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Black and Red Quarry Tiled Dining Room Before and After Sealing in Shrewsbury

Victorian and Quarry Tiled Floors Restored in Shrewsbury

Details below of a red and black Quarry tiled floor at a house belonging to a customer in the Shropshire market town of Shrewsbury, which dates back to medieval times. The owner had recently moved back to the area and purchased the house with the intention of restoring all its original features including the Quarry tiles floor which had several coats of red floor paint and had been covered with carpet for several years, I guess the previous owner wasn’t sure what else to do with it.

Black and Red Quarry Tiled Dining Room Before Cleaning in Shrewsbury
I was also asked to refurbish the Victorian Tiled hallway and porch which was in an equally neglected state.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Cleaning in Shrewsbury
Naturally this is exactly the sort of thing we do so I was confident the floor could be significantly improved with our assistance and after popping round to take I look provided a quote although due to other priorities it was a whole year later before I was asked to come and do the job.

Black and Red Quarry Tiled Dining Room Before Cleaning in Shrewsbury

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Floor

There was cement based building residue, plaster and efflorescence on the floor so I decided to treat the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left to soak into the tiles for a while before being scrubbed in using a rotary machine fitted with a black pad; the resultant slurry was washed away using more water and a wet vacuum.

The whole process was repeated until I was satisfied that any stubborn areas had been dealt with and then the floor given an acid wash with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up to remove the efflorescence.

Once I was happy with the condition it was given a final rinse to remove any trace of cleaning products and then left to dry for four days.

Sealing a Quarry Floor Sealing

The tiles have to be dry before sealing and after testing the floor with a damp meter I confirmed that four days has been sufficient and the floor was indeed dry. The next step was to apply three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that occupies the pores in the tile and enhances the natural colour of the tiles in the process.

Black and Red Quarry Tiled Dining Room After Sealing in Shrewsbury
I was able to use the same cleaning and sealing process on both floors and I think you will agree it made quite a difference and both floors have been transformed.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Cleaning in Shrewsbury
 

Quarry and Victorian Floor Tile restoration in Shropshire

Victorian and Quarry Tiled Floors Restored in Shrewsbury Read More »

Marble tiled floor after restoration in Albrighton

Marble Tiled Floor Restoration in Albrighton

For this job I travelled to the town of Albrighton, which is actually the most easterly settlement in the whole of Shropshire. My client had an issue with their Marble tiled floor which was installed in the kitchen and hallway. They had dropped and broke a bottle of vinegar in the kitchen, and the substance unfortunately came in contact with the tiles. Since Marble is highly sensitive to acid, the vinegar (an acetic acid) had basically etched the surface of the tiles make it impossible clean chemically.

Marble tiled floor before restoration in Albrighton
Although the tiles were a nice, expensive Marble, the person who had first installed them had done a poor job, leaving lippage of up to 5mm in some areas, which would make work trickier. Undeterred I could see it would be possible to restore the floor using a combination of burnishing for the tiles and cleaning with a high alkaline product for the grout lines. I demonstrated this to my client on one tile which went well and I was then given the go ahead to restore the entire floor.

Marble tiled floor before restoration in Albrighton

Cleaning and burnishing acid damaged Marble tiles

My first task focused on cleaning the grout lines using a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in with a stiff grout brush. Pro-Clean is a high alkaline cleaner suitable for use on most types of natural stone floor. It helped to alleviate most of the grout staining caused by the vinegar, whilst also lifting out any ingrained dirt and muck, and this left the grout looking a lot cleaner.

After cleaning the grout lines I was able to move on to burnishing the tiles. As previously mentioned, no chemical product would be able to have an effect on the damaged tiles, so I resolved to burnish them using a system of four diamond encrusted burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine. Working first with a coarse burnishing pad, and moving through to medium, fine and very fine pads, lubricated with a little water, I was able to significantly reduce the appearance of the acid stains, while also giving the tiles a nice polished finish.

