Limestone Floor Tile and Grout Renovation Southam

Soiled Limestone Floor Tile and Grout Renovated in Southam

Details below of an impressive Limestone Floor installed at a large county house in the historic market town of Southam. I had been asked to deep clean the limestone floor tiles and grout lines in the kitchen and adjacent hallway. They had been previously cleaned by another company a few years ago and they now needed doing again.

Limestone Floor Tile and Grout Before Cleaning Southam

I went over to survey the tiles and provide a quote as requested. The stone was dirty but in good shape, I could see the previous sealer had started to fail in the busiest areas and this was now letting dirt become trapped in the pores of the stone. The main problem though was the grout which had a very rough surface and was heavy contaminated with acrylic sealer.

Limestone Floor Tile Grout Before Cleaning Southam

Cleaning and Burnishing Limestone Tiles

Before beginning the work, I took the precaution of adding a clear silicone sealant between the kitchen units and tile. This is needed to prevent any water used during the cleaning process from soaking into the woodwork and damaging it.

Limestone Floor Tile and Grout During Preparation Southam

Once that was done work started on talking the grout which had to be rubbed back using handheld diamond blocks which was able to cut through and remove the acrylic sealer and dirt along with it. All the grout lines had been treated in this way and so realising it was going to be a tough job I had arranged for Steve Carpenter from Nottinghamshire Tile Doctor to lend me a hand for two days.

After resolving the grout issues, I moved on to restoring the appearance of the Limestone tiles themselves. This was done coarse diamond encrusted Burnishing Pads. Each pad has a different level of grit to grind away the dirt from the stone and build up the polished appearance. The process effectively resurfaces the stone leaving it looking new and fresh.

The process started with the application of a coarse 200-grit pad, fitted to a rotary machine, to grind away any excess muck and sealant lubricated with a little water and Stone Soap cleaning fluid. The resultant slurry was rinsed away and I followed up with the application of the 400-grit pad again with a small amount of water and Stone Soap.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

The last step was to seal the floor and after discussing this with the owner previously it was clear they wanted the Limestone to keep its light appearance and look as natural as possible. With that requirement in mind, we sealed the floor using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a premium impregnating sealer that is almost invisible and doesn’t alter the look of the stone. It works by soaking into the stone, occupying the pores, and thereby preventing dirt from becoming lodged there, this keeps the dirt on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away. Ultra-seal is also an excellent grout sealer.

Limestone Floor Tile and Grout After Cleaning Southam

Limestone Floor Tile and Grout After Sealing Southam

After three days of hard work by the team working the Limestone and Grout was looking so much better and was a massive improvement. The new sealer will also ensure the stone and the grout is much easier to maintain going forward.

My customer was very happy with the floor and pleased it would be easier to clean from now on. Regarding cleaning, I recommended they use Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a gentle yet effective tile cleaner that won’t impact the sealer.

Professional Cleaning of a Limestone Tiled Floor in Warwickshire

Soiled Limestone Floor Tile and Grout Renovated in Southam Read More »

Travertine Kitchen Tile Deep Cleaned Polsihed Stratford-upon-Avon Warwickshire

Dull Travertine Floor with Grubby Grout Renovated in Stratford-upon-Avon

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Stratford-upon-Avon Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning / Mick Gayton

This large Victorian house in Stratford-upon-Avon, had a lovely Travertine tiled floor installed in the kitchen and dining area. Over the years the tiles had lost their shine and the grout had darkened with trapped dirt. The owners had decided it was time to have it professionally cleaned and I was called in to quote for the renovation.

Travertine Kitchen Floor Before Polishing Stratford-upon-Avon

I visited the property to survey the floor, run some tests and discus with the client their main concerns. From that I was able to work out an accurate price for the work which was accepted and a date arranged to carry out the work.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

First, I cleaned the grout lines using Tile Doctor Stone Soap which was run along the grout lines and scrubbed in with a brush. It was the grout that needed the most attention and I suspect it wasn’t sealed along with the Travertine when it was laid.

