressed, they awarded the job to me but on the understanding that Christmas and New Year were to get in the way and that the work would need to happen in January.

Cleaning Dirty Terracotta Floor Tiles in Herne Bay

Dates were agreed upon and when they came about, I turned up at 9am sharp on the first day. Every floor is different, and I found that the best result for this particular floor was achieved by hand scrubbing the grout lines with a wire brush and a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, a powerful alkaline cleaner. The tiles were then cleaned individually using a six-inch carbide brush fitted to a handheld buffer.

I managed to extract a lot of ingrained dirt from the pores of the Terracotta, so It was clearly some time since the tiles had been sealed. The cleaning solution soon turned into a dark slurry which was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor then needed washing with a mop and bucket and further cleaning with a 17-inch Black scrubbing pad fitted to a floor buffer to make sure the floor was as clean as it could be. After another rinse and extraction with the wet vacuum I was satisfied. The work was time consuming, but well worth the effort to see the tiles transformed.

Terracotta is made from clay and like a sponge very porous, the tiles were now dark with the water they had absorbed and needed to dry out before the final step of applying a sealer could happen.

I had already arranged to leave a full day in-between before returning to seal and left a damp meter with the owners so they could check the tiles themselves. A day of drying was sufficient however and I got a call the night before that the tiles were sufficiently dry.

Sealing Old Terracotta Floor Tiles in Herne Bay

When I arrived the following morning, the floor looked so much lighter and 100% cleaner. Having retrieved my damp meter, I checked the moisture levels in the floor and confirmed it was ready to be sealed.

Having discussed desired finish with the clients during my initial visit it was clear they wanted the tiles to have a subtle sheen. From this I chose to seal the Terracotta with Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra, this is a topical sealer which works very well on porous clay tiles and would produce the sheen finish they wanted.

Seal and Go Extra works by forming a breathable barrier over the tile, thereby keeping dirt on the surface where is can easily be removed through regular cleaning. Three coats were applied allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. The colour intensifier in the sealer, along with the sheen, totally transformed the tiles.

The customers’ expectations were comfortably exceeded, and they were so happy with the result they left the following glowing review:

‘Our floor looks incredible, better than we could have hoped for. It has changed our whole kitchen for the better. Graham was really nice and did a thorough and efficient job with beautiful results’

On the subject of regular cleaning, I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, this will ensure that the floor is cleaned without compromising the newly applied sealant. Household cleaners tend to contain strong chemicals such as bleach which will break down the sealer prematurely, so always check the label.

Professional Cleaning of a Terracotta Tiled Farmhouse Kitchen Floor in Kent

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Limestone Floor Installation Clean and Polish for Codsall Builder

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 14:26:08 +0000

A builder got in touch with me about aLimestone tiled floor he had installed for a client in Codsall near Wolverhampton. He was doing some renovation work on the property and clearly stone floors were not his speciality. The tiles had been sealed incorrectly and then covered up which had left marks in the stone. To his credit he did attempt to make good the issues, but ultimately got into a mess with it and decided to call us in to rectify.

I went along to survey the floor and work out a plan to rectify the issues and as part of this conducted a few tests. The testing went well and it confirmed to me which products and methods would work best on the floor, it also demonstrated that the Limestone floor could be renovated to a good standard. Luckily, I had a spare couple of days so I could do the job quickly, so the builder was very relieved, and the client pleased it was going to be resolved.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Hallway Floor

The firstly job was to strip the floor of the sealer and give it a deep clean. To do this I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go to the floor, left it to dwell and then went over the floor with a Black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The soiling generated was then rinsed off the floor with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

After this I started burnishing the stone tiles with a 400-grit diamond pad covering each tile at least three times; the floor was then rinsed and the soiling extracted with the wet vacuum as before. I purposely worked on the floor in two sections so it didn’t dry out and leave a chalky finish, especially in the grout as this can be difficult to remove when dry. I then moved on to the 800-grit pad and then a 1500-grit pad using the same method. I also used smaller 6-inch pads around the edges and corners where the rotary machine could not reach using a hand polisher.

After rinsing and drying off with three air movers, I asked the client to have a think overnight if they wanted to leave it at the 1500-grit finish or go up to a 3000-grit very fine finish. My concern was that an adjoining room which wasn’t being cleaned wasn’t that high a finish and the two floors would look different.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned the next day and checked the moisture readings of the floor using a damp meter, the readings were good confirming the floor was dry and ready to be sealed. Having thought about it overnight the client agreed with my concern and was happy to leave it at a 1500 grit finish.

To seal the Limestone floor, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a penetrating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone to provide maximum protection and leaves a natural finish. Additionally, this sealer is particularly good in a high traffic area such as the hallway.

