tile restoration

Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration Bozeat

Quarry Tile Repairs and Restoration at a period cottage Bozeat

The following photos are of a Quarry tiled dining room floor in a period cottage located in the small village of Bozeat. My customer had removed a carpet and discovered them underneath, as you can see from the photographs however the tiles were in a poor state of repair. Undaunted the owner wanted to restore them as a lovely period feature and contacted Tile Doctor.

Quarry Tile Floor Before Restoration Bozeat Cottage Quarry Tile Floor Before Restoration Bozeat Cottage

I went over to survey the Quarry tiles and could see the floor had not faired well under the carpet over the years, several tiles were cracked and 40 to 50 tiles were loose and would needed resetting to stop them moving underfoot, especially in the high traffic areas. I discussed with them that Tile Doctor could repair the floor and clean it and would be able to restore in a few days. They were happy to go ahead with my quote and we arranged a mutually convenient time to carry the work out.

Cleaning and repairing a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

My first course of action was to deep clean the floors using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which is an alkaline cleaner. Working in small areas the Gel was worked in using a stiff brush on a rotary machine using a little water. As this process was completed in each area, I rinsed off the resulting slurry away with water and then extracted using a wet vacuum. The initial clean removed most of the black staining and paint spots which had occurred over the years, but more work was needed.

The next step was to apply Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to further clean up the tiles and tackle the cement residue and other staining. I used a repeat of the cleaning process and rinsed twice with plain water to ensure all traces of product were removed. The next step was to tackle the broken and loose tiles however it was now the end of day one, so after assessing the floor for all repairs required, I installed a portable dryer to aid drying and left for the day.

Quarry Tile Floor During Repair Bozeat Cottage Quarry Tile Floor During Repair Bozeat Cottage

The next day I returned to begin repairs starting by lifting all the loose tiles, working in one square metre sections at a time. Fortunately, my customer had already managed to obtain reclaimed tiles from a reclamation yard so that saved me a job. The colours matched with the originals; however, the reclaimed tiles were slightly larger than the originals and needed to be cut into shape as required. Working methodically, I re-laid the tiles on a fresh bed of screed and grouted them in to match the original floor as best possible.

Quarry Tile Floor During Repair Bozeat Cottage Quarry Tile Floor During Repair Bozeat Cottage

After the repairs were completed I allowed the floor to fully dry for four days, I needed the tiles dry and the newly laid adhesive and grout to set and bed in before the next step. Before leaving I gave my customer strict instructions not to walk over these areas whilst I was gone.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning later the following week, I first checked the floor was dry using a damp meter, once satisfied I was able to start the sealing process. The customer had requested a silk finish, however because of the age of the cottage and the possibility of damp in this old floor my choice of sealer was limited to those that are fully breathable.

Quarry Tile Floor After Restoration Bozeat Cottage

On this occasion I chose to apply several coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra, this product will allow the floor to breathe and provide the desired finish. It was a good decision, and as hoped it enhanced the appearance of the floor beautifully.

Quarry Tile Floor After Restoration Bozeat Cottage

My customer was very happy with the renovation and the transformed floor and left the following feedback:

“Friendly service, reasonably priced and a good standard of work. Has breathed new life into my old quarry tile floor.”

 

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Floor in Northamptonshire

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Kitchen Terracotta Floor Before After Renovation Moulton

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in Moulton

We were contacted by the owner of a property in Moulton with a problematic Terracotta tiled kitchen floor. She was seriously considering ripping up the entire area of tiling and replacing it as she was having a new kitchen installed. Both her and her husband were concerned that unless I could restore this floor to somewhere near to its original condition, they would need to replace it.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Restoration Moulton

I went over to inspect the Terracotta tiles and could see the entire surface was deeply ingrained with soiling and the grout lines were filthy. After carrying out a test it became obvious that the previous sealer had been applied very sparingly and had mostly worn away, leaving the stone prone to staining. Terracotta is a very porous tile and dirt had become ingrained in the pores leaving it looking very dull and difficult to clean.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Restoration Moulton

I completed the test on a small part of the floor and the customer could see the results which could be achieved. Happy with the result they agreed my quote and we set a date for my return to complete the floor.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

The tiles turned out to be made of a fairly soft Terracotta which meant that we were able to deep clean them extremely effectively using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. We used Tile Doctor Remove and Go in particularly stubborn areas.

The process I use is to spray the Pro-Clean onto the floor and leave it to soak in for about ten minutes before being worked in using a heavy rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The resulting slurry is removed using a wet pick up vacuum. All the dirt and virtually all of the old sealer was removed at this stage; the remaining patches around the edges of the area being finished by hand with a 200-grit burnishing block. The grout lines were then cleaned by hand with an angled grout brush.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor During Restoration Moulton Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor During Restoration Moulton

Finally, the deep-seated oil stains in front of the cooker were brought out using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which was left to dwell on the marks for an hour before being agitated with a diamond burnishing pad and rinsed away with a wet pick up machine. The floor was rinsed with water and allowed to dry off overnight.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor During Restoration Moulton

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

The following day I inspected the floor and checked it was ready to be sealed. All was well so I applied an initial coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that occupies the pores in the tile enhancing the natural colours of the Terracotta and provide a base layer of protection from staining.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Restoration Moulton

I returned at a convenient time once the kitchen was completely installed to finish the job. This involves carrying out a light maintenance clean with Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner and once the floor was dry, I applied 5 further coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which provides a pleasing satin finish which is really suited to this type of floor.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Restoration Moulton

The customer was very happy with the results and has left the following feedback.

“We were really pleased with the results, thank you!”

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Restoration Moulton

 

Professional Restoration of a Terracotta Floor in Northamptonshire

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Chinese Slate Tile Sealing Lounge

Cleaning and Sealing Chinese Slate Floor in Kingsthorpe

On this page you will find a good selection of photographs taken during the cleaning and sealing of a Chinese Slate tiled floor in the village of Kingsthorpe, Northampton. The floor had been installed in the kitchen and the lounge and both the slate and the grout was in need of a deep clean.

Chinese Slate Tile Before Kitchen

Cleaning Chinese Slate Tiles

The first thing we do is to protect anything that can’t by moved by wrapping it in a plastic sheet once this was done we set about scrubbing the slate tiled floor with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and a rotary machine fitted with a black pad, we used a grout brush to clean out the grout lines and then rinsed the floor thoroughly with clean water.

Chinese Slate Tile Cleaning Kitchen Chinese Slate Tile Cleaning Lounge

It’s not until the floor has been washed down that you can spot any stubborn or missed areas so it’s not usual to have to repeat this process until a satisfactory result is obtained. We had both the kitchen and lounge to do and this took most of the day, before leaving for the evening we switched on an air blower to help the floor to dry.

Chinese Slate Tile Lounge Drying

Sealing the Slate Tiled Floor

We came back the next day and checked the floor was dry, fortunately the air blower had done its job and we were able to get on with the sealing the floor.

To seal the floor five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were applied using a paint pad applicator. Seal and Go is recommended for Slate tiles and provides good stain protection with a low sheen finish that really does bring the floor alive.

Chinese Slate Tile Sealing Lounge Chinese Slate Tile Lounge After

 

Cleaning and Sealing a Slate Tiled Floor in Northamptonshire

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