Kitchen Floor Archives - Northamptonshire Tile Doctor

Travertine Tiled Hallway and Kitchen Floor Renovated Welton Daventry

Dirty Tumbled Travertine Floor Renovated in Welton near Daventry

1 Comment / Daventry Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Philip Vissian / Burnishing Pads, Daventry, Honed Stone, Kitchen Floor, northamptonshire, Polishing Travertine, Pro-Clean, Sealing Travertine, Stone Soap, tile cleaning, Travertine Renovation, Tumbled Travertine, Ultra-Seal, welton

This is a Tumbled Travertine floor with a Honed finish that was installed some years prior in the hallway and kitchen of a house in the village of Welton near Daventry. Kitchens and hallways have the highest foot traffic of any room in a house and without regular maintenance the sealer started to wear down allowing dirt and staining to reach the pores of the tile and grout lines. Travertine is known for its small depressions known as pitting and without the protection of the sealer those areas became heavily soiled. The grout had also darkened with ingrained dirt turning what was a light grey colour into a contrasting black.

Tumbled Honed Travertine Welton Before Cleaning

After visiting the property and surveying the floor I recommended burnishing the floor with a set of abrasive pads to remove the dirt and then resealing with a more durable product. To prove my point, I ran a small test clean on the floor so they could see the potential difference this could make. Happy with the result they asked for a quote which was accepted, and the job was booked in.

Cleaning a Tumbled Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

I started the cleaning process by sweeping and vacuuming the floor to remove any grit and other debris. Then it was cleaned with a 3:1 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, spraying it onto the floor and allowing it to dwell and make a start breaking down the soiling. The product was then worked into the floor using a stiff brush paying particular attention to the pitted areas and along the grout lines to get them clean. This was followed by rinsing the floor with more water and extracting the soiling with a wet pick-up machine.

The next step was to use the burnishing pad system starting with the coarse pad fitted to a rotary machine and worked into the tiles with a small amount of water for lubrication. The set of pads come in various grits and are actually made from industrial diamonds.

This first 400-grit pad cleans the tiles and removes any remaining sealant that may have been present on the tiles. This was continued with the finer 800-grit pad, again using nothing but water and then rinsing the floor of any slurry generated by the process after each pad.

When the floor had dried, I applied a fine 1500-grit pad to bring up the polish on the Travertine until it had a silky honed finish. There is a fourth 3000-grit pad in the system that brings up the polish even further to achieve a high shine finish, but my client didn’t want that look.

Tumbled Honed Travertine Welton During Cleaning

Sealing a Tumbled Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

To protect the travertine, it was sealed using three coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal sealant which is an impregnating invisible sealer resulting in a very natural finish. Once dry the floor was buffed using a soft white buffing pad.

Tumbled Honed Travertine Welton After Cleaning

You can see from the photos how much cleaner and lighter the Travertine tiles look and that the light grey colour of the grout has been restored. The new sealer will make it much easier to maintain now and with the correct cleaning regime in place the sealer should last a long time. My client was very happy with the work and left the following feedback for me:

“Really happy with our new floor. The service was professional and thorough – definitely worth the money.”

For the regular cleaning of a floor like this I recommend Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a mild cleaning product that’s designed for use on sealed and polished stone. You must be especially careful when choosing a cleaning product for sealed tiles as many of the products you find in supermarkets are simply too strong and can degrade the sealer prematurely.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Floor in Northamptonshire

Dirty Tumbled Travertine Floor Renovated in Welton near Daventry Read More »

Travertine Tiled Floor Before After Renovation Brixworth

Travertine Floor Tiles Repaired and Polished in Old Near Brixworth

1 Comment / Northampton Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Philip Vissian / Brixworth, Filling Holes, grout cleaning, Kitchen Floor, northamptonshire, Pitted Travertine, Polished Travertine, Sealing Travertine, Stone Polishing, tile cleaning, Travertine Floor

Polished Travertine is a popular tile which can look stunning, however without the correct maintenance regime in place it can soon turn dull and flat as my customer in the small village of Old near Brixworth discovered. In this case they had 40m2 of Travertine tiling installed in the living room and breakfast room which in particular had become dull, sticky, and hard to clean. On top of that a couple of holes had appeared in the main kitchen walkway areas which was causing concern.