My client was delighted with the transformed floor and was now happy which was a relief to the builder who was keen to get the job signed off. For aftercare cleaning I left the client a bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which will allow them to keep the tiles clean and help to keep the polished patina finish.

Professional Renovation of a Limestone Tiled Hallway in Birmingham

The post Limestone Floor Installation Clean and Polish for Codsall Builder appeared first on Birmingham Tile Doctor.

Renovating Pitted Travertine Tiled Flooring in Stockport

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 11:19:42 +0000

This client was from Stockport and had a travertine tiled floor laid over twenty years ago through the kitchen and adjacent dining space. The floor had the usual issues for travertine with dirt collecting in the small pits in the stone and becoming ingrained in the pores due to the sealer wearing off. The owner was talking of ripping the whole floor up as they had given up trying to keep it clean.

I recommended deep cleaning the floor with a set of burnishing pads to remove the ingrained dirt, filling in the worst pits and then sealing the stone. My quote was a little more than they were expecting but they appreciated the fact there was a lot of work to do and that the diamond encrusted abrasive pads required are quite expensive. On balance obviously it was cheaper than replacing the floor. We also discussed the final appearance of the stone floor; they wanted the stone to look as natural as possible keeping the colour light with just a slight sheen.

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Floor

Work started on the agreed date with an application of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was diluted 1 part cleaner to 5 parts water and sprayed onto the floor. After letting it dwell for ten minutes it was worked in and followed up with an abrasive 120-grit silicon carbide pad attached to a floor buffer fitted with added weights to increase traction. The dirt released from the floor was then rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

The stone was then burnished using the coarser pads from the set of burnishing pads that I mentioned earlier. I started with the 400-grit on the weighted floor buffer and worked it into each of the travertine tiles using only water for lubrication. The pads get the ingrained dirt out of the stone, bringing it to the surface where it is rinsed off with water and then extracted again with the wet vacuum. This process was then repeated with the finer 800-grit pad which is the first step in polishing the surface of the stone.

The last step on day one was to review the travertine, identifying and filling the worst of the pits with a specialist filling compound that would harden overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Floor

On arrival the next day my clients said they loved the results so far and were relieved their problem floor was finally going to be resolved.

I started day two with the application of the third burnishing pad which is 1500-grit. This was applied using the same method, running it over each tile around three times using only water for lubrication. This third pad gave the stone the natural sheen they were after. For highly polished stone I would follow this up with a fourth pad which is 3000-grit however for this floor it wasn’t necessary.

Once the floor was dry it was then sealed with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which in an impregnating sealer that adds almost invisible protection to achieve that natural light appearance they wanted. Impregnators work by seeping into the stone, occupying the pores so dirt can’t become ingrained there.

My clients were very happy with the result saying how I had made a real difference and how well it looked, in fact they didn’t want anyone to walk on it just in case. I recommended they used Tile Doctor Stone Soap for everyday cleaning. It’s a mild but effective cleaner that will help maintain the appearance of the stone without impacting the sealer which can be harmed by stronger cleaning products.

They also left the following comment on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

Amazing job. Our floor has never looked so good. Its better now than when first laid. Kevin was very professional and careful and meticulous in his restoration work.

Professional Renovation of a Travertine Tiled Floor in Greater Manchester

The post Renovating Pitted Travertine Tiled Flooring in Stockport appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Restoration of an Original Minton Hollins Victorian Floor in Spalding

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 10:54:21 +0000

The pictures below come from a Victorian property in Spalding which had a hallway tiled in original Minton Hollins tiles. This is a famous tile manufacturer based in Staffordshire in the 1800’s and are very sought after. You often hear of homeowners claiming to have a Minton tiled floor but its very difficult to prove unless you can check underneath the tile to see the manufacturers mark.

The floor was in a bad state of repair and on inspection I could see there were many loose and cracked tiles and some areas where bad repairs had been carried out. After reviewing the whole floor, I created a quote for resolving all the tiling issues, deep cleaning and then sealing with a matt breathable sealer.

During the inspection I noticed there were five or six tiles that had been laid upside down to reveal the Minton Hollins & Co mark confirming the provenance of the floor. It may sound unusual but it not that uncommon to find tiles laid upside down on old floors like this and it certainly adds character.

Happy with the quote and keen to have the floor restored we set a date for the work to start which would take several days due to the tiling work that was required.

Deep Cleaning a Large Victorian Hallway

Before starting with the cleaning, the first task was to sort out all the tiling issues. Loose and broken tiles had to be carefully removed in order not to disturb adjacent tiles and then the replacements were cut to size and fitted to match the original pattern.

My customer had managed to source the replacement tiles which isn’t as difficult as you might think as they are still very popular today and there are several manufacturers still producing them.

