Monday, May 1, 2017
Maintaining Victorian Tiled Hallways
These Victorian hallway tiles were cleaned at a residence in the historic town of Bideford. As you can see from the photograph below the tiles were dull and had lost their vitality due to ingrained dirt, clearly it had been some time since they were given a good deep clean. Cleaning a Victorian
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Restoring Terracotta Floor in Boston
Details below of a terracotta floor cleaning job we did near Boston, that's Boston in Lincolnshire which is small port on the east coast of the UK as opposed to Boston, Massachusetts which was given its name by emigrants from this area. The tiles were expensive handmade terracotta tiles, a few
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Dealing with Mould on Grout and Silicone in Northampton
A common problem with bathroom and shower cubicle tiles is the appearance of mould on the tile, grout and silicone which if not tackled on a regular basis will spread and threaten to severely damage the appearance of the tiles, along with the silicone. This problem is usually due to inadequate ventilation however the good news is that with early intervention with Tile Doctor Mould Away spray the problem can be reversed. The two photos below show a bad case of this very problem at a property
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Add River Rock Tile to Your Shower Floor
Adding a river rock tile floor to your shower will give the look and feel of a natural stone floor. River rock tile shower floors can also compliment other aspects of the bathroom. River rock tiles come in different color schemes, most of them being neutral. Before tackling this project, it is best to practice tiling and grouting on a different surface. The tools and instructions to take on this job are listed below.
What You'll Need:
Step 1 – Setting the Thinset
Spread the thinset adhesive all across the concrete base. The thinset will set the tiles in a thin layer of mortar. It is best to have a good quality thinset. The right thinset adhesive will assist with avoiding mishaps in the future. Spread the thinset starting in the back corner of the shower and working in small increments. Increments of 3 square feet should do the trick. This will keep you from spreading more thinset than is needed before it dries. The thinset will usually dry in about 10 or 15 minutes. Scoop the thinset from the bucket onto the floor of the shower. Spread it with a 1/4 inch notched trowel. The trowel should be held at a 45 degree angle with the notched side down. Drag the trowel across the thinset in order to corm rows of ridges that will be neat.
Step 2 – Adding the River Rock Tiles
The river rock tiles need to now be placed on the thinset. You can usually purchase the tiles mounted on sheets of interlocking mesh. They are 12 inch by 12 inch sheets. These are a plus because the stones are already spaced the way the need to be. This makes it faster to set the tiles and you can easily see the patterns across all of the tiles. You can get these tiles in a wide array of colors. Some of the tiles even mimic the look of a river bed. Others come in gray monotones, brown, black or white. You can cut the backing on the tiles to make shapes or patterns by mixing them. Another option when adding the river rock tiles is to use individual stones. This is more time consuming but gives you more creative options.
Step 3 – Sealing, Grouting and Sealing Again
Use a penetrating sealer to seal the natural stones. The stones need to be covered in grout. Press the grout down in between the stones. Give it about 30 minutes to dry. You can use a brush with stiff bristles to remove the excess grout. Using a clean damp sponge, remove all of the grout that remains on the surface of the tiles. Lastly, apply the second and last coat of the penetrating sealant.
What You'll Need:
- Thinset
- Mortar
- Putty knife
- Bucket
- Trowel
- Scoop
- Interlocking mesh
- Sealant
- Stiff bristled brush
- Sponge
- River rock tiles
Step 1 – Setting the Thinset
Spread the thinset adhesive all across the concrete base. The thinset will set the tiles in a thin layer of mortar. It is best to have a good quality thinset. The right thinset adhesive will assist with avoiding mishaps in the future. Spread the thinset starting in the back corner of the shower and working in small increments. Increments of 3 square feet should do the trick. This will keep you from spreading more thinset than is needed before it dries. The thinset will usually dry in about 10 or 15 minutes. Scoop the thinset from the bucket onto the floor of the shower. Spread it with a 1/4 inch notched trowel. The trowel should be held at a 45 degree angle with the notched side down. Drag the trowel across the thinset in order to corm rows of ridges that will be neat.
Step 2 – Adding the River Rock Tiles
The river rock tiles need to now be placed on the thinset. You can usually purchase the tiles mounted on sheets of interlocking mesh. They are 12 inch by 12 inch sheets. These are a plus because the stones are already spaced the way the need to be. This makes it faster to set the tiles and you can easily see the patterns across all of the tiles. You can get these tiles in a wide array of colors. Some of the tiles even mimic the look of a river bed. Others come in gray monotones, brown, black or white. You can cut the backing on the tiles to make shapes or patterns by mixing them. Another option when adding the river rock tiles is to use individual stones. This is more time consuming but gives you more creative options.
Step 3 – Sealing, Grouting and Sealing Again
Use a penetrating sealer to seal the natural stones. The stones need to be covered in grout. Press the grout down in between the stones. Give it about 30 minutes to dry. You can use a brush with stiff bristles to remove the excess grout. Using a clean damp sponge, remove all of the grout that remains on the surface of the tiles. Lastly, apply the second and last coat of the penetrating sealant.
Source: www.DoItYourself.com
Removing Paint and Plaster from Slate tiles
If your hiring a decorator beware, for some reason were seeing an increase in floors splattered with paint due to a lack of care. This was certainly the case on this Riven Slate tiled floor in Bury, Greater Manchester where decorators had made a right mess of this floor with plaster and paint.
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Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Balcony
This balcony in St John's Wood, London, NW8, which had been clad in Limestone floor tiles, had not been professionally cleaned for 15 years and was now covered in mould which the customer was unable to remove. Stripping the Limestone Tiled Floor To get the Limestone clean I used a neat solution
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