Polished Travertine Kitchen Floor Before Renovation Brixworth

I visited the property to carry out a site survey and conduct a test clean on the stained areas. My customer was relieved to see how well the grout and staining responded to the cleaning and we moved on to discuss how to repairs the holes. We see this a lot with Travertine where natural holes or pitting are usually filed with a resin before being sold but the problem can be exacerbated with the use of acidic cleaning products. Holes also trap dirt which can accumulates quickly as dirt is washed into the holes during cleaning detracting from the appearance of the stone.

To resolve I planned on filling the holes with a resin and then re-polishing the floor to make it blend in. A quote was issued via e mail which was accepted, and a date booked in the diary for work to be carried.

Cleaning and Restoring Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On the day I arrived the customer had prepared the work area by removing all small items of furniture. My first step was to brush and vacuum the area to remove any loose debris. I then sprayed the floor with a dilution of Tile doctor Pro-Clean focusing on the heavily soiled areas and grout lines throughout the breakfast area and then left to soak in for ten minutes. After scrubbing the grout with a grout brush the area was rinsed with a small amount of water and the area dried using a wet vacuum. This process was then repeated in the kitchen.

Tile Doctor has found the best way to renovate polished stone is to use a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads to hone the stone and build back the polish. Usually this involved applying a set of for or five pads of different grits depending on the severity of soiling and any surface scratches. I started with the coarsest grit and worked through in sequence to the finer grits to achieve a polished finish. Water is used to lubricate the process and the floor is rinsed and extracted between pads.

Once this process was completed, I dried the damaged tiles with a heat gun so I could fill them. I mixed a resin that closely matched the white and brown colours of the Travertine and filled in the holes, smoothing, and polishing with handheld diamond blocks to achieve a smooth finish.

Polished Travertine Kitchen Floor After Renovation Brixworth

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

When we returned the next day, the floor had dried, and I was able to give the floor a final polish with a very fine 3000-grit burnishing pad applied with a little water sprayed onto the tile. Finally, the floor was then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which provides excellent protection without changing the colour of the stone to provide a natural look.

Last step was to provide some advice on how to maintain the floor going forward for which I recommend Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for cleaning polished stone floors. The client was over the moon with the outcome and surprised at the improvement, they also left the following review for me which is always a nice surprise.

Fantastic work, my floor looks wonderful it didn’t look this good when it was laid thirteen years ago, I will definitely look after the travertine now and have the floor cleaned and resealed every year.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Northamptonshire

Travertine Floor Tiles Repaired and Polished in Old Near Brixworth Read More »

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor Before and After Restoration Broughton

Quarry Tiled Floor Restored Following Cottage Remodel in Broughton Village

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Kettering Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Philip Vissian / 16th Century, Broughton, floor restoration, grout cleaning, kettering, Kitchen Floor, northamptonshire, quarry tile, Quarry tiled cleaning, Quarry tiled sealing, reclaimed tiles, Replacement Tiles

The following photos are from a 16th Century cottage in the village of Broughton near Kettering which was undergoing major restoration works. The Quarry tiled floor was not as old as the house and was probably installed in the Victorian era. The clients wanted the floor restoring before the plastering of walls and new kitchen was installed. There was also a section where a pantry wall had been removed with tiles missing, so these needed to be replaced with reclaimed tiles that the customer had sourced.

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration Broughto Cottage

I visited site to look at the project, survey the Quarry tiled floor and give them a firm price for the work. I was confident that we could replace the tiles and we could blend the area in to match the existing. Once the floor had a good clean and seal it would look a lot better.

With the quotation agreed I arranged a date where I would have sole access to the property which is always preferred as it means you do not have anyone walking through whilst your cleaning. This also has the added advantage of not having to take precautions over social distancing.

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration Broughto Cottage

Restoring a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

On the first day on site I carried out the replacement of the missing tiles. This work started by cleaning up the holes in the floor left by the now removed wall and getting the base level and ready for tiling. Next the reclaimed tiles we cut down to fit the shape left by the wall to match the existing tiling. The fit needed to be exact as any mismatch would show later. Once I was happy with the cuts the tiles were fixed in place with rapid set adhesive and once that had set were grouted in place. The next step would be to give the floor a deep clean, so it was left to dry off overnight.