Then on day two the floor was deep cleaned using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to breakdown and release the dirt in the tiles. I let the Pro-Clean soak in for about ten minutes before scrubbing it in with coarse 100 and 200-grit diamond pads to remove ingrained dirt and any surface patination on the tiles. Once done the soiling was rinsed off with water and then extracted with a wet vacuum.

The floor was then given an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel to neutralise the PH level of the floor after the use of Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline cleaning product. This also helps counter any efflorescence salt issues that may be present in the floor and generally brightens up the tiles further by removing any surface grout. The whole floor was then scrubbed and rinsed with water and then left to dry off.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

A lot of water is used during the cleaning process and I needed the floor to dry out completely before the final step of applying the sealer so I left a couple of air movers in place to speed things up.

I returned a few days later to seal the tiles with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a fully breathable impregnating sealer that won’t scratch or peel and will enhance the colour in the tile. Breathable sealers allow moisture in the subfloor to rise thought the tile and evaporate at the surface. This is an important consideration for an old floor like this one as it won’t have a damp proof membrane installed and you don’t want damp building up under the floor where it can reach out to the walls.

The work was transformational and the results really speak for themselves. Certainly, my customer was delighted with their new period floor which is a great feature to have in the property and as mentioned before very sought after.

For aftercare cleaning of this floor, I recommend using a pH neutral tile cleaning products such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner; reason being that other products can simply too strong and contain bleach which can damage the sealer.

Professional Renovation of a Large Victorian Tiled Floor in Lincolnshire

The post Restoration of an Original Minton Hollins Victorian Floor in Spalding appeared first on South Lincolnshire Tile Doctor.

Large Tiled Floor Cleaned, Polished and Sealed in Oxted

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 13:34:42 +0000

Pictured below is a large Limestone tiled floor in the Kitchen and adjacent living space at a house in Oxted. The tiles were looking quite dull, and the grout had darkened with ground in dirt so I was asked to give them a deep clean and polish to restore the beauty and character to the floor.

Limestone is a very tough stone so to clean the tile and rebuild the polish it needs to be polished using a set of burnishing pads which use different grades of diamond encrusted pads to cut through ingrained dirt and build up the polished appearance. Then I always recommend sealing the tiles to protect them from ingrained dirt and stains.

Secondly, it was a large extensive space and although the tiles were of a standard size it took a large number of them to fill the space resulting in what felt like miles of grout lines, all of which would need scrubbing to get them clean.

Cleaning Limestone Tile and Grout

Before working on the Limestone tiles, I decided to treat the grout to a good old-fashioned scrub with a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and stiff wire brush. I knew this was going to take some time so called in my son to provide some extra manpower. He’s young so can scoot around on the floor all day without feeling it later. The grout soon become much cleaner, and the soiled cleaning solution was then rinsed away with water and then extracted with a wet vacuum.

After a well-deserved, lunch we bought in a floor burnishing machine which was fitted with extra iron weights to help it get more traction on the tiles. The first step in burnishing the Limestone tiles involves the use of a coarse 400-grit pad which is designed to deep clean the stone and strip away any remaining sealer. The pad is fitted to the machine and run over each tile several times using only water to lubricate the process.

Once I’d removed any excess residue with the wet-vacuum, I changed to a medium 800-grit pad, repeated the cleaning process, and again extracted the soiled residue. This is followed by a finer 1500-grit using the same process and then finally a super fine 3000-grit pad which really brings up the polish on the tile and is applied using a small amount of water sprayed onto the stone.

By the end of the first day the floor was already looking so much cleaner and lighter.

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

After leaving the floor to dry off overnight I returned to the property the next day to apply the sealer. Before starting though I gave the floor a quick skim over with an old pad to make sure it was completely clean before sealing.

To seal the Limestone, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the Limestone to provide durable protection against ingrained dirt without changing the natural look of the tile.

After an hour, I gave the floor a buff with a soft white pad to remove any excess sealer and further bring up the appearance of the stone. Once complete the Limestone had a nice subtle shine and the grout was back to its white colour resulting in the whole floor looking much healthier and attractive.

For aftercare maintenance of polished stone floors, I recommend the use of a cleaning product called Tile Doctor Stone Soap. It’s a gentle but effective floor cleaning product that’s safe to use on sealed floors and helps to maintain the patina on the tile. If looked after correctly this sealer should last three to four years.

Professional Maintenance of a Honed Limestone Floor Tiles in East Surrey

The post Large Tiled Floor Cleaned, Polished and Sealed in Oxted appeared first on East Surrey Tile Doctor.

Restorative Cleaning and Sealing of a Slate Flooring in Burwell

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 15:56:12 +0000

A client from the village of Burwell near Cambridge had recently moved into a property with a Slate tiled floor and was unhappy with its condition as it never looked clean. After discussing the problem over the phone, it was clear to me that the sealed has worn off and dirt was now lodged deeply in the pores of the stone making it difficult to clean.

