Louth Tile Cleaning Archives - Lincolnshire Tile Doctor

Victorian Tiled Floor Before After Renovation Horncastle Manor

Restoring an Impressive Victorian Manor House Hallway Floor in Horncastle

The owner of a large Manor house near Horncastle invited us round to survey their large Victorian tiled hall. The tiles were thought to be around 150 years old and in good condition considering their age. Unfortunately, they were last sealed with Varnish which is the last thing you should seal a floor with, not only is it easily scratched but it can become a skating rink when wet.

My client requested a deep clean to remove the varnish and then sealing with a more appropriate product that would bring out the best in the tile. Being the entrance and main hall, it was important to renovate the floor so it looked its best and give the best impression to visitors.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Horncastle Manor

On inspection I could see the floor would need some repairs and a deep clean with diamond pads to remove the old sealers/varnish and deep clean the tiles. It was also important to use a breathable sealer on an older property where no damp proof membrane is present. Our quote was accepted and time arranged to complete the work.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Removing Varnish Horncastle Manor

Deep Cleaning a Large Victorian Hallway

On the first two days I set about deep cleaning the tiles using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean Tile and Grout Cleaner and Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a stripper/coatings remover. These products were applied to the floor, left to soak in for ten minutes and then worked in with a 200-grit and then 400-grit diamond pads fitted to a weighted buffer machine.

The pads are run over each part of the floor which generates a lot of soiling and then the soiling is removed using a wet vacuum. This process was completed three times to make sure the tiles were clean; the old sealer and varnish was gone and the vibrant colours had come back to life. After a final rinse and extraction, the floor was reviewed and any stubborn areas and edges were spot cleaned by hand as needed.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Cleaning Horncastle Manor

We spent a total of 2 days cleaning the whole floor and rinse extracting after each clean. Repairs were carried out to the grout and a few tiles replaced. The last step was to give the floor an acid rinse with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up to help counter any efflorescent salts and further clean up the tiles. After a final rinse and extraction, the cleaning process was completed and the floor was left to dry out overnight with several dryers in place to help speed up drying.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

On the third day the floor was first tested with a damp meter to ensure it had dried before starting to apply the sealer. Fortunately, being August, the weather was excellent and as hoped the moisture readings were fine.

The best sealer option for is a product called Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating colour enhance sealer that leaves a matt finish, it’s also fully breathable so will allow for moisture to rise through the tile and evaporate. Four coats of sealer were applied in all allowing time between each coat to dry. As you can see from the photographs it was a large floor so by the time I had applied a coat I was able to go back to the beginning and start the next.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Sealing Horncastle Manor

The results were worth all the hard work and the customer had a stunning feature floor with a lost lasting impregnating sealer. Its worth mentioning that to help a sealer last as long as possible we recommend using a pH neutral tile cleaning products such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner; reason being that other products can simply too strong and contain bleach which can damage the sealer.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Renovation Horncastle Manor

Professional Renovation of a Large Victorian Tiled Floor in Lincolnshire

Restoring an Impressive Victorian Manor House Hallway Floor in Horncastle Read More »

Old Victorian tiled hallway Before and After cleaning Louth

Victorian and Quarry Tiled Floors Cleaned and Sealed in Louth

1 Comment / Louth Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Phil Barrs

This client in the town of Louth near Horncastle had two tiled floors that were in need of attention. The first was an old Victorian tiled hallway and the second a Quarry tiled room, both had paint, plaster, adhesive and concrete on them but the Quarry tiles were in the worst condition. Hopefully the photographs below give you a good idea of the condition which would require a really deep clean and in some areas re-grouting.

Old Victorian tiled hallway before cleaning Louth

Abused Quarry Tiled Floor before cleaning Louth

Cleaning Victorian and Quarry Tiled Floors

We applied pro clean to the floors and allowed to work into the tiles before using our buffer system to scrub the tiles with a black pad. Then we extract and rinse the dirty solution off the tiles into our wet vacuum system. We repeated this process till the paint and plaster had been removed.

