Restoring a Kitchen and Utility Quarry Tiled Floor in Oswestry

This property in Oswestry was being converted from offices back into a home and I was contracted to renovate the Quarry tiles in the Kitchen. The kitchen had Red and Black Quarry tiles and an ugly piece of concrete sat where the old cooking range was. It did not look good with the new layout of the kitchen, so they wanted the concrete dugout and red and black quarry tiles laid to match the existing. The utility room had the same red and black quarry tiles and the other half had older and larger format quarry tiles which they wanted to keep as a feature.

Cleaning and Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen and Utility Floor

On day one my first step was to dig out the concrete from the area where the old range had been by breaking it up with a hammer drill fitted with a chisel attachment. The hole in the floor was then brought to the right level using a fibre reinforced levelling compound called Bal level max which sets in four hours. Once set I was able to tile with matching Quarry tiles that the client had provided together with others, I had managed to source from a reclamation yard. This process took up most of the first day and the newly laid tiles were left to set overnight.

The utility floor was in the worst state and needed the most work. It had previously been covered with a self-levelling compound, probably so it could be covered in Vinyl. I removed the thin compound and then deep cleaned the floor. Apart from the self-levelling compound in the utility area, the entire area had a thick layer of plaster dust and residue from the building process.

To deep clean the Quarry tiles, I gave the floor a good scrub with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go and then after extracting the resultant soil with a wet vacuum I followed up with another scrub of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. These products which helped to deal with the plaster dust, the levelling compound, and the cement-based residue. For best results I leave the cleaning products on the tiles for a good ten minutes before scrubbing in with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. Once done the tiles were rinsed down with water and then the soil was extracted again. In a few areas I needed to repeat the process to get the floor clean.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen and Utility Floor

I left the floor to dry off overnight and returned the next day to seal the tiles. The first job was to use the damp meter to ensure the floor was dry enough. If the floor is not dry, then the seal will not cure. I had chosen to seal with Tile Doctor Colour Grow, which is a solvent based sealer which is colour intensifying, it provides durable protection to the surface of the tiles as well as allowing the surface to breath. On this floor the colour of the red and black quarry tiles was really enhanced too. The floor was transformed, and the sealer really helped the old and new tiles blend in.

The client was very happy with restoration and couldn’t wait to get the new kitchen completed.

 

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen and Utility in Shropshire