The tiles were installed throughout much of the ground floor so there were several areas including the kitchen and living room that needed attention. Apart from the ingrained dirt the Slate floor was in good shape and just needed a deep clean and fresh sealer applied to renovate it.

I created a quote for a restorative clean and seal which was accepted, and a date agreed for the work to begin which should take two days, one to clean and then one to seal.

Deep Cleaning the Slate Tiled Floor

The first step to restore the stone was to remove what was left of the existing sealer. This is necessary to achieve a consistent finish as the wear on a sealer is always uneven due as the busiest areas wearing down first. To do this I sprayed each area of flooring with a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a coatings remover that is ideal for removing sealers, it’s also a powerful cleaning agent.

The Remove and Go was left to soak into the Slate tile for ten minutes before being worked in with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The grout lines were also scrubbed at this point, this needs to be done manually with a stiff grout brush as the pads struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout lines. The resultant slurry was then rinsed away and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Last step before finishing for the day was to give the floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. This cleans up the tiles by removing old grout smears that happen during installation and further cleans the stone.

After a final rinse and extraction with the wet vacuum the floor was left overnight to dry off.

Sealing Slate Floor Tiles

The next day I returned to apply a protective sealer checking first that the stone was dry using a moisture meter. We don’t recommend applying a sealer to a damp floor as this can lead to a patchy result.

Once satisfied the Slate was dry, multiple coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were applied. This is a water-based sealer (so no smell) that adds good stain protection and adds a nice subtle sheen to the tile which really enhanced the colours in the slate.

The Slate floor was completely transformed by the work and my client was so impressed with the result they asked me to return and work my magic on their Travertine tiled bathroom.

For aftercare cleaning of sealed Slate floors, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective tile cleaner. You need to be careful when choosing a cleaning product for sealed floors as many products are simply to strong and will erode the sealer prematurely.

Professional Renovation of a Slate Tiled floor in Cambridgeshire

The post Restorative Cleaning and Sealing of a Slate Flooring in Burwell appeared first on Cambridge Tile Doctor.

Removing Limescale from Slate Wet Room Tiles in Penn

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 09:24:59 +0000

This is a great example of what we can achieve with very stained Slate Tiles so well worth sharing. The customer was from Penn in Buckinghamshire and as you can see from the photo below the Slate tiled floor in their wet room was heavily stained with thick limescale mainly around the shower trap where the water collects.

Buckinghamshire is known for its hard water problems which basically means the water contains high levels of calcium carbonate. These deposits are carried in the water and left on the tiles after each shower resulting in Limescale. You can reduce the problem by installing a water softener and it can be dissolved using some of the strong products you find in supermarkets however these are acidic and can etch natural stone if you are not careful. Always read the label!

In this case my customer had just moved into the house and wanted to improve the look of the bathroom and then eventually they planned to change the whole bathroom itself, but in the meantime wanted it cleaned and restored.

Cleaning a Slate Tiled Shower Floor

To renovate the Slate tiles, I started with the application of a strong dilution of an alkaline product made by Tile Doctor called Pro-Clean. This is a great grout cleaner and when used as a strong dilution it will also strip off any sealer remaining on the Slate.

I used the usual method of spraying the Pro-Clean onto the tile and grout and leaving it to soak in for at least ten minutes so it can get to work. It was then scrubbed in with hand tools and an 80-grit silicon carbide brush which is a very effective combination. This gave the stone a deep clean and removed some of the thick limescale on the tiles which was rinsed off with water.

Once the floor had been cleaned and stripped back, I used another Tile Doctor product called Grout Clean-up which is an acidic cleaner and is applied in the same way. Because the build-up of Limescale was so thing I found that a lot of pressure was needed when scrubbing the tiles and, in some areas, I needed to use a scrapper to take off the top layer.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Shower Floor

After cleaning off all the limescale and giving the stone a good rinse, I dried the floor using a white rag and left it to dry off so it would dry enough for sealing. After giving the floor time to dry I used tile doctors oil-based sealer called X-Tra seal putting down a thick coat and allowing the tiles to soak up the sealer. After some time, the floor was then buffed with a cloth to remove the excess and then a second coat was applied.

X-Tra Seal adds the oil back into the stone which restores the dark tones and bring out the natural colour in the Slate, its also rated for external use so will cope well with the damp conditions of the wet room. After that coat had dried a 6-inch 1500-grit buffing pad was used to remove excess sealer and add a slight sheen to the floor.