As usual I began the job using a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to soak into the tiles before being scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The resultant soiled solution was extracted off into our wet vacuum system and the process repeated until the paint and plaster had been removed.

To treat the concrete and adhesive I used two other products called Tile Doctor Remove and Go and Grout Clean-Up. Again these products slowly dissolve the stains and concrete making it easier to scrub them from the surface. After several cleans the floors were thoroughly rinsed and then left to dry with some assistance from our turbo dryer system to speed up the drying process.

Sealing Victorian and Quarry Tiled Floors

We left for a few days so the floors could dry out and on our return tested the tiles with our moisture meter which showed the floor was still to damp to seal so it was necessary to leave the floors for a few more days until they were bone dry.

On our return we sealed the floors with a new product in the Tile Doctor range called Seal and Go Extra which due to its highly breathable nature works very well on external tiles or older floors where there may be a damp problem. As with the original Seal and Go it leaves a subtle shine on the tile which suited the requirements of the customer who incidentally was happy with the transformation and is happy to recommend our services.

Old Victorian tiled hallway after cleaning Louth

Abused Quarry Tiled Floor after cleaning Louth

Victorian and Quarry Tiled Floors Cleaned and Sealed in Lincolnshire

Victorian and Quarry Tiled Floors Cleaned and Sealed in Louth Read More »

Limestone Tiles in Louth Before and After Sealing

Dirty and Cracked Limestone floor tiles restored in Louth

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Louth Tile Cleaning, Work History / Phil Barrs

This customer from Louth had a very dirtyLimestone tiled floor with some cracks evident installed throughout the kitchen, hallway and conservatory. It was dull and not looking it’s best so she had asked several companies in the local area to quote but they did not feel able to help. Fortunately she discovered Tile Doctor and gave us a call, naturally this sort of work is well within our ability so not only were we able to help restore the appearance but also repair the cracks at the same time.

Limestone Tiles in Louth Before Cleaning

Limestone Tiles in Louth Before Cleaning Cracked

Burnishing Limestone Tiles

To resolve the surface cracks and remove the dirt from the floor we used a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads which incidentally are a very environmentally friendly system which only requires water. The pads come is a setup of four and you start with the coarse pad which fitted to a buffing machine running on slow speed, the coarse pad removes old sealers and then you move onto the medium, fine and very fine pads until the Limestone is cleaned and polished again. The floor was washed down with clean water at this point to remove the soil generated by the burnishing process and left to dry overnight assisted by a turbo dryer.

Limestone Tiles in Louth After Cleaning Drying

Limestone Tile Sealing

The next day the floor had dried and we applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer to the tiles, the sealer fills the pores of the stone making it water and resistant and will protect it from stains in the years to come, this particular sealer also lifts the natural colours in the stone.

Limestone Tiles in Louth After Sealing Buble

The client was delighted with the results as she had nearly given up on having a nice looking floor, see feedback below which was left on our automated feedback system.

I am very pleased with the work which was completed yesterday. From my first enquiry to the completed work was excellent,
Mrs V Pedder, Tetney

Limestone Tiled Floor resurfaced and polished in Louth

Dirty and Cracked Limestone floor tiles restored in Louth Read More »

Victorian tiled floor near Horncastle Before and After Cleaning

Restoring a Victorian Tiled Bathroom in Horncastle

1 Comment / Louth Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Phil Barrs

The owner of this Victorian tiled bathroom floor in Horncastle had tried scrubbing and scraping these tiles will little to show for it, in the end after spending hours on this cold floor and trying lots of different products he was fed up and it still looked less than satisfactory. The tiles were very old and dirty and had remnants of glue stuck around the edges indicating they had previously been covered by something else such as lino, fortunately Victorian tiles are our bread and butter and we have managed to restore tiles in a much worse state than this.

