Work History

Mick-Gayton-Warwickshire-Tile-Doctor

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of Tile, Grout and Stone Cleaning and renovation work carried out within Warwickshire.

Victorian Floor Tile Repair and Restoration Rugby

Original Minton Tiled Floor Damaged by Cable Installation Restored in Rugby

1 Comment / Encaustic Cement Tile Cleaning, Rugby Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning /

Recently I was called out to a property in Rugby which had a lovely Victorian period Encaustic Tiled Floor. The had only just moved into the property and had, like many of my customers seem to do, decided to replace the hallway carpet. Underneath they were pleased to discover a beautiful Black and White tiled floor laid in a classic diamond pattern.

Unfortunately, as they removed the carpet the discovered that it had been covered over to hide an ugly section of cement that went across the width of the hallway. Suspecting they had an Original Minton tiled floor they were keen to have it restored and so got in touch with Tile Doctor.

I do a lot of work repairing and restoring tiled floors in the area so I was more than happy to provide a quote for repairing the damaged section and then renovating the floor. I have also built up a collection of spare Minton tiles because of this so they had come to exactly the right place.

Repairing a Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway in Rugby

The first step in the restoration was to carefully break out the cement backfill that had been run across the floor. We often see this sort of thing when heating is installed to hide a heating or gas pipe so I had to do this very carefully so as not to damage whatever had been covered over.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Rugby

To my surprise the cement was hiding a couple of power cables encased in steel wire armour for protection. With the channel exposed it was then backfilled with cement screed to bring it level with the original base and then left to set overnight.

The next day work started with the cutting and shaping of the replacement tiles to exactly match the original pattern. Once I was happy with the pattern the tiles were stuck into place and grouted in. The next step would be to clean the floor with a buffer machine so once the replacement tiles were in place I left it to set overnight again.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Rugby

On day three I started by inspecting the previous day’s repairs and confirming the floor was solid which it was. All was well so I set about cleaning the tiles using Tile Doctor Remove and Go starting with the corners and edges which were scrubbed by hand. This product is a strong tile cleaner which is also good for removing old sealers.

With the corners and edges done I then moved onto the main floor which was scrubbed using a coarse 200-grit diamond pad fitted to a rotary machine. Carpets and underlay imprint a pattern onto the tiles when left for many years and these pads are great for removing this as well as further cleaning up the tiles. The cleaning solution darkens with the soiling and this is then extracted using a wet vacuum.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Cleaning Rugby Victorian Tiled Floor During Cleaning Rugby

With the whole floor cleaned in this manner the process was repeated with Tile Doctor Acid Gel which further cleans up the tiles and has other advantages such as dissolving any efflorescent salts that may have built up in the tiles. Efflorescence is a common problem with these old floors which don’t have the benefit of a damp-proof membrane. To scrub the floor, I used a couple more diamond Burnishing pads of finer grits which helps refine the appearance of the tile following the application of the coarse 200-grit.

After this the floor was rinsed and wet vacuumed to remove as much moisture as possible.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

The following day the floor was checked in several places to ensure it had dried sufficiently overnight. We know from experience it’s not a good idea to apply sealer to a damp floor as it can result in a patchy appearance.

The checks were fine and so the floor was sealed with an initial coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil which adds structure to the tile and then when dry followed up with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow to improve colour. Both these products are Impregnators and allow for vapour transmission which is ideal for old floors like this one.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Repair and Restoration Rugby

Impregnators work by soaking into tile, occupying the pores and thereby preventing dirt from residing there. This keeps dirt on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away. Once done the owners were very pleased and really happy that the original floor was now 100% intact and had been put back into daily use.

For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a gentle yet effective tile cleaning product that won’t impact the sealer and reduce its life.

 

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Warwickshire

Original Minton Tiled Floor Damaged by Cable Installation Restored in Rugby Read More »

Edwardian Tiled Diamond Pattern Hallway Floor Restoration Rugby

Classic Black and White Diamond Pattern Encaustic Tiled Hallway Restoration in Rugby

1 Comment / Encaustic Cement Tile Cleaning, Rugby Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning /

Earlier this year the owner of an Edwardian 1930’s double bay property in Rugby got in touch regarding an original encaustic cement tiled hallway floor that needed renovation. The floor had been covered in carpet with underlay for many years and this had recently been removed by the owner only to discover this classic floor underneath. Realising it was an original period feature they wanted to have it restored.

Edwardian Tiled Diamond Pattern Floor Before Restoration Rugby

I paid a visit to the property to survey the floor and work out a process for its restoration. It comprised of encaustic tiles (more commonly referred to as Victorian) laid in a diamond pattern throughout the main hallway.

Having inspected the floor I was able to confirm no tile repairs would be needed, and the main issue would be removing the thick layer of glue which was predominantly used around the perimeter of the floor to secure the carpet.

Edwardian Tiled Diamond Pattern Floor Before Restoration Rugby Edwardian Tiled Diamond Pattern Floor Before Restoration Rugby

Once that had been dealt with, the tiles would need deep cleaning to remove years of dirt and then sealing to add protection going forward. I worked out a quote based on the restoration plan and was confident the work could be completed in a day. Happy with the quote, a date for the work was scheduled.

Cleaning an Edwardian Encaustic Tiled Hallway

The first job was to tackle the glue which involved applying neat Tile Doctor Remove and Go and then leaving it for ten minutes for it to soak in and break down the adhesive. Handheld scrapers where then used to carefully scrape off the glue and then this was followed up with hand-held diamond blocks of different grits to ensure all the adhesive was removed. The soiling was then extracted using a wet vacuum.

The whole floor was then cleaned using an application of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel, again left to soak in and then scrubbed this time with a buffer machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad.
The soiling was then removed with a wet vacuum and then wiped with cloths to get it as dry as possible. I also deployed a couple of floor fans to further dry the floor.

Edwardian Tiled Diamond Pattern Floor During Drying Rugby

Using a Gel cleaning product minimised the amount of water used to clean the floor and thus result in a reduction in drying times. I also deployed a couple of floor fans to assist with drying which were moved around the floor. It could need to be completely dry before sealing however so it was left for a few hours before being checked for moisture with a damp meter.

Sealing an Edwardian Encaustic Tiled Hallway

To seal the tiles, I applied a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, leaving a good thirty minutes between coats. This sealer is fully breathable and will cope well with any moisture that rises through the tile from the foundation and allow it to evaporate. Old floors like this one were installed before the invention of damp proof membranes and so need to be allowed to breathe.

Tile Doctor Colour Grow is a colour enhancing impregnator which works by occupying the pores in the tile and thereby preventing any dirt from residing there. This keeps dirt on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away.

Edwardian Tiled Diamond Pattern Floor After Restoration Rugby

The colour enhancer in the new sealer really made the Black tiles pop and should remain that way as long as the sealer stays in place. Regarding cleaning, I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This product is pH neutral and so won’t impact the sealer which can be the problem with many of the stronger products you find in supermarkets.

My clients were very happy with the renovation, and I popped back a week later to check everything was fine.

Edwardian Tiled Diamond Pattern Floor After Restoration Rugby

 

Professional Restoration of a Edwardian Encaustic Tiled Hallway in Warwickshire

Classic Black and White Diamond Pattern Encaustic Tiled Hallway Restoration in Rugby Read More »

Vinyl Covered Victorian Hallway Floor Restoration Warwick

Victorian Hallway restoration in Warwick

1 Comment / Victorian Tile Cleaning, Warwick Tile Cleaning /

I took these photographs of an original Victorian tiled floor at a 1900’s house in Warwick, near the racecourse. The floor had been covered in vinyl for many years and had decided to replace it. However, after realising the value a restored period floor can add to a property, they investigated having it restored and consequently contacted Tile Doctor.

Vinyl Covered Victorian Floor Before Restoration Warwick Vinyl Covered Victorian Floor Before Restoration Warwick

Before quoting I went over to the house to survey the floor and work out what would be needed to renovate it. I could see that the main issues would be the self-levelling screed and adhesive that had been used to secure the vinyl. There were also numerous tiles that would need replacing. None of this concerned me though as I have worked through these sorts of issues many times before.

Vinyl Covered Victorian Floor Before Restoration Warwick

I reassured the client that the original floor could absolutely be restored back to its original condition and worked out a price for the work which would take two days, one to clean/repair, and one to seal. My quote was accepted, and a date was arranged for my return.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Old floors like this one don’t have a damp proof membrane under the tiles so I was immediately concerned about increasing the moisture levels in the floor itself, especially as it was previously covered in vinyl which can prevent moisture rising through the floor. As a result, I decided to use as little water as possible when cleaning the floor by using low moisture gel cleaning products.

To remove the screed and adhesive I applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel to the floor and then left it to soak in for ten minutes before working it in with a 100 and then 200-grit abrasive pad. The acidic nature of the gel is really good at breaking down cement and mineral based contaminates allowing them to be removed more easily. After each pad I used a little water to help sluice away the soiled gel and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Vinyl Covered Victorian Floor During Restoration Warwick Vinyl Covered Victorian Floor During Restoration Warwick

After cleaning I then turned my attention to the 23 or so tiles that were either loose or in a bad condition and needed changing. These were carefully removed, and the foundation cleaned up before being replaced with a matching tile that I had managed to source earlier. The replacements were secured with fresh adhesive and then grouted. The floor was then given a quick clean and then left to dry out fully overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The next day I returned and sealed the floor with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which leaves a matt finish and contains a colour enhancing formula that really brings out the colours in the tile. Additionally Colour Grow is also fully breathable and will allow moisture to rise unhindered through the floor and evaporate at the surface, a crucial feature when sealing old floors like this one.

Vinyl Covered Victorian Floor After Restoration Warwick Vinyl Covered Victorian Floor After Restoration Warwick

For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is an effective tile cleaner that is safe to use on sealed tiled floors.

 

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Worcestershire

Victorian Hallway restoration in Warwick Read More »

Limestone Floor Tile and Grout Renovation Southam

Soiled Limestone Floor Tile and Grout Renovated in Southam

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Leamington Spa Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing /

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 and Grout Before Cleaning Southam 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.

Limestone Floor Tile and Grout After Cleaning Southam Limestone Floor Tile and Grout After Cleaning Southam


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 »

Geometric Edwardian Floor Restoration Mount Nod Coventry

Edwardian Tile Hallway Restoration in Mount Nod Coventry

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning /

The photographs below are of an Edwardian tiled hallway floor in a large double bay 1920’s house in the Mount Nod area of Coventry. These beautiful geometric tiled floors are very typical for the housing stock in the area however over the years some have fared better than others.

Geometric Edwardian Floor Before Restoration Mount Nod Coventry

This particular floor was discovered by the homeowner after removing an old carpet and underlay for replacement. Rather than covering it up again they thought it would be a good idea to have it restored and therefore I was asked to call in and quote for the work.

The tiles leading into the kitchen and other doorways were heavily damaged, and some areas had been back filled with concrete, all of which would need replacing with matching tiles. After researching the cost of replacement tiles with Craven Dunhill I worked out a quote which was accepted, and a date set for the restoration to start.

Geometric Edwardian Floor Before Restoration Mount Nod Coventry Geometric Edwardian Floor Before Restoration Mount Nod Coventry

Cleaning and repairing an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started with the repairing of the damaged areas which included removing damaged tiles and chipping out concrete. You have to be really careful when doing this as the last thing you want is to disturb the surrounding tiles and making more work for yourself. The exposed areas were cleaned up and prepped for the replacement tiles which were cut to shape so they would match the existing geometric pattern. Only once the pattern was replicated, the replacement were tiles secured in place with a rapid setting adhesive.

Once the tiles had set, I moved onto cleaning the whole floor for which I used a low moisture gel-based cleaning products. I tend to avoid the use of liquids on old floors like this as they were laid before the invention of damp proof membranes so there’s nothing to prevent moisture rising from the ground. Excess moisture can result in unwanted efflorescence deposits so using too much water is best avoided, it’s a common issue with these floors especially when they have been covered in carpet and underlay as this prevents the floor from being able to breathe.

With that in mind I applied Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel to the tile surface and left it to dwell for ten minutes before scrubbing it in with a black pad fitted to a rotary buffer. This is a strong alkaline tile cleaning agent that breaks down dirt and old sealers etc, I was then able to extract the soiling using a wet vacuum and a little water.

Next up was to give the floor an acid rinse using another gel-based product, Tile Doctor Acid Gel. Being acidic this product neutralises the floor following the use of the alkaline cleaning products and neutralises any efflorescent salts that may have built up in the tiles. After working in the Tile Doctor Acid Gel, it was then removed with the wet vacuum and the floor given a light rinse with water. The wet vacuum was then used to remove as much moisture as possible from the floor before leaving it to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

The next day I returned and began by checking the moisture levels in the floor using a damp meter. Applying a sealer to damp tiles can produce inconsistent results so best avoided.

The results confirmed the floor was dry so I was able to proceed and seal the floor using Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal. I chose this product because it’s a fully breathable and therefore will cope well with any moisture rising through the tile allowing it to evaporate at the surface and not become trapped underneath where it could cause problems. The sealer soaks into the pores of the tile protecting them from within and ensuring any dirt will remain on the surface where its easily removed.

Geometric Edwardian Floor After Restoration Mount Nod Coventry Geometric Edwardian Floor After Restoration Mount Nod Coventry

For aftercare cleaning I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is an effective tile cleaning product that is pH neutral and won’t impact the sealer. Sealers can be removed with stronger cleaning products that are only designed for use on glazed tiles or Vinyl so always take care to read the label when choosing a product.

Geometric Edwardian Floor After Restoration Mount Nod Coventry

 

Professional Restoration of an Edwardian Tiled Hallway in Warwickshire

Edwardian Tile Hallway Restoration in Mount Nod Coventry Read More »

Sandstone Patio Cleaning Sealing Poets Corner Coventry

Sandstone Patio Renovation at Poets Corner in Coventry

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning /

This client in the Poets Corner area of Coventry had a Sandstone patio laid at the front of their property around 12 months ago. The installer didn’t seal the sandstone flagstones afterwards and it had since become rather grubby, the situation wasn’t helped by an overhanging tree which deposits sap on the patio.

