Work by Location Archives - Page 2 of 2

Wood Effect Ceramic Tile Planks Grout Haze Renovation Birkdale

Removing Grout Haze from Wood Effect Ceramic Planks in Birkdale

1 Comment / Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Crosby Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Andrew Robb

We were contacted by a property owner in Birkdale near Southport who recently had a large kitchen extension built with wood effect Ceramic tiles on the floor. Unfortunately, the builder struggled to remove all the grout from the tiles, and this left the floor in a bit of a state. Grout haze or grout smears as it is often called can be a huge problem when laying tiles, it needs to be polished off quickly after installation and even more so if your using a modern quick drying grout.

Wood Effect Ceramic Planks Birkdale Kitchen Floor Before Grout Haze Removal

This is quite a common problem, and we are often asked to resolve tile installation problems of one variety or another. Sometimes we can use an acid-based product such as Tile Doctor Acid Gel or Grout Clean-up which can break down the grout so it can be rinsed away and extracted. Modern polymer grouts which offer improved flexibility and adhesion are trickier and will require a different approach. I wouldn’t recommend the use of acidic products on natural stone however as it can etch the stone thereby causing more problems than it solves, fortunately these tiles were Ceramic.

I conducted a quick test with Grout Clean-up, and it responded well, so I could see removing the grout haze wasn’t going to be problem in this case.

Removing Grout Haze from Wood Effect Ceramic Tiles

I diluted one part Grout Clean-up with two parts water and mopped into onto the floor and left to dwell for a couple of minutes. The solution was then scrubbed into the tile using a buffing machine fitted with a black pad to loosen the grout haze adding more water as needed. The buffing machine was run over the floor once more and the liquids removed using a wet vacuum.

Wood Effect Ceramic Planks Birkdale Kitchen Floor During Grout Haze Removal

The ceramic tiles were then speed dried using floor fans so I could review the result and repeat the process where required. Once I was happy all the grout haze had been removed, I gave the floor dry buff with a white pad to remove any water marks and improve the final appearance.

Wood Effect Ceramic Planks Birkdale Kitchen Floor After Grout Haze Removal

The photographs really show the transformation once the grout was removed. Certainly my client was over the moon with the difference and the builder much relieved, I’m sure.

Professional Clean of a Wood Effect Ceramic Tiled Hallway in West Merseyside

Removing Grout Haze from Wood Effect Ceramic Planks in Birkdale Read More »

Starlight Quartz Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaned Polished Southport

Achieving a Mirror Finish on Starlight Quartz floor tiles in Southport

1 Comment / Formby Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Andrew Robb

We were asked by a client in Southport for advice regarding their Black Starlight Quartz tiled kitchen floor. Over the years it had lost its appearance and they wanted to know if anything could be done to return the deep shine the tiles had when they were installed.

Quartz tiles are not the most practical choice for the floor of a busy kitchen, but these sparkly starlight tiles certainly add the bling. In this case the deep sparkly shine added by the factory during manufacture had worn down with use and now looked almost cloudy.

Starlight Quartz Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Southport

Like Terrazzo, Quartz tiles are a composite tile engineered from a mixture of resin, sand, quartz, and crushed mirror pieces. The Quartz makes it very durable and tiles with high ratios of Quartz are very hard wearing although as in this case will benefit from a polish from time to time.

I paid the client a visit to survey the floor and work out the best process for restoring the appearance of the floor. I was confident the work could be done in a day and quoted accordingly. Happy with the price we agreed a date for my return.

Cleaning Starlight Quartz Floor Tile and Grout

The first job was to wash down the floor with a mild solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to remove all the different products the client had used on the tiles to keep them clean. After ten minutes the solution was worked into the tiles with a floor buffer fitted with a black pad.

Buffing pads can struggle to reach into recesses of the grout line so I like to clean them manually with more Pro-Clean and a handheld scrubbing brush. The combination of the Pro Clean and scrubbing action releases the dirt making the solution turn into a dark slurry that is rinsed with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor is then inspected, and the process repeated where necessary and afterwards two floor driers were placed on the floor to speed up the drying time.

Polishing and Sealing a Starlight Quartz Tiled Kitchen Floor

The Quartz tiled floor was then dry burnished using a standard speed buffing machine fitted with a Tile Doctor 3000-grit burnishing pad and a little water sprayed onto the tile. This process slowly builds back the polish on the tile.

Then once the deep shine had been restored to the Quartz tiles the floor was sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal impregnating sealer, the sealer is absorbed into the microscopic pores and will protect the tiles and grout going forward. The excess sealer was wiped off and then I ran over the floor with a White buffing pad to tighten up the seal and to further improve the finish on the tiles until it was like a mirror.

Starlight Quartz Tiled Floor After Cleaning Polishing Southport

Before leaving I advised the client that they needed to be careful what they used to clean their floor with going forward, some supermarket products are simply too strong and will strip the protective seal off a tile. For this floor I recommended Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for cleaning highly polished floors and helps to maintain the patina.

They were delighted with the newly polished floor it really returned the wow factor back to the kitchen.

