Darlaston Tile Cleaning Archives - Birmingham Tile Doctor

Damaged Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Restored in Aldridge near Walsall

A homeowner near Aldridge contacted Tile Doctor regarding their Quarry tiled hallway and Minton tiled vestibule. On inspection it became clear that the Quarry tiles had many imperfections and grout in dirt due to being covered in carpet for many years. This had also let to the appearance of white efflorescence salts on the surface on many tiles due to trapped moisture.

Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration Aldridge

I have a lot of experience working on old Quarry and Victorian tiles so I knew the could be restored to a good standard however floors like this have a lot of unknown history so you can never be overconfident. I worked out a detailed quote for the restoration and explained the limitations, undeterred they were keen to go ahead and so a date was set for the work to start.

Repairing Period Tiled Flooring

On the first day I repaired some areas in the hallway floor where screed had been used to fill in missing yellow tiles at the back of the hallway. These must have become damaged at some point and never replaced. This isn’t surprising as yellow tiles are extremely hard to get hold of, luckily however I had a few left over from previous restoration work.

Quarry Tiled Floor During Repair Aldridge

When this was done attention turned to the Victorian tiles in the Vestibule area. Here a row of loose Minton tiles needed to be removed and then reset in place with fresh adhesive and grout.

Deep Cleaning Quarry and Victorian Floor Tiles

The repairs were left to set overnight and the following day I started on the cleaning. To remove the deep-seated dirt the floor was cleaned with a combination of Tile Doctor Remove & Go and Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel. The solution was applied and left to soak in for ten minutes before being worked into both the Quarry and Victorian tiles using a 120-grit carbide brush fitted to a rotary floor machine. This loosened the dirt bringing it to the surface where it could be rinsed away and removed with a wet vacuum.

Next, attention turned to the efflorescence by treating it with Tile Doctor Acid Gel. Being acidic this product dissolves the efflorescent salts and further clean the tiles. The solution was worked into the tiles as before but this time using a finer 240-grit carbide brush and the wet vacuum deployed again to remove the resultant soiling.

A heater and air movers were deployed to quickly dry out the floor before sealing. Once dry the tiles were sealed with a coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil, I find that this adds a subtle sheen to quarry tiles and provides a base layer of protection.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Hallway

The floor was then left to dry overnight with the air movers running and then next day the tiles were checked for moisture. The tests confirmed the tiles were dry and the application of the sealer could start. For this, two coats of a 50/50 combination of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal & Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied. The Colour Grow makes the X-Tra Seal more workable and improves colour in the tile.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration Aldridge

Both sealers are impregnators that work by soaking into the tile, occupying the pores and in doing so prevent dirt from becoming ingrained there. To finish the excess sealer was buffed off with a white pad.

Overall, the floor came our rather well and the client was very pleased with the result. For aftercare I left the client with a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective ph neutral cleaner that won’t impact the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Hallway in Birmingham

Damaged Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Restored in Aldridge near Walsall Read More »

White Limestone Floor Renovation Darlaston

Renovating a Recently Laid White Limestone Floor in Darlaston

A homeowner in Darlaston near Walsall got in touch regarding their White Limestone floor, which was being easily marked from foot traffic. Dark marks were being left on the floor which they couldn’t remove.

White Limestone Floor Before Cleaning Darlaston

This was concerning as the floor had only been laid a few months earlier and it had been cleaned and sealed by another firm. When I asked about that it turns out the cleaning firm had cleaned, burnished and sealed the whole floor in one day, which was incredibly quick when you consider the floor measured 120m2! This was a red flag for me as I would have expected a floor of this size to take four days when done correctly.

White Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Darlaston

The only solution would be to do the floor properly so I popped over to survey the tiles and conduct a few tests. Whilst there I demonstrated the finish that we could achieve which they were happy with and I worked out a quote. They were happy with that and relieved the problem wasn’t more serious accepted my quote and the job was booked in.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Ground Floor

I returned a few weeks later and started by dividing the floor into four zones, which would make the job more manageable and have the advantage of being able to move furniture around.

Each section was cleaned with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell and soak in for ten minutes before being worked in. I use a rotary machine to scrub the floor fitted with a 240-grit silicone carbide brush which combined with the Pro-Clean loosens trapped dirt and sealers from the floor. I then went over the grout with a grout brush by hand to get that clean. Next the soiling was rinsed away with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

White Limestone Tiled Floor During Cleaning Darlaston

I then started the process of burnishing the natural stone floor, starting off with a coarse 400-grit and working through 800 and 1500 grit diamond pads fitted to the rotary machine which had extra weights added to increase traction. The pads are run over the floor with water for lubrication and after each pad the floor is rinsed and the soiling extracted with the wet vacuum. The pads struggle in the corners and edges so these are doing with a handheld polisher fitted with 6-inch burnishing pads to ensure no areas were missed.

