Restoring a Badly Stained Norfolk Clay Brick Floor in Attleborough Norfolk

Detailed below is the restoration of a heavily stained Clay Brick floor that I completed earlier this year. The floor was in the porch of an ex-farm labourer’s cottage in Attleborough which is an attractive market situated between Thetford and Norwich.

The owner had asked me to sort out the floor which as you can see from the image below was heavily contaminated with general dirt and thick efflorescence salts. The dirt was hiding all the natural vibrant colours of the Norfolk clay bricks and was well overdue a deep clean.

It was a small area which I was confident in being able to renovate in a day however its size and awkward shape meant a lot of cleaning would need to be done with more time-consuming hand tools. I worked out a detailed quote for the renovation which was accepted and a date set.

Cleaning and repairing a Brick Style Tiled Floor

To release the dirt from the clay bricks I started with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was spayed onto the floor and left to soak in for a good ten to fifteen minutes. It was then worked in repeatedly with a 120-grit carbide brush fitted to a Klindex Rocky rotary and lots of hand scrubbing. Afterwards the floor was rinsed with water and a wet vacuum deployed to extract the soiling; any stubborn areas were then re-treated as needed.

To treat the efflorescence Tile Doctor Acid Gel was pasted onto the brick, left for five minutes and then worked in with a firm nylon brush. The acid in the product dissolves the salts and being a gel minimises the water use on the floor. Again, once done the product was removed with more rinsing and the wet vacuum.

An industrial fan heater was then deployed to speed up drying the floor which would allow it to be sealed later that afternoon.

    

Sealing a Brick Style Tiled Floor

Once the floor had fully dried out, I applied a combination of two Tile Doctor sealers called Colour Grow and X-Tra Seal in an 80:20 ratio. Both these sealers are fully breathable which is essential when dealing with old floors like this one with no damp proof membrane. They both bring different characteristics to the finished floor leaving and brought out the natural colours in the brick. Both these sealers are impregnators which work by soaking into the brick, occupying the pores and thereby prevent dirt from residing there. This ensures dirt will remain on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away going forward. The sealer was then left to dry and then buffed with a white pad.

The result was way beyond what the clients thought possible and they were so pleased that they promptly booked us in to renovate their much larger living room.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile cleaner which is a pH neutral tile that will clean the floor without harming the sealer which can be the problem with the stronger products you find in the supermarket.

Source: Brick Floor Cleaning Service in Attleborough Norfolk

How to Restore Colour and Structure to Tired Flagstone Flooring

A customer from Ulverston was nearing the end of a house refurbishment and got in touch regarding the renovation of a Flagstone floor. A lot of contractors had been through the property and the stone was not looking its best. Happy to assist I arranged to visit the property and provide advice on its restoration.

I went over to survey the floor and could see it was suffering from heavy ground-in soiling. The stone had lost its colour and now looked dull and lifeless; the grout was also heavily soiled with ingrained dirt. We discussed the floor in detail and I recommended a deep clean to remove all the dirt and then applying a sealer to restore colour to the stone and prevent ingrained dirt.

After measuring up I worked out a detailed quote and emailed it across to the customer for their review. Happy with quote I got the go ahead to restore the floor and agreed a date.

Deep Cleaning a Tired Flagstone Floor

To get the stone clean it was sprayed with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and this was left to soak in for a good fifteen minutes to give it time to start breaking down the ingrained dirt. The floor was then scrubbed with a rotary machine fitted with a coarse carborundum brush which lifts the dirt out of the stone and grout. The soiling was then rinsed off the floor and extracted with a wet vacuum.

To further clean the Flagstones and strip off old sealers and remaining surface residues the floor was further treated with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This time the solution was scrubbed into the stone using a coarse 200-grit diamond burnishing pad to refine the appearance of the stone.