Professional Renovation of a Starlight Quartz Tiled Kitchen Floor in Merseyside

Achieving a Mirror Finish on Starlight Quartz floor tiles in Southport Read More »

Victorian Hallway Floor Tile Renovation West Kirby Merseyside

Victorian Tiled Hallway Renovated in West Kirby

1 Comment / Heswall Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Wallasey Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Andrew Robb

We were contacted by a customer in West Kirby who needed help renovating a Victorian tiled hallway in a house they had just purchased. Kirby is a desirable seaside location North of Heswall that expanded with the arrival of the railway in 1848. The railway brought a demand for property and so it’s not unusual to find housing stock in this area dating back to the Victorian era.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Renovation West Kirby

The Victorian tiles at this property appear to have been neglected by the previous owner and were now looking very dull and marked by paint from decorating; all the colours looked washed out and the floor was now looking very unappealing.

The good news however is that this problem is not uncommon and with a deep clean and a fresh sealer applied it can be transformed. I gave the owner a quote which was accepted a date agreed for my return to do the work.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On the first day the floor was sprayed with a neat solution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a powerful alkaline cleaning and stripping agent used to remove old seals and paint. The solution was left to dwell for about twenty minutes so it could soak in and get to work. It was then scrubbed into the tiles using a coarse 200-grit pad fitted to a heavy buffing machine. Water was then added to the floor for lubrication and the soils released from the pores of the tile during scrubbing was removed by with a wet vacuum.

To treat the stubborn paint stains and remains of what I suspect was carpet adhesive a hand scraper and wire brush was used, this was made easier by the Remove and Go which had softened the paint etc.

The next stage was to give the Victorian tiles a mild acid wash using Acid Gel which is applied to the floor, scrubbed in, and rinsed off with a little water then extracted using the wet vacuum. We always recommend an acid wash for old floors like these as it will counter any efflorescent salts resident in the tiles and helps to remove other mineral contaminates and old grout that can mask the true beauty of the tiles.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I left the tiles to dry out for two days before returning to apply the sealer, first checking it was dry by testing for moisture in various places with an electronic damp tester. It’s not a good idea to apply a sealer to a damp floor so we always check first.
Satisfied the floor was dry, I started applying a coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing impregnating sealer that helps to bring out the true colours in the tile. This was allowed to dry for thirty minutes and then followed up five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is a breathable sealer that leaves a lovely satin finish and builds on the protection.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Renovation West Kirby

Once done the Victorian hallway tiles looked so much cleaner and healthier. It was quite a transformation and the new sealer had given the floor a nice low sheen shine which the customer was very happy with.

For aftercare cleaning I left them with a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is specially formulated for cleaning sealed tiles. We don’t recommend tile cleaning products you find on supermarket shelves as the are usually too strong and can strip a sealer off the floor prematurely. If your choosing another product to clean your floor always read the label to make sure its compatible.

Victorian Hallway Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Merseyside

Victorian Tiled Hallway Renovated in West Kirby Read More »

Restoring a Cement Covered Tiled Floor in Formby

1 Comment / Crosby Tile Cleaning, Formby Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Andrew Robb

We were contacted by a client from Formby asking for advice on how to remove a thick layer of floor leveller from her Quarry tiled floor. I suspect at some point in the past a previous owner had decided to cover the tiles with lino and a cement-based levelling compound was applied to level the floor first. My client had tried to remove it herself but found it very hard going and after realising she had quite a project on her hands decided to call us instead and see if we could help with the restoration.

Quarry Tiled Floor During Self-Levelling Compound Removal Formby

I worked out a quote for the client which would include removing the self-levelling compound, cleaning up the tiles and then sealing them to improve its appearance and protect it going forward. The quote was accepted, and a date agreed for the restoration to be completed which would take two days.

Cleaning and restoring a Stone Tile Kitchen Floor

We have a variety of tools that we can use for removing cement but in this case, I decided to use an air operated pin gun. The head of the gun has long pins of different length which are fired at the floor gently chipping away at the floor compound, this made short work of breaking up the cement so it could be swept away. A lot easier than the method the client had previously tried.

With the floor clear of cement, it was given an acid wash with Tile Doctor Acid Gel scrubbed in with a buffing machine fitted with a black pad. The acidic formula cleans up the stone of old cement including fine particles of dust. Afterwards the gel was rinsed off the floor with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Sealing a Stone Tiled Kitchen Floor

We let the floor dry out overnight and returned the next morning to apply the sealer. For the best results, the stone needs to be dry so before sealing I always take several moisture readings with a damp meter to make sure. The results were good so the first of what would be three coats of sealer were applied to the floor. I used Tile Doctor Colour Grow for sealing, it is an impregnating sealer that works by occupying the pores in the store thereby protecting it from within, it also brings out the colour in the stone.

Once done the floor looked great, the old self-levelling compound was gone and the rich colours in the tile had been restored. In fact is was only when finished did we realise these were in fact Baked Clay Quarry Tiles, minerals are added during manufacturing to give then colour, although 95% clay they are very tough like stone. The client was over the moon with the outcome, the floor had been restored to its’ former glory.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Self-Levelling Compound Removal Formby

For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to keep the floor in good condition. It is pH neutral so will ensure the newly applied sealer is not compromised and the floor will continue to look good for a long while to come.