Sandstone Patio Before Cleaning Poets Corner Coventry

My client needed it cleaned but didn’t want it done with a pressure washer as there was a concern about the mess it could make on a neighbour’s drive. Looking for another option Tile Doctor was contacted to find out what else could be done.

Happy to help, I went over to survey the patio and suggested we clean it using the same system we would use on internal stone using a rotary floor buffer together with a tile cleaning agent. I worked out a quote and got the go ahead to start the work. There was a spell of dry weather forecast so a date was agreed for the work to be done then.

Sandstone Patio Before Cleaning Poets Corner Coventry

Cleaning a Sandstone Tiled Patio Floor

The process I followed was to spray the sandstone with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and leave it to sit for ten to fifteen minutes so it could breakdown the dirt. Then using a floor buffer fitted with a brush attachment I slowly worked the solution into each tile. This process releases the trapped dirt from the tile and grout which was then rinsed off with water and then extracted with a wet vacuum. The patio was left to dry off in the sun whilst I had lunch.

Sealing a Sandstone Tiled Patio Floor

I came back later and ran some moisture tests with a damp meter to check the Sandstone was dry. The sun had worked its magic and it wasn’t long before I was able to apply a sealer. The sealer chosen was Tile Doctor X-Tra seal which is an oil-based product that is rated for external use and is designed to cope well with damp conditions. The oil in the sealer adds structure and colour to the stone whilst protecting it going forward and making it easy to clean.

Sandstone Patio After Cleaning Sealing Poets Corner Coventry

Once done the patio looked much cleaner and the sealer had done a good job of improving the look of the stone. I recommended we returned the following year to repeat the process to ensure that the patio was ready for the summer. Tile Doctor offers an Annual Maintenance Plan System for just this, one annual fee and the patio is taken care of every year.

My client was very happy with the restored patio and the entrance to the property now looked lovely with plenty of kerb appeal.

Sandstone Patio After Cleaning Sealing Poets Corner Coventry

 

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Worcestershire

Sandstone Patio Renovation at Poets Corner in Coventry Read More »

Edwardian Period Tiled Hallway Floor Renovation Coundon Coventry

Edwardian Tiled Hallway renovation in Coundon

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning /

These photos are from a 1930’s double bay house in Coundon Coventry, a property which is quite common in the area, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are hundreds of other houses with a hidden Edwardian tiled floor in the hallway just like this one.

Edwardian Period Tiled Hallway Floor Before Renovation Coundon Coventry

The tiled floor had been under carpet for years and was very damp after removing the carpet and underlay, these floors were laid before the invention of a damp proof membrane and so need to be allowed to breathe so the moisture in the ground can rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface. The rubber backing of the carpet underlay prevents this and hence the build-up of moisture in the floor.

If the damp issue wasn’t enough the tiles had at some point in their long history been painted red and some sort of adhesive had been used to secure the carpet. After a thorough inspection I formulated a plan for the renovation and discussed the costs with the client. They were happy to go ahead and pleased to know that restoration was possible.

Cleaning an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

To break down the paint I applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go and left it to soak in for about thirty minutes before scrubbing with a rotary floor buffer fitted with a Black pad. This was followed by an application of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel waiting again for 30 minutes this time using a very coarse 50-grit pad then a 100-grit pad. The soiled gel was then removed with a wet vacuum. These coarse pads are made with industrial diamonds and are very good at removing the pattern left by the carpet and underlay which over the years becomes imprinted on the surface of the tile.

Edwardian Period Tiled Hallway Floor During Renovation Coundon Coventry

Next, to tackle the efflorescence from the lack of damp proof membrane I applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel and cleaned the floor with a 400-grit burnishing pad, the soiled gel was removed and the corners and edges treated by hand using small burnishing blocks.

The floor was then wiped over to remove further soiling. Doing it this way and using gel cleaning products instead of using lots of water to rinse off the soiling keeps the moisture in the floor to a minimum which is important on a floor like this one with inherent damp problems. The floor was then speed dried with an air mover and a heat gun. I then re-grouted the floor.

Sealing an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning the following morning, I tested the floor with a damp meter to check the floor was ready for sealing. The readings were within acceptable levels which gave me the green light to proceed. It’s not a good idea to apply a sealer to a damp floor as the results can be inconsistent.

I selected to use Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is a breathable sealer that will allow for moisture to rise through the tiles. The sealer really revived the colour of the tiles and really brought out their warmth.

Three coats of X-Tra seal were applied in total allowing each one to dry before applying the next. This is a very hardwearing sealer so should ensure this high traffic area is well protected for some years to come and three coats gives the floor a nice appealing shine.

Edwardian Period Tiled Hallway Floor After Renovation Coundon Coventry

My client was delighted with the outcome and said they would recommend us to friends and neighbours so who knows how many similar floors we will uncover! For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Clean which is a gentle tile cleaning product designed for use on sealed tiles.

 

Professional Renovation of an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor in Warwickshire

Edwardian Tiled Hallway renovation in Coundon 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 /

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

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

Tar-Covered Victorian Floor Restored in Nuneaton

Tar Stained Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Nuneaton

1 Comment / Nuneaton Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning /

The photos below are of a Victorian Tiled Hallway at a property in Nuneaton, the owner of the property had decided the carpet was past its best and having removed it was pleased to find an original Victorian tiled floor underneath.

Tar-Covered Victorian Floor Before Restoration Nuneaton Tar-Covered Victorian Floor Before Restoration Nuneaton

However, the tiles were thoroughly stained with Tar of all things and so we were called in to do restore it. Tar and Bitumen are waterproof and were traditionally used to prevent damp from coming up through the floor. Old floors like this one were laid before Damp Proof Courses were invented. The trouble with this approach however is it pushes the damp problem elsewhere such as the walls which can lead to rising damp. The best solution is to let the floor breath so the moisture can evaporate at the surface of the tile.

Another problem with this floor were several loose and broken tiles which would need replacing however the tar staining made it difficult to order replacements as I couldn’t be sure about the colours and how many to order.

Cleaning and Repairing a Dirty and Damaged Victorian Tiled Floor

Deep cleaning the Victorian tiles was very hard work and had to try different combinations of solvents to remove the tar and deep clean the floor. I started with Tile Doctor Remove and Go combined with Nanotech HBU and leaving it to soak in for fifteen minutes before working it in with a coarse diamond encrusted burnishing pad. I had to use several burnishing pads of different grits to get the Tar off the tiles and they were clogged with Tar once completed. I had to work in stages and all the soil generated was extracted with a wet vacuum.

To keep the moisture levels of the floor low I followed up with an application of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which being a Gel cleaner its very east to manage and only needs a small amount of water to rinse it off with afterwards. The gel was worked into the floor with another burnishing pad and the soiling extracted afterwards with a wet vacuum as before.

The next consideration was a build-up of efflorescence in the pores of the tile, this happens where alkaline salts held in moisture under the floor get left on the surface as unsightly white deposits when it evaporates at the surface. Basic chemistry will tell you that you can counter an alkaline with an acid and to do this I gave the whole floor an acid wash using another Tile Doctor product called Acid Gel which again being a Gel keeps the use of water to a minimum.

By the end of the first day the old tiles were clean and I was able to work out how many tiles I would need and of course what colour I would need. The restoration project was therefore put on hold until I can source the replacement tiles and install them.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor

With the cracked and broken tiles replaced I was able to return and apply a fresh sealer that would protect the floor from staining and merge the appearance of the old and new tiles together and make it easier for the property owner to keep the tiles clean going forward.

I knew from the history of this floor I would need a fully breathable sealer that could cope with potential damp that could still be trapped under the floor. The carpet has only been removed a few ago so I applied Tile Doctor X-Tra seal which can be used internally and externally. It leaves a matt finish but was the ideal product for a floor like this one.

Tar-Covered Victorian Floor After Restoration Nuneaton Tar-Covered Victorian Floor After Restoration Nuneaton

For aftercare I advised the owner to use Tile Doctor Neutral Clean, it’s an effective day to day tile cleaning product which is gentle enough that it can be used regularly on a sealed tile floor. You do have to be careful with supermarket cleaners as many contain bleach which can strip the sealer off a tiled floor leaving it vulnerable.

 

Professional Restoration of a Stained Victorian Tiled Floor in Warwickshire

Tar Stained Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Nuneaton Read More »

Classic Edwardian Hallway Floor Renovated Earlsdon Coventry

Classic 1920’s Edwardian Hallway Floor Restored in Earlsdon Coventry

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History /

This 1920s single bay house in Earlsdon had been restored by the builder from top to bottom. The hallway floor had been covered in laminate flooring which had been removed, revealing an Edwardian tiled floor beneath. Unfortunately, the plasterer had not covered the floor when working on the walls, so the tiles were now covered in plaster!

Edwardian Hallway Floor Before Restoration Earlsdon Coventry

The client was keen to keep as many original features as possible and called me in to see if the original 100-year-old floor could be renovated in keeping with the rest of the house. I visited the property to survey the tiles and explained that it certainly could be and having worked on hundreds of these renovations before I was confident of getting a good result. They were happy to go with my quotation and we arranged a time to carry out the work.

Edwardian Hallway Floor During Restoration Earlsdon Coventry

Cleaning an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor tiles themselves were in good condition, but I had to hand carefully scrape the plaster off the tiles before starting on the deep clean. With the plaster removed from the floor I applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel and worked it into the tiles with a coarse 100-grit pad. The floor was then rinsed, and the waste extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum. The process was then repeated with a 200-Grit and then a 400-grit pad until I was happy.

The floor was then speed dried with fans whilst I worked on a repair around the threshold of one of the doors. The repair was relatively straight forward, and I managed to restore the tiling, so the repair was unnoticeable.

Edwardian Hallway Floor During Repair Earlsdon Coventry

The floor was then left overnight to completely dry out. Floors of this age don’t have a damp proof membrane so moisture can build up if they have been covered as in this case. The next stage in the restoration would be to apply a sealer and the floor needs to be dry before you do this otherwise the result can be patchy.

Sealing an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning the following day, I first tested the floor with a damp meter to check the moisture levels in different parts of the floor to ensure it was dry enough to seal. The fans had done a good job and I was pleased to find that the floor was dry.

To seal this floor, I used Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra, it’s a breathable acrylic based sealer that allows for moisture vapour to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface. This makes it ideal for situations where no damp proof membrane has been installed and there is a low risk of mineral salt deposits being formed (efflorescence).

Once completed the transformation was huge and he Victorian tiles looked well suited to the hallway. Feedback from my client was they were over the moon with the newly restored floor!

Edwardian Hallway Floor After Restoration Earlsdon Coventry

For regular cleaning, I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, this is a gentle pH neutral cleaner that will ensure the newly applied seal is retained and not eroded prematurely. This can be the problem with most household cleaning products which contain strong chemicals like bleach which can break down the sealer over time. Without a sealer dirt gets back into the pores of the tile which will mean the homeowner will need to get the floor cleaned and sealed again – a vicious circle!

 

Professional Restoration of an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor in Coventry

Classic 1920’s Edwardian Hallway Floor Restored in Earlsdon Coventry Read More »

Minton Tiled Church Floor Restoration Shilton

Minton Floor Tile Restoration at St. Andrew’s Church in Shilton

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History /

If you follow my activities, you will notice I have a reputation for being a Church Restoration specialist for tiled floors. In this example the church was St’ Andrew’s in the old village of Shilton which is a couple of miles North of Coventry.

St-Andrews-Church-Shilton

The village of Shilton is listed in the Domesday book of 1066 and the Grade II listed parish church has been in existence since the 13th century. It was rebuilt twice in the 14th and 15th centuries and benefited form major work in 1865. The tiled floor installed throughout the church were manufactured by Milton so it’s probable the floor was laid at that time.

Exposing and Renovating a Milton Tiled Church Floor

My first call out to the church was to carefully remove the expansive carpet which had been put down over the tiled floor in the 1970. It had been fixed with some very strong adhesive and it had become clear that the carpet and the glue had formed a barrier over the tile sealing moisture into the floor. In some places the moisture had spread out to the walls of the Church causing rising damp. The damp resulted in plaster lifting off from the walls because it could not escape through the floor. I had to call in some assistance with this job and between us managed to remove the old carpets which were cut up and placed into black bags for disposal.

Tiled Floor During Restoration St. Andrews Church Shilton Tiled Floor During Restoration St. Andrews Church Shilton

With the tiled floor now clear the next job was to remove the old adhesive. To do this, large sections of tile were soaked in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. To enhance this further the section was covered in plastic sheeting and left overnight. Doing it this way prevents the Remove and Go from drying out making it work harder and for longer. The next morning was spent carefully removing the glue with hand using scrapers and a buffing machine fitted with brush.

Tiled Floor During Restoration St. Andrews Church Shilton Tiled Floor During Restoration St. Andrews Church Shilton

Once the adhesive was gone and the tiles exposed, they were given an acid wash which involved scrubbing with Tile Doctor Acid Gel. Being an acidic product, it counter acts any alkaline efflorescent salts inherent in the floor and deals with any grout hazing issues as well improving their appearance. After scrubbing the soil generated was extracted using an industrial wet vacuum and then the floor was given a quick rinse with water which again was extracted using the wet vacuum.

Tiled Floor During Cleaning St Andrews Church Shilton

Sealing a Milton Tiled Church Floor

Before sealing the previously cleaned section of tiling it was left for a few days to dry out and checked with a damp meter beforehand. Once dry the section was sealed using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating hard wearing sealer that improves colour. Colour Grow is also a fully breathable making it ideal for sealing old floors like this one that have no damp proof membrane and will allow moisture to rise through the tile so it can evaporate at the surface.

Tiled Floor After Restoration St Andrews Church Shilton

The work was done over seven days with the various sections roped off, so it was obvious to the parishioners. In total it took seven days to complete the restoration and I think you will agree from the photographs the church looks transformed.

