Lancashire Tile Expert Reveals Travertine Renovation Secrets

This customer in Preston in Lancashire had just moved into a house with a large 60m2 Travertine tiled floor that was installed throughout most of the ground floor. Travertine is a lovely stone but the previous owner had not maintained the sealer on the tiles and as a result it now looked grubby and there was a lot of dirt ingrained in the tiles leaving black staining, especially in the Kitchen.

   

This is a common problem with all natural stone floors, some are hardier than others but without a protective barrier in place they will attract dirt as the sealer become worn off. The new owner was seriously considering having the tiles ripped up, fortunately however they came across our service and decided to try having them renovated first.

   

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Floor

To get the stone clean and bring back the beautiful appearance of the Travertine I used several diamond burnishing pads which are run over the tiles with water for lubrication. The first was a coarse 200-grit pad which is fitted to a rotary floor machine and buffed into the stone in a circular motion. This process generates a lot of slurry which is then rinsed off afterwards and extracted with a wet vacuum.

 

This process was then repeated using finer burnishing pads and continued with a 400-grit, 800-grit and finally a 1500-grit, again each pad was run over the tiles several times and then the slurry extracted as before. It’s a completely abrasive process with no other products needed and the result is a sealer and dirt-free tile.

 

At this point I inspected the floor to see if the pads had been able to clean up the grout as well as the tile. Pads can struggle to reach down into the recess so I often find more work is needed on the grout. As suspected the Travertine had responded well to the treatment however it was clear the grout would need more work and was still stained black in places. Normally use a grout cleaning product called Tile Doctor Pro-Clean for the grout but on this occasion, I felt something stronger would be needed. So, on this occasion I applied undiluted Tile Doctor Remove and Go along the grout lines and left it to soak in for ten minutes. It was then scrubbed in by hand, rinsed off and the soil remove with the wet vacuum. The grout cleaning had worked a treat and happy with the condition of the floor it was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

The next morning time was spent filling in holes (aka pitting) in the Travertine with colour matching grout before running over the whole floor with a very fine 3000-grit polishing pad to further bring up the appearance of the stone. This is done using a little water sprayed onto the tile a process we call a spray burnish. Spray burnishing also leaves the floor dry and ready to be sealed. The owner wanted the Travertine to look as natural as possible so two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal were applied. This is an impregnating sealer which is recommended for use on polished stone and for use in kitchens.

 

Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning and how important it is to avoid the use of strong cleaning products (especially bleach) on Travertine, not only will it degrade the sealer but can also harm the stone. For the regular cleaning of sealed Travertine, I recommend using Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a gentle but effective cleaner that also helps maintain the patina.

 

Source: Travertine Tile Cleaning and Renovation in Preston

Damaged Classic Tiled Hallway Floor Fully Restored in Lancashire

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Detailed below is the restoration of a Victorian tiled hallway floor that we started back in June in Preston. Although we started in June there was so much damage to the subfloor and the tiles it took some time to complete, additionally, the client did not like the colour samples of the replacement tiles we had brought along and so decided to source their own which took some time.

 

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway

Three months later with replacement tiles now sourced we were given the go ahead to start the restoration. The first day’s focus was cleaning the original floor using very coarse 100-grit and 200-grit Diamond pads fitted to a rotary buffer machine and applied to the floor using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go to add extra cleaning power. Tile edges were given special attention using a flex machine fitted with small diamond grit pads.

 

The floor was rinsed with water to remove the soil generated and this was followed up with an acid rinse using a 1:3 dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up. This last step in the cleaning process is especially recommend for old floors like this which don’t have a damp proof membrane and can suffer from efflorescence issues.

Replacing Damaged Victorian Tiles

The next stage focused on repairing the floor and started by carefully knocking out all the broken and chipped tiles. We had previously estimated over 30 tiles needed replacing and so the client had bought two boxes, meaning I had plenty of spares to work with.