After rinsing and extracting again the stone was given an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. This neutralises the stone after the use of alkaline cleaners and further cleans the stone to remove grout smears and old mineral deposits to further refine the surface, improving clarity and tone within the stone.

After a final review of the stone to spot clean any stubborn areas, it was given another rinse and dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum.

Sealing a Flagstone Floor

The floor was left to dry out overnight and work resumed the next day to finish the stone with the application of a sealer. First however the floor was checked for moisture, applying sealer to damp stone can result in a patchy appearance so best avoided.

The results were fine so work started to apply the first of what would be two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This sealer is an impregnator that soaks in the stone adding protection from within, this ensures dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away. Another feature of Colour Grow, as its name suggests, is to enhance and deepen the colour and features in the stone.

 

Once complete the flagstones were restored to a rich, natural finish with improved colour depth and a far more uniform appearance. The surface is now protected and significantly easier to maintain.

 

For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which will clean the floor without impacting the sealer which can be a problem with many of the stronger products you find in supermarkets.

Source: Flagstone Floor Cleaning and Renovation Services in Ulverston Cumbria

How to Remove Excess Grout from Brick Slip Bathroom Flooring in Saxilby Lincoln

I was asked if I could improve the look of this new bathroom floor that had been laid with brick slips in a herringbone pattern at a property in Saxilby near Lincoln. The builder had done a solid job of laying the bricks but had been overzealous on the grouting and was unable to remove all of it resulting in a whitening of the red bricks due to grout haze. Unhappy with the appearance of their new bathroom floor and with little chance of resolution with the builder they contacted Tile Doctor to see what could be done to improve their appearance.

 

Brick Slip tiles are basically a very thin brick which allows it to be laid like a tile, normally they are cut from an actual clay brick although there are other types. Thin like a tile and light weight they can be used to quickly create authentic looking brick walls and floors.

I visited the property to understand the problems and whilst I was there, I carried out a test clean to show the client what could be achieved. They were happy with what I showed them and booked me in to have the work done.

 

Removing Grout Haze from Brick Slip Flooring

To remove the grout haze, I started off with an application of Grout Clean-up which contains phosphoric acid and is designed exactly for this purpose. It was a small space to work in so the product was scrubbed into the tile by hand until I got them as clean as possible. This was followed by a quick rinse and extraction with a wet vacuum.

I then inspected the floor and could see more work was required so this time I laid down Acid Gel which is a blend of Phosphoric and Hydrochloric acids and left it to dwell for ten minutes. After another scrub I was pleased to see I had managed to remove all the grout haze and the red brick was really starting to come through. I then gave the floor a thorough rinse with water and then removed the soiling and as much moisture as possible with the wet vacuum. I left the floor to dry off whilst I went to lunch leaving an air mover in place to assist with the drying.

 

Sealing Brick Slip Flooring

Once it had dried the floor was then sealed using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing product that as the name suggests improves colour in the tile, it’s also an impregnator which works by occupying the pores in the brick protecting it from within.

 

The client was over the moon and said that is how they wanted it to look originally. For cleaning I made the client aware of the problem of using harsh cleaning products on sealed tiles and advised them to use Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective cleaner that won’t erode the sealer with regular use.

 

Source: Grout Haze Removal Service in Saxilby Lincolnshire

Amazing Restoration of a Victorian Path in South London

Here we have an old Victorian tiled path in front of a property in Battersea which was very much worse for wear. Tiled in a red and black diamond pattern it had seen a lot of use and weathering and the owner now wanted it renovating or improving at the very least.

 

I was asked to pop over to the property, survey the path and provide a quote for its restoration. Hopefully you can appreciate from the photographs the numerous cracks and missing tiles. It was certainly going to need a lot of work to improve its appearance, which I was happy to do but I had to lower the expectations of the owner as it would never be perfect. We agreed a price for the work and booked the job in.

 

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Pathway

Before starting work we tried to source salvaged tiles that would blend in with the originals, but unfortunately, we couldn't find any that were a close enough match, so had to make do with modern tiles. These are still suitable but the metric sizing makes it a little tricker.

