stone effect Vinyl Archives - Gloucester Tile Doctor

Terracotta Kitchen Floor Renovation Dursley

Maintaining a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in Dursley

A homeowner in my local town of Dursley got in touch about their Terracotta tiled kitchen floor. The tiles had become dull and lost had lost their appeal, unhappy with the way it looked they booked me into to pop round and take a look.

Being so local it wasn’t long before I was able to pay them a visit and survey the floor. Whilst there I conducted a cleaning test to work out which products would work the best and they were surprised about how well it came up.

Terracotta Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Dursley

I diagnosed that the sealer on the Terracotta had been worn away and was not allowing dirt to become ingrained in the tile. I worked out a quote for deep cleaning the tile and then re-sealing it, which they were happy with and I was booked into to do the whole floor.

Deep Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

Prior to my arrival I had worked out which products I would need to renovate the floor and they ordered these directly from Tile Doctor so everything would be ready for work to start.

A lot of water is used during the cleaning process so before starting work protective tape was applied to all the kitchen units and adjacent carpets covered with dust sheets. Then to get the tiles clean a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the tiles and left to soak in for fifteen minutes, this gives it time to break down the soils. The floor was then scrubbed with a Black pad fitted to a rotary machine, to lift the dirt out of the tiles. The grout lines were also cleaned using more Pro-Clean and a stiff brush.

The soils were then rinsed off with more water and extracted with a wet vacuum twice but I moved onto giving the floor an acid rinse. This is done with a dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is brushed into the floor and then extracted. This is a further step to clean the floor but it also neutralises the floor after the use of Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline cleaner.

After another rinse the floor was dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum and then dried with air blowers prior to covering with dust sheets. The floor needed time to dry out so this will keep the floor clean before I return to apply the sealer.

Terracotta Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Dursley

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

A lot of water was used during the cleaning process and Terracotta is notoriously porous so I left the floor to dry out for three days before returning. The dust sheets were removed and the floor given a sweep before starting on the application of the sealer.

Having discussed choice of sealer with the customer earlier we chosen Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra to seal the floor with, it works really well on Terracotta and adds a nice subtle sheen to the tile. As mentioned, Terracotta is very porous so it took the application of seven coats before I was satisfied the tiles were fully sealed.

Terracotta Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Sealing Dursley

My customer was delighted with the result and commented it looked like a new floor. I certainly thought so; however, my pictures were not the best this time round and don’t really do the floor justice.

For aftercare I recommended they should use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective cleaner that’s sealer safe and designed for cleaning sealed tile and stone.

Professional Renovation of a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen in Gloucestershire

Maintaining a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in Dursley Read More »

Restoring Quarry Tiles Hidden Under Vinyl Flooring in Filton

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.

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