St Andrew Church Shilton During Restoration

 

Professional Restoration of a Minton Tiled Church Floor in Coventry

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Victorian Craven Dunnill Floor Renovation Stoke Golding Nuneaton

Craven Dunnill Floor Restoration in Stoke Golding Nuneaton

1 Comment / Nuneaton Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History /

The Victorian Floor was in Stoke Golding a small village near Nuneaton Warwickshire. Some years ago, the client had decided to tile over the original Victorian geometric tiled floor with a modern tile. Back to the present day and their tastes had changed and so they decided they preferred the classic look after all and wanted the old floor restored. The process of removing the modern tiles however caused quite a bit of damage to the old floor and in the process managed to damage a large section of the sub floor.

Victorian Hallway Before Craven Dunnill Tile Rebuild Stoke Golding Nuneaton

After surveying the floor, I could see that as well as the obvious, the floor had dropped by the door to the lounge so this would need repairing and the tiles by the kitchen door had been removed and would also need replacing. Happy for me to do the work I worked out how many replacement tiles would be needed to renovate the floor. The tiles were then ordered from Craven Dunnill who have been in operation since 1872 and still make the same tiles to this day.

Victorian Hallway Before Craven Dunnill Tile Rebuild Stoke Golding Nuneaton

Cleaning and Repairing a Craven Dunnill Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first day on the job involved removing tiles and screed from the damaged sections, cleaning up the rubble as I went. The now exposed subfloor was built up to the right height by adding self-levelling screed which was left to set before more work could be done. Once the new screed had set the replacement tiles were cut and laid using a flexible adhesive. The damaged tiles in the floor where also removed and replaced where needed.

Victorian Hallway During Craven Dunnill Tile Rebuild Stoke Golding Nuneaton Victorian Hallway During Craven Dunnill Tile Rebuild Stoke Golding Nuneaton

The next step involved deep cleaning the whole hallway floor, first using Tile Doctor Remove and Go and then followed up with Tile Doctor Acid Gel using 200 and 400-Grit burnishing pads to really get the tiles clean and bright again. I hand finished the corners and edges with handheld burnishing blocks of different grades and then left the floor to dry overnight.

Sealing a Craven Dunnill Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The next morning, I inspected the floor to check it was clean and dry however, it also revealed a few more cracked tiles that were not obvious the day before. These were removed and replaced as before.

The floor was then pre-sealed using a coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer followed up with a few coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra. The combination of the two sealers brings out the colours in the tiles whilst providing hard wearing protection that will keep the dirt out of the tiles. Both sealers are breathable which is an important consideration when sealing old floors like this one which don’t usually have a damp proof membrane.

Victorian Hallway After Craven Dunnill Tile Rebuild Stoke Golding Nuneaton Victorian Hallway After Craven Dunnill Tile Rebuild Stoke Golding Nuneaton

Due to the amount of tiling work needed that job was completed over a two-week period however the floor looked amazing when finished and well worth the effort. Given the history of the floor I’m sure the fully restored floor will add a lot of value to the property, certainly my client was very happy with the finish.

Victorian Hallway After Craven Dunnill Tile Rebuild Stoke Golding Nuneaton

 

Professional Craven Dunnill Victorian Hallway Restoration in Warwickshire

Craven Dunnill Floor Restoration in Stoke Golding Nuneaton Read More »

Restoring Victorian Hallway Floor Bedworth Warwickshire

Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Bedworth

1 Comment / Bedworth Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History /

This customer in Bedworth called me in to remove a matt tray from their Victorian Tied hallway and restore the floor back to its original condition. The house had been in the same family for some generations and at one point the owner’s father had covered the floor with a thin layer of bitumen to secure a carpet. The carpet had since been removed but as a result the floor was very dark from bitumen stains.

Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Restoration Bedworth

Bedworth is actually very close to my base in Coventry, so it wasn’t long before I was able to call round and survey the floor to provide a quote for doing the work. Naturally due to COVID I wear PPE and when working in the property increase ventilation and work out a schedule with the homeowner to maintain distance and minimise contact.

Restoring a Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

My first job was to remove the matt well and the surrounding tiles so I could fit replacements that match the existing geometric pattern. Finding replacements wasn’t difficult however as I’ve been restoring old floors like this one for many years and have built up a collection of old Victorian tiles from various manufacturers such as Minton.

Matching the original pattern was a bit like building your own jigsaw puzzle as each replacement tile had to be shaped and hand cut until I had the design worked out. Once the replacements were fitted and secured in place with adhesive. Once done I left the property so the floor could set and be ready for deep cleaning the next day.

Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway During Restoration Bedworth Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway During Restoration Bedworth Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway During Restoration Bedworth

To remove the staining and restore the appearance of the original tiles I milled them using very coarse abrasive floor pads fitted to a weighted floor buffer and applied to the floor using water to lubricate. The resulting slurry was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor given a deep clean using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was scrubbed in using a black pad fitted to the rotary machine. The soil was then rinsed away with water and extracted using a wet vacuum.

These old floors don’t have damp proof membranes fitted and I was concerned that the old Bitumen and Carpet will have prevented moisture from rising through the tile trapping damp underneath the floor. This trapped moisture under the floor had been given chance to evaporate but this takes time, and I was concerned that salts contained within the moisture could rise through the tile later to be deposited on the surface later, a process known as efflorescence.

To counter this, I neutralise the salts by giving the tiles an acid wash with Tile Doctor Acid Gel. As well as neutralising salts it also removes other mineral deposits such as grout haze and prepares the tile to achieve a better bond with the sealer.

Sealing a Victorian Geometric Tiled Hallway Floor

Due to my concerns over moisture, I left the floor two weeks to fully dry out before returning to seal the floor and protect it from dirt and staining going forward. For sealing I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Extra Seal which has a breathable formula which will cope with any moisture rising through the floor. Two coats give the tiles an appealing glossy finish and helped the new and old sections of the floor blend well together so you would never know the difference.

Geometric Victorian Tiled Hallway After Restoration Bedworth

My client was very happy with the transformation of their hallway floor and before finishing up I took time to discuss how to care for the floor going forward. It’s important to use a Neutral Tile Cleaner on sealed floors like this as other products are simply too strong and can actually strip a sealer off the tiles over time.

 

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Warwickshire

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Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Tiles Before After Renovation Rugby

Quarry Tiled Floor Layout Altered and Renovated in Rugby

1 Comment / Quarry Tile Cleaning, Rugby Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History /

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

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Renovation in Rubgy Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Renovation in Rubgy

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

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Renovation in Rubgy

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

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

Fitting Matching Quarry Tiles to a Kitchen Floor

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

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor During Renovation in Rubgy Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor During Renovation in Rubgy

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

Deep Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

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

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

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor During Renovation in Rubgy

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

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

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

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

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor After Renovation in Rubgy

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

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor After Renovation in Rubgy Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor After Renovation in Rubgy

 

Professional Renovation of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen in Warwickshire

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Edwardian Hallway Floor Tiles Before and After Cleaning Sealing Coundon

Cleaning and Sealing an Edwardian Hallway Floor in Coundon

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History /

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

Edwardian Floor Before Renovation Coundon Coventry Edwardian Floor Before Renovation Coundon Coventry

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

Edwardian Floor Before Renovation Coundon Coventry

Cleaning an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

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

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

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

Sealing an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

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

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

Edwardian Floor After Renovation Coundon Coventry Edwardian Floor After Renovation Coundon Coventry

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

 

Professional Restoration of an Edwardian Tiled Hallway in Warwickshire

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Geometric Victorian Hallway Tiles Before After Restoration Coventry

Lino Covered Geometric Victorian Floor Restored in Stoke, Coventry

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning /

This Victorian hallway floor laid with a Geometric pattern was discovered under Lino at a property in the Stoke area of Coventry. At some point in the past the tiled floor had been covered over with a self-levelling screed and then Karndean Vinyl which had since been removed. The floor was now looking a mess and the client wanted the Victorian floor restored and the hallway to look a lot more inviting!

Victorian Geometric Floor Stoke Coventry During Cleaning

The Stoke area of Coventry includes Stoke Park, Stoke Aldermoor, Stoke Heath, Copeswood, and Charterhouse. It has a long history and is well known for its contribution to the UK car manufacturing industry. I visited the property to survey the floor and run a small test clean to ensure we could get the residue from the floor. I was satisfied it could be successfully completed and we agreed a price for the work, they were happy to go ahead as soon as possible.

Cleaning a Victorian Geometric Tiled Hallway Floor

On day one I set about removing the screed which took two days using various coarse pads fitted to a buffing machine and then by hand with a scraper. It was exhausting work, some of the screed had bonded to the surface of the tiles and I had to hand grind it off.

Victorian Geometric Floor Stoke Coventry During Cleaning Victorian Geometric Floor Stoke Coventry During Cleaning

The floor was then deep cleaned with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was scrubbed in with a very coarse 100-grit pad. The floor was rinsed and extracted several times to remove all the soil. Old floors like these don’t have a damp-proof membrane fitted so I was concerned about the possibility of efflorescent salts rising through the tiles once I had left. To counter this I gave the floor an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was scrubbed into the floor and then rinsed off with water. I then left the floor for a few weeks to dry out and settle before returning to carry out the sealing process.

Sealing a Victorian Geometric Tiled Hallway Floor

When I returned the floor had dried out and the sealing could be carried out. I selected to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow which copes well with damp conditions which are a problem with old floors like these. The floor as you can see from the pictures was totally transformed. The colour really shone through, but the Tile Doctor Colour Grow had given it a lovely finish without being too shiny.

Victorian Geometric Floor Stoke Coventry After Cleaning

The client was over the moon with the finish, it was much better than they had expected. I arranged to return a few months later to check on the floor and I’m pleased to say it had responded well to the treatment. I was happy no damp issues had surfaced so I then added a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra.

Victorian Geometric Floor Stoke Coventry After Cleaning

 

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Warwickshire

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Acid Damaged Limestone Tiles Before After Restoration Stratford-Upon-Avon

Black Limestone Floor Ruined by Descaling Solution in Stratford upon Avon

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Stratford-upon-Avon Tile Cleaning, Work History /

I really felt for this customer who was mortified after accidentally spilling limescale descaling solution on their beautiful Black Limestone floor in Stratford upon Avon. The problem started when attempting to descale a coffee making machine in the kitchen, unfortunately the bottle fell out of his hands and onto the Black Limestone floor, the subsequent attempt to mop it up spread the problem across the floor.

Acid Damaged Limestone Kitchen Floor Tile Before Restoration Stratford Upon Avon Acid Damaged Limestone Kitchen Floor Tile Before Restoration Stratford Upon Avon

Descaling solutions contain strong acids that dissolve the minerals in limescale so they can be easily removed. Limestone being of a similar structure is equally effected however in this case the product was removed quickly and didn’t have time to etch the stone. Unfortunately, the descaler did have time to upset the factory polish leaving a right mess and ruining the appearance of the stone.

I went over to survey the floor and reassured my customer the floor could be restored. There are several products and methods that can be applied to resurface and polish stone floors, so I knew the problem was repairable, it was just a question of finding the best solution for the customer.

Stripping Sealer from Black Limestone Flooring

I reasoned that the underlying stone was not etched by the acid, it was the wax-based factory finish that had been upset so the best course of action would be to strip back the entire floor to the bare stone and then reapply a new sealer that would provide a similar appearance.

To do this I started with the application of Tile Doctor Remove and Go across the whole floor. This product is a coatings remover that is specially designed for use on Tile and Stone, it was sprayed onto the floor and after ten minutes scrubbed in using a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. The resultant slurry was then rinsed off with water and extracted using a wet vacuum. This process was repeated until I was confident that the factory polish had been removed.

Next step was to strip the stone of the black dry added by the factory by giving it an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. This was necessary to rebalance the appearance of the stone across the entire floor and would result in a consistent appearance one resealed. The Acid Gel was scrubbed into the Limestone, then rinsed off and extracted using the same procedure as before.

After a final rinse the floor was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing Black Limestone Floor Tiles

The next day I first checked the floor was dry using a damp meter, there were no excess moisture issues so I able to go ahead and seal the stone using a product that would bring back the colour and add protection against dirt and staining.

The best product for this was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that seeps into the pores of the stone protecting it from within and enhancing natural colour at the same time. The only disadvantage of this product is it leaves a matt finish whereas my customer wanted the shiny, easy to clean appearance of the original tile. To resolve I recommended we leave the floor to settle for a while and if no issues develop, I would add a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is compatible with Colour Grow and would give the desired finish.

Acid Damaged Limestone Kitchen Floor Tile After Restoration Stratford Upon Avon Acid Damaged Limestone Kitchen Floor Tile After Restoration Stratford Upon Avon

Due to various commitments on both our parts it was six weeks until I was able to return and top up the sealer with Seal and Go. It was worth waiting for and much to the relief of the owner his Black Limestone floor has been transformed to new again.

Acid Damaged Limestone Kitchen Floor Tile After Restoration Stratford Upon Avon

 

Limestone Kitchen Floor Tiles Restored in Stratford upon Avon

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Victorian Tiled Church Floor Renovation Rugby

Repairing and Restoring Victorian Tiles ad St Chad’s Church in Rugby

1 Comment / Rugby Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

I was called out to repair and clean a lovely Victorian tiled floor at St’ Chads which is a small church in Rugby, a market town in Warwickshire and well known for being the birthplace of Rugby Football. There were two areas requiring attention, both with different patterned tiles.

St Chads Church Rugby Internal

The floor had been patch repaired in the past and the tiles were now lifting and becoming loose due to efflorescent salts getting between the tiles. Damp can be a big problem with these old floors where no damp proof membrane has been fitted and I suspect a non-breathable sealer had been used previously, resulting in moisture being trapped under the tile.

Victorian Church Floor Rugby Before Repair

It’s lovely when I get to work in a property such as this, it makes a change from doing residential properties. I was confident I would be able to resolve the problems, and I was given the keys and time just to get on with it.

St Chads Church Rugby External

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Church Floor

I’m always on the lookout for reclaimed tiles on eBay so I was luckily able to repair the floor using some tiles from my collection which matched the existing and also some of the new ones that were fitted after the floor was repaired. Once the tile adhesive had set the tiles were grouted in using a matching grout. I managed to make the repairs in the morning and moved onto cleaning the floor in the afternoon once I was sure the adhesive and grout had set.

