Remove and Go Archives - Gloucester Tile Doctor

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovation Dursley

Deep Cleaning and Burnishing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Dursley

Travertine is a beautiful and characterful natural stone however like all natural stone it does need maintaining and this Kitchen floor in Dursley was no exception. The tiles were installed twenty years ago, and it had been some time since it was last cleaned and sealed. The sealer had now worn off and dirt had become lodged in the pores of the stone turning some of the natural pits black and unsightly.

I’m based in Dusley, so it wasn’t long before I was able to pay the owner of the house a visit and survey the floor. I’ve maintained numerous Travertine floors over the years, so I quickly recognised the problems and was able to come up with a plan to deep clean the stone, restore its appearance and renew the sealer.

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Dursley

After taking measurements, I was able to calculate the quantiles of products needed to do the work and provided the owner with a detailed quote for the renovation work which was accepted.

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Dursley

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Dursley

Before starting I applied masking film and tape to the kitchen units to protect them during the cleaning process. MDF is well known for absorbing moisture and can be ruined so I always take time to do this.

The floor was then burnished using a set of burnishing pads of different grits. I covered this in detail in other posts on my website by essentially this involves applying diamond encrusted pads to the stone. The process starts with a coarse 400-grit, and you move up through the grits to 800 and 1500. Only water is used to lubricate the process and the slurry generated is rinsed off and extracted afterwards with a wet vacuum.

The grout lines were then cleaned with Tile Doctor Remove and Go scrubbed in with a stiff brush. Once I was happy the grout was as clean as it could be the soiling was extracted with the wet vacuum, and I left the floor to dry out overnight. The owners still needed access to the kitchen so I left dust sheets over the floor so they could move around as normal.

Sealing Travertine Kitchen Floor Dursley

On my return the next day I applied the last of the burnishing pads which is an extra fine 3500-grit pad really bring up the polish on the stone. This pad is applied dry with a little water sprayed onto the stone using a method we call a Spray Burnish.

The owners wanted a natural look to the Travertine so they floor was then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal. This is an almost invisible sealer that will prevent dirt from becoming lodged in the pores of the stone thereby keeping it on the surface where it can be easily removed with regular cleaning. The floor was left to dry and then buffed with a soft white buffing pad to bring up the finish.

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor After Renovation Dursley

My clients were very pleased with their renovated Travertine floor, it looked so much cleaner and healthier. For aftercare I advised them to use Tile Doctor Stone Soap, it’s a gentle but effective stone cleaner that won’t impact the sealer which can be the problem with stronger supermarket cleaners.

Restoring the Appearance of Travertine Floor Tiles in Gloucestershire

Deep Cleaning and Burnishing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor 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 »