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Broughto Cottage

The next day with the tile adhesive and grout having gone off overnight I was able to start the cleaning process. Working in sections I began by applying Tile Doctor Oxy Gel to the tile and grout with a little water, leaving it to soak in for ten minutes and then working it into the tiles using a 17 inch rotary scrubbing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. A stiff brush was also used along the grout lines to make sure they were equally treated. After scrubbing the now soiled solution was vacuumed off with an industrial wet vac and repeated the process until the entire area had been cleaned.

Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up was then applied using a 1:10 dilution with water. It was mopped it over the entire area to neutralise the tile and remove any grout smears, hazing and mineral deposits which are quite common with floors of this age. The entire area was then given a good rinse with clean water to remove any trace of cleaning product. An industrial fan was also installed and left on site to assist with the drying process until we returned a week later. This would ensure the floor would be bone dry for our return and ready to accept a sealer.

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Broughto Cottage

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

Returning the following week, I tested the moisture levels in the tiles with a damp meter. I was conscious that due to the age of the tiles there may be some inherent damp however my plan had worked, and the tests confirmed the floor was indeed dry and ready for sealing.

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Broughto Cottage

The client required a silk finish so I opted to apply several coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra which would provide the required finish yet is breathable and so will not impeded moisture rising through the floor allowing it to evaporate and not become trapped. This is an important consideration when choosing a sealer for an old floor which don’t have a damp proof membrane installed as trapping moisture under the floor can lead to it reaching out to the walls where it can result in rising damp.

The client was extremely happy with the results and has left the following comments on our feedback page.

“Phil was great. On time and a good worker. Gave good advice and carried out all the work thoroughly. The tiles are now looking much better. Very happy. By Peter B, Kettering”

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration Broughto Cottage

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor in Northamptonshire

Quarry Tiled Floor Restored Following Cottage Remodel in Broughton Village Read More »

Limestone Tiled Floor Before After Cleaning and polishing Yelvertoft

12-Year-Old Limestone Floor Renovation in Yelvertoft

1 Comment / Daventry Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Philip Vissian / Daventry, Hallway tiles, Honing Limestone Tiles, Kitchen Floor, Limestone Cleaning, northamptonshire, Polishing Limestone, Stone Renovation, Yelvertoft

I was called in to look at this Limestone tiled kitchen and hallway floor that had been installed 12 years prior at a small cottage in Yelvertoft. Yelvertoft is a small village with a population of less than a 1000 people near Daventry, with the Grand Union Canal passing close by.

I always like to do a site visit to survey the floor before recommending a solution, photographs help but you can never be certain until you have had chance to run some tests and discussed the history of the floor with the owner. As it turns out the stone had not been professionally cleaned and sealed since it was installed and was now in a bad state. So much so that my client was concerned it was beyond restoration and had considered replacing the floor.

Limestone Kitchen Floor Before Renovation Yelvertoft

I carried out a cleaning test on a small area and although it was very badly soiled, I found the Limestone responded well to our cleaning processes. The client was quite surprised as they had almost given up on it! We discussed the process involved, which would take two days and worked out a cost for the works. Confident I would do the job well my quote was accepted, and a date set for my return.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Kitchen and Hallway Floor

Arriving on the first day, we noted that there was a fairly new oak stairway and beam that had been fitted. I protected these and the kitchen units with a protective wrap to prevent any splashes from the cleaning process.

To restore the appearance of the Limestone I started with the application of a set of Tile Doctor Burnishing pads beginning with a very coarse 200-grit pad instead of the usual 400-grit. I reasoned that with the Stone being in such bad condition it could benefit from the coarser pad which gives a very deep clean, removing light and medium scratches by resurfacing the top of the tile. The pads are applied with water to lubricate and the fine slurry generated is rinsed off afterwards with more water and then extracted with a wet vacuum. After applying the 200-grit pad this process is repeated with increasingly higher grit pads to further hone the stone and eventually finishing with a very fine 3000 grit pad to achieve a polished finish.

Once I was satisfied with the Limestone tiles a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and Grout Clean-Up was used to remove the stubborn staining from the grout lines. The floor was given a final rinse and extraction and you could see a huge improvement in the floor which looked lighter and much cleaner.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen and Hallway Floor

I allowed the floors to dry off overnight and returned the next day to apply a sealer first checking for moisture with a damp meter to ensure the floor was dry and ready for sealing.

To seal the Limestone, I chose Tile Doctor Ultra Seal Sealant which is a no-sheen, natural-look, penetrating sealer that is formulated to provide maximum stain protection, especially in food preparation areas like the kitchen. It is also an excellent grout sealer, but mainly it gives a lovely natural finish allowing the variations in the natural Limestone to shine through.

