tile repair Archives - Warwickshire Tile Doctor

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 / Mick Gayton

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 / Mick Gayton

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.

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

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.

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

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

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 / Mick Gayton

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.

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.

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 Tiles in Coundon Cleaned and Sealed

Victorian Floor Cleaned and Repaired in Coundon

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

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 tiled floor cleaned and sealed near Coventry

Victorian Floor Cleaned and Repaired in Coundon Read More »