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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

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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.

Professional Restoration of a Tiled Floor in Merseyside

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Travertine Tabletop Before and After Polishing Heswall

Polishing a Travertine Table Top in Heswall

Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work History / Andrew Robb

One of my customers for who I recently polished their Marble floor was over the moon with the results and wondered and if I could achieve the same effect with a Travertine table which had many scratches to the top. The table was at his house in Heswall which is located on the Wirral, on the Eastern side of the Dee Estuary with lovely views across the river towards North Wales.

Travertine Tabletop Before Polishing Heswall Wirral

The table was a lovely piece of stone furniture, but I could see it was badly marked, scratched and had lost much of its surface sheen. Whilst this was a slightly unusual request, the polishing process works equally well on any type of stone so apart from the physical issue of working on a raised surface, I couldn’t see a problem with working on the table and anticipated that it would come up quite well. We agreed a cost and I arranged a time to come back and complete the job.

Cleaning and Polishing a Travertine Table

When polishing floor tiles, I would normally use large Tile Doctor 17-inch diamond encrusted burnishing pads fitted to a rotary floor buffer, naturally that simply wouldn’t work on a table however, I do have a small hand-held buffing machine that’s perfect for getting into small spaces and polishing stone wall tiles which would be perfect for this situation.

To restore the polished finish on the table I was able to use the hand buffer together with a set of four 6-inch diamond encrusted burnishing pads of different grits from coarse to very fine. The process involves working through the pads in sequence. I started the polishing with the coarse 400-grit pad and a little water, this coarse pad removes the scratches and ingrained dirt. The table was rinsed down and then the 800-grit medium pad was applied which is the first step in the polishing process. Again, this pad is applied with water to lubricate and the table was rinsed down afterwards. The process was repeated with the 1500-grit fine pad and then the 3000-grit very fine pad to bring up a really nice shine to the Travertine table, I should mention the last pad is applied dry with only a tiny amount of water sprayed onto the surface.

Sealing a Travertine Table

The last step was to seal the stone to protect it going forward for which I used two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. The sealer is rubbed into the top then the excess polished off after ten minutes. Once the sealer was dry the table surface was then buffed with a white pad to bring up the finish even further.

Travertine Tabletop After Polishing Heswall Wirral

The client was really pleased with the result, the table looked like new; he was so glad he had asked me to look at it following the work on his floors. Before leaving I talked to him about the best way to look after his table in the future and recommended for regular cleaning that he use Tile Doctor Stone Patina Spray which has been especially formulated for the regular cleaning of stone worktops.

Professional Restoration of Travertine Table East Cheshire

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