How to Remove Self Levelling Cement from Quarry Tiles

This Quarry tiled floor was discovered in an old cottage in the Surrey village of Cranleigh. The new owners had found the quarry tiled floor under an old carpet and wanted to have it restored as an original feature. Unfortunately, it also had a covering of concrete screed over a large percentage of it. This is a fairly common practice when laying vinyl or carpet over tiles as it ensures a completely flat surface. From experience, I knew returning the tiles to a decent state would be possible but it’s difficult and unpleasant work. None the less I was happy to do the restoration and having visited the property to survey the floor I came up with a restoration plan that I was happy with. This evolved into a quote which the owners were happy to accept, and a date set for the work to commence.

 

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Living Room

To remove the screed, I started with a power chisel fitted with a serrated attachment and started to carefully chip away at the screed. This is noisy and messy work, so I shut myself off from the world wearing eye protection goggles and ear defenders. Slowly the cement screed came away and was bagged up for removal.

Once I’d cleared the area of screed, a heavyweight buffing machine was introduced to the floor. Heavy iron bars were attached to the front to increase traction with the tiles and make cleaning and burnishing more effective. With the machine ready the quarry tiles were covered in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, and this was left to soak in for ten minutes.

A coarse 200-grit diamond pad was fitted to the machine and then run over the floor to work in the cleaning solution. This abrasive pad cuts into the surface of the tile to remove the years of dirt and grime. This is an aggressive, wet process but the cleaning solution captures the dirt and dust minimising the mess. Once done the floor was rinsed with water and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum.

Attention was then directed at the grout which had to be hand scrubbed for the best results using more Pro-Clean. The whole floor was then inspected and any stubborn areas of staining were spot treated using the same process. Once I was happy with the condition of the tiles the floor was left to dry out overnight ready for sealing the next day.

 

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Living Room

Quarry tiles don’t particularly like aggressive cleaning processes and it can cause their colour to fade, however there is little alternative when they are this bad. With this in mind, I had decided to seal them with a colour enhancing sealer called Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This product is an impregnator which works by soaking into the pores of the tile, protecting it from within and ensuring any dirt remains on the surface, it also leaves the matt finish the client had requested.

Other sealers are available that offer a sheen or shiny finish however this client had a couple of dogs whose claws can damage a topical sealer, so an impregnator was the best option.

I returned a month later with some reclaimed tiles to fit around the front of the fireplace For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is ideal for the regular cleaning of sealed tiles and won't impact the integrity of the sealer.

Source: Quarry Tiled Floor Tile Renovation Service in Cranleigh Surrey

Cardiff Tile Doctor Details the Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Floor in Penarth

This client from Penarth contacted Tile Doctor to see if their 100-year-old Quarry tiled floor which had broken and missing tiles could be salvaged. The property dated back to 1890 and had experienced many years of wear and tear and it certainly showed. One of the biggest problems however would be to renovate the area in front of the old fireplace where a hearth was once situated.

It was clear the area in front of the fireplace would need to be rebuilt using matching replacement quarry tiles more of which would be needed for the other repairs that needed doing. Once that was done the floor would then need a deep clean and a fresh sealer applied to give the whole floor a consistent appearance.

I worked out a comprehensive quote which included the repairs and renovation work. This was accepted by the client and a date set for the work to start.

   

Cleaning and Repairing a Quarry Tiled Room

Work started with the tile repairs which involved breaking out the damaged tiles and those in front of the old fireplace and then cleaning up the floor ready for the replacement tiles to be installed.

 

Quarry tiles are still very popular, so it wasn't a problem finding matching replacements which I had manage to source before work commenced. The replacements were then laid in-line with the existing tiles using rapid set adhesive and grouted in.

Once the tiles had set, I was able to start the cleaning process which started with scraping off as much cement, paint, and plaster residue off the floor as possible. This was then followed up with a deep clean of the tile and grout using a mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean combined 50:50 with with Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU Cleaner.

After leaving these products to soak in for ten minutes I worked by hand scrubbing in 1m2 sections at a time, cleaning and rinsing with water and vacuuming up the waste with a wet vacuum as I progressed. Doing it this way ensures maximum attention to detail and ensures the floor is as clean as possible. 

Once done, the floor was given an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which was brushed onto the floor and extracted with the wet vacuum as before. Old floors like this don't have a damp proof membrane and are susceptible to efflorescence, giving the floor an acid rinse like this counters salts and helps further clean the tiles.