Limestone Kitchen Floor After Renovation Yelvertoft

The pictures and clients’ testimonial really do speak for themselves; I was really pleased that she was so satisfied with the result and had saved a fortune in relaying the floor.

“I was about to replace my Limestone 12 year old floor … then Phil the Tile Doctor worked his magic… I now have a good as new lovely floor, I am absolutely delighted. Thanks, so much Phil.” Louise O, Yelvertoft

Limestone Tiled Floor Professionally Cleaned and Polished in Northamptonshire

12-Year-Old Limestone Floor Renovation in Yelvertoft Read More »

Terracotta Tiles Before After Deep Cleaning and Sealing Maidford

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated at a Maidford Cottage

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Towcester Tile Cleaning, Work History / Philip Vissian / Cottage Floor, grout cleaning, Kitchen Floor, Maidford, northamptonshire, Stripping Terracotta, tile cleaning, Towcester, Wax Removal

This Terracotta tiled floor was installed in the kitchen of a cottage in the small village of Maidford near Towcester. The tiles were not looking their best and the owner of the property realised it was time to do something about it and contacted Tile Doctor to have the floor stripped and resealed. Stripping and Sealing tile and stone floors is our bread and butter so I was more than happy to pop round and survey the floor which was approximately 9m2.

The grout had darkened with dirt and the previous tile sealer was failing so dirt was now getting ingrained in the Terracotta making it difficult to clean in places and leading to a patchy appearance. We discussed the work involved, my quote was accepted, and a date agreed for me to return and complete the work which would take two days, one to clean and one to seal.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Maidford

Stripping Terracotta Kitchen Floor Tiles

After tidying up the Kitchen and removing the kickboards from underneath the kitchen units I set about working on cleaning and stripping the Terracotta floor of old sealers. To start I tested a small area with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Wax Away. Wax was quite often used on Terracotta so I figured this product would be a good place to start. My suspicions were proved correct, and I found this to be the best product for removing the many layers of sealant on the floor. Wax Away is a new alkaline product by Tile Doctor and ideal for cleaning clay-based tiles such as Terracotta.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Maidford

With my sights set on the rest of the floor Wax Away was scrubbed into the tile using a 17” rotary floor scrubbing machine and a black scrubbing pad running on a slow speed which helps to reduce splashing. This activity soon brought the dirt off the floor and the soiled cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor was rinsed down with clean water. The cleaning process was repeated a couple of times until I was happy with the floor, a stiff hand brush was then used along the grout lines with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to clean up the grout.

After rinsing and extracting the floor again the floor was inspected, and I noticed there were a few stubborn paint splashes on the tiles. I managed to remove these and these by spot treating the affected area with Tile Doctor Remove and Go and a steamer to lift the stain out of the clay tile. Once happy the floor was clean it was given a thorough rinse to neutralise it and remove any trace of cleaning products and then left it to dry.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Maidford

Sealing Terracotta Floor Tiles

I allowed the floor to dry for several days before returning to seal the Terracotta using numerous coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is an ideal sealer for Terracotta and provides durable stain protection together with a low sheen finish. Terracotta is by its nature very porous and so it’s not unknown for it to take up to nine coats of sealer, which can take some time to apply as like paint you have to wait until it’s dry before it will take the next coat.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor During Sealing Maidford

The customer was so impressed by the results I achieved in their kitchen they decided to go ahead and book me in to carry out this process throughout the whole of the ground floor which included lounge, study and hallway.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Sealing Maidford

Renovating a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in Northamptonshire

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated at a Maidford Cottage Read More »

Pitted Travertine Floor Tiles Before After Renovation Weston Favell

Pitted Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles Filled and Polished in Weston Favell

1 Comment / Northampton Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work History / Philip Vissian / Kitchen Floor, northamptonshire, Pitted Travertine, Polished Travertine Tiles, Stone Polishing, tile cleaning, Weston Favell

Travertine floor tiles are very appealing and very hardwearing, but without the protection of a sealer to stop dirt becoming ingrained in the pores of the stone their appearance will degrade. Fortunately, this can be remedied as demonstrated in these pictures of a Travertine floor I recently polished at a house in Weston Favell, Northampton.