Before tiling however, the subfloor had suffered over the years and needed attention first. To deal with this the damaged areas were raked out, cleaned up and then back filled with rapid setting self-levelling screed from Mapie adhesives. Once the sub-base was fixed then we put the new tiles back in, they were not an exact match, about 5mm too short and lighter in tone, but the colour was pretty close.

Tiling an old Victorian floor like this can be a bit like dominoes as you move one out of place 2 decent ones come loose and then they also need refixing. Some of the tiles had hair line cracks in them and once they were loose, they just cracked in half. As such the 20 spare tiles that I thought were spare came into good use and I actually ended up using all of them. I could have done with a few more so it was decided to reset the last four broken tiles and grout them in. Luckily for me the client was very understanding about the nature of tile restoration and had accepted that there would be some imperfections and they were not expecting a new floor.

The Tiles were fixed down using Ultralite Rapid Flex (another product from Mapie) and then grouted using the same adhesive (not a grout, as they did not have grout back in the day, just cement and screed).

The floor was left this to cure overnight, and we came back the next day to finish the clean using a 200-grit diamond pad fitted to a buffing machine and lubricated with water, then one last acid rinse to get the tiles as clean as possible and remove any lingering grout haze. This last clean helps to blend the new tiles in with the original.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Before applying a protective sealer, the floor was left to dry for a couple of days, the tiles need to be thoroughly dry before sealing or you can end up with a patchy appearance.

For this floor with no damp proof membrane, it was important to use a fully breathable sealer that will allow moisture to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface, so Tile Doctor Colour Grow was chosen. This is a good choice for old floors like this as its fully breathable, head wearing, and it contains a colour enhancer that improves the overall appearance of the tile.

 

Three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a fully breathable, colour enhancing sealer hat works by soaking into the pores of the tile protecting it from within. It has a matt finish, and it works really well with all clay tiles and is ideal for these types of floors.

 

You can probably spot the lighter coloured tiles in the after photos on this page, however it’s a very subtle difference and I think they have blended in quite well with the original. Certainly, my client was very pleased with the newly restored floor, its completely transformed from when we first visited the client, and the floor has now gained character and history. For aftercare we recommend Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner, its an effective pH neutral product that is compatible with the new sealer.

Source: Victorian Tile Cleaning and Polishing Service in Lancashire

Restoring the Appearance of Floor Tile Grout in Lancashire

Well maintained grout is fundamental to achieving a great looking tiled floor, whatever your choice of tile or stone. Even if the tiles themselves are in reasonably good condition, dirty and damaged grout lines can really upset the overall appearance of the floor. Such was the case with this Read more...

Polishing a Travertine Table

Here's a quick job I did at a house in the town of Preston, located on the north bank of the River Ribble. My customer had a Travertine table top that had become dull and lost its shine however being a polished stone I knew it should be possible to burnish the shine back. Travertine is very popular for both commercial and residential use, as it is a natural material with unique features and characters that distinguish it from other types of stone. It can be used for floor tile, kitchen Read more...

Restoring Red Jurassic Sandstone Steps and Landing in Preston

We often get called out when other trades with less experience in stone cleaning fail to make a difference which was the case with these Red Jurassic Sandstone Stone steps at a house in Preston which had been stained with paint splashes and years of grime. The customer had tried several solutions to restore these steps including having a go themselves buy applying some Chemicals from a local Tile Shop, however again this didn't achieve the results the customer wanted so they called us after Read more...

Restoring old Red Sandstone Steps

We often get called out when other trades with less experience in stone cleaning fail to make a difference which was the case with these Red Jurassic Sandstone Stone steps at a house in Preston which had been stained with paint splashes and years of grime. The customer had tried several solutions to restore these steps including having a go themselves buy applying some Chemicals from a local Tile Shop, however again this didn't achieve the results the customer wanted so they called us after we were recommended to them.