Work started by digging out the broken and loose tiles and then cleaning what could be salvaged. Once removed the base was then cleared of debris and where required rebuilt with cement. There were numerous affected areas, so it took quite some time to complete. Finally with the preparation done the tiles were re-laid using a mixture of original and new. The new tiles being metric had to be cut to shape as needed. The repair work was extensive and took two days to complete.

 

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Pathway

On day three the replaced tiles had set, and I was able to clean up the whole path by scrubbing in Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which being a gel cleaner doesn't require a lot of water. This was then followed by giving the path an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which further cleans the tiles and again being in gel format doesn’t require a lot of water and is much easier to control. After each stage in the cleaning process the soils were extracted with a wet vacuum.

I recommend the use of gel cleaners on old tiles like this example as they were laid before the invention of the damp proof membrane and less water means it dries quicker. This was important as it was planning to apply a sealer the next day and the tiles must be dry to achieve the best result.

 

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Pathway

The weather held out and after leaving the path to dry overnight I confirmed they were dry the next morning with a damp meter. Two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer were applied to the tiles which is a fully breathable sealer that works by soaking into the tile, occupying the pores and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. With the dirt forced to remain on the surface they are much easier to clean. This product also contains a colour enhancing formula which helps improve the deep Red and Black colours in the tile.

 

The tiles responded very well to the treatment and transformed the appearance of the path. Expecting only a small improvement my client was over them moon with the difference.

 

Source: Victorian Path Restoration Services in South London

Nottinghamshire Floor Restoration Expert Details How to Restore Painted Brick Flooring in Ollerton

We were asked by our client in Ollerton, near Sherwood Forest, to renovate a couple of original brick floors that dated to the Georgian period. The floors were in a recently renovated cloakroom and the utility room and had been left to the end of the works.

 

Both floors had been painted at some point in their long history hiding some of the original features of the property. We can improve old floors like these, but I do have to set the expectations of the client. We can definitely make big improvements, but floors of this age can rarely not be restored to their original appearance. The other problem of course is its impossible to see what we are dealing with until all the paint is removed, and the floor is uncovered. The client was very keen to try and gave us the go ahead to do the renovation, they agreed to my quote and we booked in a suitable date in to carry out the work.

 

18th century floors like these do not have damp proof membranes and can be laid directly onto compacted soil, as a result efflorescence where moisture rises through the floor can be a common problem. Normally I use a lot of water to clean a floor but in this case, I didn't want to exacerbate any damp issues and introduce more moisture into the sub flooring, so I used gel cleaning products.

 

Removing Paint from Georgian Brick Flooring

To remove the numerous latest of paint from the bricks they were covered in a strong paint stripper and then covered with a plastic sheet, leaving it overnight. The following day with the paint softened the bricks were deep cleaned with Tile Doctors Oxy-Gel and Acid Gel combined and worked in with light diamond abrasive pads. This stripped the paint from the brick flooring along with old worn coatings allowing it to be lightly rinsed with water and the soiling removed with a wet vacuum.

The process had to be repeated in a couple of areas that were particularly stubborn but eventually we got there. The floor we uncovered was quite different and was then to dry out for a few days before we could tackle the sealing.

 

Sealing Georgian Brick Flooring

On our return the day the brick flooring was sealed with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal to saturation point. This is a colour enhancing impregnating sealer that forms a protective breathable finish that will cope with the excess moisture and help manage the efflorescence problem.

 

For aftercare I left the client with a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner and advised them how to maintain. This product is pH neutral so will not damage the newly applied seal unlike some of the household cleaners on the market. It should keep the floor in good condition and ensure that maintenance is minimal moving forward. Our client was very happy with the work we carried out and delighted with the improvement of the floor particularly the colour!

