Renovation Archives - Merseyside Tile Doctor

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaned, Filled, Polished and Sealed in Southport

We received an inquiry from a client in Southport asking if we could clean and seal their Travertine tiled floor as well as filling the deep pits/holes. This is a common problem with Travertine which is well known for this feature and is usually available in a filled format where the holes come pre-filled from the factory. This filling however can degrade, and this can be exacerbated by using strong acidic cleaning products.

Travertine Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Southport

Travertine is very acid-sensitive due to its high content of calcium carbonate and acidic substances like vinegar, citrus juice, wine and harsh chemical cleaners will literally eat away at the stone’s surface. The holes or pits in travertine then become magnets for dirt which can be very difficult to shift. It’s very important therefore that you use a neutral tile cleaner to maintain travertine and ensure the sealer is maintained.

Having reviewed the floor and taken measurements I worked out a detailed quote and emailed it over to the client later that day. Happy to proceed the price was agreed and two days set aside to complete the work.

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

To deep clean the floor and remove what was left of the sealer a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an effective stripper, tile and grout cleaner was applied to the tile and grout and left to soak in for 10 minutes. This gives the product time to digest the dirt and breakdown the sealer.

Travertine Tiled Floor During Cleaning Southport

Then the grout lines were scrubbed with a stiff brush and the Travertine honed using a set of Tile Doctors diamond encrusted burnishing pads from coarse to fine. The first two pads open the pores in the stone so the dirt can be flushed out with rinsing and a wet vacuum. Work then paused whilst large holes and pits were filled in with a specialist resin compound colour matched to the creamy browns of the travertine.

Once the filler had set, the burnishing continued with the remaining pads which close the pores, smooth down the filler and brought up the natural polished appearance of the Travertine.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen

The floors are then left to dry overnight, and the next morning damp readings were taken to check the stone was dry and ready to accept a sealer. The readings were fine and so the floor was sealed using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a premium hard-wearing impregnator that soaks into the pores of the stone to ensure dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away. Tile Doctor Colour Grow as its name suggests contains a colour enhancer that really lifts the colours in the stone.

Travertine Tiled Floor After Renovation Southport

Once complete the floor looked so much cleaner and lighter, the pitting had disappeared and the stone floor had an attractive reflective finish. For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap, its ph. neutral so won’t impact acid sensitive stone and contains a patina enhancer that will help maintain the polished.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen in Merseyside

Quarry Tiled Basement Hallway Floor Renovated St Michaels Hamlet Liverpool

Old Vicarage Basement Flooring Renovated in St Michaels Hamlet Liverpool

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

The pictures below come from the basement of an old Vicarage in St Michaels Hamlet, Liverpool where there was a mixture of tiling including Quarry, Marble, and Sandstone. The current owner had bought the rather magnificent property 35 years ago and caried out various modernisations but had never touched the floors in the basement kitchen.

Built near the church of the same name, St Michaels Hamlet is a suburb of Liverpool close to the banks of the river Mersey. Back in the day the area was popular with wealthy shipping magnates and resulted in large Victorian mansions being constructed.

Quarry Tiled Basement Floor Before Cleaning St Michaels Hamlet Liverpool

Quarry and Yorkstone Tiled Basement Floor Before Cleaning St Michaels Hamlet Liverpool

The Red and Black Quarry tiles in the Kitchen were the main concern but there was also a section of Marble tiles and a small section of Yorkstone which had seen better days. I proposed milling the Yorkstone to reveal a fresh surface, but the owner only wanted the stone cleaned and sealed so its many faults and marks would highlight its history.

Deep Cleaning Basement Quarry Tiles in St Michaels Hamlet

The process I used to clean the Quarry, Yorkstone and Marble tiles was the same and involved spraying the floor with a 1:4 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean and leaving it to soak in. Pro-Clean is an alkaline degreaser and stripper and is our go to product for cleaning Tile and Grout.

Marble Tiled Basement Floor During Cleaning St Michaels Hamlet Liverpool

After ten minutes the product has had time to break down the dirt in the pores of the tile and is then scrubbed in with a rotary brush fitted to a buffing machine running at slow speed. Water is added during the process to add lubrication and the whole floor is rinsed water at the end and the residue extracted with a wet vacuum.

With several floors to clean I split the work up and was able to inspect and re-apply the treatment where needed to ensure all the stubborn staining was removed. Once satisfied they were as clean as they could the floors were given a final rinse to remove any trace of cleaning product and then left to dry out overnight, assisted with a few heaters to help the drying process.

Sealing a Quarry, Yorkstone and Marble Tiled Basement Floor

The next day we took several moisture readings with a damp meter to make sure the floor was ready to seal. The heaters had done their job and readings were all good, had that not been the case I would have had come back another day to seal the floor, we don’t recommend applying a sealer to a damp floor as you won’t get the best result.

Having discussed the properties of different sealers with the owner previous Tile Doctor Colour Grow had been selected. It’s an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the tile improving colour and adding protection from within. As well as enhancing colour it’s also a fully breathable so it will cope with any moisture under the floor allowing it to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface. This is an important property when choosing a sealer for old floors like these which won’t have the benefit of a modern damp proof membrane.

Once done the Red and Black Quarry tiled floor looked much cleaner and lighter with the contrasting colours really shining through. The appearance of the Yorkstone and Marble floor was also improved. It never fails to impress me the transformation that can be achieved when it comes to cleaning old tiles.

Quarry and Yorkstone Basement Floor After Renovaiton St Michaels Hamlet Liverpool

My client was very satisfied with the work we carried out and left the following feedback for us which is always appreciated.

“This father and son team were super-professional and know exactly what they are doing. What was impressive was how they moved all the furniture with great care. Absolutely prompt in the mornings, and the results are amazing.
Paul G – Liverpool”

For aftercare cleaning I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner, it’s a mild cleaning product that’s pH neutral and compatible for use on sealed surfaces.

Quarry Basement Floor After Renovaiton St Michaels Hamlet Liverpool

Professional Renovation of a Quarry, Yorkstone and Marble Tiled Basement Floor in Merseyside

Old Vicarage Basement Flooring Renovated in St Michaels Hamlet Liverpool Read More »