The fresh sealer should make the Slate less prone to limescale deposits however its not going to prevent the problem indefinitely. Also, for the aftercare of sealed shower tiles, I recommend Aqua-Pro which is a mild cleaning product designed for regular use and won’t harm the sealer like many of the stronger products you find in supermarkets.

Professional Restoration of a Slate Tiled Shower in South Buckinghamshire

The post Removing Limescale from Slate Wet Room Tiles in Penn appeared first on South Buckinghamshire Tile Doctor.

Old Minton Tiled Victorian Hallway Floor Repaired and Renovated in Wigan

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 11:26:54 +0000

Earlier this year I was contacted by a homeowner from Wigan who could not believe it when they took up the old hallway carpet to reveal a lovely, but neglected, Victorian Minton tiled floor. Although the carpet had offered some protection It was covered with paint splashes and marks and there were some loose, cracked, and missing tiles.

Whilst the clients had removed as much paint of as possible, lots of splashes remained. They wanted it cleaned, made sound, and missing tiles replaced before sealing also, if possible, have the cemented door threshold replaced with matching tiles. Basically, they wanted to retain the character of the floor and only replace where necessary.

Deep Cleaning Old Victorian Floor Tiles

To begin, I took moisture readings over all areas due to be worked on; an old floor like this will have been laid before Damp Proof Membranes (DPM) were made standard so its useful to get a baseline moisture reading. Next the floor was cleaned using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which was scrubbed into the tiles using 50 and 100-grit pads fitted to a rotary floor buffer running at slow speed. Gel cleaners are ideal for use on floors without a DPM as they use less water which keeps the moisture levels lower. The resultant soiling was then extracted using a wet vacuum and the floor inspected. Stubborn marks and inaccessible areas were spot treated by hand with more Oxy-Gel and Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU Remover.

The next step was to give the tiles an acid wash using another gel product by Tile Doctor called Acid Gel. A 200-grit pad was used to work this into the floor and then it was removed using the wet vacuum as before. This product serves two purposes, first it will counter any efflorescent salts in the tile and second it neutralises the pH level of the floor following the use of the alkaline cleaning products used earlier.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Floor

The floor was Left to dry overnight, and I returned the next day to make the tile repairs discussed earlier. Victorian floors are still popular to this day so finding replacement tiles that match the originals isn’t a problem although they do need to be cut to fit the original size and pattern.

Using the replacements and unbroken original tiles I was able to re-sit the loose tiles and replace the missing and damaged tiles whilst maintaining the character of the original floor.

Sealing Old Victorian Hallway Tiles

The floor needed to be dry before applying the sealer and so before getting to work I checked the floor with the damp meter and compared it with my previous readings. The use of gel cleaners had worked a treat, and the readings were all within range.

The sealer applied was Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an impregnating oil-based sealer designed to occupy the pores in the tile so dirt can’t become ingrained there. This keeps the dirt on the surface where it can be easily removed. X-Tra seal is fully breathable and rated for indoor and outdoor used so will cope easily with any dampness rising through the floor.

The job took three days in total and on returning home on the last day and seeing the results the customer immediately commented “I love it, great job thank-you”. They also left the following review the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“Kevin was very responsive and talked us through exactly what the job entailed. We’re extremely pleased with the end result, just how I wanted my 130 year old minton tiles to look.”

For aftercare cleaning of sealed Victorian tiles, I recommended using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective tile cleaner that’s safe to use on sealed tiles. Its important to use a cleaning product like this as stronger product can erode the sealer.

Victorian Floor Restoration in Greater Manchester

The post Old Minton Tiled Victorian Hallway Floor Repaired and Renovated in Wigan appeared first on Greater Manchester Tile Doctor.

Dirty Porcelain Tile and Grout Deep Cleaned in Edgbaston

Sat, 09 Dec 2023 14:12:30 +0000

The client from Edgbaston got in touch with me concerned about the state of the grout rather than the polished white porcelain tiles and was considering replacing all of the downstairs area.

I did a test area which really improved the tiles and the dirty grout and convinced them to go ahead with the clean and revamp their floor. I worked out a quotation for cleaning the whole floor, which was agreed, and a date set for my return.

Edgbaston or Edgbaston Village as they would like to be known is an attractive area on the outskirts of Birmingham city centre yet its close enough to take advantage of everything the city has to offer.

Cleaning a Porcelain Tiled Hallway and Kitchen Floor

On arrival I decided that due to the size of the area it would be best to divide the work in to four sections. This would allow for furniture to be moved around whilst I worked on the floor.

Each section was cleaned with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go which was sprayed onto the floor and left to soak in for ten minutes. I then cleaned the grout by hand with a stiff grout brush, before cleaning the tiles and the grout again with a firm nylon bristle pad fitted to a rotary machine. The bristles were firm enough to clean the tiles, but not harsh enough to scratch them. I then rinsed the area with my Airflex Pro cleaning machine which pressure washes the floor whilst simultaneously extracting the soiling.

