Terracotta Floor Cleaned and Sealed

Terracotta Tiles cleaned With Tile Doctor Pro-clean and 2 Black Buffing pads, there were some awkward stains in corners and such so I used Remove and Go and some Nano-scrub cleaner on these, but only after they had been pre-wetted first otherwise Remove and Go is hard to get out of the clay.



Lots of Rinsing with water, left to dry overnight and came back the next day to Seal, turned the heating up, opened a couple of small windows front and back to allow for some Airflow and then started to apply 9 coats of Seal and Go with a Paint pad, this took all day, so quite a bit of waiting around, good time to catch up on my paperwork in the van in between sealer drying times.



Source: Terracotta Floor Restoration in Lancashire

How to Regrout Tile

Restore worn tile surfaces in the bathroom, kitchen, or any other area of the home to their original brightness by refreshing the grout that anchors them.

To select the proper grout for the job, consider the size of your tile: Use sand grout for tile with grout lines that are at least 1/8-inch wide; for lines narrower than 1/8-inch, use nonsanded grout. Premixed grout is ideal for small jobs.

Tools and Materials

• Mildew-removing bathroom cleaner
• Safety glasses
• Handheld grout saw or Dremel 300 series rotary tool kit
• 2 gallon bucket
• Grouting and scrubbing sponge
• Grout (white)
• Grout float
• Grout haze remover
• Grout cleaner and resealer

Regrouting Tile How-To

1. Scrub and clean tiles with a mildew remover.
2. With a grout saw or Dremel rotary tool, saw along the grout lines, making cuts into narrow spaces. (Always wear goggles for safety when operating power tools.)
3. Spread grout over tile.
4. Using a grout float, smooth out grout, pressing it into the empty spaces between tiles. Remove excess by running the grout float over the top of the tiles. Clean leftover grout off with a wet sponge. Let cure for 24 to 48 hours.
   
   Note: Premixed grout dries much more quickly and should be sponged off right away.
5. Apply grout haze remover to tile.
6. Apply grout sealer along the joints between the tiles.

Source: www.MarthaStewart.com

How to Seal Vinyl Tile Seams

by Renee Miller, Demand Media
When installing vinyl floor tiles, you will have a seam where each tile meets. This seam requires a sealer to fuse the tiles together at the upper layer and to prevent dirt, water and other debris from depositing in the seam. Seams can sometimes fail on existing floors, as well, and these need to be re-sealed. Flooring manufacturers typically make seam sealers for their flooring, but you can often purchase general-purpose vinyl seam sealing kits at your hardware store.

Things You'll Need

• Flooring roller
• Cloth
• Towel
• Vacuum
• Seam sealer
• Hair dryer
• Vinyl adhesive
• Soft brush

Preparing New Flooring

1. Roll over all seams with a flooring roller. Uneven seams can cause the sealer to flow to the low side, leaving no sealer on the high side.
2. Clean the seam using a damp cloth.
3. Dry the seam and the surrounding tile thoroughly with a clean towel.

Preparing Old Flooring

1. Warm the edges of the opened seam with a hair dryer and vacuum dust and dirt from the subfloor beneath the seam.
2. Clean the area around the seam with a damp cloth and dry with a clean towel.
3. Apply flooring adhesive to the back of the raised tiles with a soft brush, and then press the edges down with a flooring roller. Wipe away excess adhesive with a dry cloth.
4. Set a heavy item, such as a board, along the seam and leave the adhesive to dry for at least eight hours.

Applying the Sealer

1. Prepare the seam sealer according to the package directions. Make sure the lid to the applicator bottle is screwed on tightly to prevent leaks.
2. Apply a small amount of seam sealer to a piece of scrap flooring or cardboard to make sure the nozzle is clear and the sealer flows smoothly and evenly.
3. Tip the bottle over at a 45-degree angle and set the nozzle into the seam. Apply a bead no larger than 1/4-inch thick, centered on the seam.
4. Apply light, constant pressure to the bottle and run the bead of sealer along the entire length of the seam. Keep the nozzle at a 45-degree angle as you work, and move slowly to avoid accidents.
5. Release pressure on the bottle slowly after you finish the seam, and tip the bottle upward to prevent air bubbles. If air bubbles occur as you are applying the seam sealer, break these with a thin, sharp object such as a toothpick or a wire.
6. Leave the sealer to dry according to the package directions.

Read More: www.HomeGuides.sfgate.com

How to drill a hole in ceramic tile

By eHow Contributor

When working with ceramic tile, you may encounter a moment when you have to drill a hole through it to run a pipe, wiring, or water supply line. Ceramic tiles on the market today are made out of a bunch of different materials and finishes, but the method that works the best every time is to use a lubricated tile drill bit. Here is how you do it for most applications!

Things You'll Need

• Ceramic, Clay, or Porcelain tile
• Plumbing Putty
• Air Tool Oil
• Carbide Tile Drill bit
• scrap 3/4 Plywood or MDF board

