Resolving Disputes between Tilers and Suppliers

This honed Travertine tiled floor was newly laid by a professional tiler in South Lancaster, unfortunately however the tiler mistook some white lines in the stone as resin post installation and tried very hard to remove them damaging the finish of the stone (it’s quite common for new stone to have this issue). The white marks turned out be in the stone itself and not on the surface, to complicate things further the Travertine had been laid onto electric under floor heating so it would have been tricky to lift and replace the tiles without compromising the expensive heating matts placed underneath the stone. The customer was left in a dilemma as the suppliers of the stone were blaming the tiler and the tiler the supplier, the only option was to call out Tile Doctor. On inspection and after conducting two cleaning tests we managed to get a result with our burnishing system with no white lines showing after the Travertine had dried out.

Stripping and Re-Polishing Travertine

To get the Travertine looking new again we had to strip back the surface of the tile using a set of Diamond Encrusted burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine. You start with a coarse stripper pad with water to strip back the surface and then move onto the finer pads to polish the floor. We also use some grinding discs to remove scratches left behind by the kitchen fitters who were clumsy when fitting the kitchen. Once I was happy that all the problems had been resolved with the Travertine tile we resealed it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow to get a nice overall finish for the floor. Colour grow is a great sealer to use on natural stone as now only will it offer good stain protection it brings out the colours in the stone.



Source: Travertine tile problems resolved

Commercial Tile Cleaning Services

The Ceramic tiles with dark grout were installed in a Bedford Coffee Shop where we have a regular contract to deep clean the tile and grout, whilst we appreciate the regular work you do have to work out of hours to minimise impact to trade. It’s worth noting that many commercial tiling installations do avoid white grout as it can get dirty quite quickly and will be difficult to clean if badly stained, not that that’s a problem for Tile Doctor as we have a solution for most problems.

Cleaning Ceramic Floor Tiles

This was a general maintenance clean so a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the floor and left to soak in for 20 minutes or so before giving the floor a thorough clean using a Rotovac machine which applies and removes water at high pressure to remove the dirt and rinse the floor. Once this was done we took the opportunity to apply more Pro-Clean to the grout and hand scrubbed along the grout lines using a stiff brush to ensure the black grout was clean.



 Ceramic tiles don’t normally need a sealer so once all the tile and grout was clean and was dry we were done.




Source: National Contract Tile Cleaning Service

Cleanly Remove Black Slate Tiles

If your remodeling plans for a bathroom include removing black slate tiles, you will want to salvage them because they are one of the more expensive tiles you can install in a bathroom. If you have no plans to use them again, they can be sold to handymen and other contractors. It is possible to remove black slate tiles safely and cleanly, and the following article will show you how.

What you'll need

• Grout saw
• Metal putty knife
• Plastic putty knife
• Painters tape
• Small rubber mallet
• Adhesive remover
• Utility knife
• Clean rags

Step 1 – Remove the Metal Cap

Black slate tiles can be thicker than other tiles, which will make the tiled wall have a thick edge. Many people will install a metal strip, the same width as the thickness of the tile, to cap the edge. This strip is adhered to the tile using caulk. Slide the utility knife between the strip and the tile and then cut the caulk. Insert the metal putty knife and then pry the strip away from the edge of the tile. Slide the putty knife along the length as you pry.

Step 2 – Grout Removal

The grout is applied between the spaces of the tile. When the grout dries, it is like concrete. In order to remove black slate tiles cleanly, you need to remove the grout. Use the grout saw to begin slicing the grout as close to the edges of the tile as possible. Once the grout is removed, you can start to remove the tiles from wall.

Step 3 – Remove the Black Slate Tiles

Black slate tiles can be very fragile. To protect them, place painter’s tape over each tile to form an “X.” This will help to keep the vibrations down to a minimum so the tiles do not break. Once the tape is applied, you can start removing the tile. Begin at the bare edge of the tiles where you removed the metal strip. Place the blade of the putty knife at a slight angle against the edge of the tile and then gently tap the handle. This will lodge the blade under the tile; keep tapping until most of the blade is under the tile. Pull up on the putty knife to pry the tile from the cement backer board. Repeat for each tile until they are all removed.