The now soiled cleaning solution was extracted with a wet vacuum, keeping the mess to a minimum. I repeated this process as a few areas that were near the cooking areas which were particularly dirty.

Next, I turned my attention to the Travertine tiles which were actually in great condition and only really needed a polish to buff them up. To do this I used a very fine 3000-grit burnishing pad which used very fine industrial diamonds to burnish the stone and restore its polished appearance. This gentle action of the pad brings up the shine very gently without damaging the stone. The pad is fitted to a rotary floor buffer and run over the floor with a small amount of water which is sprayed onto the tile.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

Once the burnishing was done, I brought the polish finish up further by working Tile Doctor Shine Powder into the Travertine using a white buffing pad. This is a crystalising powder that adds a durable and protective deep shine to the tile.

Travertine Kitchen Floor After Polishing Stratford-upon-Avon

Once complete the Travertine sheen had been restored to the Travertine tiles and looked so much cleaner, additionally the colour had been restored to the grubby grout lines and it was this that had really been bringing the floor down.

The client was very happy with the work we carried out and before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning for which I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap. This product has been specially designed for maintaining the patina on polished floors and has a gentle formula that won’t erode the protection provided by the shine powder crystals.

Professional Renovation of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen in Warwickshire

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Slate Hallway After Cleaning and Sealing

Removing Grout Haze from Slate Tile Flooring

Grout Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Stratford-upon-Avon Tile Cleaning, Work History / Mick Gayton

You may remember a previous Limestone floor job we did for a Mrs Schwartz from Stourbridge, well true to her word she invited us back to clean and seal the slate tile flooring in her hallway which had been left with grout smears (aka grout haze) on the surface after tiling. Grout smears can be removed however if the floor is sealed it’s necessary to remove the sealer first.

Cleaning Grout Haze off Slate Tile Flooring

To remove the sealer and clean off the grout smears we used a 50/50 mix of Tile Doctor Remove and Go combined with Nanotech Ultra-Clean for added effect, the solution was left to dwell on the surface of the slate for 15 minutes to break down the polymers in the grout. The next step was to turn on a high pressure spinner tool which is a very effective cleaning tool on its own; the water from the spinner tool also washes away any chemicals and neutralises the floor ready for sealing.

Sealing Slate Tiles

We speed dried the slate tile flooring using a number of industrial fans and applied three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which offers a good combination of stain resistance with a low sheen finish that brings out the natural colours in the slate.

Cleaning and Sealing Slate Tile Flooring in Stourbridge

Removing Grout Haze from Slate Tile Flooring Read More »

Before and After photos of a Polished Limestone Floor Tiles

Limestone Floor Tiles Polished

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Mick Gayton

Limestone Floor Tiles Polished to a deep shine

Great photograph below of a Limestone floor in the kitchen of a house near Coventry. The Limestone had lost it’s shine after the application of a surface sealing “Clean and Shine” type product; the problem was akin to the application of a wax finish which in turn had been contaminated with cleaning product and soil underneath. The grout line has also become heavily soiled through everyday use.

Cleaning Limestone Floor Tile

First the Limestone tiled floor was dry vacuumed to remove loose grit; we also took to opportunity to remove the kitchen unit kick boards. This was followed by a good clean with a 1:5 mix of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell for 15 minutes before the application of a stiff grout brush on on the grout lines followed by the use of a slow speed buffing machine to break up the surface wax on the tile. The whole are was rinsed down using high pressure clean water via a spinner tool which removed any left over dirt from the grout lines.

The next step was to use the diamond encrusted burnishing pads system to prepare and condition the limestone floor tiles prior to polishing.

Adding that deep shine to Limestone Tiled Floors

We then applied Tile Doctor Shine Powder using a White buffing pad to provide that extra deep shine you can see in the photograph, it also provides and tough durable finish.

Limestone Tiled Floor Cleaning and Polishing

Limestone Floor Tiles Polished Read More »

grout cleaning