Badly Stained Red & Black Quarry Tiled Floor Renovation in Ainsdale
A previous customer got in touch late last year looking for help with a Quarry tiled floor he had bought at an old farmhouse in Ainsdale. Sandwiched between Southport and Formby the village is very close to the west coast which can bring its own issues.
The floor was tiled with a classic combination of red and black Quarry tiles many of which very well worn and heavily stained with signs of white efflorescence. It was well overdue a renovation so I went over to survey the floor and get a better understanding of the issues. Whilst at the property I conducted a test clean to show how the tiles would respond to cleaning and the results were very encouraging. Satisfied the floor still had bags of potential I was asked to quote for its renovation.
Later that day I sent over a detailed quote for the restoration work which included an itemised list of the products needed. The quote was accepted and a date set for the work to start which would take two days, one to clean and one to seal.
Deep Cleaning a Heavily Stained Quarry Tiled Floor
To deep clean the tiles, it was sprayed with a combination of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and Remove & Go which combines a powerful tile cleaner with a coating’s stripper. These two strong alkaline cleaners combined would cut through the dirt and staining and were left to get to work for ten minutes before being scrubbed into the tiles.
We use a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad and lubricated with more water to work the solution into the tiles. The cleaning solution turns black as the dirt is lifted out of the tiles and is extracted with a wet vacuum. This floor was then inspected and the process repeated several times until the dirt was gone.
To treat the efflorescence the floor was given an acid wash using a weak dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is an acidic product that dissolved the salts. Being acidic it also neutralises the ph level of the floor after the alkaline cleaners used earlier.
Sealing a 200-Year-Old Quarry Tiled Floor
The floor was then left to dry out overnight and then checked the next day for moisture using a damp meter which verified it was dry and ready to be sealed. The sealer chosen was Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an oil-based impregnator that soaks into the clay tile occupying its pores, this adds structure to the tile and ensures dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away.
The new seal brought out the red and black colours in the Quarry tiles and added an attractive sheen to its appearance. The customer couldn’t believe how much the floor had changed and has now booked us in to do some work in a barn conversion on the same site.
For aftercare we recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a ph neutral, sealer friendly tile and grout cleaner.
Professional Renovation of Quarry Tiled Floor in Merseyside
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