Efflorescence

Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

Quarry Tiled Dining Room Floor Restored in Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

This is the second part of the floor restoration work we completed at a property in Bayston Hill near Shrewsbury. This post concerns the restoration of a Quarry tiled floor in the dining room whereas the previous post dealt with the Victorian tiled hallway.

Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

Unlike the hallway the hallway the tiles in the dining room where well fixed, although there were a couple of tiles missing by the door which had been replaced with cement. The only other problem was their appearance, it looked as though they had been painted with several layers of tile paint during in its long history and this was now looking very patchy.

For this floor we needed to source a few matching Quarry tiles to be fixed in the doorway and then give the whole floor a very deep clean making sure to remove what remained of the paint in the process. Finally apply a fresh seal to the Quarry tiles which would help the original and replacement tiles blend in.

Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

Repairing a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started by chopping out the cement in the doorway threshold so the replacement tiles could be laid. This had to be done very carefully so as not to disturb the existing tiles. Once done the resultant rubble was cleared out and the subbase brought up to the correct level.

Replacement Quarry tiles are not that difficult to find, naturally however each one needed to be cut to fit exactly which took a little time. I always buy more than I need to allow for breakages etc, tilers usually recommend buying 10% more than you need and then to keep the spares in case you need to replace some later. With the tiles nicely shaped to fit the last step was to secure them in place with fast setting adhesive and grout.

Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

Deep Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

Once the tiles has set I was able to start the deep cleaning process for which I used the same process as the hallway tiles. In summary the Quarry tiles were sprayed with a strong dilution of Remove and Go which was left to soak in for around fifteen minutes before being scrubbed in using a rotary machine fitted with a Black pad. This generates a lot of slurry as the dirt and tile coatings are lifted out of the tile and into the cleaning solution; the slurry is then rinsed away with water and extracted off the floor using a wet vacuum. Once done the floor was inspected and then retreated as needed until I was satisfied it was as clean as possible.

Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

The next step was to give the tiles an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is designed to remove old grout smears and salts from the tile. Salts can be a real problem on old Quarry floors with no damp proof membrane as there is nothing to stop salts being caried up through the tile from the subfloor and being left as white deposits as the moisture evaporates, a process commonly known as Efflorescence and quite common with old Quarry tiled floors.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

With both floors clean they were left to dry out for a week before I returned to apply the sealer. It’s important for tiles to be dry before sealing or the results can be patchy.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

For both floor I opted to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that leaves a matt finish and works by occupying the pores in the tile protecting it from within. It’s also fully breathable so won’t prevent moisture rising through the tile and it contains a colour enhancer that will help improve the colours in the tile.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

 

Quarry Tiled Hallway Professionally Restored in Shropshire

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Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

Loose Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Renovated in Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

When the owner of this property in Bayston Hill near Shrewsbury contacted me about a Clean and Seal of their Victorian tiled hallway and Quarry tiled dining room floors. They mentioned a few loose tiles needed resetting, however, as you will see it turned out to be over 70% of the hallway floor tiles that were loose, additionally the Quarry tiles had been covered with several layers of floor paint.

This is one of the reasons why I rarely give a quote over the phone, happy to provide a rough estimate but if you want an accurate price for the work, I really must pay a visit to the property and survey the floor first. In the case both floors needed a lot of work to fully restore them so I’ve split this work history into two parts and will publish details on the restoration of the Quarry tiled floor in a separate article.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

Except for the loose tiles the Victorian hallway was simply dull with ingrained dirt just needed a deep clean and then reseal to restore its appearance. Particularly noticeable where the light blue tiles within the geometric pattern which once cleaned would really shine.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

For best results I use a rotary machine to clean floor tiles however the floor would been to be intact before I could make use of that, so my first task was to re-fix the loose tiles which as mentioned earlier were quite significant. In-fact once I started to lift the loose tiles, that couple of tiles turned out to be more than half of the hallway floor. When they were fixed back, I grouted it and left the floor to dry overnight.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Repair Bayston Hill Shrewsbury Victorian Tiled Floor During Repair Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On the second day with the floor now solid I was able to progress the cleaning starting with the removal of old coatings and ingrained dirt in the tiles. I did this using a strong dilution of 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 then rinsed away with water and extracted off the floor using a wet vacuum.

Once done I treated the tiles to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is designed to remove old grout smears and salts from the tile. Salts can be a real problem on old Victorian floors with no damp proof membrane as there is nothing to stop salts being caried up through the tile from the subfloor and being left as white deposits as the moisture evaporates, a process commonly known as Effloresence. Another advantage of give the floor an acid wash is that it neutralises the pH level of the floor following the use of alkaline cleaning products such as Remove and Go.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The tiles must be dry before sealing and given all the washing and rinsing I had done to get the floor clean I decided to leave the floor for a whole week before returning to seal the tiles.

For this floor I opted to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that leaves a matt finish and works by occupying the pores in the tile protecting it from within. It’s also fully breathable so won’t prevent moisture rising through the tile and it contains a colour enhancer that will help improve the colours in the tile.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration Bayston Hill Shrewsbury

The deep clean and fresh sealer worked well and as hoped those light blue tiles really lit up the floor. Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning and for this floor, I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is a gentle but effective product that is safe to use on sealed tiles.

 

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