Putting the Shine Back on Encaustic Floor Tiles in Hemswell Cliff Lincolnshire

The photographs below are of an Encaustic Tiled Floor which had been installed some years prior in the kitchen of at a property in the village of Hemswell Cliff which is between Gainsborough and Market Rasen.

I paid a visit to the property initially to survey the floor and discuss the problem with the client. The main issue was the tiles had become dull and she couldn't keep them clean. I explained that Encaustic tiles are porous and need to be kept sealed to prevent the dirt from becoming ingrained in its pores; over the years since installation the sealer had simply worn down and now dirt was getting into the pores of the tile and once that happens it can be difficult to get it out. 

To prove my point, I carried out a demonstration on how I would clean them and explained the different sealer options available and how each sealer can have a different effect. She was pleased with the demonstration and was happy to accept my quote to deep clean the whole floor and then re-seal it.

Deep Cleaning Encaustic Kitchen Floor Tiles

I set about scrubbing the floor using a hot water dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean Tile and Grout cleaner combined 50:50 with NanoTech HBU Remover which adds tiny abrasive particles to the solution to make a more effective cleaning product. The solution was worked into the tiles by scrubbing with a rotary machine fitted with a Black scrubbing pad.

The pads struggle to reach into the recesses between the tiles so to get the grout clean I scrubbed them by hand using a stiff brush. Once done the soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum and floor inspected to ensure it was as clean as possible. Any stubborn areas were spot treated by hand and then the whole area thoroughly rinsed down with clean water to remove any trace of cleaning product.

Finally, the wet vacuum was used to dry the floor as much as possible with assistance from a Turbo Air blower to help reduce the drying time.

 

Sealing Encaustic Floor Tiles

It wasn’t a particularly large floor and a warm day so I was able to complete the cleaning process by lunch time and after a few hours later with the assistance of the air blower the floor was dry and ready to be sealed.

Having discussed sealer choice with the client earlier a decision had been made to seal the encaustic tiles with Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds a nice subtle sheen to the tile. Five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were needed before the tiles were fully sealed, it’s a water based protective sealer so it doesn’t give off any odour whilst it dries and it provided the finish the customer was looking for.

Once completed the colours in the tiles were really vivid and resulted in one happy customer with a clean easy to maintain floor. On the subject of cleaning, I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective tile cleaner. The problem with many of the tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets is they contain bleach which is simply too strong for use on a sealed tile as it will strip off the sealer.

Source: Encaustic Floor Cleaning and Sealing Services in Hemswell Cliff Lincolnshire

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovation in Warwickshire

I took the photographs below at an old 1920’s house in Nuneaton where the owner was interested in restoring the original Quarry tiled floor in their Kitchen. Interestingly Nuneaton has a rich manufacturing history that included brick and tile making so it’s entirely possible these tiles were made locally at the Haunchwood Brick and Tile company.

Tastes change over the years and at some point in the past the Quarry tiles had been covered with a levelling compound so that linoleum could be installed on top. This meant that the first part of the job would be to remove the screed before I could clean up the tiles. On top of that It was clear as well that many of the tiles were damaged and would need replacing.


I worked out a quote which was agreed by the customer and started looking around for matching replacement tiles, fortunately I was able to track some down at Warwick Reclamation who stock thousands of quarry tiles in many of the common period sizes.

Restoring an Original Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

On day one I set about carefully removing the screed with a hammer and chisel and also the damaged tiles, so they could be replaced. With the tiles removed we it was clear some parts of the subfloor were cracked and needed to be rebuild with fresh cement.


Once the floor was ready the replacement Quarry tiles were fixed in place and once the adhesive was dry they were grouted in.

To remove the remaining screed and salt damage from the surface of the tiles I used a set of coarse milling pads which are applied with water for lubrication. The process generates a lot of soil, so the floor needs to be rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum after each pad.

The next step was to pre-treat the tiles with Tile Doctor Remove and Go in order to remove old contaminants such as old oils and then treat the floor to a deep clean with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was scrubbed in with black scrubbing pad.

Old floors like these don’t have a damp proof membrane so the last step in the restoration process was to counter any inherent salt issues in the floor that might reappear later as white efflorescence salt deposits. This is done by giving the floor an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is scrubbed into the tiles, neutralising the salts, this product also removes old mineral deposits and grout smears.

The floor was given a final rinse with water to remove any traces of products used and then as much water and moisture as possible was extracted using a wet vacuum. The floor was then left to dry out for a few days.

Sealing a Quarry tiled floor

When I returned my first job was to take multiple readings around the floor using a damp meter to verify the floor was dry and ready for sealing. The extra drying time had done the trick and I was able to seal the floor using multiple coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is a fully breathable sealer that can cope with any potential moisture problems, it also leaves a nice sheen finish that brings the best out of Quarry tiles.
In total the restoration took 4 days to complete and had completely restored the Quarry tiled floor close to what they must have looked like back when they were installed nearly a hundred years ago. Source: Quarry Tile Cleaning and Restoration Service in Warwickshire