Victorian tiled floor near Horncastle before Cleaning3

Victorian tiled floor near Horncastle before Cleaning2

Cleaning Victorian Tiles

We set about cleaning the tile using Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a strong coatings remover which is ideal for removing old sealers and adhesive products. It was left it to dwell on the floor for a while in order to give it chance to soak into the tile and get to work on the glue before being agitated using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The soiled solution was then removed using a wet vacuum and the floor given a good rinse with clean water again using the wet vacuum to get the floor dry. This process tackled the glue but the tiles were still in need of a good clean so Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline cleaning product safe to use on tile and stone was applied; this was left to dwell and then scrubbed into the tiles to get a really deep clean, stiff brushes were used along the grout lines to get them clean as well and then the floor was given a thorough rinse to neutralise the tile and remove any trace of cleaning products.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

The next step was to seal the floor, however the tiles need to be dry before you can do this so we got our Turbo drying system out of the van, switched it on and it soon had the floor dry. Four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were applied to the floor allowing twenty minutes to dry between coats; this particular sealer is recommended for Victorian tiles and does a great job of adding a nice sheen to the floor as well as adding stain protection.

Victorian tiled floor near Horncastle after Cleaning2

Victorian tiled floor near Horncastle after Cleaning1

We managed to complete the work in a single day and the owner was absolutely delighted by the results.

Deep Cleaning Victorian Tiles in Lincolnshire

Restoring a Victorian Tiled Bathroom in Horncastle Read More »

Terracotta Horncastle Before and After Sealing

Terracotta Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Horncastle

1 Comment / Louth Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History / Phil Barrs

This Terracotta tiled floor was laid in the kitchen of a property located in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. The tiles were well maintained and in reasonable condition compared to some floors I have worked on but they had started to look tired and dull in some areas and so the customer wanted them deep cleaned and resealed.

Cleaning Terracotta Tiles

I began the job using a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a heavy duty alkaline product ideal for cleaning natural products such as Terracotta and stripping off old sealers, this was scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. We repeated the process a couple of times and also used a stiff hand brushes along the grout lines where the pads can often struggle to reach. Once happy the floor was clean it was given a thorough rinse to remove any remaining chemical and left it to dry.

Sealing Terracotta Tile

We left the floor to dry and then returned then next day to re-seal it. Tile Doctor Seal and Go was used to seal the floor, it’s a topical water based sealer that doesn’t give off an odour when it’s drying and also offers durable stain protection together with a low sheen finish which I think you will agree has added a nice shine to the floor. Terracotta is very porous and this floor actually took five coats of sealer before it was fully sealed. Applying a sealer does take a long time to apply as you have to wait for it to dry before applying the next coat.

The work took two days in all, you can see the difference for yourself.

Kitchen Terracotta Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Lincolnshire

Terracotta Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Horncastle Read More »

Travertine floor tiles in a Conservatory, Louth

Louth Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work History / Phil Barrs

These photographs are of a the Travertine tiled floor installed in a conservatory at a house in the historic town of Louth in Lincolnshire. The travertine was starting to dull and the grout was in need of a good clean so we were asked to maintain it.

Cleaning Travertine Tiles

Hard stone tiles such as Travertine and Marble etc. need to be polished with a set of Burnishing pads however before you start that process it’s necessary to remove any surface dirt from the floor first, this will ensure any grit that could get trapped in the burnishing pads and scratch the floor is removed first. With this in mind we washed the floor using a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, this was also a good opportunity to get a stiff brush into the grout lines and give them a good scrub. We washed the floor down with clean water using a wet vacuum to remove the water from the floor before moving onto the next step.

Polishing and Sealing Travertine Floor Tiles

The floor was then re-polished using a set of 17” Burnishing pads fitted to our weighted polishing machine; the pads are diamond encrusted and you start with the coarser Red pad designed to remove sealers before moving on to the White, Yellow and finally Green polishing pad to achieve a high shine finish.

The last step was to seal the floor which we did using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is colour intensifying sealer that will provide on-going durable surface protection as well as enhancing the natural colours in the Travertine tile.

The last photograph shows the effectiveness of the sealer on the surface of the tile, without a sealer the water would have soaked into the travertine, with a sealer it bubbles on the surface allowing spillages to be removed easily before they have chance to stain the stone.

Cleaning, Polishing and Sealing Travertine in Lincolnshire

Travertine floor tiles in a Conservatory, Louth Read More »

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Lincolnshire Tile Doctor

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