After another rinse and extraction with the wet vacuum the floor was left overnight to dry.

   

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Floor in Penarth

The next morning the floor was tested for moisture with a damp meter and the readings confirmed it had dried sufficiently to accept a sealer. I don’t recommend sealing a damp floor as it impacts the sealers’ ability to cure and leads to a patchy finish.

Sealing started with the application of a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a very durable and breathable sealer which being an impregnator provides an excellent base. The customer wanted a shiny finish so this was followed up with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. This product further protects the floor and adds a subtle shine which together with the Colour Grow really brought out the colours in the Quarry tiles. As you can see the red colour of the floor looks vibrant and stunning after the two different sealers were applied.

My client was delighted with the result and offered to recommended Tile Doctor to their family and friends which was nice. For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a gentle but effective tile cleaner that's ideal for cleaning sealed floors.

Source: Quarry Tile Restoration Products and Services in Penarth South Wales

Cheshire Expert Details how to Renovate a Carpet Covered Quarry Tiled Floor

These photos are from a house in Cheadle Hulme where the owner wanted the 120-year-old quarry tiles in the dining room restored as an original feature. The tiles had been discovered when a carpet was removed and as well as being very dirty had been covered with a cement based self-levelling compound.

 

It’s not unusual to find tiles covered in self-levelling compound when a carpet or lino is fitted. It’s done to smooth out the grout depressions which otherwise would eventually show through. Fortunately, it can be removed however it does require a lot of work.

 

Removing Cement from a 120-Year-Old Quarry Tiled Floor

To deal with the cement I treated the Quarry tiles with neat Tile Doctor Acid Gel and left it to get to work on the cement for ten to fifteen minutes. I then ran over the floor with an abrasive 200 grit milling pad fitted to a weighted rotary floor buffer. This action loosened the cement so it could be removed although in some of the stubborn areas I had to use a little extra force with the careful application of a hammer and chisel. I also used handheld abrasive diamond encrusted blocks which came in very handy near the skirting boards and corners.

 

It took a lot of effort to get all the cement off the tiles, but they responded well to the treatment, and I could see the floor slowly transform in the process. A lot of water was used to provide lubrication and during rinsing for which I used a wet vacuum to extract the resultant slurry off the floor. The Acid Gel also removes old grout smears from the tile and neutralises any efflorescent salts in the floor which can be a problem with floors of this age with no damp proof membrane.

Sealing a 120-Year-Old Quarry Tiled Floor

The floor was left to dry off overnight and I came back a few days later to check the moisture levels in the floor with a damp meter. Unfortunately, the readings were still too high to apply a sealer, so I re-arranged my return. In fact, it took weeks for the moisture level to drop below 25% which was the minimum acceptable level before sealing.

The sealer I used on this floor was Tile Doctor Colour Grow. It's a fully breathable colour enhancing impregnating sealer that will cope with any damp moisture rising through the tile and being a colour enhancer really brought out the red and black colours in the tiles.

 

Whilst the sealer was drying, I painted the fireplace hearth with black paint, this really tied it in with the Black Quarry tiles and neatly finished off the appearance of the room. Needles to say by the time I had finished the floor it looked great, and my client was very happy with their newly restored Quarry tiled floor, so much so they took time to leave the following feedback which is always appreciated:

  "Within hours of sending in an enquiry on the tile doctor website I was contacted to say that the local rep would be in touch. Within another couple of hours, Kamila got in touch. Right from the start Kamila was accommodating to suit my needs, carrying out a trial 'out of hours' to suit me. Her communication was fantastic, regularly keeping me updated. She is a lovely lady who is trustworthy. I had to leave Kamila a few times and she locked up and posted the key as agreed. I am extremely pleased with the results of my refurbished quarry tiled floor, I never thought it would come up as well as it has done."

For aftercare cleaning I recommended they use the Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. It is pH neutral tile cleaner that will not degrade the new sealer which is important as many supermarket cleaning products are simply too strong for use on sealed tiles. (Always check the label!)

 

Source: Tile Cleaning and Renovation Service in Cheadle Hulme Cheshire

How to Restore Old Quarry Tiles Covered by Vinyl

The owner of this property in the South London suburb of Cheam got in touch about restoring a Quarry tiled floor that had been covered with Vinyl tiles. After surveying the floor, it became clear that some of the original Quarry tiled floor was missing and had been replaced with concrete before covering with Vinyl.