White Limestone Tiled Floor During Cleaning Darlaston

The section was then allowed to dry with the aid of a floor fan whilst I finished off the process in a previous section by polishing the Limestone with the last pad which is very fine 3500-grit. This last pad tightens the pores and gives the stone a natural sheen, it is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the tile.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Ground Floor

The last step was to seal the limestone tiles and grout using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is a natural look sealer that doesn’t alter the look of the stone. This product is also an impregnator which works by soaking into the stone occupying the pores and ensuring dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away. Afterwards the floor was buffed with a white pad to remove any excess sealer and further bring up the appearance of the Limestone.

White Limestone Floor After Renovation Darlaston

The client was very happy with the results, and I left them a bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap to maintain the floor going forward. This will ensure the floor is easy to maintain and being a ph neutral product won’t impact the new sealer.

White Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor After Renovation Darlaston

Professional Restoration of White Limestone Tiled Flooring in Birmingham

Renovating a Recently Laid White Limestone Floor in Darlaston Read More »

Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration Walsall

Repair and Restoration of Victorian Tiled Hallway in Walsall

1 Comment / Darlaston Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Kieron Norton

This customer from Walsall contacted Tile Doctor regarding their Victorian tiled hallway which was in a very poor state. I was sent some photographs which made it clear the floor was seriously neglected with loose tiles and all sorts of contaminates. To understand all the issues before quoting I made an appointment to pop over and survey the floor in detail.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Walsall

Whilst at the property I took measurements and made notes of the tiling work that would be needed which centred around the door threshold. I’ve worked on floors as bad as this before so wasn’t overly concerned and worked out a detailed plan for the restoration which was explained to the customer. Later that day I priced up the work and products needed and emailed a quote for job across to the customer who gave the go ahead.

Repairing and Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Before starting the cleaning work, it made sense to address the tiling issues first so work started by removing the loose tiles along the doorway threshold. The exposed foundations were cleaned up along with the original tiles and then re-laid together with matching replacements where needed that had to be cut to size. Fortunately, the repairs were limited to this one area so I was able to move onto cleaning the rest of the floor.

I decided to start with an initial clean using Silicon Carbide pads applied to the tiles with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a coatings remover designed for use on tile and stone. There was a lot of stubborn staining to deal including what I suspect was carpet adhesive, screed, bitumen and paint.

I used the pads then rinsed the floor with water and extracted the soiling with a wet vacuum. The initial clean had made a difference but it was clear I would need to get a steamer on staining to soften it and scrape it away. Fortunately, it wasn’t a massive area but it still took a couple of hours to do. On completion of this I went over the floor again with a carbide pad and more Remove and Go.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Restoration Walsall

Last step in the cleaning process was to treat the floor to an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel worked in with a 400-grit diamond pad. This treatment removes old cement residues, counters efflorescent salts which are a common issue with these old floors and neutralises the pH level of the floor after the use of alkaline cleaning products. The floor was given another rinse with water and then dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum.

After rinsing I used air movers and a heater to help dry the floor off and before leaving for the night a coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil was applied to boost the colours of the tiles.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Sealing Walsall

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning the next day work started by inspecting the floor and checking it had dried sufficiently. Then I went over the floor with a floor buffer fitted with a 1500 and then 3500-grit diamond pad. I did this to help tighten the pores in the tiles after the aggressive cleaning it had experienced the day before. This also adds a slight sheen polish to the clay tiles.

To seal the floor an initial coat of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal was applied followed by a coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. These sealers offer different advantages and being impregnators, they are very hard wearing, they also allow for vapour transmission so ideal for an old floor like this one that doesn’t have a damp proof membrane. After drying I buffed off with a White pad to remove an excess sealer and bring up the finish on the tiles.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration Walsall

The old Victorian floor tiles were unrecognisable after the work and completely transformed the hallway into an appealing and welcoming space. Needless to say, my customer was delighted with the result.

Before leaving I left the customer with a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to help maintain the floor going forward. Its important to use a pH neutral tile cleaner on a sealed floor as many of the product you find in supermarkets are simply too strong and will erode the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Birmingham

Repair and Restoration of Victorian Tiled Hallway in Walsall Read More »

Victorian Hallway Floor Renovation Walsall

Repair and Restoration of Victorian Tiled Hallway in Walsall

1 Comment / Darlaston Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Kieron Norton

The client had lived at this property in Walsall for a few years and decided that they wanted to finally sort out their Victorian hallway which needed restoration. I went over to the property to survey the floor and advised that with repairs, cleaning and sealing the process would take three days. Having worked on numerous floors like these before I was very confident that we could repair the floor where needed and restore its appearance. I provided them with a quote which was accepted and the job was booked in.