 

Source: Brick Floor Restoration Service in Ollerton Nottinghamshire

How to Restore old Victorian Tiled Floors by South Yorkshire Expert

During renovations at this beautiful house in Sheffield the discovered an original Victorian tiled floor underneath the hallway carpet, incredibly they also uncovered access to a cellar, neither of which they knew idea existed and both were a massive bonus!

    

Once the floor had been fully uncovered it was in a pretty good condition, some repairs were needed but nothing too dramatic. There was damage around the radiators where the heating engineers have just chiselled through the tiles. Plus, the tiles were stained by adhesive where the carpet grippers had been glued to the tiles.

 

I discussed with the client the work needed to carry out a full restoration and gave them a quote. They were happy to accept and asked us to proceed as soon as possible.

 

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started with the removal of the carpet grippers and scraping up as much of the glue as possible, it took some shifting, but it did come up. Any remaining glue was softened up with the application of neat Tile Doctor Remove and Go and then carefully scraped off. Tile Doctor Remove and Go is a multi-purpose stripper that is ideal for removing adhesives and other stubborn coatings such as sealers.

 

The repairs were done next which involved colour matching replacement tiles and cutting them to the right size. A fast-setting adhesive was used to fix them in place and once the floor had dried it was time to move onto the cleaning.

More Tile Doctor Remove and Go was applied, left to soak for ten minutes, and then worked in with a weighted 42kg buffer machine fitted with a very coarse diamond burnishing pad. This combination not only removed the old sealer but did a good job of removing ingrained dirt as well. The floor was rinsed with water and the soil extracted using a wet vacuum.

 

Once done the process was repeated using Tile Doctor Acid Gel, this removes stubborn staining and being an acidic product will counter any efflorescence which is a common problem with these old floors. Old floors like this one don’t have a damp proof membrane installed to prevent moisture underneath the tiles rising through the floor and depositing salt as it evaporates at the surface.

A wet vacuum was used to extract the soiling generated during the cleaning process and every tile was rubbed with microfibre cloths to remove the last of the residue.

 

A nice feature seen on a lot of Victorian floors is an upside tile left by the tiler on purpose, the picture shows the one on this floor. They believed it brought good luck.

 

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor was left to dry off overnight and I returned the following morning to continue with the final phase of the restoration. Before starting though, the first job was to check the floor was dry using a moisture meter. Once satisfied six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra we applied leaving the floor with a beautiful sheen finish.

 

The client was very pleased with the newly restored floor, and for ongoing cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This product has a neutral Ph which is ideal for sealed surfaces; stronger bleach-based cleaners are simply too strong for use on sealed tiles and will erode the sealer prematurely.

 

Source: Tile Cleaning and Restoration Contractor in Sheffield Yorkshire

New Low Moisture Cleaning Technique used on the Restoration of Vintage Victorian Flooring in Carlisle Cumbria

This is probably one of the oldest Victorian floors we have worked on, the house dates back to 1853 and is the second one we have covered on the same road in the leafy city of Carlisle . The whole street was owned by the council for several decades and the houses including floors have experienced all sorts of damage to them over the years. More recently the houses have been released to a private developer who called us in to handle the restoration and resurrect the hallway tiles which you will see on the pictures.

 

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first job for us was the tile repair, and this meant preparing the surface for the new tiles, which involved carefully knocking up all the loose and cracked tiles and then re setting them using matching replacements where necessary.

   

To do this I like to use a multi tool to score the grout and then break out the cracked tiles with a hammer and chisel or a power drill. The replacement tiles had to be re-sized to fit, oddly enough most of the damage was along the edge of the floor where air ducts used to be in place and then these had been concreted in. The main part of the floor though was still in good order even though it was 170 years old.