     

To fully restore the Quarry tiles floor, it would therefore be necessary to dig out the concrete sections and tile with matching quarry tiles which had been supplied by the client. Once done we would then need to renovate both the old and the new sections of floor and seal them to achieve a consistent appearance. I was also asked to dig out an old matwell and prepare it for a new mat as part of the work.  

This was a large job, but following a site visit I was able to provide my client with an accurate price and arranged a time to carry the work out which would take five days.

    

Removing Vinyl Tiles

The first part of the job was to lift the existing Vinyl tiles which had been laid on top of the Quarry tiles. I used a heat gun to help loosen the adhesive and then assisted with a steamer scrubbed Tile Doctor HBU Nanotech stripper into the floor to remove the glue and bitumen from the surface of the newly exposed Quarry tiles.

    

Restoring the Appearance of a Quarry Tiled Floor

The soiled solution was extracted with a wet vacuum and I followed up by giving the Quarry tiles an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. The Gel is applied to the tiles and then scrubbed in with a Black pad fitted to a rotary machine. This process removes old traces of cement and grout from the quarry tiles and further cleans them up. After this the floor was rinsed thoroughly and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum.

   

The next focus was on digging out the concrete areas mentioned earlier and then preparing the subfloor for tiling with self-levelling compound, which of course needs time to set. Once ready the replacement tiles were fixed in place making cuts as necessary and placing them to follow the original floor pattern. This may sound quite this sound straight forward, but this part of the job took some time to complete. The floor was left for a couple of days so the new tiles could set and the whole area could dry out before sealing.

 

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned later to seal all the Quarry tiles with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which brings out the deep Orange colours in the tiles whilst adding protection from staining and ingrained dirt. This sealer works by occupying the pores in the tile so dirt cannot become ingrained there. Four coats of sealer where applied across the whole floor leaving a nice matt finish that was consistent across the whole floor.

Before leaving I discussed with the client the best way to maintain the floor in the future and recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a pH neutral cleaner. This is important as its gentle enough to use frequently and won’t strip off the newly applied sealer like many household floor cleaners will. Its supplied in concentrated form so a small amount of cleaner goes a long way.

The client was delighted with the results, they were very pleased to see the back of the tired Vinyl floor and pleased the floor now looked consistent throughout.

   

Source: Quarry Floor Tile Cleaning and Renovation Service in South London

Aga Cooker encouraging efflorescence problems in Goostrey, East-Cheshire

Pictured below is an old Quarry tiled floor in the Kitchen of a house in the small farming village of Goostrey. I went over to survey the floor at the request of the owner who felt it was overdue a deep clean and seal.


It was a classic floor that suited the kitchen and its Aga well however I’m sure it could tell a story. There were patches of white efflorescent salts in front of the Aga itself and another section of floor where the tiles were a slightly darker shade. I assume some replacements were made in this section at some point in the past. Efflorescence occurs when damp in the subfloor rises through the tiles depositing white alkaline salts on the surface of the tile as the moisture evaporates. This is quite a common problem in older properties where no damp proof membrane is present under the floor and more so where you have a warm Aga heating the space and encouraging evaporation.

As per usual the floor was survey noting all the points above and then I carried out a test clean on a small part of the floor. This helps me understand what products and process I need to follow in order to renovate the floor and thereby product an accurate quote for the work. This went well and the owner was happy for us to process so we agreed a date to start the work which would take two days.

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Floor

To clean the floor and strip off any remaining sealer I first created a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was sprayed onto the tiles and then left to soak in. Remove and go is a powerful stripper and cleaner that is safe to use on tile and stone. The product is designed to loosen paint stains, adhesives and many types of urethane and wax coatings so they can be easily removed.

After thirty minutes the solution was scrubbed into the tile and grout using a weighted rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad and running at a slow speed. The resulting cleaning slurry was rinsed off with water and then extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum. I repeated this process until I was confident the tiles were clean and free of old sealer.