Victorian Hallway Floor Walsall Before Renovation

During the survey I noticed that at some point in the floors long history someone had made repairs to a couple of doorway borders with random tiles so the pattern was incorrect. I agreed to rectify this as part of the restoration.

Victorian Hallway Floor Walsall Before Repair

Restoring a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Before starting the cleaning work, it made sense to address the tiling issues so my first course of action was to prise up the tiles along the doorway borders. The tiles in these sections had to be completely removed and then the base cleaned up so they could be re-laid along with matching replacements to correct the pattern. The replica tiles I had sourced needed to be carefully cut to size to ensure a good fit with the original. After resetting the tiles and re-grouting I left them to dry overnight.

Victorian Hallway Floor Walsall During Repair

The next day I was able to move onto deep cleaning the floor using a mixture of Tile Doctor Remove & Go and Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel. This was allowed to dwell for 15 minutes before it was scrubbed into using a weighted rotary machine with a 120-grit carbon silicone pad. This pad is very effective and gets right into the pores of the tiles, the edges were done by hand using a 200-grit diamond block.

Victorian Hallway Floor Walsall During Renovation

I then rinsed the floor with an Airflex Pro machine which applies water under high pressure to the floor and then removes it with a powerful vacuum leaving the floor clean of all soils and almost dry. Its an expensive machine but a real time saver.

I then gave the floor and acid wash to further clean up the tiles and neutralise any potential efflorescent salt issues that can be a problem with old floors like this. To do this I applied a dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up and this time worked it in with a 400-grit burnishing pad. The floor was then rinsed as before with the Airflex Pro and I used a couple of air movers to help speed dry the floor.

Before finishing for the day I used the buffer machine one last time to burnish the floor with a 3000-grit burnishing pad to add some natural sheen. I then followed this up with the application of a coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil, this helps bring back the colour of the tiles and I find it reduces efflorescence which can appear overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

To assist with drying I asked the client to leave the air movers running during the evening and to put them back on in the morning. This worked well and by the next day I was able to seal the floor.

To seal I applied a coat of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an oil-based sealer that is fully breathable which is an important consideration when choosing a sealer for a floor that doesn’t have a damp-proof membrane. The sealer really enhanced the colour in the Victorian tiles and will give strong protection against future staining.

Victorian Hallway Floor Walsall After Renovation

The tiles were then buffed with a White pad to remove excess sealer and further bring up its appearance. For aftercare I left the client a bottle of Tile Doctor pH Neutral Tile Cleaner to help maintain the appearance of the floor.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Birmingham

Repair and Restoration of Victorian Tiled Hallway in Walsall Read More »

Polishing Marble Bathroom Floor Tiles in Brownhills Near Walsall

1 Comment / Darlaston Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Work History / Kieron Norton

Our customer had a polished Marble tiled bathroom floor which had been installed some years ago. Over the years the tiles had become water stained and marked and although the customer had tried various household products to remove them they had not had much success. The floor was now really annoying them and so they decided to contact Tile Doctor to see if the problem could be resolved.

Marble is often the preferred choice for bathrooms giving them what can only be described and an opulent feel. It is highly durable, tough and usually of premium quality. However, like any natural stone it is in fact porous and needs to be sealed to prevent dirt becoming trapped in its pores as once that happens it can be very difficult to keep clean.

I visited the property in Brownhills, a historic mining town to the north east of Walsall to see if I could help, I surveyed the bathroom and could see the staining that they had mentioned was quite pronounced. I advised the customer of the options that Tile Doctor could offer, and we agreed a price for the work.

Marble Tiled Bathroom Floor Before Cleaning Brownhills Walsall

Cleaning and Polishing Marble Bathroom Floor

To clean and polish stone tiles such as Marble we use a process we call burnishing. This involves the application of different grits of Diamond encrusted pads in sequence from coarse to very fine. No chemicals are used in this process, just water and in this case a setup of small six-inch burnishing pads which fit to a hand buffer. I started with the application of a coarse 400-grit pad lubricated with water which successfully removed the marks from the Marble. This pad does dull the appearance of the stone so that has to be gradually restored by working up through the finer set of pads rinsing the floor in between each pad with water. The last pad to be applied is a very fine 3000-grit pad which is applied with a little water sprayed onto the tile and results in a lovely polished finish.

Marble Tiled Bathroom Floor During Cleaning Brownhills Walsall

High Shine Sealing Marble Bathroom Floor

The customer was happy with the results, however they had previously mentioned that they liked a very deep shine, so I recommended we build the polish further with the application of Tile Doctor High Shine Powder.