Burnishing Red Jurassic Sandstone

I took a look at the Sandstone and tested a few methods before deciding to go with a process called Burnishing which involves the application of diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The pads come in a set of four and are applied in sequence from Coarse, through medium, fine and super fine; you need to use a little water to lubricate as you go and also rinse with water between the application of each pad. Naturally due to the tight space I couldn’t use a set of full size pads, only he smaller 6 inch pads which fit a small hand buffer.

Sealing an Indian Sandstone Tiled Floor

The floor was left to dry off overnight and then I returned the next day to seal the whole floor with two coats of our impregnating sealer Tile Doctor Colour Grow. The sealer fills the pores of the stone to prevent ingrained dirt and stains, while also emphasising the natural colours in the stone. The full process successfully restored the red colour in the Sandstone and have come up quite well considering they are over 300 years old.     Source: Sandstone Cleaning and Restoration Service in Lancashire

Restoring the Appearance of Floor Tile Grout in Lancashire

Well maintained grout is fundamental to achieving a great looking tiled floor, whatever your choice of tile or stone. Even if the tiles themselves are in reasonably good condition, dirty and damaged grout lines can really upset the overall appearance of the floor. Such was the case with this Read more...

Grout Cleaning and Colouring for a Ceramic Terracotta Tiled Floor in Preston

Well maintained grout is fundamental to achieving a great looking tiled floor, whatever your choice of tile or stone. Even if the tiles themselves are in reasonably good condition, dirty and damaged grout lines can really upset the overall appearance of the floor. Such was the case with this Ceramic Terracotta tiled floor in the bustling Lancashire town of Preston. The property owner recently had a new kitchen installed, but chose not to have new tiles fitted since the original tiles Read more...

Travertine Table Top Restoration In Preston

Here's a quick job I did at a house in the town of Preston, located on the north bank of the River Ribble. My customer had a Travertine table top that had become dull and lost its shine however being a polished stone I knew it should be possible to burnish the shine back. Travertine is very popular for both commercial and residential use, as it is a natural material with unique features and characters that distinguish it from other types of stone. It can be used for floor tile, kitchen Read more...

Rockform Tiles Preston

I took the photographs below at Rockform who we often use for sourcing difficult to find tiles. Tony and Mark who run the shop have been in the business for many years and have a vast wealth of knowledge so I can highly recommend them; they can be found on the (A6) Garstang Road at Brock, Near Preston. Rockform Ltd can be found on the (A6) Garstang Road, Brock, Near Preston, Lancashire, PR3 0RD Read more...

Grout Cleaning and Colouring Bathroom Wall Tiles in Preston

I recently paid a visit to a customer at a house in the town of Preston to restore the colour of the grout in their bathroom which due to years of using strong cleaning products had bleached the grout of any colour. The tiles themselves were not the issue they seemed fine but the grout was looking Tired; we discussed the options and decided the best course of action would be to apply a grout colourant. Two different colours were chosen, white for the shower area and Sandstone for the toilet Read more...

Grout Cleaning and Colouring 25m2 of Tiles in Preston

Oddly Enough I had sold these Ceramic tiles to the customer in Preston when I used to work at a local Tile Shop many years prior. I had also been back to clean and seal the grout on his floor tiles originally in 2007 and then again in January 2010 when we used a Grout Colourant on them. It's nice to get called back like this as it shows they appreciate the service you provide; for this visit the request was to freshen up the floor tiles and also the Ceramic Kitchen wall tile and Grout which Read more...

To read more on this topic click here

Polishing a Travertine Table

Here's a quick job I did at a house in the town of Preston, located on the north bank of the River Ribble. My customer had a Travertine table top that had become dull and lost its shine however being a polished stone I knew it should be possible to burnish the shine back. Travertine is very popular for both commercial and residential use, as it is a natural material with unique features and characters that distinguish it from other types of stone. It can be used for floor tile, kitchen Read more...

To read more on this topic click here