Victorian Church Floor Rugby During Repair

Concerned about adding moisture to the floor I opted to scrub the tiles with Tile Doctor Acid Gel which being an acid would counter any alkaline salts inherent in the floor and also deal with grout smears as well. After scrubbing the tiles with the Tile Doctor Acid Gel the soiled product was extracted using an industrial wet vacuum and then the floor was given a quick rinse with water which again was extracted using the wet vacuum.

To ensure there was no increase in the level of dampness in the floor I took moisture readings before and after the cleaning process. I then left the floor to dry out for a few days.

Victorian Church Floor Rugby After Repair

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Church Floor

When I returned I first checked the tiles were dry using the damp meter and verified that they had returned to the baseline level I took at the start. With all being well I applied several coats of sealer to the floor. Given the issue with the tiles lifting previously I was keen not to repeat the previous issue and used Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is a fully breathable sealer ideal for floors where damp can be a problem. This gave the tiles a nice natural sheen and allowed the colours to shine through.

Victorian Church Floor After Restoration Victorian Church Floor Rugby After Restoration

The parishioners were very happy with the repairs to the floor and to see their lovely church restored.

 

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Church Floor in Warwickshire

Repairing and Restoring Victorian Tiles ad St Chad’s Church in Rugby Read More »

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restoration Rugby

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restoration Rugby

1 Comment / Rugby Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

I was very pleased to be contacted by this client, they lived on a lovely residential road near the centre of Rugby in Warwickshire and the house featured a beautiful Victorian tiled hallway floor. As you will see from the pictures the patterns are stunning.

Victorian Hallway Floor Before Restoration Rugby
Over the years it had been badly damaged along the edges and a few tiles were cracked. It’s difficult to know the cause of the damage but we normally find problems like these can be caused by settlement in the floor and if heavy objects are dropped on the tiles. High traffic areas such as the hallway do get a lot of general wear and tear which takes its toll on the floor. The owner of the house felt embarrassed with the condition of the floor and had decided it was time to have it restored.

Victorian Hallway Floor Before Restoration Rugby

Cleaning and Restoring a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I identified the colours used in the floor, so I could source replacements and went through the floor with the client to mark the tiles that needed changing. We left a few tiles with minor damage so that the new tiles did not stand out and kept the floor authentic.

I managed to source some replacement tiles and started the job by removing and replacing all the damaged and loose tiles. Many of the replacements had to be hand cut to size, especially in the corners. It took some time but eventually, all the damaged tiles were removed and replaced, and the loose tiles refitted. The floor was then left for a few days to set.

On my return, I started by giving the floor a deep clean by spraying the tiles with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This was left on the tiles to soak in and break up the bonding agent in the old coatings. After ten minutes I worked the solution into the tiles with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer and then rinsed the resulting soil off the floor with water and extracted it using a wet vacuum.

Victorian Hallway Floor During Cleaning Rugby
The next step was to give the floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel, we don’t normally use acidic products on tile or stone however they are particularly good at dealing with alkaline mineral salts and removing grout smears. Old floors like these are particularly vulnerable to a natural process called efflorescence which results in white mineral salt deposits being left on the surface of the tile as the floor fully dries out and can interfere with the sealer. To counter this, the floor was given an Acid Wash with Tile Doctor Acid Gel which being in Gel form makes it particularly easy to control. The acid in the gel works by neutralising the alkalinity in the floor. The solution was scrubbed into the floor using a coarse diamond encrusted burnishing pad to improve the finish of the tiles and then thoroughly rinsed with water and extracted with a wet vacuum to remove any trace of cleaning product.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

After leaving the floor to thoroughly dry out over a few days I returned to complete the sealing process. On my return, the floor was sealed with few coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which leaves a nice satin finish and being a fully breathable sealer is ideal for old floors that have no damp proof membrane and needs moisture to rise through the tile, so it can evaporate.

Victorian Hallway Floor After Restoration Rugby
The vibrant colours of the tiles were brought back to life and the floor was transformed. The client was delighted and wondered why they had not called upon us sooner!

Victorian Hallway Floor After Restoration Rugby
 

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Warwickshire

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restoration Rugby Read More »

Screed Covered 100-Year-Old Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Nuneaton

Screed Covered 100-Year-Old Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Nuneaton

1 Comment / Nuneaton Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History /

I took the photographs below at an old 1920’s house in Nuneaton where the owner was interested in restoring the original Quarry tiled floor in their Kitchen. Interestingly Nuneaton has a rich manufacturing history that included brick and tile making so it’s entirely possible these tiles were made locally at the Haunchwood Brick and Tile company.

Tastes change over the years and at some point in the past the Quarry tiles had been covered with a levelling compound so that linoleum could be installed on top. This meant that the first part of the job would be to remove the screed before I could clean up the tiles. On top of that It was clear as well that many of the tiles were damaged and would need replacing.

Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration Nuneaton
I worked out a quote which was agreed by the customer and started looking around for matching replacement tiles, fortunately I was able to track some down at Warwick Reclamation who stock thousands of quarry tiles in many of the common period sizes.

Restoring an Original Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

On day one I set about carefully removing the screed with a hammer and chisel and also the damaged tiles, so they could be replaced. With the tiles removed we it was clear some parts of the subfloor were cracked and needed to be rebuild with fresh cement.

Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Nuneaton Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Nuneaton

Once the floor was ready the replacement Quarry tiles were fixed in place and once the adhesive was dry they were grouted in.

To remove the remaining screed and salt damage from the surface of the tiles I used a set of coarse milling pads which are applied with water for lubrication. The process generates a lot of soil, so the floor needs to be rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum after each pad.

The next step was to pre-treat the tiles with Tile Doctor Remove and Go in order to remove old contaminants such as old oils and then treat the floor to a deep clean with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was scrubbed in with black scrubbing pad.

Old floors like these don’t have a damp proof membrane so the last step in the restoration process was to counter any inherent salt issues in the floor that might reappear later as white efflorescence salt deposits. This is done by giving the floor an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is scrubbed into the tiles, neutralising the salts, this product also removes old mineral deposits and grout smears.

The floor was given a final rinse with water to remove any traces of products used and then as much water and moisture as possible was extracted using a wet vacuum. The floor was then left to dry out for a few days.

Sealing a Quarry tiled floor

When I returned my first job was to take multiple readings around the floor using a damp meter to verify the floor was dry and ready for sealing. The extra drying time had done the trick and I was able to seal the floor using multiple coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is a fully breathable sealer that can cope with any potential moisture problems, it also leaves a nice sheen finish that brings the best out of Quarry tiles.

Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Nuneaton Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Nuneaton

In total the restoration took 4 days to complete and had completely restored the Quarry tiled floor close to what they must have looked like back when they were installed nearly a hundred years ago.

Quarry tiles tiled floor restored in Warwickshire

Screed Covered 100-Year-Old Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Nuneaton Read More »

Ex Pub Quarry Tiled Floor Restored to Fantastic Condition in Newbold-on-Avon, Rugby

Ex Pub Quarry Tiled Floor Restored to Fantastic Condition in Newbold-on-Avon, Rugby

1 Comment / Quarry Tile Cleaning, Rugby Tile Cleaning, Work History /

Pubs have been though a decline in the last ten years with one in five closing due to increased business rates and some believe the ban on smoking has had a part to play. My client saw this particular pub come up for sale in Newbold-on-Avon near Rugby and snapped it up with the intention of turning the lovely thatched Cottage back into a home. It needed a lot of work though and I was called into to sort out the floor which was a mixture of 6×6 inch and 9×9 inch Quarry tiles. The tiles were in a bit of a state and there were also large sections of concrete in 3 areas that had been painted red to blend in with the tiles.

Quarry Tiled Floor Thatched Cottage in Rugby Before Quarry Tiled Floor Thatched Cottage in Rugby Before

Rebuilding and Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Floor

The customer wanted the Quarry tiled floor restoring and extended throughout the floor which meant a substantial amount of work would be required to remove the concrete, rebuild the foundation and level with screed and then fit around 100 reclaimed tiles not to mention cleaning and sealing.

Quarry Tiled Floor Thatched Cottage in Rugby During Rebuild Quarry Tiled Floor Thatched Cottage in Rugby During Rebuild

The work was hard going at times, especially knocking out the concrete and adding the screed surface to the right level. Once that was done worked moved quickly on to laying the new tiles and grouting them in. Overall it took three days just to rebuild the floor alone.

Quarry Tiled Floor Thatched Cottage in Rugby During Rebuild Quarry Tiled Floor Thatched Cottage in Rugby During Rebuild

The customer did not what the Floor to look too different between the old and new so once the tiling was done the whole floor was treated with Tile Doctor Remove and Go to remove traces of red paint and glue. The solution was scrubbed in using a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad and then rinsed off with water and then extracted using a wet vacuum.

This improved the look of the tiles but it also revealed some grout haze issues on the original tiles and after digging up the floor earlier I was aware no damp proof course had been installed which is not unusual in these older properties. To counter the grout haze and deal with any potential efflorescence issues I gave the whole floor an acid wash with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which was scrubbed in and then rinsed off with water and extracted with a the wet vacuum. The tiles need to be dry in order to be sealed so I left the floor for 24 hours with a number of industrial Air Movers in place to aid the drying process.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Floor

Upon my return to the house I checked for any dampness that could have damaged the performance of the sealer, thankfully, the floor was dry and ready to seal, and so I proceeded to apply several coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra.

Seal & Go Extra is a fully breathable sealer that allows for effective moisture transmission, important where no damp proof course is installed. The sealer provides durable surface protection against dirt and stains, and is suitable for most kinds of internal, natural stone tiled floors, including Quarry, Victorian and Flagstone.

Quarry Tiled Floor Thatched Cottage in Rugby After Quarry Tiled Floor Thatched Cottage in Rugby After

The job took a week in total and as you can see from the photographs I successfully managed to restore the old tiles which with the addition of the cleaning and sealing have blended in well with the new tiles.

Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration in Warwickshire

Ex Pub Quarry Tiled Floor Restored to Fantastic Condition in Newbold-on-Avon, Rugby Read More »

Rejuvenating a Slate Tiled Bar Area at a Pub in Leamington Spa

Rejuvenating a Slate Tiled Bar Area at a Pub in Leamington Spa

1 Comment / Leamington Spa Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History /

The Drawing Board is a Gastropub and bar in Leamington Spa with a fantastic homely aesthetic. Leamington Spa itself is a spa town in Warwickshire, home to The Royal Pump Rooms, the most famous of the spa baths that were opened in England in the late-18th and mid-19th centuries.

Slate Tiled Floor Before Restoration in Leamington Spa Pub Restaurant
I have eaten at the Drawing Board a few times in the past (great food!) and was really pleased to help the owner rejuvenate the Slate tiled floor in the bar area. He wanted the area cleaned and sealed to achieve a wet-look finish, however, because the pub is very popular amongst customers, I would only have a period of five hours to undertake the work. This meant an early morning start. I had carried out some maintenance work on the floor about 18 months ago, but during this time it had suffered a lot of foot traffic.

Slate Tiled Floor Before Restoration in Leamington Spa Pub Restaurant

Cleaning and Sealing a Slate Tiled Floor in a Bar Area

To begin, I used our product called Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel, which is an effective cleaner and coatings stripper, to remove the old acrylic coat on the tiles. Being in a gel form it’s easy to manage and holds in position allowing it to dwell on the stone and get to work on breaking the existing sealer down. Once applied it was left to soak into the Slate and then scrubbed in using a buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The floor was then rinsed with water and the now soiled Oxy-Gel and water was removed with a wet vacuum.

With the tiles stripped of any remaining coatings, I turned my attention to the deep cleaning the grout lines with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a strong alkaline cleaner. The product was diluted with water and then scrubbed in manually using a stiff brush.

Following this, I rinsed the whole floor with fresh, cold water to remove any traces of product. Air movers were then installed to speed dry the stone as I needed to move quickly with only five hours to get the job done.

Once the floor was completely dry, I was able to seal it using two coats of Tile Doctor High Shine, which is a a specially formulated water-based blend of acrylic polymers designed to protect and enhance the appearance of natural stone whilst leaving a high sheen finish. Another advantage of the sealer is that being water based it leaves no smell as it dries which was important as being a pub we didn’t want to put the customers off.

Slate Tiled Floor After Restoration in Leamington Spa Pub Restaurant
I think you will agree the Slate floor looks significantly better and the new sealer will provide them with the protection they need to withstand heavy foot traffic. The owner of the pub was very pleased indeed!

Slate Tiled Floor After Restoration in Leamington Spa Pub Restaurant
 

Commercial Natural Stone Floor Maintenance at a Leamington Spa Public House

Rejuvenating a Slate Tiled Bar Area at a Pub in Leamington Spa Read More »

Beautiful Edwardian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Chaplefields

Beautiful Edwardian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Chaplefields

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

The owner of this house in Chaplefields near Coventry had bought this property as an investment and was keen to improve its appearance. As part of this work he had lifted the vinyl tiles in the hallway and discovered a lovely Edwardian tiled floor. Unfortunately, whoever had laid the Vinyl tiles had decided to use Tar as an adhesive and this had left a black mess all over the floor.

Edwardian Tiled Floor Covered In Tar Chaplefields Coventry Before Restoration
Realising the potential value an original feature such as this could add to the property he was keen to restore the tiles but not so keen to deal with the Tar, so we were asked to deal with the problem and restore the floor as close to its original condition as possible.

Repairing and Cleaning a Dirty Edwardian Tiled Floor

To get the tiles clean and remove the horrible tar I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, which as its name suggest is great for removing coverings from tiles. I applied the Remove and Go with a mop, left it to soak in for a few minutes and then worked it in using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The soil was extracted off the floor using a wet and dry vacuum and then the process repeated until I was happy all the tar was gone.

I then gave the tiles an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel; this serves to break down alkaline mineral deposits such as cement and grout smears, it also counters any efflorescence problems which can be an issue with these old floors where no damp proof membrane has been installed.

Finally, the floor was given a rinse with clean water and a steam clean to remove any trace of cleaning products and to neutralise the tiles in preparation for sealing.

Sealing a Edwardian Tiled Floor

I left the floor to dry off overnight and returned to the property to seal the tiles the next day. To seal the tiles, I used three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water based sealer that leaves a subtle sheen finish and being water based doesn’t leave a smell as it dries. The sealer will provide durable protection going forward preventing dirt from becoming ingrained into the pores of the tile and ensuring it remains easy to clean and keeping its appearance for some time to come.

