Quarry Tile Restoration Archives - Gloucester Tile Doctor

Old Victorian Red Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Restoration Gloucester

Original Quarry Tiled Floor Restored at a Victorian Property in Gloucester

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 »

Quarry Tiled Floor Before After Vinyl Removal Filton

Restoring Quarry Tiles Hidden Under Vinyl Flooring in Filton

1 Comment / Filton Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History / Malcolm Crowther

This client who lives in Filton had been informed by the previous owner of his property that there was a Quarry tiled floor in the Kitchen but it had been covered up with stone effect Vinyl flooring. Keen to have it removed and have the original Quarry tiles brought back to life we were contacted to see if it could be done.

I visited the property to survey the floor and work out a plan for the restoration. The lino was heavily stuck in place with about 5mm of adhesive so I could see this was going to be no easy restoration. It would be necessary to remove, the floor, adhesive compound and cement beneath it.

Lino Covered Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Restoration in Filton

I discussed the project with the client the project, explaining it was difficult to ascertain how long it would take but anticipated it would be around three days. The process would involve stripping off the Vinyl tiles, removing the adhesive, deep cleaning the Quarry tiles and the apply a sealer to protect them. The client agreed my quote and we arranged a convenient date to return to make a start.

Stripping Stone Effect Vinyl from a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

After removing the kickboards from underneath, the kitchen units, and taping up the surrounding areas to protect them, I set about restoring the floor. I used a variety of different methods to remove the adhesive compound and cement but mainly hand tools and hard labour! After three long days we had managed to remove the Vinyl and one once all adhesive was removed it was starting to look like a Quarry tiled floor. It was actually quite rewarding to see the Quarry tiles emerge as we progressed.

Lino Covered Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor During Restoration in Filton

Once the Quarry tiled floor was fully exposed, I applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was worked in using a large buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The soil was rinsed off with water and the waste extracted with a wet vacuum. I repeated this procedure until I was satisfied the floor was as clear of old adhesives and residue and as clean as possible. Actually, we had uncovered a really nice-looking floor, which considering the covering was generally in good condition. The floor was left for a few days to ensure it was totally dry, ready for the sealing process.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

We used a lot of water during the cleaning process, so I left the floor to try out for two days before returning to apply the sealer. I had chosen to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow for the sealer; it leaves a matt finish whilst intensifying the natural colours in the tile. It works by occupying the pores in the tile thus preventing dirt from becoming trapped resulting in durable protection. It also allows the surface to breathe which is important on a floor of this age. We applied 2 coats to the tiles allowing each to dry before applying the next, the lovely colours of the floor were now enhanced.

Lino Covered Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor After Restoration in Filton

Our client was amazed at the results and so happy they were finally rid of the old lino which was passed its best. For aftercare I recommended they should use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is designed for cleaning sealed tile and stone.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen in Gloucestershire

Restoring Quarry Tiles Hidden Under Vinyl Flooring in Filton Read More »

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Before and After Restoration in Cheltenham

Poorly Maintained Kitchen Quarry Tiles Rejuvenated in Cheltenham

1 Comment / Cheltenham Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History / Malcolm Crowther

It’s often quite surprising what condition we find some tiles in when were asked to come out and survey the floor. Case in point being this Quarry tiled kitchen floor I was asked to look at by a customer in Cheltenham, which as you may know is particularly famous for its racecourse and the top-secret GCHQ.

Upon arrival at the property, I found that the floor was not in great condition. For some reason, it had been painted over with red tile paint and then covered with a wax coating which was easily scratched. To Make the situation worse, there were around 20 tiles in the floor with holes in them that had simply been filled with concrete.

Quarry Tiled Floor Cheltenham Before Removing Paint

Clearly, the tiles had not been maintained properly in the past but fortunately the current owner of the property who was keen to have them restored had called in Tile Doctor and after a demonstration clean I was booked to come back and correct the numerous issues.

Cleaning a Damaged Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

On the first day of the restoration, I started by applying a solution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go across the entire floor and leaving the product to dwell for around 30 minutes. Remove and Go is a powerful stripper designed to loosen paint splashes, adhesive stains and many types of urethane and wax coatings so that they can be easily removed.

After leaving the product to dwell, I could use a handheld scrapper to simply remove the wax coating and layer of paint on the floor. This process took about half a day; during the second half of the day, I spent my time removing the damaged tiles and replacing them with new Quarry tiles that had been sourced to match nicely with the existing floor.

On the second day, any stubborn paint splashes remaining were re-treated and I subsequently deep cleaned the floor using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. This strong alkaline cleaning product was worked into the tiles using a 17-inch scrubbing pad fitted to a specialised rotary machine. The resultant soil was extracted off the floor using a wet vacuum and given a rinse with water to neutralise the floor. The wet vacuum was used again to remove the water and extract as much moisture from the tiles as possible to improve the drying time.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

Once the deep clean had been completed, I left the floor dry for two days to allow sufficient time for it to dry thoroughly. Upon returning to the property, I ran a damp test to see if the tiles were dry enough to be sealed. To my surprise, the floor recorded only around 4% moisture even though the property is relatively old and is unlikely to have a damp proof membrane installed.

Nonetheless, this meant I could seal the floor. I did this by using a single coat of our impregnating, colour-intensifying sealer known as Tile Doctor Colour Grow, followed by three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go, a water based sealer which provides a high-quality satin finish.

Quarry Tiled Floor Cheltenham After Cleaning and Sealing

The deep clean, combined with the application of two different sealers, really helped to give these Quarry tiles a new lease of life. The customer was very happy indeed – in fact, had this been an exam, I’m certain I would’ve received top marks and it was certainly a major improvement on how they were before.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor in Gloucestershire

Poorly Maintained Kitchen Quarry Tiles Rejuvenated in Cheltenham Read More »