 

Once the replacement tiles were set, a low moisture cleaning technique was used to get the whole floor clean. This involves covering the tiles in Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel and leaving it to soak into the tile for ten minutes. Being a gel cleaner, it is easier to control and there is less water involved. The gel is then scrubbed in with a buffing machine fitted with a 100-grit milling pad. A little bit of water is added to help lubricate and scrub off the dirt and soiling. A wet vacuum is then used to remove the soil which is an essential piece of kit for this line of work.

After the initial clean the floor was given an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was applied neat and as before scrubbed in using a pad, this time using a finer 200-grit milling pad. Again, a little water was used to aid in the clean up being careful not to flood the floor.

The reason for the low moisture clean is that there was a basement underneath the hallway and the client had nowhere else to put certain fabrics, furniture etc so with a low moisture clean we can minimise the chance of any water finding its way into the space below. The wet vacuum was deployed again to remove the cleaning products and water and the floor was left to dry.

 

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Once clean and dry the floor was sealed using two coats of Tile Doctor X-Tra seal which as the name suggests is a little bit extra as it's a very robust sealer, although mainly designed for outside areas it’s an oil-based formula that works really on Victorian tiles.

 

One done the floor looked great, and the developer was very happy with the result.

 

Source: Victorian Floor Tile Cleaning and Restoration in Carlisle, North Cumbria

Rescuing a Forgotten Period Victorian Floor in North London

This classic original Black and White Victorian tiled floor was discovered by a customer in Kensal Rise under a lino floor when they moved in. Unfortunately, a large section of tiling was missing and had been backfilled with cement after a radiator pipe had been installed at some point in the past. The new owner understood that value that period features such as Victorian floors can add to the value of a property and was keen to have it restored.

 

We have done numerous similar restorations in the past, so we were asked to go over, survey the floor and quote for carrying out the work. Knowing that a lot of the cement would need to be removed I started by carefully chipping away some of the cement to make sure the radiator pipe had been buried deep enough for tiling. It was so after measuring up and inspecting the rest of the floor I went ahead and issued a quote.

The client accepted so we booked in a mutually convenient date to carry out the works. The property was in a lovely street of similar properties many of which looked as if they had been restored.

 

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first task we did was clean the existing tiles with an application of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a strong alkaline coatings remover. This was diluted with water, sprayed onto the tiles, left to soak in for ten minutes and then scrubbed into the floor using a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. After rinsing off and the slurry and extracting with a wet vacuum the tiles were inspected and the process repeated where needed.

 

The next stage was to treat the floor to an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel, this time worked in with a coarse 200-grit pad. Old floors like this one don’t have a damp proof membrane under the floor and as the moisture rises though the tile to evaporate at the surface you can find white salt deposits being left behind. Giving the floor an acid rinse like this will dissolve the salts and will also neutralise the floor after the use of an alkaline cleaner. Combine this with a coarse pad and you find the tiles come up really well, it will even remove old grout smears on the surface of the tiles. Once done the floor was rinsed again and the floor dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum.

After leaving the floor to dry off overnight we came back the next day and started the processing of excavating the cement around the heating pipe. With the rubble removed fast drying self-levelling cement was applied to a point where it was the right height for re-tiling.

On day three with the cement now dry it was tiled using matching tiles I had managed to source from Original Style Tiles who are a supplier that specialises in reproduction Victorian tiles. They have a vast range so we can usually find a very close match. The tiles were laid in a matching diamond pattern and grouted in later that afternoon.

 

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On the fourth and final day, we returned to seal the entire floor with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a matt sealer that soaks into the tile occupying the pores and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. It also contains a colour enhancer that really brings out the contrast in the black and white tiles. It is also fully breathable so is perfect for floors of this age which lack the damp proof membrane beneath the floor that we now use in every modern build.

 

The client was very happy with the finished result, the entrance hall was now in keeping with the rest of the period features of the property. For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a gentle pH neutral tile cleaning product compatible for use on sealed tiles. Many household cleaning products tend to be very strong and can affect the sealer protecting the floor.

 

Source: North London Floor Tile Rescue and RestorationService

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