Edwardian Tiled Floor Covered In Tar Chaplefields Coventry After Restoration
The floor now looks fantastic and gives a great impression when you come into the property which is exactly what the owner wanted.

Professional Restoration of an Edwardian Tiled Hallway in Warwickshire

Beautiful Edwardian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Chaplefields Read More »

Rebuilding and Restoring a Damaged Victorian Tiled Floor in Earlsdon

Rebuilding and Restoring a Damaged Victorian Tiled Floor in Earlsdon

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

The Warwickshire team recently visited a customer in Earlsdon, a village near Coventry, who wanted a Victorian tiled floor rebuilt before being cleaned and sealed. Sometimes our work goes well beyond simple cleaning and sealing services, especially when tiles are damaged, broken or completely missing however we have done several rebuilds before and always welcome a new challenge.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Rebuild Earlsdon
Upon closer inspection, I could see that up to 70% of the tiles were damaged in some way, and the screed was cracked from movement which given how old the house was may have been caused by the Blitz of Coventry during World War II, more than 70 years prior.

Repairing and Rebuilding a Damaged Victorian Tiled Floor

To begin the restoration, we had to remove all the tiles, determining in the process what could be salvaged and discarding any that were beyond repair. I happened to have a set of replacement Victorian tiles reclaimed from the floor of a local house and thankfully they matched perfectly.

After stripping the floor of tiles the holes and cracks had to be filled and a new screed was laid to ensure the base would be level and stable.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Rebuild Earlsdon Victorian Tiled Floor Before Rebuild Earlsdon

Once the screed had set we started fixing the tiles to the floor using a mixture of the original and reclaimed tiles.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Rebuild Earlsdon Victorian Tiled Floor During Rebuild Earlsdon

Once laid the tiles were grouted and by the end of the fifth day the floor was rebuilt.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Rebuild Earlsdon Victorian Tiled Floor During Rebuild Earlsdon

Cleaning and Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor

The next task was to give the new floor a deep clean which we did using Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This product is a heavy-duty stripper and coatings remover designed to tackle heavy soil build-up and remove old sealers in the process. The product was left to soak into the tiles and then scrubbed in using a black buffing pad fitted to a rotary machine. The soiled cleaning solution was rinsed off with water and extracted using a wet vacuum.

The floor was then given a thorough acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel, which is a blend of phosphoric and hydrochloric acids in an easy-to-use gel form. This helped to remove grout smears, efflorescence and mineral salts.

Once clean, the floor was rinsed thoroughly with water to neutralise the chemicals, before being speed dried. Finally, we sealed the tiles using four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra. This sealer is a special acrylic based formula which allows moisture vapour transmission and is ideal for old floors which do not have a damp proof membrane installed.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Rebuild Earlsdon
We were really pleased with the outcome and it felt rewarding to salvage this fantastic Victorian floor and give it a new lease on life after suffering significant damage. The customer was overjoyed with the fully restored original feature.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Rebuild Earlsdon
 

Professional Victorian Floor Rebuild in Warwickshire

Rebuilding and Restoring a Damaged Victorian Tiled Floor in Earlsdon Read More »

Original Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Coundon

Original Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Coundon

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

It’s a wonder why any property owner would want to cover an original Victorian tiled floor but I guess it was the fashion at the time. Fortunately, times have changed and home owners are now looking to restore original features back to their property as they bring a real sense of character and personality, especially if the tiles laid are colourful and have interesting design patterns.

In this case the former owner of this house in Coundon near Coventry had opted to hide the fantastic hallway and doorway Victorian tiles with carpet some 15 years earlier. Now, the new owner was keen to restore the floor as an original feature.

victorian tiled floor before refurbishment in coundon
The tiles weren’t in great shape to begin with. In several areas there was a need to reaffix or entirely replace some loose and damaged tiles. Needless to say, the tiles which has been hidden by carpet for many years were in dire need of a thorough clean and fresh seal, and there were areas where mineral salt deposits had emerged over time. A full restoration would require me to address all of these issues – here’s how I did it.

Cleaning and Repairing a Dirty and Damaged Victorian Tiled Floor

Prior to starting a deep cleaning process, I ensured the damaged and loose tiles were carefully replaced and re-grouted. Fortunately, over the years I have built up a nice collection of spare Victorian tiles so sourcing replacements for the broken ones was not a big problem.

victorian tiled floor refurbishment tiles in coundon victorian tiled floor before refurbishment in coundon

Then, to clean the tiles, I applied a strong cleaning solution consisting of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, which helps to remove any old sealers, and Tile Doctor Pro Clean, which deals with any ingrained dirt and general muck afflicting the tiles.

To help with the cleaning – especially in regards to the aforementioned minerals salts issue – I applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel, which is a blend of phosphoric and hydrochloric acids in a handy and easy-to-apply gel form. When worked into the tile using a black scrubbing pad, the Acid Gel successfully neutralised the alkaline-based salts. To finish off the cleaning process, I steam cleaned the floor, soaked up any excess moisture with a wet vacuum, and installed fans to speed up the drying process.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor

The next day the tiles were dry and ready to be sealed so I wasted no time and started the application of several coats of our impregnating sealer Tile Doctor Colour Grow. As an impregnating sealer, Colour Grow penetrates and fills the pores of the stone to prevent dirt from becoming trapped. This makes it easier for the property owner to keep the tiles clean in future.

victorian tiled floor after refurbishment in coundon
Colour Grow also provides the added benefit of enhancing the colours in the tile, making them more vibrant and characterful. The natural matte finish left by Colour Grow was exactly as the customer requested. At the end of two days work I left the house with some revitalised Victorian tiles and a very happy customer.

victorian tiled floor after refurbishment in coundon
 

Professional Restoration of a Dirty Victorian Tiled Floor near Coventry

Original Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Coundon Read More »

Unsealed Terracotta Kitchen Tiles Treated for Grout Haze in Malvern

Unsealed Terracotta Kitchen Tiles Treated for Grout Haze in Malvern

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Stratford-upon-Avon Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History /

Newly built properties are not without their problems and often take a while to resolve all the snagging which occasionally extends to resolving problems with newly laid tiled floors. At this new property in the village of Malvern, and overlooked by the Malvern hills, the builders had left the Terracotta tiled kitchen floor covered in grout smears (also known as Grout Haze) following installation. They had also neglected to seal the tiles, which was actually quite fortunate in this case as they would have sealed in the grout haze, making it more difficult to remove.

Naturally, the property owner wanted the problem to be resolved as soon as possible, and for me to make the tiles easy to keep clean in future, which can be achieved by sealing the tile.

Grout Haze Removed from new Terracotta Tiles at Malvern Village

Removing Grout Haze from a Terracotta Tiled Floor

Before starting work, I made sure to fully protect any exposed woodwork with a plastic sheet covering to protect them from potential damage. I then proceeded to give the floor a thorough clean, using Tile Doctor Remove and Go to clean the floor and eradicate some stains that had been left behind as a result of the building work.

Grout Haze Removed from new Terracotta Tiles at Malvern Village Grout Haze Removed from new Terracotta Tiles at Malvern Village

Next, I paid special attention to the grout, where the very visible problem of grout haze had arisen. To neutralise these smears I used Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up, a concentrated phosphoric acid cleaner that can also remove alkaline mineral deposits and efflorescence. Grout Clean Up is only to be used on acid resistant stone, as sensitive stone can suffer from irreparable etching if it comes into contact with the product.

Once completely clean and free of grout smears the floor was thoroughly rinsed with water to remove any trace of product and then dried as much as possible with a wet vacuum, afterwards an air mover was installed to speed up the drying process.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Floor

Later that afternoon the floor was dry and I was able to apply a sealer. To do this I opted to use several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra, a topical, fully breathable sealer that works really well on Terracotta.

Grout Haze Removed from new Terracotta Tiles at Malvern Village
The sealer builds up a layer of protection on the surface of the tiles, protecting against ingrained dirt and stains. Seal and Go Extra also provides a high quality sheen finish which really did well to enhance the look of the Terracotta.

Grout Haze Removed from new Terracotta Tiles at Malvern Village
The property owner was exceptionally pleased with the results, and to have this problem dealt with quickly and efficiently, additionally the sealer will ensure the Kitchen floor is easy to keep clean in the future.

Grout Haze Removal on Terracotta Tiles in Worcestershire

Unsealed Terracotta Kitchen Tiles Treated for Grout Haze in Malvern Read More »

Beautiful Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Wyken

Beautiful Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Wyken

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

This Victorian tiled hallway was one of the most beautiful Victorian floors I have ever had the pleasure to work on. With the wide range of patterns and colours they are available in, it seems no two Victorian tiled floors are exactly the same, and this uniqueness is part of what makes them so appealing to property owners.

Unfortunately, this floor had been poorly maintained over the years, even suffering from a few loose and missing tiles. There was a thick coating of dust and dirt soiling its appearance, and the property owner was understandably keen to remedy the situation. Having realised that everyday household cleaners are not likely to achieve great results, she asked me to carry out a full professional restoration, including making some repairs where necessary. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this property was situated in the town of Wyken, which is a few miles outside of Coventry city centre and in fact just down the road from where I live myself!

Beautiful Victorian Floor Before Cleaning in Wyken

Repairing and Cleaning a Dirty Victorian Tiled Floor

Before making a start on the cleaning process, it was first necessary to re-fix the small number of loose tiles and replace a single missing tile by the radiator. Fortunately, I’ve been working on these types of floors for some time and have built up a good collection of replacement Victorian tiles so I was able to find one that matched in nicely with the rest of the floor without too much problem.

Beautiful Victorian Floor During Cleaning in Wyken
To clean the tiles, I began by applying a layer of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel directly into the floor with a small brush. This product is very similar to the popular Tile Doctor Pro Clean: both are strong alkaline cleaners, strippers and degreasers, with the main difference being that Oxy-Clean comes in a gel form, making it easier to control and therefore ideal for precise cleaning, or for application to vertical surfaces. Like Pro Clean and being an alkaline base it is suitable for use on all types of natural stone and tile. The Oxy-Gel was left to soak into the tiles for around ten minutes before being scrubbed in and then rinsed off carefully with water, I then used a wet vacuum to extract the now soiled cleaning solution off the floor.

Beautiful Victorian Floor During Cleaning with Oxy Gel in Wyken
The next step was to acid wash the floor using Tile Doctor Acid Gel; this served to break down alkaline mineral deposits inherent in the grout along with some excess grout that had been left on the untidily left on tile from installation. It is recommended not to use this product on acid-sensitive soon such as Marble and Limestone as it can cause irreparable etching but its fine on Victorian tiles as long as you don’t leave it on too long.

Finally, the floor was given a rinse with clean water to remove any trace of chemicals from the cleaning and to neutralise the area in preparation for sealing.

Beautiful Victorian Floor Cleaning Tools in Wyken

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor

I left the floor for 48 hours to dry before returning to the property to seal the tiles. This allowed plenty of time for the floor to dry completely, which is important as any excess moisture can damage the ability of the sealer to protect against dirt and stains.

Beautiful Victorian Floor After Cleaning in Wyken
My choice of sealer for this floor was Tile Doctor High Shine; three coats in total were applied, providing – as the product name suggests – the high shine finish that the customer had requested. The sealer will provide durable surface protection going forward preventing dirt from becoming ingrained into the pores of the tile and ensuring it remains easy to clean and keeping its appearance for some time to come.

Beautiful Victorian Floor After Cleaning in Wyken
As a big fan of Victorian tiles, it was a great pleasure to restore this floor, and my customer was certainly pleased too. It’s amazing how far a little professional maintenance can go to improving the appearance of these fantastic types of floor.

Professional Maintenance of a Dirty and Damaged Victorian Tiled Floor in Warwickshire

Beautiful Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Wyken Read More »

Victorian Hallway Floor Rebuilt and Restored in Leamington Spa

Victorian Hallway Floor Rebuilt and Restored in Leamington Spa

1 Comment / Stratford-upon-Avon Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

As you can see from the photographs below this Victorian tiled hallway was in quite a state and not only needed a thorough clean and fresh seal but needed to be rebuilt in parts.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Rebuild Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa or Royal Leamington Spa to give its full name is one of the original UK Spa towns where people would visit to bathe the waters which are supposed to have medicinal properties, the town has many regency period properties and so Victorian floors

Rebuilding and Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway

A good 30% of the floor tiles were lose and it took three days to rebuild the screed levelling compound before refitting loose tiles and new ones had to be cut to size, fixed in place and then re-grouted.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Rebuild Leamington Spa
On day 4 a 400 grit coarse burnishing pad was applied to clean up the whole floor.
This was followed by scrubbing the tile and grout with Tile Doctor Pro-clean mixed 50/50 with NanoTech HBU remover followed by Remove and Go and finally treated with Acid Gel to remove the grout haze. After that the White tiles were steam cleaned to get them as clean and white as possible.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Rebuild Leamington Spa
The floor was thoroughly rinsed after each treatment and the slurry extracted using a wet vacuum.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Rebuild Leamington Spa

Sealing Victorian floor tiles

I left the floor for 5 days so it could thoroughly dry out and settle following the numerous treatments and then came back to seal the tiles, I used a damp test meter first to verify the floor was dry and ready for sealing. Once happy I proceed to apply a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that soaks into the tile protecting it from within and leaves a matt finish.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Rebuild Leamington Spa
A lot of work went into restoring this floor but I’m really pleased with the way it came out and as you can imagine the owner was really happy with the transformation that had taken place in their house.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Rebuild Leamington Spa
 

Rebuilding and Restoring a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Warwickshire

Victorian Hallway Floor Rebuilt and Restored in Leamington Spa Read More »

Hidden Quarry Tiled Floor Restored to Fantastic Condition in Canley

Hidden Quarry Tiled Floor Restored to Fantastic Condition in Canley

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History /

It’s been my experience that it’s not un-common to discover fantastic tiled floors hidden underneath an additional layer of flooring usually carpet or linoleum. This was the case with this property, situated in the town of Canley, Coventry, where the owner had found a Quarry tiled floor underneath Vinyl tiles which had been stuck down using an adhesive.