Step 4 – Cleaning the Tile

Adhesive will be left on the underside of the tile. This is easily cleaned off the tiles. Apply adhesive remover to a clean rag and then wipe it on the bottom of the black slate tiles. Allow the remover to work for several minutes. Use the plastic putty knife to scrape away the adhesive. For small areas, use the rag with adhesive remover to buff the tiles.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

This Marble tiled floor is located in the pantry of the historical Kinross House which is a late 17th-century country house overlooking Loch Leven that was built by the architect Sir William Bruce as his own home in 1686. You can see from the photograph the floor was in quite a state and given the history it was an honour to be asked to work on the floor.

Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing

We brushed out the floor to remove all the loose debris and then proceeded to restore the floor using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads which fit a rotary buffing machine. The burnishing process is designed to grind out dirt in the stone and smooth /polish the floor, you start with a course pad and work your way through the four pad set until you get to the finer polishing pad. This may sounds simple but it does take time to complete.

Sealing Marble Tiles

Once the floor was polished we applied a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Pro-Seal which is a non-sheen premium sealer recommended for natural stone that provided the natural matte look the client was after and will protect the Marble and keep the floor looking good.



Source: Marble Restoration Advice and Tips

Marble Tile Maintenance

This Tumbled Marble mosaic wet room floor was installed in a house in London, SE1 four years before prior and was now looking a little tired. This was mostly caused by a build-up of Limescale which had then become grimy.

Stripping a Tumbled Marble Floor

To treat the Limescale I used Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up which managed to remove most of the scale and to remove the remainder I steamed the tiles using an Earlex Steamer and carefully scraped any remaining Limescale residue away with a Stanley window scraper. To restore the marble itself I used Tile Doctor burnishing pads to re-polish the tiles using 17" pads on the main area and 8" pads on a hand-held Clarke polishing machine in the corners. These diamond encrusted pads come in a number of different colours and are applied one after another with each pad being a finer grade than the last. After thoroughly rinsing the stone again and removing the waste water with a wet vacuum. As the marble was naturally fast drying I used an Earlex heat gun to speed dry the floor and repeated this after lunch to ensure the floor was entirely dry before sealing.

Sealing Tumbled-Marble Tiles

Once the Marble tiles were dry I started to seal them using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer which is a great choice for natural stone as it enhances the natural colours in the tile as well as providing stain protection.


As the photographs show the results were very good and the customer was highly delighted.




Source: Marble Tile issues resolved

Expert Quarry Tile Cleaning

A while ago I was asked to quote to clean up an old quarry tiled floor in a converted barn in Ashtead. Whilst I was there I carried out a test patch for the lady to show what the results would be; she had said that if she wasn't satisfied she was going to replace the floor so she must have met her expectations as a week later we were given the go ahead to carry out the work.

Cleaning Hallway Quarry Tiles

Fortunately for us they had recently removed the old kitchen and scheduled us after to clean the quarry tiles before completing the decorating and refitting a new kitchen. We cleaned the tiles using a mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean diluted 1:4 parts with water and Nanotech Ultraclean which adds tiny abrasive particles into the cleaning solution. Normally I would work this into the floor using a black scrubbing pad however the floor was very uneven so I used a medium nylon brush on my rotary machine instead, this had the added advantage of reaching into the grout as well. I should mention we thoroughly rinsed the floor as we went along using a wet vacuum to remove the soiled solution. It took two of us two days to scrub the areas that had to be done and we had a blower running to help dry out the floor.

Sealing Hallway Quarry Tiles

We returned three days later and carried out moisture test to ensure the floors were dry and ready to be sealed. The Quarry tiles were then sealed them with five coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that reaches into the pores of the tile and lifts the natural colours. The owner was extremely happy with the floor and couldn’t wait to have her new kitchen installed to see how it would look.






Source: Old Quarry tile restoration