Instructions

1. When working with tiles, you should check to see what type of material you are working with to get an idea for how hard or easy it will be to drill through it. If you are using a clay tile, it will be soft and easy to drill through, if you are using ceramic, class, or porcelain tiles they will be harder to drill through. No matter what type of tile material you are working with, the following steps are very effective for drilling a hole through it.
2. The first thing to do is to go out and get a sharp carbide drill or a diamond-encrusted carbide tile bit. I only recommend the diamond encrusted bit for cutting through glass tiles. They look like a really small shovel or spade in shape, and you can find them at most home centers where they sell tile.
3. Once you have this carbide tile bit, get some plumbers putty and some light air tool oil. If you are working with loose tiles that you are installing, get a piece of MDF board large enough to place behind the tile. If you need to drill through tile that is already installed, then you do not have to worry about the MDF board.
4. What we are going to is build a small oil reservoir on top of the tile that you want to cut using the plumbers putty. We will then drill through the tile in the same area as the oil reservoir. This will keep the bit cool as it rotates through the tile and give us very a clean cut without cracks, chips, or breaks.
5. Take a normal variable speed drill - DO NOT USE A HAMMERDRILL - and install the carbide tile cutting bit into the chuck.
6. Take out enough plumbers putty to knead into a ball. Roll the putty up in your hand and get it warm and pliable. Roll the putty into a ball, and then roll the putty out into a long log shape.
7. Take the putty log that you created, and form a ring or a circle on your tile around the area that you would like to drill the hole through.
8. Smooth out the inside of the putty ring and the outside of the putty ring so that it sticks to the tile. You do not want any leaks.
9. Excellent. Now take your air tool oil and add enough oil to fill up half of the putty crater you created on the surface of the tile. You want to put in enough oil to keep the carbide bit lubricated the entire time that it is in contact with the tile. Dip your bit into the oil to test the level and see if you need to add a little more oil, or if it covers the bit fully.
10. Now, center your carbide dip onto the hole mark that you created on the tile, and begin drilling through the tile at slow speed. Some people recommend making a pilot hole, but I have found that by simply starting the bit on slow speed in the oil solution, it bites into the tile very well and guides itself. Do not be afraid to apply some pressure to the drill, but press down firmly and gently.
11. As the drill bit begins to bite into the tile, you will notice that the oil solution will actually begin to change color as the surface layer of the tile is drilled through and the interior clay is penetrated. Sometimes you will get a red color or a white or grey color. It just depends on the color of the interior clay used to make the tile. You will also notice that it takes a little longer to drill through the top glazed layer, but as you get into the softer clay of the tile, the bit will go right through without any problem.
12. Keep the drill bit speed consistent as you drill through the entire piece of tile. Press the bit all the way through the tile to ensure a clean, crisp hole.
13. Congratulations, you just drilled a clean hole through tile! It was easy, and this can be done for all types of tile with a very high success rate every time!

Tips & Warnings

• Do not apply too much pressure when you first drill as the drill and bit can slip away from the marked point and scratch the tile. The carbide bit makes its own pilot hole, but you need to hold the bit steady.
• This only works on a flat surface, so drill any holes that will have to go up on the wall before the tile is hung! If you need to drill on a vertical wall, you will need to make a cup with the plumbers putty.

Source: www.eHow.com

How to Remove Vinyl Flooring Tiles and Adhesive

Today's vinyl floor tiles are more durable than yesterday's linoleum. But many homeowners prefer with hardwood or laminate floors. Learn how to remove vinyl or linoleum. In many cases, laminate or hardwood can be laid directly on top of the existing floor. But when the added height is a problem, the vinyl tile and adhesive can be removed to begin installing the new material right on top of the plywood subfloor or concrete slab. Although this remodeling project usually isn't difficult, it can be time consuming. Also, be aware that older asphalt tiles should be removed by professionals since they may contain asbestos. When inhaled, asbestos can cause mesothelioma and asbestos-related cancer.

DIY Tools and Materials

• Hot water (for plywood or OSB subfloors)
• Citrus solvent (for concrete slabs; be sure the manufacturer recommends it for adhesive or mastic removal)
Shop vac
• Floor scraper
• Putty knife
• Hair dryer or heat gun

Floor Preparation and Baseboard Removal Obviously, the first thing to do is to remove all the furniture from the room or at least shift it all to one side and work one side of the room at a time. Next, either remove all the baseboard or leave it on. If left on, it will be necessary to use a utility knife to cut through the vinyl at the edge of the baseboard. After installing the new upgraded floor, quarter round or some other wood, plastic, or PVC trim must be added at the bottom of the baseboard.

Remove the Vinyl Tiles It's possible to begin anywhere. Start at any tile seam with the floor scraper, but when working with sheet goods, it is advisable to use a utility knife to cut the flooring into manageable strips. The heat gun or hair dryer will both loosen the adhesive or mastic and make the vinyl more pliable. Scrape up the majority of the mastic along with the flooring. For stubborn spots use the hot water or citrus solvent. If using the heat gun, be sure the citrus isn't flammable.

Final Steps Make a final pass to ensure that all the mastic has been removed. Use the shop vac to clean the work area thoroughly. Now, before starting on installing the new finish floor, it's critical to do a careful inspection. If a wood subfloor has any water damage or creaks, this is the time to make those repairs. It may be necessary to repair saggy, springy floors. Concrete foundations can also have their issues. If water has been leeching up through the slab, find and resolve the reason. High spots need to be leveled by chipping or grinding and low spots can be corrected with a self-leveling compound. Working with level subfloors is critical when installing laminate floors.

Source: www.suite101.com

Restoration of Flagstone Floor in the Kitchen

Details of an original Flagstone Floor cleaning job below from a Victorian House in the City of Lancaster, we often find flagstone floor tiles in kitchens and hallways and in this case they were in the hallway. You can see from the photographs below that the flagstone floor tiles were in a very bad state and it became clear that no amount of cleaning was really going to remove the decades of trapped dirt embedded in the pores of the Sandstone.

Cleaning the Flagstone Floor

To get over this problem it was necessary to remove the top surface of the flagstone using a milling pad together with a small amount of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The flagstones were then washed down with water which was then removed using a wet and dry vax machine. There was no damp proof course under the tiles so I left it to dry for a week before coming back to seal.

Sealing and Restoration of Flagstone Floor

The milling process had opened up the pores in the sandstone flagstone floor tile so to seal it I used 1 coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow in order to bring out the colour in the stone and then topped this off wth a further 3 coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go.

Source: Flagstone Floor Restoration in Lancaster