Sealing a Marble tiled floor

Following the cleaning and burnishing processes I gave the tiles a good rinse to remove any remaining residue and then ensured the floor was completely dry before starting on the sealing.

To seal the floor and maximise the appearance I used Tile Doctor Colour Grow and Tile Doctor Shine powder. Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer that seeps into the pores of the stone intensifying and enhancing the natural shades and colours in the stone whilst also providing stain protection;
Shine Powder on the other hand is a crystallising powder that is ground directly into the tiles to provide a high shine finish and durable surface protection.

Marble tiled floor after restoration in Albrighton
My client and her husband were really happy with the results and left the following message on the Tile Doctor Feedback system:

“Jozsef was a charming young man in every respect, who worked very hard and achieved an amazing result. The tiles look better than the day they were laid. We are absolutely delighted with the work he has done and will recommend him to all our acquaintances. Thank you, Jozsef!”

Marble tiled floor after restoration in Albrighton
 

Putting new life into an acid etched Marble tiled kitchen floor in Shropshire

Marble Tiled Floor Restoration in Albrighton Read More »

Mexican Terracotta Tiles After Sealing in Wellington

Cleaning and Sealing Handmade Mexican Terracotta tiles in Wellington

This Mexican Terracotta tiled floor was installed throughout the kitchen, dining room, hallway and back porch of a house in the town of Wellington which is the third largest town in Shropshire. It was interesting to work with real handmade Mexican Terracotta tiles which I understand are left outside to dry in the sun, which would seem to be true as in some places you could see the tiles were marked by some animal footprints.

These particular Terracotta tiles were laid over a decade ago and now overdue a deep clean and re-seal, additionally the floor had suffered from a crack in the grout line near the doorway to the kitchen, so I quickly fixed that before making a start on a thorough clean and re-seal for the entire surface.

Cleaning Mexican Terracotta tiles

The previous sealer had worn away so to clean the floor I used a strong dilution of the high alkaline cleaner Tile Doctor Pro Clean. Under normal circumstances I would apply the solution to the tiles using a black scrubbing pad, but in this case I resolved to use a brush fitted to my rotary machine due to the Terracotta floor’s uneven surface. The solution really helped to lift out the dirt and stains, and the residue was extracted using a wet vacuum.

Mexican Terracotta Tile Cleaning Wellington Mexican Terracotta Tile Cleaning Wellington

I then turned my attention to cleaning the grout, using the same Pro-Clean and water combination applied with a stiff grout brush. After giving the floor an initial rinse, I realised that there were a couple stubborn stains still remaining on the tiles. To remove these I used Tile Doctor Remove & Go, a powerful cleaner that is particularly effective at penetrating into porous stone like Terracotta to lift out deeply ingrained muck.

After completing the clean, I gave the floor another thorough rinse, before leaving the house for a week to give the area plenty of time to dry.

Mexican Terracotta Tiles After Cleaning in Wellington Mexican Terracotta Tiles After Cleaning in Wellington

Sealing Mexican Terracotta tiles

Upon my return, my first task was to inspect the floor for dampness. It is always important to do this because any leftover moisture can potentially damage the performance of the sealer. Nonetheless, as expected, the floor was dry enough for the sealer to be applied.

I applied a total of nine coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which provided the floor with a nice sheen finish and durable surface protection for the future. Seal & Go is suitable for use on internal, unsealed porous surfaces such as Terracotta, Sandstone, Slate, and more.

Mexican Terracotta Tiles After Sealing in Wellington Mexican Terracotta Tiles After Sealing in Wellington

My client was extremely pleased with the results, and left the following comment on the Tile Doctor feedback system:

“Joe is a true professional. He was completely committed to doing the best job possible. Also, his manners were impeccable. A pleasure to have in the house.”

Deep Cleaning Terracotta Tiled Floors in Shropshire

Cleaning and Sealing Handmade Mexican Terracotta tiles in Wellington Read More »

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