Once done the grout was looking so much cleaner and was almost camouflaged against the Porcelain tile. However, I wasn’t finished as I planned to give each of the tiles a polish, but before that could happen they needed to be dry. This was achieved with a combination of towelling off and help form three air movers.

I then polished up the tiles with a very fine 3000-grit diamond pad, which really made a real difference to their appearance. These tiles are sealed at the factory during manufacture so there was no need to apply a sealant.

The client was very happy with the tiles and grout appearance especially as they didn’t think they would see an improvement in the tile appearance, more so the grout. They were delighted that they would not need to replace the tiles, saving both the expense and the upheaval. The same process was carried out for all the areas. On completion I left a bottle of Tile Doctor pH Neutral Cleaner to help maintain the floors appearance and would make maintenance nice and easy.

Professional Cleaning of Porcelain Tile and Grout in Birmingham

The post Dirty Porcelain Tile and Grout Deep Cleaned in Edgbaston appeared first on Birmingham Tile Doctor.

Efflorescent Salt Stained Terracotta Floor Renovated in Edenbridge

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 05:51:54 +0000

This customer from Edenbridge asked me to renovate their Terracotta Kitchen floor which has been ruined by a water leak from the dishwasher. The water had caused enormous amounts of damage throughout the lower floor and had resulted in the appearance of white efflorescence as it dried out. Unfortunately, the floor had previously been sealed with some sort of lacquer which the efflorescent salts couldn’t get past resulting in a build-up under the lacquer on many of the tiles.

To resolve, the lacquer needed to be stripped off, the floor cleaned and dried and then re-sealed with a breathable sealer that could cope with the efflorescence should it re-appear. I created a quote for the work which would take two days and emailed it over to the customer. They were relieved to have found someone who understood the problem and had a solution so accepted the quote and a date was agreed for the work to start.

Cleaning Dirty Terracotta Floor Tiles in Edenbridge

The first job was to remove the lacquer which I did with liberal amounts of Tile Doctor’s Remove and Go which is an alkaline coatings remover. A 50/50 dilution of product to water was applied and left to dwell for ten minutes. This was then agitated with a rotary floor buffer fitted with a silicon carbide brush and more water. The resultant slurry was then extracted with a wet vacuum.

Next was the hands and knees job of cleaning the wide grout lines that are typical feature of a Terracotta floor. I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean for this, again its left to soak in for ten minutes before being scrubbed in. This did the job of getting the grout clean and as I progressed the dirt was rinsed off and extracted again with the wet vacuum.

With the floor clean my attention turned to dealing with the efflorescence which was still present in the floor and would certainly re-appear as the floor dried. The solution is to counter the alkaline salts by giving the tiles an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. The gel is applied to the floor and worked in with a black pad fitted to the rotary floor buffer. The gel is then rinsed off an extracted as before. As well as dealing with the efflorescence this product also neutralises the pH of the floor after the use of the alkaline cleaning products used earlier.

The floor was then mopped twice with just water and then dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum. The next step would be sealing so that’s all I could do on the first day so once done I left it to dry off.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Floor in Edenbridge

Terracotta is very porous, so instead of returning the next day to seal, as with many other stone types, I allowed an extra day. Applying sealer to a damp floor is not a good idea as the result can be patchy and inconsistent; with this in mind my first task of the day was to ensure the floor had dried sufficiently by taking several moisture readings with a damp meter.

The owner had already left for work that day but had given me a spare key, so I was able to let myself into the property. We had discussed sealing beforehand, and they had mentioned that they liked the appearance of the floor before the water leak and wanted a sealer that would give the same natural finish.

With this in mind, I sealed the Terracotta with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is a modern impregnating sealer that is almost invisible and doesn’t change the appearance of the tile. Ultra-Seal is also breathable so any moisture and efflorescence still in the subfloor would be able to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface without causing a problem.

Two liberal coats of sealer were applied to the Terracotta and Grout over a period of a few hours. I then hung around to ensure that I was satisfied with the dried finish and let myself out. The fresh sealer will protect the floor from dirt becoming ingrained in the tile keeping in on the surface where it can be easily mopped away.

For the regular cleaning of Terracotta tiled floors, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is an effective tile cleaner that is gentle enough not to compromise the newly applied sealant. Many household cleaning products are simply to strong for cleaning sealed floors and contain strong chemicals such as bleach that can break down a sealer.

Professional Renovation of an Efflorescent Salt Stained Terracotta Kitchen Floor in Kent

The post Efflorescent Salt Stained Terracotta Floor Renovated in Edenbridge appeared first on North Kent Tile Doctor.

