Neutral Tile Cleaner Archives - Gloucester Tile Doctor

Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration Cheltenham

Carpet Covered Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Restoration in Cheltenham

A client moved into this house in Cheltenham and discovered an old Quarry tiled floor under the carpet in the hallway. The carpet was wet and smelly and had to go, so you can imagine the surprise when a perfectly intact tiled floor was discovered underneath. The tiles were looking very neglected and stained with self-levelling cement and carpet glue, however, keen to understand if it could be restored, we were contacted to take a look.

Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration Cheltenham

I visited the client and having worked on floors in a worse state than this one I was confident in being able to restore it back to a good condition. I worked out a detailed quote for the work which was accepted and a date set for my return to do the work.

Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration Cheltenham

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Hallway

On the first day work started to remove the hard adhesive and cement from tiles, to do this a very coarse 50-grit milling pad was worked into the floor using water for lubrication. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a huge success due to its thickness, so I switched tactics.

It was clear a different approach was needed so a steamer was used to soften the glue and cement and then it was scraped off by hand. It was a slow process but once most of the stubborn material was removed I was able to switch back to the 50-grit pad which was much faster. A wet vacuum was used throughout the process to remove the soiling and the floor looked much better with all the adhesive and cement removed.

Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Cheltenham

Next step was to clean the floor with Tile Doctor Remove and Go scrubbed in with a black pad to flush out any further dirt and soiling from the tiles. This product as its name suggests is a coatings remover so ideal for removing the final remnants of glue. The floor was then rinsed with water and dried with the wet vacuum before moving onto replacing the grout on parts of the floor where it had crumbled and become loose.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Hallway

The floor was left to dry for three days then sealed after confirming the tiles were dry using a moisture meter. The reading I got was higher than I would have liked so clearly the floor had some damp issues. Old floors don’t have the benefit of a damp proof membrane (DPM) so need to be able to allow moisture to evaporate at the surface. The damp carpet was a good indicator that this could be an issue so I decided to seal the floor with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which gave it a nice finish and being externally rated can cope with the excess moisture.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration Cheltenham

The floor looked amazing once complete, and my client was really pleased with results.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration Cheltenham

For aftercare I recommended using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s a gentle effective tile cleaner that won’t harm the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Hallway in Gloucestershire

Carpet Covered Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Restoration in Cheltenham Read More »

Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor Restoration Dursley

Edwardian Hallway Floor Tile Restoration in Dursley

This client from Dursley got in touch regarding their hallway floor tiling which had been badly damaged in two sections during the installation of heating pipework. With the tile and base chopped out the pipes has been laid and backfilled with concrete up to the level of the original floor so it could be covered with laminate. The property was Edwardian and now unhappy with the laminate wanted the floor restored to its original state.

Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor Before Restoration Dursley

I’m based in Dursley so it wasn’t long before I was able to head over to the property and recommend a way forward. Having inspected the problems first hand I was able to create an accurate quote that would involve removing the backfilled concrete, bringing up the base to the right level and then replacing the missing tiles with matching. The whole floor could then be deep cleaned and sealed to ensure the new tiles matched perfectly with the existing. My quote was accepted, and a date agreed for the work to commence which would take four days.

Cleaning and Repairing an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

Before starting the work, I had managed to source replacements, sizing can be a problem with these older imperial sized tiles however they are usually not too difficult to find.

The first day started with the removal of concrete from the damaged area, this proved difficult as there were water pipes just under the surface and naturally, I didn’t want to disturb these. So with just the use of hand tools I moved slowly and carefully to remove the concrete. Before leaving I brought up the level of the exposed subfloor using self-levelling cement which covered the exposed pipework and formed a level flat base on which I could fix the replacement tiles

Day two was spent tiling, followed by grouting. It wasn’t a large area but there were some intricate cuts to manage and a black and white chequered border to replace. Needless to say, this took up most of the day.

Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor During Restoration Dursley

I left the floor to settle a couple of days then returned to deep clean the hallway using Tile Doctor Acid Gel worked in with a 200-grit pad fitted to a buffing machine. This was then rinsed off with minimal water and extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was inspected and any stubborn areas re-treated. After a quick final rinse and extract the floor was left to dry off fully.

You do have to be careful with these old floors which don’t have a damp proof membrane though as using too much water can take a long time to dry out, hence the use of a gel cleaning product and minimal water.

Sealing an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor

Once cleaned I left the floor to dry out for 2 days before returning. I know from experience its not a good idea to apply sealer to a damp floor as the results can be patchy so its always a good idea to allow plenty of time for this.

To seal the floor, I used multiple coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which has a modern acrylic formula that will allow the floor to breathe and ensure any moisture can pass through the tile and evaporate at the surface. The sealer will protect the tiles from dirt becoming ingrained in its pores and enhance their appearance; the new sealer also makes it easier for the new and old tiles to blend better.

Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor After Restoration Dursley

My client was very pleased with the transformation and so happy that the floor had been restored to its original condition. Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare and for this floor I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s a mild but effective cleaner that is ideal for maintaining sealed tiles.