Quarry Tiles Covered in Screed - Canley
Quarry tiles are typically hard wearing and very durable and a sensible choice for flooring in high traffic areas of both residential and commercial properties, a tiled floor is of course a difficult to remove so it’s not surprising that tiles do get covered over rather than replaced during redecoration.

Taste’s change and like most property owners who unearth hidden tiled floors, my client was keen to restore them as an original feature. Despite the amount of adhesive and the poor state of the Quarry tiles, I was confident that the floor could be restored to new, so we agreed a date for me to come back to the property and complete the work.

Removing Adhesive and Cleaning Quarry tiles

The process of cleaning the Quarry tiled floor – including remove large amounts of adhesive – took a total of two days to complete.

I started by carefully removing the Vinyl tiles using a hand scraper which as you can imagine was a lot of manual effort and the adhesive proved quite difficult to remove. In the end I had to use a combination of a very coarse 50 grit pad fitted to a heavy rotary machine lubricated with water, to clear the area completely of the substance.

Quarry Tiles Canley Screed Removed
The resulting slurry was rinsed away, and the floor was then given a thorough acid rinse with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. Grout Clean-Up is a cleaner which contains concentrated phosphoric acid, and is designed to dissolve minerals such as salts and cement left on the surface of the tile.

This was followed by a final thorough rinse with water, and the excess moisture was soaked up with a wet-vac machine.

Quarry Tiles Canley After Cleaning

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Floor

After the cleaning process was complete, I left the floor to dry off completely for 24 hours. Upon my return to the house the next day, I checked for any dampness that could have damaged the performance of the sealer, thankfully, the floor was dry and ready to seal, and so I proceeded to apply several coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra.

Seal & Go Extra is a fully breathable sealer that provides for effective moisture transmission. It provides durable surface protection against dirt and stains, and is suitable for most kinds of internal, natural stone tiled floors, including Quarry, Victorian and Flagstone.

Quarry Tiles Canley After Sealing
As you can see from the photographs the Quarry tiles came out really well and it’s hard to believe that this is the same floor.

Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration in Warwickshire

Hidden Quarry Tiled Floor Restored to Fantastic Condition in Canley Read More »

Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Earlsdon

Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Earlsdon

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

This Victorian tiled hallway at a house in Earlsdon near Coventry was not only in dire need of a good clean and seal, but also required some repairs to areas where the tiles were cracked or missing. The job took three days in total to complete, with one day spent on the necessary repairs, and two on the cleaning and sealing process.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Earlsdon Coventry

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

Repairing Victorian Tiles is generally a straightforward tiling job, complications that can arise are usually related to making sure the floor substrate is solid and sourcing matching tiles. In this case the foundation was fine so it was just a case of scraping off the old adhesive and then re-fixing the tiles and re-grouting with a matching grout. It’s best to do any repairs before cleaning and sealing as the new tiles will blend into the floor better.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Earlsdon Coventry Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Earlsdon Coventry

Cleaning a Victorian tiled hallway

I left the floor to set overnight and then came back to clean the floor first applying a layer of Tile Doctor Remove & Go to floor in order to breakdown any old sealers, dirt and other contaminates such as paint and plaster from decorating.

The product was left to dwell for ten minutes before being worked into the tile and grout using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a heavy rotary machine. This made a marked difference in the appearance of the tiles and the resultant slurry was rinsed off the floor using water and a wet vacuum.

Now the dirt was removed I could see there were some white salt deposits of the tile surface as well as smears of grout that were probably there since its installation. The mineral salt deposits often known as efflorescence are usually due to dampness rising up though the floor and these old Victorian floors rarely have a damp proof membrane which is a relatively new advancement. To resolve both these problems I applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel which is a blend of phosphoric and hydrochloric acids in a gel form so it doesn’t move around like a liquid. This product was especially effective on Victorian floor tiles, but should not be used on any tiles made of acid-sensitive stone, such as Marble or Limestone as it can damage them. Being an acid product it’s best not to leave it on too long either, so once I had managed to scrub off the efflorescence and grout smears I removed it and then gave the floor a good rinse to remove any trace and neutralise the floor prior to sealing.

Sealing a Victorian tiled hallway

After completing the cleaning process, I left the floor to dry completely overnight and came back to the house the next day to finish off with a sealer. I usually seal Victorian and Quarry tiles with Tile Doctor Seal and Go however given the previous evidence of efflorescence I need to choose a sealer that was highly breathable. Fortunately Tile Doctor recognises this issue and has such a product called Seal & Go Extra. Not only does this sealer provides a stain resistant surface seal and a durable low-sheen finish it also has excellent moisture vapour transmission properties and can even be used externally.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration Earlsdon Coventry Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration Earlsdon Coventry

The before and after photos above really demonstrate the difference made to the appearance of this Victorian tiled hallway.

Restoration of Victorian Floor in Earlsdon

Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Earlsdon Read More »

Victorian Quarry Tiled Church Floor Refurbished in Frankton

Victorian Quarry Tiled Church Floor Refurbished in Frankton

1 Comment / Quarry Tile Cleaning, Rugby Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

These beautiful Quarry tiled floors belong to a 13th century church in the heart of the old village of Frankton. I did some research on the internet and discovered that the church had gone through a major restoration in 1872 so it’s most probable the tiles date back to that time.

Victorian Floor Tile Cleaning Frankton Church

Cleaning Victorian Tiles

There were multiple quarry tiled floors that were all in need of a deep clean and seal; however there was concern that cleaning the tiles using conventional cleaning methods requiring a lot of water could result in damp permeating into the structure of the building and considering the age of the building may this could cause damage. With this in mind I ran some tests to work out an alternative and I worked out that the best alternative would be to use Acid Gel which would stay in place followed by a steam clean.

Victorian Floor Tiles Frankton Church Before Cleaning Victorian Floor Tiles Frankton Church Before Cleaning

There was quite a lot of floor to cover and I need to work in relatively small sections so it took two days to complete the cleaning. I used the method I worked out earlier applying Acid Gel, and then leaving it to dwell for ten minutes before working it in with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a buffing machine. The gel and resultant soil was then removed with a wet vacuum and then the section was steam cleaned to lift out any further dirt and neutralise the acid.

Victorian Floor Tiles Frankton Church During Cleaning

Sealing Victorian floor tiles

On the third day I returned to seal the floors; there are a number of sealers I could have used for this type of floor however with the building being as old as it was I wanted to ensure the tiles could breathe and any damp could rise up through the tiles. Additionally I wanted the sealer to bring out the best in the tiles so with these points in mind I sealed the floor using four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go extra which covers all these points and is the recommended sealer for Victorian and Quarry tiles.

Victorian Floor Tiles Frankton Church After Sealing Victorian Floor Tiles Frankton Church After Sealing

I think you will agree the floors now look fantastic and with the sealer to protect them they should stay this way for some time to come, although give the amount of traffic these floors receive I will be working out a maintenance plan for them.

Restoring old Victorian Quarry tiles in a Warwickshire Church

Victorian Quarry Tiled Church Floor Refurbished in Frankton Read More »

Linoleum Covered Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Marton, Warwickshire

Linoleum Covered Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Marton, Warwickshire

1 Comment / Leamington Spa Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History /

Recently I was called to a house in the very small town of Marton in Warwickshire which is known for its proximity to the medieval “Marton Bridge”, which lies just to the north, crossing the River Leam.

The entire downstairs flooring of my client’s house consisted of Quarry tiles apart from one room where the tiles had been covered by screed and then linoleum. Quarry tiles are a classic hard wearing tile used for both internal and external commercial and residential flooring due to its ability to withstand heavy usage. Reception areas, outdoor patios and porches, for example, are commonly tiled using Quarry.

My client wanted to restore the covered floor back to its original state so that it would match the rest of the downstairs. Realising that this would be a complex and physically demanding task, my client decided to call in Tile Doctor to carry out the restoration.

Quarry tiles covered in screed Marton before restoration Quarry tiles covered in screed Marton before restoration

Removing Screed and Linoleum from a Quarry tiled floor

Removing the Linoleum covering was a relatively straightforward process, so I was able to do this relatively quickly. The main issue concerned removing the screed, which is far more difficult to remove, requiring a lot of physical scraping. Thus I opted to call in some extra manpower in the form of the Nottinghamshire Tile Doctor, Steve Carpenter. With the two of us armed with scrapers we set about removing the screed, taking extra care not to damage the Quarry tile underneath.

Quarry tiles covered in screed Marton during restoration

Cleaning a Quarry tiled floor

Once Steve and I had scraped off as much of the screed as physically possible, I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go, a stripper with cleaning properties that is particularly effective at breaking down coatings such as adhesives, plasters and sealers. The product was left to dwell for ten minutes before I worked it into the stone with a scrubbing pad.

After cleaning the tiles, I noticed a layer of grout haze on the surface of the exposed Quarry tiles, so I applied Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to remove it. Once the cleaning process was complete I gave the floor a thorough rinse with clean water, before soaking up the resulting residue with a wet-vac machine. The first day of work was a gruelling 12 hours long, but I was very pleased with the results and left the floor to dry overnight.

Sealing a Quarry tiled floor

On day two I returned to finish the job by sealing the newly uncovered Quarry tiles, but not before using a damp meter to check that they were completely dry. Any excess moisture left on unsealed tiles can potentially effect the performance of any sealers that are applied. I sealed the tiles using Tile Doctor Colour Grow, an impregnating, colour-enhancing sealer which gave the surface an aesthetically pleasing shine, as well as durable protection against dirt and wear for the future.

Quarry tiles covered in screed Marton after restoration Quarry tiles covered in screed Marton after restoration

After two long days of work the job was done and the transformation was fantastic and highly rewarding to see, the house now has a fantastic looking Quarry tiled floor running throughout the entirety of the lower level.

Quarry tiled floor restoration in Warwickshire

Linoleum Covered Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Marton, Warwickshire Read More »

Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Stratford upon Avon

Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Stratford upon Avon

1 Comment / Quarry Tile Cleaning, Stratford-upon-Avon Tile Cleaning, Work History /

Located in the hallway of an old vicarage in the historic town of Stratford upon Avon these Quarry tiles had been hidden under carpet for many years and before that it appears had been painted in red brick paint and splattered with plaster and paint from decorating. I was asked if there was anything we could do to restore them and having done a number of these types of renovations before I was confident that would could and got the go ahead to proceed.

Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration in Stratford-upon-Avon Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration in Stratford-upon-Avon

Restoring a Quarry tiled floor

The first job was to give the floor a really good deep clean and to remove any coatings from the tiles. To do this a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go was left to soak into the floor for about 30 minutes before being scrubbed in using a slow speed rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. I then used a wet vacuum to remove the resultant soiled solution and rinsed the floor down with water. There were quite a few stubborn areas and so the whole process had to be repeated, additionally some of the paint needed to carefully removed using a scraper.

Once the floor was clean I gave it a wash with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is an acid based product that will remove light grout smears and mineral deposits from effloresce which can leave to white salt deposits appearing on the tile surface and can be quite common on old tiled floors that have no damp proof course.

The cleaning process took up the whole day and after finishing the whole floor was given a thorough rinse with water to ensure no trace of cleaning product remained on the floor.

Sealing a Quarry tiled floor

I left the floor overnight to dry then came back next day and used a damp test meter to verify the floor was dry and ready for sealing. Once happy I proceed to apply four coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which matched their requirements in a sealer exactly as it provides a matt finish brings out the colour in the stone and offers great stain protection.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration in Stratford-upon-Avon Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration in Stratford-upon-Avon

 

Quarry tiles tiled floor restored in Warwickshire

Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Stratford upon Avon Read More »

Limestone Patio Tiles Deep Cleaned in Nuneaton

Limestone Patio Tiles Deep Cleaned in Nuneaton

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Nuneaton Tile Cleaning, Work History /

This beautiful Limestone patio had been installed in the back garden of a house in Nuneaton and then covered with some form of acrylic coating to protect it. Unfortunately the coating wasn’t able to defend against the ravages of the UK weather and had become loose leaving the Limestone exposed to the elements where it soon became very grimy.

Limestone Patio Before Cleaning Nuneaton

Stripping acrylic coatings from Limestone tiles

The acrylic coating had to be removed which was done using a combination of manual scraping using a fine blade and then with a 1:4 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was mopped onto the tiles and left for ten minutes to dwell before being scrubbed with a buffing machine fitted with a black pad. This process brought out the dirt that had become ingrained into the stone, there were some stubborn areas and these were treated with Tile Doctor Remove and Gof which is a stronger product. The resultant slurry was removed using a wet vacuum and the patio left to dry overnight.

Limestone Patio During Cleaning Nuneaton Limestone Patio During Cleaning Nuneaton

Sealing a Limestone patio

I came back the second day to seal the patio checking first that it was suitably dry. Two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied which is a colour enhancing impregnating sealer that can be used internally and externally, it works really on Limestone and did well to bring out the natural colours in the stone.

Limestone Patio After Cleaning Nuneaton Limestone Patio After Cleaning Nuneaton

 

Stone patio stripped, cleaned and sealed in Warwickshire

Limestone Patio Tiles Deep Cleaned in Nuneaton Read More »

Restoring a new laid black Limestone floor in Pillerton Hersey

Restoring a new laid black Limestone floor in Pillerton Hersey

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Stratford-upon-Avon Tile Cleaning, Work History /

This is the second black limestone tiled floor we have dealt with this year where the tiler struggled to get the right finish. In this case the floor tiles were newly fitted but unfortunately the tiler had decided not to seal the tiles prior to grouting which resulted in grout becoming trapped on the tile surface (aka Grout Haze). To remedy this problem brick acid was used which removed the grout but this stripped off the black finish turning the tiles grey then in a further attempt to improve the appearance the tiles were covered in boiled linseed oil which just sat on top locking in the grout haze. Linseed oil is a traditional method of sealing stone tiles and is normally used with Terracotta tiles but it’s not ideal and does not have the performance of a modern sealer, certainly in this case it didn’t help at all.