The next step was to neutralise the alkaline salts in the floor which could later lead to efflorescence by treating it to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. The gel was left to soak in for five minutes before washing it off using the wet vacuum to get the floor as dry as possible.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Floor

The floor was left to dry out overnight and the next morning I returned to the property and took some readings from the floor with a damp meter. It’s important to check the floor is dry before sealing because any excess moisture can cloud the sealer and prevent it from doing its job properly.

Once satisfied that the floor was dry, I applied a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a breathable impregnating sealer that enhances colour and protects from within. I left the floor to dry for one hour and then followed up with four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which provides both a robust surface seal and a long-lasting low sheen finish. The new sealer transformed the tiles and gave the whole floor a uniform appearance.


The customer was very impressed with our work and asked if we can come back later to remove the white tiles in front of the Aga and replace with Quarry tiles to match the rest of the floor.




Source: Quarry Tile Cleaning and Sealing Service in Goostrey, East Cheshire

Renovating Tired Quarry Tile and Grout in East Surrey

This client who lived in a property in the Village of Outwood had a tired looking Quarry tiled floor in their lounge and asked if we could improve the look of it. I went over to take a look and can see the tiles were situated in front of a brick fireplace and added a nice rustic feel to the room that was well suited to the house.


It had clearly been some time however since the Quarry tiles had been given a good clean and seal; the tiles were looking dull and lifeless and the grout was especially bad and had darkened with the ingrained dirt. I could see a deep clean would be required to lift the dirt out so after discussing the process we agreed a date for me to come back and renovate the floor.

Deep Cleaning Quarry Tile and Grout

When I returned to clean the floor my first task was to protect any areas that may be impacted by the cleaning process which in this case related to the adjacent carpet.

To be able to reach into the pores of the tile and grout and lift out the dirt I needed to remove any remaining sealer. To do this I applied a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a strong coatings remover and cleaner that’s ideal for these situations. The product is left to dwell for ten minutes, so it can get to work breaking down the old sealer and dirt and is then scrubbed into the floor. Normally I use a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine running on slow speed to do this however given the size of the floor I decided to use a deck brush to scrub the tiles and a narrow grout brush along the grout lines.

The soiled cleaning solution was rinsed off the floor with water and extracted using a wet vacuum. I then inspected the floor and spot treated any areas that needed further attention with a repeat of the same process. Once I was satisfied the Quarry tile and grout was as clean as it could be, I left for the night so the floor cold dry off.

Sealing Quarry Tiles

Returning the next day, I sealed the Quarry tiles with several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds a nice subtle sheen finish to the tiles and will provide the tiles with long lasting protection. Seal and Go is a water-based sealer so doesn’t leave a smell as it dries which is always a plus.

My client was impressed with the transformation and as I think you will agree the Quarry tiles now look much brighter and the grout has returned to a much lighter shade.




Source: Quarry Tile Cleaning and Renovation Service in East Surrey

Quarry Tile Floor

Quarry Tile Floor in Weldon, Northants I think you will be impressed with these photographs from a Quarry Tile floor we did in Weldon recently. This quarry tiles were installed in the kitchen and went through to the dinning room, hallway and down stairs cloakroom, at total of around 40sq metres The tiles were recenctly installed and the customer called us in because they were unhappy with the finished result. This can be a common problem with Tilers who do a great job of levelling, tiling Read more...

150 Year Old Quarry Tile Restoration in Northants School

Shown below are some photographs for a job we did recently restoring 150 year old Quarry Tiles at a School near Peterborough in Northamptonshire. The school had a lot of problems 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 peal off. The floor was suffering from ongoing dampness problems in some areas, which isn't unusual for a floor in an old building as damp Read more...

Kitchen Quarry Tiles Cleaned and Sealed in Cardiff

This Quarry Tiled Kitchen floor had been laid in 2000 which is relatively recent compared to some of the floors I'm asked to deal with, the tiles are 150 x 150 mm Quarry tiles with a mixture of colours. A customer in Cardiff said that the Quarry tiles has been sealed by the tiler however it wasn't long after it was completed that the before became very grubby looking. You can see this for yourself in the photograph below where you should be able to make out the ingrained dirt and discoloured Read more...

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Cleaning Old Red Quarry Tiles in Treharris

This Red Quarry Tiled floor had been laid when the house was built back in 1910 so it was over 100 years old and had years of wear and tear to show for it including old cement and paint from some decorating work that had been done some years prior. The house was located in the town of Treharris just outside of Cardiff and being an original feature of the house the owner wanted it looking as good as it could be. Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Floor I first checked for any moisture as these old Read more...

Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Warninglid

This customer in Warninglid, near Cuckfield asked me to clean a Quarry tiled floor that had been hidden for years under carpet. The carpet had been thoroughly stuck down with glue and sticky gripper rods so the tiles were in quite a mess. Whilst I thought that most of the floor could be greatly improved I voiced my reservations about several patches of heavy glue and some blackened area where burning logs appeared to have rolled from the hearth onto the stone. Deep Cleaning Quarry Tiles I Read more...

Dirty Quarry Tiled Floor in Hitchin

We were asked to work our magic on these dirty Quarry tiles at a residence in the historic town of Hitchin. The tiles had been sealed on a number of occasions but had not been deep cleaned beforehand which effectively trapped the dirt under the sealer making it difficult to get clean. Stripping Quarry Tiles To get them clean the coatings on the surface of the Quarry tile had to be stripped off back to the original surface. To do this we mixed a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go 50/50 Read more...

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor Refreshed in Bedford

This was a very straightforward request to clean and seal an old Quarry tiled floor that dated back to the Victorian era. The tiles didn't appear to have any sealer or other treatment applied, it could be if there was anything it had worn off a long time before. Cleaning Old Quarry Tiles A strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the floor and left to soak into the tile for around twenty minutes before being worked into the floor using a rotary floor scrubber fitted with a Read more...

Cleaning Quarry Tiles around an Indoor Residential Swimming Pool

Photographs below of a job we did cleaning and sealing the Quarry Tiles surrounding a residential indoor swimming pool floor tiles at a grand residence in Cambridge. As you can see from the photograph below the Quarry tiles and Grout was looking rather washed out and given their proximity to the pool extra care was needed to be ensure we didn't contaminate the pool with dirty water from the cleaning process or chemicals, fortunately all our equipment is electrically isolated so that was not Read more...

Deeping Cleaning Quarry Tiles Floor in Bedford

This floor was another case of builders failing to protect the Quarry Tiled Floor when they were working at this house in Bedford, this is certainly not un-typical of plasters considering the number of messy floors we have had to clean up previously. I guess in some ways we shouldn't complain as they are keeping us busy but it was my floor I would be quite upset. Deep Cleaning Quarry Tiles To get rid of the plaster I applied a solution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is an acid based Read more...

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor Refreshed in Bedford

This was a very straightforward request to clean and seal an old Quarry tiled floor that dated back to the Victorian era. The tiles didn't appear to have any sealer or other treatment applied, it could be if there was anything it had worn off a long time before. Cleaning Old Quarry Tiles A strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the floor and left to soak into the tile for around twenty minutes before being worked into the floor using a rotary floor scrubber fitted with a Read more...

Deeping Cleaning Quarry Tiles Floor in Bedford

This floor was another case of builders failing to protect the Quarry Tiled Floor when they were working at this house in Bedford, this is certainly not un-typical of plasters considering the number of messy floors we have had to clean up previously. I guess in some ways we shouldn't complain as they are keeping us busy but it was my floor I would be quite upset. Deep Cleaning Quarry Tiles To get rid of the plaster I applied a solution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is an acid based Read more...

Quarry Tile Cleaning in Kendal Utility Room

A customer from Kendal (famous for its Kendal Mintcake) called me in to look at their Quarry Tiled Utility floor, which was looking very dirty and stained. On inspection the sealer had broken down and was no longer protecting the tile resulting in dirt getting ingrained into the pores of the tile resulting in discolouration. We agreed what short of finish was required and the customer booked me in to do the work. Cleaning Quarry Floor Tiles My first job was to protect the surrounding areas Read more...

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Quarry Tile Cleaning in Cumbria

A customer from Kendal (famous for its Kendal Mintcake) called me in to look at their Quarry Tiled Utility floor, which was looking very dirty and stained. On inspection the sealer had broken down and was no longer protecting the tile resulting in dirt getting ingrained into the pores of the Read more...

150 Year Old Quarry Tile Restoration in Northants School

Shown below are some photographs for a job we did recently restoring 150 year old Quarry Tiles at a School near Peterborough in Northamptonshire. The school had a lot of problems 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 peal off. The floor was suffering from ongoing dampness problems in some areas, which isn't unusual for a floor in an old building as damp Read more...