Marble Tiled Bathroom Floor During Sealing Brownhills Walsall

Tile Doctor High Shine is a crystallising powder that provides a very high shine and tough durable finish. It can be used for all-natural stone, such as marble, limestone and granite so was an ideal choice in the instance. The customer agreed so the crystals were buffed into the Marble to give an even deeper shine finish that not only looks great but adds a durable barrier to the floor that will protect it from staining in the future.

Marble Tiled Bathroom Floor After Cleaning Brownhills Walsall

The floor was restored in the same day to its’ original look and the customer was over the moon with the finish
Our very happy customer left the following feedback;

“Kieron arrived at our pre arranged time and inspected the condition of my bathroom tiles he was very professional and suggested he would carry out some small tests to determine the best solution for my tile problem. The test results he achieved were excellent so we agreed on an option and price for the work. Kieron worked very hard all morning to finish the work and the end result was outstanding”

Professional Restoration of Marble Bathroom Floor in Birmingham

Polishing Marble Bathroom Floor Tiles in Brownhills Near Walsall Read More »

100+ Year Old Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Darlaston

1 Comment / Darlaston Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Kieron Norton

The photographs below are from a house in Darlaston near Walsall which had recently changed hands. The new owner was quite taken by the existing Victorian tiled hallway floor which unfortunately had not been maintained very well by the previous owner, undeterred by its appearance he contacted Tile Doctor to see if it could be restored.

Darlaston grew rapidly in the 19th century around the nut, bolt and gun lock manufacturing and coal mining industries with many houses being built so it’s very possible that this floor was laid when the house was built over a hundred years ago

When I visited to quote for the work it was apparent that the floor which was suffering from many broken tiles and a high percentage of loose tiles. With the customer happy for me to do the work I set about sourcing replacement tiles that were a good match for the broken ones which would need replacing.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Restoration Darlaston

Victorian tiles are still popular, so I was confident I could find new replacements or originals from one of the many salvage companies.

Repairing an Original Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Replacement tiles were sourced, and I went about removing the broken tiles and setting the replacements. Whilst working on these I also inspected the floor thoroughly for loose tiles and re-laid them.

Victorian Tiled Hallway During Repair Darlaston

There was also a doorway which had cement laid down where tiles may once have been, and the customer requested that tiles were laid to match the other existing doorways. To break up the concrete I used an SDS drill with chisel attachment and then rebuilt the base with cement to bring it level with the rest of the floor.

The tiles were cut to match the pattern in the other doorways and set in place.

After the tiles had set I grouted them in along with other areas that needed re-grouting. Repairs took two days in total.

Deep Cleaning an Original Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The next step was to give the whole tiled floor a deep clean; normally I would opt for a chemical cleaning process at this stage however with the floor being so old it was unlikely to have a damp proof membrane and I was concerned about using too much water which would take a long time to dry out. I therefore opted for scrubbing the floor with a 200-grit diamond burnishing pad fitted to a weighted rotary buffing machine and lubricated with a little water.

Victorian Tiled Hallway During Cleaning Darlaston

The water soon turned to a slurry as the ingrained dirt and old sealers were removed from the tiles. It’s tricky to get into the edges and corners with circular pads so once that was done the edges were finished with handheld diamond blocks. The floor was then rinsed off and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum before being covered over and allowed to dry for a couple of days.

Sealing Original Victorian Tiles

When I returned to the property the dust sheets were removed and the floor vacuumed to remove surface dust and dirt. Once that was done I started the process of sealing the tiles with Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds a subtle sheen to the Victorian tiles that really brings the floor alive. Six coats were required to fully seal and protect the floor.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Restoration Darlaston

The customer was delighted with the results and I left them with a bottle of Neutral Tile Cleaner for use in cleaning the floor going forward. They also booked me in for 12 months’ time for a maintenance visit, so I can reapply a couple of coats of seal to keep the floor topped up and looking it’s best.

Full Restoration of a Period Victorian Hallway Floor in the West Midlands

100+ Year Old Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Darlaston Read More »

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Birmingham City Tile Cleaning, Bordersley Green Tile Cleaning, Bournville Tile Cleaning, Bromsgrove Tile Cleaning, Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Darlaston Tile Cleaning, Dudley Tile Cleaning, Encaustic Cement Tile Cleaning, Fireplace Cleaning, Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Handsworth Wood Tile Cleaning, Hollywood Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Marble Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Redditch Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Shirley Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Smethwick Tile Cleaning, Solihull Tile Cleaning, Stourbridge Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Vinyl Tile Cleaning, West Bromwich Tile Cleaning, Wolverhampton Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Kieron Norton

Birmingham Tile Doctor

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