Black Limestone Before Cleaning Pillerton Hersay Black Limestone Before Cleaning Pillerton Hersay

Removing Oil and Grout from Limestone Tiles

To resolve the problems with the floor it had to be fully stripped back to remove the linseed oil so the grout haze problem could be tackled. This was done by applying a solution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was mopped on to the floor and left to soak in for a while before being scrubbed using a rotary machine fitted with a black pad. This process lifted the linseed oil off the tiles and was removed using a wet vacuum.

Once the Linseed oil was gone I could get to work on the grout haze and for that we have a special product called Grout Clean-Up, it’s a very strong acid based product and normally you would need to be very careful using it on stone as it can damage the stone, in this case however the surface of the Limestone had already been damaged by the brick acid. Once the floor was free of coatings and the grout haze problem had been treated I gave the floor a thorough rinse down to make sure all trace of products had been removed from the floor before the next step.

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

There was a lot of Limestone to cover so on the first day I focused on the kitchen and on day two the lounge, hallway and toilet. On the third day I went over the whole area applying Tile Doctor Stone Oil to restore the black colour of the Limestone that had been damaged by the brick acid.

Black Limestone During Cleaning Pillerton Hersay
By the third day the Grout Haze was gone but was still looking washed out. To restore the colour back into the black limestone it was treated with stone oil which as you can see turned the tiles back to their original colour. Stone Oil is an interesting product, if you check the tin it will tell you it’s “an easy to apply pre-polish impregnating sealer, ideal for low porosity stone and terracotta designed to enhance the colour and texture of floors and improve mechanical strength once cured”. Certainly from the customer’s point of view the floor now looks how it was intended and they were much relieved.

Black Limestone After Cleaning Pillerton Hersay Black Limestone After Cleaning Pillerton Hersay

 

Resolving Limestone installation problems in Warwickshire

Restoring a new laid black Limestone floor in Pillerton Hersey Read More »

Dirty Terracotta Tiles Deep Cleaned in Warwick

Dirty Terracotta Tiles Deep Cleaned in Warwick

1 Comment / Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Warwick Tile Cleaning, Work History /

These photographs are from a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen at a house in the historic town of Warwick. You should be able to see from the photographs that the tiles had a heavy build-up of wax and oil coating which besides being very unsightly made them difficult to clean.

Terracotta Deep Clean Warwick before Terracotta Deep Clean Warwick before

Removing Wax and Oil from Terracotta Tiles

I knew I was going to struggle to remove the build-up of wax and oil so I decided to go apply Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a product specifically designed to safely remove sealers and coatings from Tile and Stone. It was diluted and applied to the floor where it was left to soak into the tiles for a good twenty minutes before being worked in with a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad.

The resultant soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor washed down with clean water. At this point I could see more work was required so as well as applying more Remove and Go I also applied steam from a heavy duty steamer. Slowly but surely using a combination of the above tools and product the wax and oil was stripped from the floor.

Terracotta Deep Clean Warwick Wax Stripping
The next job was to give the floor a deep clean using a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was worked into the pores of the Terracotta tile and grout using a slow speed rotary machine fitted with another scrubbing pad. The dirty solution was removed and the floor rinsed thoroughly with water, again we used the wet vacuum to remove the water and get the tile as dry as possible.

Terracotta Deep Clean Warwick After Cleaning Terracotta Deep Clean Warwick After Cleaning

Sealing Terracotta floor tiles

I left the floor overnight to dry overnight with the assistance of an air blower and then came back next day to seal the floor; I used a damp test meter first to verify the floor was dry and ready for sealing. Once happy I proceed to apply three coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a no-sheen, natural-look penetrating sealer that provides maximum stain protection by occupying the pores in the tile. It’s also highly recommended for use in in food preparation and serving areas

Terracotta Deep Clean Warwick After Sealing
It was a tough job but the results were well worth the effot.

Terracotta tiled floor stripped, cleaned and sealed in Warwick

Dirty Terracotta Tiles Deep Cleaned in Warwick Read More »

Victorian Tiled Hallway Refreshed in Radford

Victorian Tiled Hallway Refreshed in Radford

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

This Victorian Tiled Hallway at a house in Radford near Coventry had been well preserved under a carpet for many years and the owners of the house now wanted it brought back to life. Physically the tiles were in good condition however they did suffer from the usual issues of paint splashes and adhesive stuck to the surface.

Victorian Tiled Floor Refresh Radford Before Victorian Tiled Floor Refresh Radford Before

Cleaning Victorian Tiles

To clean up the tiles and remove the paint and glue I used a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. The edges of the floor was done first as this was where the most pain splashes were to be found due to the skirting being painted at some point in the past. The usual procedure still applied allowing the product to soak in and soften the paint before being scrubbed off by hand. Once the edges were done I moved onto the main part of the floor using the same process however this time I had the advantage of being able to use a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. The dirty solution was rinsed away with water and removed with a wet vacuum.

To finish off and remove some signs of efflorescence (white salt stains) the tiles were then scrubbed in a dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. This did the trick but you can’t leave this product on the tiles for too long as its an acid so as soon as it had done its job it was washed off and then the tiles were then given a thorough wash down with clean water.

My work was done for the day so I left a fan running to help speed dry the floor overnight and left for the day.

Sealing Victorian floor tiles

I came back the next day to seal the floor using Tile Doctor Seal and Go sealer which provides stain protection as well giving a nice sheen to the tile, the tiles were quite porous and needed six coats before they were fully sealed.

Victorian Tiled Floor Refresh Radford After
 

Victorian tiled floor cleaned and sealed near Coventry

Victorian Tiled Hallway Refreshed in Radford Read More »

Victorian Tilled Hallway Refurbished in Allesley

Victorian Tilled Hallway Refurbished in Allesley

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

Popular as they are in the UK it wasn’t long before I was called back to refurbish another Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor this time in the town of Allesley near Coventry. This tiles were heavily soiled and had been splashed with paint from decorating, on top of this there was evidence of adhesive from when the floor had been previously covered in carpet and there were a number of damaged tiles that needed replacing.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Coventry Before Cleaning Victorian Tiled Hallway Coventry Before Cleaning

Cleaning Victorian Tiles

To get the tiles clean of paint and dirt I decided to go straight for a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left to soak into the tiles for around thirty minutes before scrubbing it in with a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. The dirty solution was rinsed away with water and removed with a wet vacuum and stubborn areas and grout re-treated with a scrubbing brush by hand.

I wasn’t entirely happy with the condition of the tiles at this stage so the next step was to scrub in a dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is an acid based product that removed grout haze, mineral deposits, rust stains and efflorescence. This did the trick but being an acid based product you can’t leave it on the tiles for too long and so was washed off soon after and the tiles washed down with clean water.

I scraped out the grout surrounding the damaged tiles and lifted them out, I had already arranged replacements so once that was done and tidied up it was just a question of putting the replacement in place with tile adhesive and re-grouting using a sympathetic grout colour to match the aged existing grout.

My work was done for the day so I left a couple of fans running to help dry the floor and left for the day.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Coventry Drying

Sealing Victorian floor tiles

I came back the next day to seal the floor using Tile Doctor High Shine sealer which provides stain protection as well as a very shiny finish; five coats were needed to get it fully sealed.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Coventry After Cleaning and Sealing Victorian Tiled Hallway Coventry After Cleaning and Sealing

 

Victorian tiled floor deep cleaned, repaired and sealed near Coventry

Victorian Tilled Hallway Refurbished in Allesley Read More »

Victorian Minton tiles cleaned and Sealed coventry

Victorian Minton Floor Refreshed in Coventry

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

This was a straight forward request to clean and re-seal a Victorian Minton tiled floor in Coventry. The tiles were in good condition but there were a few stubborn stains that needed dealing with.

Victorian Minton tiles cleaned and Sealed coventry Victorian Minton tiles cleaned and Sealed coventry

Cleaning Victorian Tiles

I used a concentrated dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to clean and strip the old sealer from the floor. It was first left to soak into the tiles for around 15 minutes before being scrubbed into the Victorian tile and grout using a slow speed rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. The dirty solution was removed and the process repeated and grout lines scrubbed until I was happy the tiles were clean; this was then followed with a thorough rinse with water and a wet vacuum was used to remove the fluids and get the tile and grout as dry as possible. This process took most of the day so once the floor was clean I left for the day leaving it to dry overnight.

Sealing Victorian floor tiles

I came back the next day and after confirming the tiles had dried I began sealing them using six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go sealer which will provide stain protection as well as adding a nice shine to the floor. The interesting thing about Seal and Go is that’s it’s a water based sealer so you don’t get a smell as it dries.

Victorian Minton tiles cleaned and Sealed coventry Victorian Minton tiles cleaned and Sealed coventry

 

Victorian tiled floor cleaned and sealed in Coventry

Victorian Minton Floor Refreshed in Coventry Read More »

Victorian Tiles in Coundon Cleaned and Sealed

Victorian Floor Cleaned and Repaired in Coundon

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

Details below of a bread and butter job recently completed in Coundon near Coventry to Clean, repair and seal Victorian floor tiles. I call it a bread butter job as this is something we do a lot off and have therefore become quite proficient including colour matched repairs to grout and tile replacement.

Victorian Tiles in Coundon before cleaning

Cleaning Victorian Tiles

The tiles were quite dirty and in need of a deep clean so a 50/50 mix of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and NanoTech UltraClean was diluted with water and left to soak into the tiles for around 15 minutes before being scrubbed into the Victorian tile and grout using a slow speed rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. The dirty solution was removed and the process repeated and grout lines scrubbed until I was happy the tiles were clean; this was then followed with a thorough rinse with water and a wet vacuum was used to remove the fluids and get the tile and grout as dry as possible. We have a special fan to accelerate the drying process so this switched on and moved around the floor until it was dry.

Victorian Tiles in Coundon cleaned and drying

Sealing Victorian floor tiles

Once the floor was dry we started to seal it using Tile Doctor High Shine sealer which provides stain protection as well as a very shiny finish, hopefully you can appreciate the difference in the photographs on this page.

Victorian Tiles in Coundon Cleaned and Sealed
 

Victorian tiled floor cleaned and sealed near Coventry

Victorian Floor Cleaned and Repaired in Coundon Read More »

Victorian Floor Tiles After Restoration in Stratford upon Avon

Victorian Floor Tile Restoration in Stratford-Upon-Avon

1 Comment / Stratford-upon-Avon Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

I made another visit back to the historic and famous town of Stratford-upon-Avon recently this time to restore a Victorian Tiled Hallway which had been covered In self levelling cement (don’t ask) which was proving very difficult to remove and I doubt William Shakespeare would of approved.

Victorian Floor Tiles Before Restoration in Stratford upon Avon Victorian Floor Tiles Before Restoration in Stratford upon Avon

Removing Cement from Victorian Tiles

None of the usual methods for removing cement from tile was proving to be effective against this stuff, it was simply too thick so it was necessary to resort to a set off milling disks which grind the surface, I could only go so close to the tile with these however and had to resort to a hand scrapper to remove much of the rest and as you can imagine this took a long time to complete and was quite exhausting work.

Victorian Floor Tiles During Restoration in Stratford upon Avon
The resultant powder was swept and vacuumed from the tile before applying Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which we normally use for removing grout smears, it’s an acidic product that you allow to dwell on the tile for a few minutes and then agitate with a scrubbing pad and then remove shortly afterwards using a wet vacuum and then quickly washing the floor down quickly to ensure the acid is removed.

The next job was to give the floor a deep clean using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed 50/50 with NanoTech UltraClean which was worked into the pores of the Victorian tile and grout using a slow speed rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. The dirty solution was removed and the floor rinsed thoroughly with water, again we used the wet vacuum to remove the water and get the tile as dry as possible.

Sealing Victorian floor tiles

I left the floor overnight to dry overnight leaving an air blower to accelerate the drying time and then came back next day to seal the floor; I used a damp test meter first to verify the floor was dry and ready for sealing. Once happy I proceed to apply four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is an ideal sealer for Victorian Tiles as it leaves a nice shine on the floor as well as providing great stain protection.

Victorian Floor Tiles After Restoration in Stratford upon Avon Victorian Floor Tiles After Restoration in Stratford upon Avon

 

It was an exhausting job and quite a transformation, unfortunately there were a few area’s I could do nothing about but it all adds to the character of the floor.

Victorian tiled floor restored in Warwickshire

Victorian Floor Tile Restoration in Stratford-Upon-Avon Read More »

Vinyl floor in Wyken after cleaning

Deep cleaning a Vinyl floor at a church in Wyken, Coventry

1 Comment / Coventry Tile Cleaning, Vinyl Tile Cleaning, Work History /

The great thing about being in the floor cleaning business is that the equipment we use are very flexible and allow the cleaning of many surfaces from Tile, Stone, Grout and Carpet through to in this case a Vinyl floor at Church in Wyken.

Vinyl floor in Wyken before cleaning Vinyl floor in Wyken before cleaning

Cleaning Vinyl Flooring

You can see from the photograph that although the floor was in good physical condition it was dirty and in need of a really deep clean. To do this the floor was mechanically scrubbed using a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad and a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a very flexible heavy duty cleaning product primarily designed for Tile, Stone and Grout but equally effective on Vinyl floors as well. The soiled cleaning solution was then washed away with water which was removed using a wet vacuum and left to dry.

Vinyl floor in Wyken during cleaning Vinyl floor in Wyken during cleaning

Sealing Vinyl

Once the floor was dry three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were applied to the surface which restored the shine finish. You have to wait for a coat to dry before applying the next so this process can take a while to complete.

Vinyl floor in Wyken after cleaning Vinyl floor in Wyken after cleaning

 

Dirty Vinyl floor cleaned and sealed at a church in Coventry

Deep cleaning a Vinyl floor at a church in Wyken, Coventry Read More »

Quarry Tiled Floor in Long itchington After Cleaning and Sealing

Cleaning Painted Quarry Tiles in Long Itchington

Leamington Spa Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History /

Details below of a Quarry tiled floor that we treated in Long Itchington which had previously been painted with an epoxy paint designed for garage floors. Not the best product for maintaining the natural look of Quarry Tiles.