Clean and Seal of a Black Limestone Kitchen Floor in Lancaster

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 12:33:49 +0000

This customer from Lancaster contacted us about cleaning and sealing what they thought was a Blue Slate kitchen floor. Having spoke to them over the phone I arranged to pop over and survey the floor to get a better understanding of the work that needed to be done. Lancaster is a few miles South of our base in Carnforth and I’m always passing though.

Having visited the property I was able to confirm that the floor wasn’t Slate but Black Limestone which is notoriously high maintenance due to its acid sensitivity. I mentioned this and they were quite surprised as it had only been laid a few years earlier and it was sold as Black Slate. The two materials do look identical, but if you drop a small amount of something acidic on Black Limestone the stone fizzes and turns Grey and White.

The big problem with Black Limestone is unlike Slate its very porous, this is why you see Slate being used for roof tiling and is still popular covering even to this day. Also, its very acid sensitive, so even Tea, Coffee, Juice, or Wine can mark it, so although popular in gardens it’s certainly not a stone we would recommend for use in a kitchen or bathroom.
Another problem you have is Black Limestone contains natural oils and it’s the oil that gives it that beautiful black colour. Once the oil is washed out of the stone over time or through the use of acidic cleaning products it leaves the stone looking grey and unattractive. This can be resolved however using an oil-based sealer but it is more expensive than a regular stone sealer.

This stone is still workable though, so it’s not all bad news, with the right treatment it can look as good as the day it was laid (if not better) so I came up with a renovation plan that would do exactly that. They were happy to have the work done so we scheduled a date for the work to start.

Cleaning a Black Slate Floor Tiled Kitchen Floor

We find the best way to renovate floors like this is to use coarse diamond pads that can cut into the stone remove any surface damage, contaminates, old sealers and generally leave the stone very clean.

With this floor I started with a very coarse 50-grit DRB pad which is run several times over each stone using only water to lubricate the process. The process generates a lot of soiling and loose sediment that has to be rinsed off the floor with water and then extracted with a wet vacuum. Once this is done the process is repeated with a 100 and then 200-grit pad which together effectively re-hone the stone and remove any scratches caused by the previous pad. A dilution of Remove and Go was also used with the 200-grit pad to ensure the tiles were clean and any remaining sealer not caught by the pads had been removed.

The last step on the first day was to re-point the stone tiles where needed to remove failed and crumbling mortar. This was then left to set hard overnight so we could continue with the renovation the next day.

On day two we followed up the renovation of the stone by moving onto finer Burnishing pads starting with a 400-grit diamond pad applied in the same way and rinsing and extracting afterwards. This was followed by the application of an 800 and then 1500-grit pad to further refine and improve the stone.

Sealing a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

The following day the Black Limestone was sealed with a coat of Tile Doctor X-Tra seal which is the Oil based sealer I mentioned earlier. It brings out the true colour of this stone and the seal leaves a sheen appearance to give a very appealing finish. We find one coat is usually enough for this sealer as it’s a lot thicker that other sealers.

Before leaving I talked through aftercare cleaning with two buckets and the importance of using a pH Neutral cleaning product. We recommend avoiding steam cleaners and not to use cheap bleach or acidic cleaning products which can damage the sealer with repeated use.

We always encourage feedback from customers, and I’m pleased to be able to quote the following message they left on our feedback system:

Great service very organised and professional service would highly recommend

Professional Restoration of a Black Limestone Kitchen Floor in Lancashire

The post Clean and Seal of a Black Limestone Kitchen Floor in Lancaster appeared first on Tile Doctor Lancashire.

Grout Cleaning and Polishing a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in Crediton

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 12:56:37 +0000

This customer in Crediton originally enquired about grout cleaning for their Kitchen floor, however after speaking to them on the phone I discovered their tiles where Marble and so I suggested they may be interested in our stone polishing service as well.

Interested in the possibilities I arranged a time to pop over to the house and conduct a survey and test clean. I’m based in Crediton, so it wasn’t long before I was able to pay them a visit. Whilst there demonstrating grout cleaning, I explained how Marble responds wonderfully to our diamond pad burnishing system and would be possible to go one step further and make this floor a ‘wow’ feature again. I conducted a quick demonstration of the burnishing process which went well, and they agreed it was definitely something they would like to have done and were happy to book me in for both jobs.

Having agreed my quote the only thing that was left was to agree a date to do the work which would take two days. As it turns out they had planned a holiday and so I it was agreed I would do the work whilst they were away to minimise disruption.

Deep Cleaning Grout and Marble Kitchen Tiles

To start, I added low level protection to then the bottom 7 inches or so of the kitchen units and walls to stop any slurry splashes. After this I applied a coat of Tile Doctor alkaline cleaning/stripping product called Remove & Go and left to dwell and soak into the stone. This emulsified and broke down what remained of the existing sealer and ingrained dirt in the grout lines which was causing the discolouration.