Travertine Tiled Floor Weston Favell Before Polishing

This owner of the property had called me out as their kitchen floor was looking very sorry for itself and he was concerned that a lot of holes were appearing which was making cleaning the floor difficult as dirt was getting trapped in the holes. I went over and carried out a test clean on two separate tiles in the kitchen and the customer was amazed at how clean they came up and especially the grout.

The kitchen was stunning, but unfortunately the state of the Travertine tiled floor was bringing down its overall appearance. Impressed with the test clean they were keen to get the whole floor renovated so we agreed a price and I scheduled the work in for the following month.

Cleaning and Restoring Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

I returned on the agreed data and made a start by protecting the kitchen units by removing the plinths and covering base units and the appliances with a protective film. We then commenced the cleaning process to remove surface dirt by cleaning with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean paying special attention to the grout lines. The holes in the Travertine were filled with a stone resin, mixing it to closely match the colours of the stone.

The resin was allowed to dry before starting to re-polish the Travertine using a set of Tile Doctor Diamond encrusted burnishing pads. These pads are applied individually to each tile in sequence starting with a coarse 400-grit pad before moving onto the 800-grit and finishing with the fine 1500 grit pad. A little water is used to lubricate the process along the way and the floor is rinsed in between each pad with the resulting residue extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum. The process takes some time, but it really brings up the polished appearance of the stone and the results are well worth the effort. After a final rinse the floor was inspected and then left to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

When we returned the next day, the floor had dried, and we were able to give the floor a final polish with a very fine 3000-grit burnishing pad applied with a little water sprayed onto the tile. Finally, the floor was then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which provides excellent protection without changing the colour of the stone to provide a natural look.

Travertine Tiled Floor Weston Favell After Polishing

The client was over the moon with the outcome and surprised at the improvement. They were left with a floor that would be easy to clean and maintain.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Northamptonshire

Pitted Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles Filled and Polished in Weston Favell Read More »

Honed Limestone Kitchen Floor Restoration – Upper Boddington, Daventry

1 Comment / Daventry Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Philip Vissian / Daventry, hallway, Honed Limestone, Kitchen Floor, Limestone Restoration, northamptonshire, Stone Polishing, tile cleaning, timber framed house, Upper Boddington

The following photos show a recent job we undertook at a timber framed house in the village of Upper Boddington, just south of Daventry. The client was having a new kitchen installed but didn’t want to replace the floor as it was generally in good condition, just dull with some staining and general wear and tear.

As the photos show the kitchen units had already been removed and as the tiles were wall to wall this was an ideal time to have this work carried out as the kitchen was being reconfigured and the customer wanted the floor to look uniform throughout, we also included the hallway in the cleaning process.

Honed Limestone Floor Before Restoration Upper Boddington

Burnishing and Cleaning Polished Limestone Tiles

With tiles made of Limestone, Travertine, Marble and other high quality polished stone, we find that the best way to restore appearance is through a process known as burnishing and in the before photo you will see the specialised grinding and polishing equipment we use to achieve brilliant results and a professional finish.

As the tiles were worn and stained in the high traffic areas we applied Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which had been diluted and decanted into a pump-up sprayer. After leaving it to soak in for ten minutes it was scrubbed into the tile and grout using a rotary floor machine and a stiff brush. This was followed by washing and rinsing of floors with water and extracting the soil with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to apply a full set of Tile Doctor Stone Burnishing pads from 200 grit, 400 grit, 800 grit and finishing with 1500 grit for a honed look. We worked through the pads in 10 metre sections at a time lubricating with water and rinsing with water between each pad.

The kitchen and hallway floors were then allowed to dry out fully overnight.

Sealing Polished Limestone Tiles

The next day I returned to the property and completed the polishing process by applying the very fine 3000 grit burnishing pad with a little water and leaves a high shine finish.

The floor was then sealed with three coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal, which is a premium, natural look, impregnating sealer designed to provide maximum stain protection without altering the colour of the stone. The sealer takes an hour to dry and with three coats to apply it took most of the day to finish.

Honed Limestone Floor After Restoration Upper Boddington

The customer was happy with the results and left the following 5-star review on our site.

“Superb Service Chris P, Daventry”

Professional Cleaning, Polishing and Sealing of a Honed Limestone Floor in Northamptonshire

Honed Limestone Kitchen Floor Restoration – Upper Boddington, Daventry Read More »