Quarry-Tiled-Floor-in-Long itchington-Before-Cleaning

Cleaning Quarry Tiles

To get the paint off the floor had to be soaked in a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a coatings remove and can pretty much remove anything from tiles. This was left to work on the tile before being scrubbed in using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The grout also needed attention and this was also scrubbed this time by hand using a stiff brush along the grout line and more https://www.tiledoctor.co.uk/shop/item.aspx/tile-doctor-remove-go-1-litre/17/. The resultant soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor washed down.

There were some stubborn stains so further work continued this time using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is a stronger acid based product ideal for removing grout smears from tile, paint and even rust. Following this the solution was removed as before and the tiles given a thorough rinse to ensure no products were left on the floor and then left to dry overnight.

Quarry-Tiled-Floor-in-Long itchington-Before-and-after-Cleaning

Sealing Quarry Tiles

The floor had dried when we returned the next day so we set about sealing it using three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which provides surface stain protection to the quarry tile and grout and also has a special formula that brings out the colour in the tile.

Quarry-Tiled-Floor-in-Long itchington-After-Cleaning-and-Sealing
 

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor in Long Itchington

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Travertine Stratford-upon-Avon After Cleaning

Travertine Tiled Floor Polished in Stratford upon Avon

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Stratford-upon-Avon Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work History /

Following on from a referral I agreed to travel down to Stratford upon Avon and deep clean this Travertine tiled floor which had not been professionally cleaned for over eight years and was now looking rather dull as you can see in the photograph below, additionally the holes in the travertine had not been filled and was allowing dirt to get trapped into the tile.

Travertine Stratford upon Avon Before Cleaning

Cleaning, Filling and Polishing Travertine Tiles

The first job was to wash the floor down with Pro-Clean to give it a general clean and remove any surface dirt and grit from the floor and then fill the holes with a colour matching grout; there were quite a few holes to fill so this task took some time to complete. Polished Travertine is a very hard stone so restore its finish it needs to be cut back and polished using of a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine. You start with a coarse pad with a little water, then a medium pad, fine pad and finish with a very fine polishing pad, this takes some time but the effect it quite transforming, it does build up slurry on the floor so it all needs to be washed down again at the end.

Sealing and Buffing Travertine Tile

To keep the floor looking good for longer and protect it from stains it does need to be sealed so once it was dry it was sealed using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that brings out the colours in natural stone. Then once the sealer was dry it was buffed using a white buffing pad to make sure that I hadn’t left any residues from the seal.

Travertine Stratford upon Avon After Cleaning
The job took three days to complete in total and I think you will agree it’s now looking much healthier.

Travertine tiled floor maintained by Greater Manchester Tile Doctor

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Limestone Tiled Floor After Cleaning and Polishing

Resolving a Dull and Scratched Limestone Tiled Floor

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

This Limestone Tiled Floor was installed in the hall and kitchen of a residence in Coventry. The floor had scratch damage in the middle of the kitchen and was dull from the previous use of the wrong cleaning products, the house had recently been sold and the new owners wanted the damage removed and Limestone sealed and polished so it looked new again.

Limstone Tiled Floor Before cleaning Limstone Tiled Floor showing scratch

Cleaning Limestone and Grout

The first task was to give the floor a general clean using a dilution Tile Doctor Pro-Clean with the focus on the ensuring the grout lines were given a good scrub to get them looking clean again. The dirty solution was then removed from the floor using a wet vacuum and rinsed with clean water.

Limestone like Marble and Granite is a very hard stone and needs to be cutback with burnishing pads to get it looking good again; the pads fit a rotary buffing machine and applied with a little water. Tile Doctor supplies a four pad Burnishing set for this purpose and you start off using a coarse pad to cut back the dirt from the floor and then move through the pads until you get to the last one which is very fine and polishes up the stone.

Limstone Tiled Floor Burnishing Pad

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

To protect the floor it was sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is designed to lift the natural colours in the stone and will protect the tile from stains in future.

Limstone Tiled Floor After Cleaning and Polishing3 Limstone Tiled Floor After Cleaning and Polishing

In total the floor took eight hours to clean and re-polish, the scratch was gone and the floor now looks new again, just what the customer wanted.

Limestone Tiles Cleaned and Polished in Coventry

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Slate Tiles After Cleaning in Broadwell

Milled Slate Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Broadwell

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Rugby Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History /

These mixed milled slate floor tiles were installed in the Kitchen, Hall and toilet of a house in Broadwell, Warwickshire. The Slate was staining easily from drink spills and proving hard to clean; on top of that all the tiles were covered in a slight grout haze and had not been sealed or cleaned properly after installation. The customer needed the floor to be easy to clean and manage and was keen to bring out the rich colour and texture of the floor but keep a matt finish.

Slate Tiles Before Cleaning in Broadwell1 Slate Tiles Before Cleaning in Broadwell2

Cleaning black slate floor tiles

The first job was to give the floor a deep clean using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was worked into the pores of the Slate tile and grout using a slow speed rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. I then used a wet vacuum to remove the resultant soiled solution and rinsed the floor down with water.

Removing Grout Haze from Slate

The next step was to tackle the grout haze which was evident across the tiles; for this we used Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is an acidic product that you allow to dwell on the tile for a one to two minutes and then agitate with a scrubbing pad and then remove shortly afterwards with a wet vacuum washing the floor down quickly to ensure the acid is removed.

Further cleaning was required to some areas which had proven stubborn to clean earlier and for this we used Pro-Clean again mixed 50/50 with NanoTech UltraClean which adds tiny abrasive particles to make a more effective cleaning product; again this was scrubbed in and then once we were happy with the result the floor was washed down with clean water in order to neutralise it before sealing.

Sealing Slate floor tiles

I left the floor overnight to dry then came back next day and used a damp test meter to verify the floor was dry and ready for sealing. Once happy I proceed to apply four coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which matched their requirements in a sealer exactly as it provides a matt finish brings out the colour in the stone and offers great stain protection.

Slate Tiles After Cleaning in Broadwell1 Slate Tiles After Cleaning in Broadwell5

 

Slate tiled floor cleaned and sealed in Warwickshire

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Limestone Kitchen Part Sealed

Resolving installation issues with a black Limestone tiled floor

2 Comments / Grout Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Whitnash Tile Cleaning, Work History /

This client had recently had a black limestone tiled floor installed in the kitchen and dining area in his home on the northern border of Warwickshire. Unfortunately however the tiler had not sealed the tiles prior and struggled to remove the grout smears from the Limestone surface. The tiles were then sealed trapping the grout haze under the sealer; naturally the client was far from happy and was instructed to remove the grout using an acid wash.

Black Limestone Tiles Before Black Limestone Tiles Before

The acid things turned the floor grey removing the oils in the floor from the factory and also caused the natural salts within the tile to rise to the surface. The tiles were then sealed with an external patio sealant without removing the existing surface sealer. All this compounded the problems in the floor causing it to mark easily and lose its colour; on top of that it had big cloudy white patches all over from the trapped salts.

Stripping sealer from a Limestone Floor Tiles

To resolve the problems with the floor it had to be fully stripped back and cleaned of all sealants and salt etc. which was done by applying a solution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go combined with Nanotech UltraClean mopped on to the floor in two square metres at a time. The solution was allowed to soak into the floor for thirty minutes to allow the chemicals break down and then scrubbed using a rotary machine fitted with a black pad. The soiled solution was then extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum. This process was repeated across the entire floor until all the sealer had been removed.

Limestone Kitchen Floor After Cleaning

Removing Salts from Limestone Tiles

To remove the salts and remaining grout haze the floor was treated with Grout Clean-up which is an acid based cleaning product that is designed to penetrate below the surface and remove light grout smears (grout haze) as well as mineral deposits such as salts and efflorescence, again this treatment was applied two square meters at a time, quickly worked into the floor and removed with the wet vacuum. Once this process was complete the whole floor was washed at high pressure rinse three times to ensure all trace of chemicals had been removed.

The floor was left to dry and when we came back the second day it was noticed that there were still some salts coming through to the surface of the Limestone, these areas were re-treated and the floor washed down again and left to dry as before.

Limestone Kitchen Part Sealed

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

The floor looked much improved on the third day although it was still looking washed out. To put the colour back into the black limestone it was treated with stone oil with turns the floor back to black and then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which will protect the tile going forward.

The floor now looks how it was intended and certainly the customer was pleased and left the following comment on our feedback system.

“We are so pleased with the work carried out by the tile doctor to our kitchen, utility and family room. The floor now looks exactly how we hoped it would look when we originally purchased it. We’ve struggled to get it looking right since then and now we feel we finally have a floor we can enjoy at last! We also found Mick to be professional and highly knowledgeable on our floor. He has given us really good advice and has been really easy to contact and has also been happy to give us further help and advice over the phone even when the job’s been completed. L. Nash”

Limestone Kitchen Floor After Cleaning and Sealing Limestone Kitchen Floor After Cleaning and Sealing

Limestone installation problems resolved in Warwickshire

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Victorian Tile Cleaned and Sealed

Restoring a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Kenilworth

Kenilworth Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History /

We were asked to take a look at this Victorian tiled hallway floor at a house in Kenilworth, the owner was keen to restore it back to its original condition and there were a number of missing tiles that need replacing and there were traces of paint and adhesive along the edges indicating it had been previously covered over, probably by linoleum.

Victorian Tile Cleaning Before

Restoring Victorian Tiles

The first job was to replace the missing tiles, fortunately replacements are still available so it was just a question of making the rest of the floor look as new as the replacements. We set about cleaning off adhesive from the edges of the floor which had to be done by hand using Tile Doctor Remove and Go combined 50/50 with NanoTech Ultra-Clean which creates a powerful stripper and cleaner. The resultant mixture was applied with a brush and left to dwell for fifteen minutes in order to break down the glue and old paint; this was an arduous task involving scrapers, wire wool and a lot of elbow grease, in total it took around five hours to get the edges completely clean.

The next step was to give the rest of the Victorian Tiles a deep clean for which we used a mop to apply Tile Doctor Pro-Clean diluted 1 to 5 with water and left to dwell on the floor for ten minutes. NanoTech Ultra-Clean was then applied over the top of the Pro-Clean and worked in with a buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad

Victorian Tile Scrubbing
The soiled water was picked up with a wet and dry vacuum, and then mopped with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is an acid based product usually used for removing grout from the tile surface but also good for removing salt deposits which can happen on old floors with no damp proof course. The product was left for five minutes and then given a thorough rinse with fresh water to remove any leftover chemical and then left to dry over night

Sealing Victorian Tiles

We came back the next day and started work by replacing the tiles I mentioned earlier. To seal it we applied four coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which provides durable stain protection whilst enhancing colour it also helped to improve the match between the old and new tile.

Victorian Tile Cleaned and Sealed Victorian Tile Cleaned and Sealed

 

Victorian Tile Restoration in Warwickshire

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Sandstone Flagstones After Sealing

Sealing Sandstone Flagstones in Stretton under Fosse

Rugby Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Work History /

These Sandstone flagstones were in the hallway of a house in the 16th century village of Stretton under Fosse, Warwickshire. The flagstone floor was in good condition however it had never been sealed so every time it was cleaned the cleaning product soaked into the floor and was less effective also the customer wanted to reveal the natural colours in the Sandstone and needed some of the grout repairing.

Cleaning Sandstone Flagstones

The first job was to clean and flush the flagstone so we set about cleaning the stone using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed 50/50 with NanoTech Ultra-Clean and further diluted with water. I often use this combination, Pro-Clean is a strong and effective alkaline cleaner whilst NantoTech adds tiny abrasive particles that assist and speed up the cleaning process.

Sandstone Flagstone Cleaning
The solution was applied using a mop and then worked into the floor using a rotary buffing machine fitted with a black 17” scrubbing pad. The soiled cleaning solution was then picked up off the floor using a wet and dry vacuum and the floor was given a thorough wash down with clean water to remove a trace of cleaning products that may impact the sealer. There were a few areas of grout that had cracked and become lose so we set about replacing the grout with a closer match as possible and then left for the day to allow the floor to try overnight.

Sandstone Flagstones Before Sealing Sandstone Flagstones Before Sealing Close-Up

Sealing the Flagstone Floor

We sealed the Sandstone flagstones with a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, there are a number of sealers we could of used for this floor all have different effects and differing levels of stain protection against spills but Colour Grow is really durable and helps to bring out the deep colour from within the stone . To finish and build up the lustre and richness of the colour we then applied seven coats of Seal & Go which add a nice low sheen to the surface of the tile.

Sandstone Flagstones After Sealing Sandstone Flagstones After Sealing Close-Up

 

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Paxford Terracotta Floor after sealing

Matching mixed Terracotta Kitchen tiles in Paxford

Stratford-upon-Avon Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History /

This job was a Terracotta Tiled kitchen floor in Paxford near Chipping Camden, the Terracotta tiles were in a large kitchen/diner which had a mix of different types of Terracotta due to the replacement of some damaged tiles. The recently fitted tiles were slightly darker than the older tiles in the kitchen area and the customer wanted a closer match but at the same time didn’t want the floor looking new (with all the wax and oil removed) just the old tiles made darker. You can clearly see the problem in the first photograph below.

Paxford Terracotta Floor Before

Cleaning Terracotta Tiles

The floor had a heavy build of a wax and oil coatings which we tackled with a Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed with two parts NanoTech Ultra-Clean; this combines the strong cleaning power of the alkaline Pro-Clean with the nano sized abrasive particles in the Ultra-Clean to make a powerful cleaning agent. We left the solution to dwell and soak into the tiles for twenty minutes before working it in with a heavy floor buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad, some areas had experienced little foot traffic and so had a thicker coating needed up to three cleans. All the edges were done by hand using wire wool pads and brushes. The soiled water was picked up by a wet and dry vacuum and then the floor was thoroughly rinsed with water using a high pressure spinning tool.

Paxford Terracotta Floor after cleaning

Terracotta Tile Sealing

We let the floor dry overnight and returned the next day to seal it for which we used a combination of Tile Doctor sealers. The first step was to darken some of the lighter tiles so they would match the others in the dining room we did this using a sealer called Colour Grow which brings out the colour in a Tile. Once we were happy with this floor was fully sealed using five coats of Tile Doctors new formula High Shine sealer to give a uniform look.

Paxford Terracotta Floor after sealing
 

Replacement Terracotta tiles sealed to match existing floor

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