Renovating a 150 Year Old Quarry Tile

150 year old quarry tile rehabilitation at a School near Peterborough in Northamptonshire. The school had a lot of issues with this floor over the years and had called in another cleaning company several months prior but found that within weeks the sealant they had applied had started to bubble and peel off. The floor was suffering from ongoing dampness problems in some areas, which wasn't unusual for a floor in an old building as damp proofing is a relatively modern concept. Tile Doctor was called in to try to rectify the issues.

Cleaning Quarry Tiles

The work was booked to be carried out before Christmas and we spent hours stripping the tiles with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean flustered with a buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad with little affect. To resolve the problem we resorted to getting down on hands and knees with a steamer and scrapper and spend the next 3 days taking off several coats of sealant and wax stripping quarry tile floor. The floors were then allowed to dry for ten days over Christmas.

Sealing Quarry Tiles

We returned during the New Year and took damp meter readings from the floor to ensure it was dry before sealing. The choice of sealer was vital given the floor was 150 years old and it was essential we chose one that was breathable to ensure any dampness could permeate up through the floor and not get trapped causing a problem. We settled for Tile Doctor Color Grow which is breathable and offers good stain protection as well as enhancing the color in the tile, two coats were sufficient to ensure to seal the floor. The final step was to buff the floor with a rotary machine fitted with a white pad to bring out the shine.

Quarry Tile Maintenance

The school had faced problems maintaining this floor in the past so I returned to site the following week to explain the best method for cleaning the floor going forward; this essentially involves using two buckets, once containing cleaning solution and another to rinse out the mop, I also gave them a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral cleaner and a white buffing pad to point them in the right direction. Neutral Cleaner is a PH Neutral formula which unlike most acid products will not degrade the sealer over time.