Professional Restoration of an Edwardian Tiled Hallway in Gloucestershire

Edwardian Hallway Floor Tile Restoration in Dursley Read More »

Old Victorian Red Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Restoration Gloucester

Original Quarry Tiled Floor Restored at a Victorian Property in Gloucester

1 Comment / Gloucester Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning / Malcolm Crowther

This customer had purchased an older property in Gloucester and while fitting a new kitchen had the Ceramic tiled floor removed only to discover an original Quarry tiled floor underneath. Realising the value an original floor can add to a property as a period feature, they contacted Tile Doctor to see if it could be restored.

I made a visit to the property to survey the Quarry tiles and ascertain if it could be restored after being hidden for so long. I could see the tiles were in reasonable condition and it looked like they had tile adhesive on most of the tiles which I had experienced before. I was therefore confident that it would be possible to remove this and clean them up and they were reassured that I should be able to restore them to a good standard.

Old Victorian Red Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Restoration Gloucester

Old Victorian Red Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor During Restoration Gloucester

Happy with my quote and confident in my ability to get the job done I was booked in to complete the work.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Red Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

With a date set to commence work I arrived on the agreed date to do the work and made a start on cleaning up the tiles. I soon realised at this point I had made a mistake by not completing a test clean when I came round to do the survey. As it turns out it wasn’t just tile adhesive on the quarry tiles but there was also a large section of concrete that I can only assume had been used to level the floor and fix the tiles.

I had no choice but to dig out the concrete and following that it would need replacing with self-levelling screed and replacement tiles. It took four painful days to remove the adhesive and rebuild the concreted section of flooring with replacement tiles.

Once done I was able to move on and deep clean the tiles with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary floor machine. The soiling was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum and the whole process was then repeated until I was satisfied with that the quarry tiles were clean.

Old Victorian Red Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Gloucester

Sealing a Victorian Red Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

I then left the floor to dry for 3 days and then return to seal with to a low satin finish using Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which works well on old Quarry tiles. Additionally it’s has a breathable formula which is important feature for an old floor like this one which won’t have a damp proof membrane fitted. Being breathable allows moisture to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface.

Old Victorian Red Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor After Restoration Gloucester

The customer was pleased with results despite the job taking 7 days, having only allowed 4 but the results were worth my hard work. Sometimes jobs do not go quite to plan, but as a Tile Doctor we are experienced at getting over any challenges we face.

For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a pH neutral cleaner that will keep the floor in tip top condition for the future and will ensure maintenance of this lovely feature is easy for them.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Red Quarry Tiled Kitchen in Gloucestershire

Original Quarry Tiled Floor Restored at a Victorian Property in Gloucester Read More »

Plaster Stained Victorian Hallway Floor Tile Renovation Stonehouse

Plaster Stained Victorian Tiled Hallway Renovated in Stonehouse

1 Comment / Stroud Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Malcolm Crowther

This client from the town of Stonehouse near Stroud contacted us about their Victorian tiled hallway following a recommendation by a neighbour. She wanted to get the floor renovated and had been struggling to find someone to complete the work. They had tried to clean the floor themselves but had little success and decided it was time to call in the experts.

Plaster Stained Victorian Hallway Floor Tiles Before Cleaning Stonehouse

The whole house was being renovated and unfortunately the contractor working on the hallway had not taken care to cover up the floor and it has subsequently become covered in all sorts of mess including a lot of plaster. I explained that it would not be an issue and was confident we could remove the plaster and renovate the floor back to health.

Happy with my quote we scheduled a date for our return which was following conclusion of the remaining renovation works.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Before starting the renovation of her floor, the first job was to cover the walls and skirting with masking film to protect the newly plastered walls from splashing during cleaning. Next and with a focus on removing the plaster a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go was sprayed onto the tiles and left it to dwell for 10 minutes. Then using a Black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary buffing machine the solution was scrubbed into to remove as much of the plaster and old coatings etc as possible. Once done the resultant slurry was vacuumed away using a wet extraction vacuum.

The next step was to treat the floor to an Acid Wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was left for 5 minutes and then worked in with a coarse 100-grit pad. This treatment has a lot of benefits for tiled floors and is great for removing old grout smears and other contaminates such as salt staining. The floor was then wet vacuumed again and the process repeated with a finer 200-grit pad.

After another wet vacuum to extract the slurry, the floor was rinsed with water and extracted again. The floor was then left for two days to allow it to fully dry off.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On our return the floor was tested with the damp meter to check it was dry. The moisture readings were good, so I was happy to go ahead with the sealing process.

I had discussed a desired finish with the customer earlier and as a result Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra was chosen. This is a modern product that provides high stain resistance and is perfect for a hallway. It has a low sheen finish so does not make the floor too shiny, but allows the lovely colour of the tiles to shine through. Two coats of sealer were applied leaving each one to dry before the next was applied.

Plaster Stained Victorian Hallway Floor Tiles After Renovation Stonehouse

My client was amazed how well it came up and delighted that the contractors had not ruined her floor! For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to maintain the floor going forward, this is an effective yet gentle tile cleaning product that won’t damage the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Gloucestershire

Plaster Stained Victorian Tiled Hallway Renovated in Stonehouse Read More »