Hallway tiles Archives - Birmingham Tile Doctor

Limestone Floor Installation Clean and Polish for Codsall Builder

A builder got in touch with me about aLimestone tiled floor he had installed for a client in Codsall near Wolverhampton. He was doing some renovation work on the property and clearly stone floors were not his speciality. The tiles had been sealed incorrectly and then covered up which had left marks in the stone. To his credit he did attempt to make good the issues, but ultimately got into a mess with it and decided to call us in to rectify.

I went along to survey the floor and work out a plan to rectify the issues and as part of this conducted a few tests. The testing went well and it confirmed to me which products and methods would work best on the floor, it also demonstrated that the Limestone floor could be renovated to a good standard. Luckily, I had a spare couple of days so I could do the job quickly, so the builder was very relieved, and the client pleased it was going to be resolved.

Limestone Floor Before Cleaning Codsall

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Hallway Floor

The firstly job was to strip the floor of the sealer and give it a deep clean. To do this I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go to the floor, left it to dwell and then went over the floor with a Black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The soiling generated was then rinsed off the floor with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

After this I started burnishing the stone tiles with a 400-grit diamond pad covering each tile at least three times; the floor was then rinsed and the soiling extracted with the wet vacuum as before. I purposely worked on the floor in two sections so it didn’t dry out and leave a chalky finish, especially in the grout as this can be difficult to remove when dry. I then moved on to the 800-grit pad and then a 1500-grit pad using the same method. I also used smaller 6-inch pads around the edges and corners where the rotary machine could not reach using a hand polisher.

After rinsing and drying off with three air movers, I asked the client to have a think overnight if they wanted to leave it at the 1500-grit finish or go up to a 3000-grit very fine finish. My concern was that an adjoining room which wasn’t being cleaned wasn’t that high a finish and the two floors would look different.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned the next day and checked the moisture readings of the floor using a damp meter, the readings were good confirming the floor was dry and ready to be sealed. Having thought about it overnight the client agreed with my concern and was happy to leave it at a 1500 grit finish.

To seal the Limestone floor, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a penetrating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone to provide maximum protection and leaves a natural finish. Additionally, this sealer is particularly good in a high traffic area such as the hallway.

Limestone Floor After Renovation Codsall

My client was delighted with the transformed floor and was now happy which was a relief to the builder who was keen to get the job signed off. For aftercare cleaning I left the client a bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which will allow them to keep the tiles clean and help to keep the polished patina finish.

Limestone Floor After Renovation Codsall

Professional Renovation of a Limestone Tiled Hallway in Birmingham

Porcelain Kitchen Floor Renovation Edgbaston Birmingham

Textured Porcelain Floor Tile and Grout Deep Cleaned in Edgbaston

This Porcelain tiled floor was laid in the kitchen of a property in Edgbaston around eight years ago. The customer contacted me regarding how dirty the tile and grout had become since being installed despite them being regularly cleaned. Happy to help I agreed to call in, survey the floor and give them a quote for deep cleaning and returning it to its original condition.

Whilst at the property I could see the Porcelain tiles had a coarse textured surface which has the advantage of being less slippery than a smooth tile however over the years it had been trapping dirt and making them difficult to clean.

Porcelain Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Edgbaston

I ran a cleaning test on an inconspicuous area to understand the most effective way of cleaning the tile and grout. The test went well, and it quickly showed the difference between a clean and dirty tile, it also gave me a good idea of what it would cost to renovate the floor and provide an accurate quote. The customer who had been cleaning the floor for the last eight years was impressed with the difference and happily accepted my quote.

Cleaning Textured Porcelain Hallway and Kitchen Floor Tiles

The cleaning process began by spraying a combination of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean combined with Remove & Go onto the floor, these are both alkaline cleaners although Remove and Go is designed to remove sealers and other coatings. I left it to soak in for ten minutes before starting to work it in with a rotary buffer fitted with a black scrubbing pad.

As I progressed, I noticed there were some stubborn marks on the tiles which were being left behind so I switched the Black pad out for a 240-grit silicon carbide brush. This may sound harsh for use on Porcelain, but I have used it many times before on textured porcelain with no problems only good results.

After cleaning the main area of the kitchen and utility I turned my attention to the floor edges and corners which I did by hand. I then spent time cleaning the grout with more Pro-Clean scrubbed in with a stiff brush.

Porcelain Tiled Floor During Cleaning Edgbaston

Once finished the floor was rinsed the floor with an Airflex Pro machine which applies hot water under pressure whilst simultaneously extracting it to a tank on the machine. This is an expensive piece of kit very popular with carpet cleaners but equally as useful on hard floors, it leaves the floor looking very clean and saves a lot of time compared to rinsing and vacuuming.

The last step was to set up some air movers to help dry the tiles and grout. The floor was looking much improved already and I hadn’t finished.

Sealing a Porcelain Tiled Floor

Most Porcelain tiles won’t take a sealer however these were the micro porous variety and I was confident they would take a seal. So once the floor was dry I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which will help to make it easier to clean and protect the grout.

Porcelain Tiled Floor After Cleaning Edgbaston

On completion the Porcelain tile and Grout looked so much cleaner and my client was relieved that I had managed to get all the ingrained dirt out of the floor. Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare and left the customer with a bottle of pH Neutral Tile Cleaner that will help maintain the appearance of the floor in the future.

Professional Renovation of a Porcelain Tiled Hallway and Kitchen Floor in Devon

Textured Porcelain Floor Tile and Grout Deep Cleaned in Edgbaston Read More »