After ten minutes the solution was then worked into the floor using a Black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer. Where needed I also used a stiff grout brush along the grout lines until I was satisfied it was as clean and White as it could be. The soiled liquid was then rinsed off the floor and extracted with an industrial wet vacuum.

Next I started the burnishing process with the application of a coarse 400-grit diamond pad fitted to the rotary machine. Using only water for lubrication the pad was worked into each tile until I had covered the whole area. I then repeated this process through 800 and 1500-grit pads extracting the slurry between each pad with the wet vacuum. The pads deep clean the Marble and slowly refine the surface to build up the polished appearance.

After the 1500-grit pad I put several floor fans in place to accelerate the drying of the Marble floor before applying the last pad in the burnishing system which is a very fine 3000-grit polishing pad which adds lovely shine to the Marble and is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the tile.

Once done the burnishing work had been completed and it was time to let the floor completely dry out overnight so it would be ready for sealing the next day.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor

I arrived in the morning and began work by inspecting the floor and taking a few moisture readings to ensure it has completely dry. I was happy with how clean the Grout looked and how well the Marble had responded to the burnishing process. The floor had that smart, eye-catching polished appearance and just needed sealing to protect it from dirt becoming ingrained into the pores of the stone.

Having discussed choice of sealers with the customer previous we had agreed to seal the floor with Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is a great choice for Marble as it contains a colour enhancer that intensifies the lovely natural mineral colours in the stone which otherwise are lost when dry. Two coats were needed, allowing the first coat to dry before applying the second.

A few days later I heard back from the clients who had just arrived back from their holiday, they were overjoyed with the results I achieved not just to the grout but how well their Marble floor now looked. For aftercare cleaning of polished stone floors, we recommend using Tile Doctor Stone Soap, it’s compatible with sealers and helps maintain the patina on the stone.

Professional Cleaning and Polishing of a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in Devon

The post Grout Cleaning and Polishing a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in Crediton appeared first on Devon Tile Doctor.

Tumbled Limestone Floor Cleaned, Polished and Sealed in Bromley

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 09:46:34 +0000

I get called to renovate this Tumbled Limestone tiled floor at a property in Bromley every few years. The sealer does a good job of protecting the stone, but it does wear off with use and the natural crevices in the Travertine attract dirt easily. The other problem of course is the grout which due to its cementous nature also attracts dirt and darkens over time.

Polished stone floors do regular attention if you want to keep them looking good and this is why we offer a maintenance program where we pop back to the property once a year to top up the sealer and repolish. In this case the owner also had a dog who was very well natured however dogs are not know for wiping their feet before entering your house.

Stripping and Polishing Tumbled Limestone Tiles

With most polished Limestone floors, I would normally start with a set of burnishing pads which are the best way to restore the finish. In this case however I decided to start the cleaning process with the application of a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is left to soak into the stone for ten minutes before being worked in. This gives the product time to digest and breakdown the dirt that gets trapped in the crevices. I then use a silicon carbide brush fitted to a rotary floor machine to work the solution into the stone to bring out the dirt. The soiling is then rinsed off the floor and extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to burnish the stone using a set of Diamond encrusted pads of increasing grits that range from a coarse 400-grit to a very fine 3000-grit. The pads are fitted to the rotary machine and are run across the whole floor lubricating with water which is deployed from a tank on the machine. After each the pad the soiling is rinsed away and extracted with the wet vacuum as before.

I stopped the burnishing process on the first day with the 1500-grit pad and turned my attention to the grout joints which are scrubbed by hand with a wire brush and more Pro-Clean. After another rinse and extract the Limestone and grout was already looking noticeably cleaner.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

I returned the next day and set about polishing the floor with the last in the set of burnishing pads which is a 3000-grit pad. This pad is applied with only a little water sprayed on to the stone as its run over the surface, this technique is known as a spray burnish and leaves the floor dry and ready to be sealed.

I was already aware that the owners of the property like the stone to look completely natural and so the sealer chosen was Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal. This is an impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the pores of the stone so dirt cannot become ingrained there allowing it to be easily removed from the surface. It doesn’t change the appearance of the stone at all so it’s almost invisible and difficult to detect which is exactly what they were after. Ultra-Seal is also a great grout sealer and will ensure the grout keeps clean for much longer.

Once the sealer was dry gave the floor an application of Tile Doctor Shine Powder which is a stone polishing compound that is worked into stone, left to dry and then buffed off with a White buffing pad to leave a durable shine on the stone.

Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning and left them with a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which not only cleans but also help maintain the patina on polished stone.

Professional Renovation of a Large Polished Limestone Floor in Kent

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