tiled floor

Terracotta Tiles Before and After Sealing in Battersea

Removing wax from a Terracotta tiled floor in Battersea

Traditionally Terracotta tiled floors were protected using wax and this floor at a house in Battersea had been protected with a number of treatments including wax and other sealers, without a full history of the floor it’s not that easy to tell what you’re dealing with. Wax isn’t an ideal sealer as it can scratch easily which allows dirt to become ingrained and modern sealers outperform it in many ways.

Terracotta Tiles Before Cleaning in Battersea Terracotta Tiles Before Cleaning in Battersea

Cleaning Terracotta Tile

To get the floor clean I started the job using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was scrubbed into the tiles using a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. Pro-Clean is a heavy duty alkaline cleaner which can be used to remove wax residues and old sealants and being an alkaline product its safe for use on tiles. Unfortunately because there was so much old sealer and wax in the tiles it took several attempts to get the tiles clean and in the end it took five days to get them back to their natural state. Once this was done the floor was given a thorough rinse to remove any trace of cleaning product and allowed left to dry.

Terracotta Tiles Before and After Cleaning in Battersea

Sealing Terracotta Tile

Tiles need to be bone dry before sealing or it will upset the final effect of the sealer and in the end I had to wait three weeks before I was happy to start sealing, Terracotta being clay based is very porous so this is not that unusual.

To seal the tiles I used eight coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water based topical sealer which leaves no smell as it dries and also adds a nice sheen to the floor, eight coats is not unusual for Terracotta again due to its porosity.

Terracotta Tiles After Sealing in Battersea Terracotta Tiles After Sealing in Battersea

The customer could not believe the transformation and even though it took a lot longer than first anticipated he was really pleased, especially when he got his invoice, because he was expecting to be charged for the extra time it took to complete. I told him that once I had given him my price I do not add extras.

Terracotta Tiles Before and After Sealing in Battersea
 

Terracotta Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Surrey

Removing wax from a Terracotta tiled floor in Battersea Read More »

Marble Tiles Indian Restaurant South Croydon Before and After

Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Polished in South Croydon Restaurant

I was asked by my local Indian restaurant in South Croydon if I could improve the look of their marble tiles in the reception area of the restaurant. They had been laid several years ago and now the sealer was failing and dirt was becoming ingrained in the tile and especially the grout which had gone dark.

Marble Tiles Indian Restaurant South Croydon Before Marble Tiles Indian Restaurant South Croydon Before

Marble Tile and Grout Cleaning

To get the grout clean and remove the surface dirt we started with the application of a coarse grade diamond encrusted burnishing pad, the pad is used in conjunction with a little water which helps lubricate the process and it effectively cuts back the layer of grime from the surface. Rotary pads do struggle to reach into the grout lines so a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a heavy duty tile and grout cleaner that’s safe to use on natural stone and grout was also scrubbed into the grout by hand using a stiff brush.

Marble Tiles Indian Restaurant South Croydon During Cleaning Marble Tiles Indian Restaurant South Croydon During Cleaning

The floor was then rinsed to remove the now dirty water and cleaning solution and we moved on to polishing the floor using a medium grade, fine and then super fine pads to build the surface shine backup. The floor was rinsed with water in-between each pad and then dried out as thoroughly as possible using large air movers.

Sealing Marble Floor Tiles

Normally I would have finished off with the application of Tile Doctor Shine Powder to give it a mirror like finish but the owner was happy with the way it looked and so once the floor had dried we moved onto sealing it with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that works from the inside by occupying the pores within the stone, it also enhance the colours within natural stone.

Marble Tiles Indian Restaurant South Croydon After Cleaning Marble Tiles Indian Restaurant South Croydon After Cleaning

The owner was over the moon with the results and has now engaged us to maintain the floor on a regular basis.

Marble Tiles Indian Restaurant South Croydon Before and After Marble Tiles Indian Restaurant South Croydon Before and After

 

Cleaning and Polishing a Marble Tiled floor in a Surrey Restaurant

Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Polished in South Croydon Restaurant Read More »

Limestone tiled floor Westminster Before and After

Limestone Kitchen and Hallway floor Cleaned and Sealed in Westminster

Details below of a Limestone Tiled Floor that I recently cleaned and sealed at a residence in Westminster in the heart of London. The tiles were not looking the best and after deciding to do something about the owner searched the internet for a solution saw my website and emailed to book me in 2 months before.

Limestone tiled floor Westminster Before Cleaning Limestone tiled floor Westminster Before Cleaning

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Floor

I arrived on site at the agreed time and decided to scrub the floor first using a hot 4:1 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a heavy duty alkaline cleaning product specially designed for cleaning stone floors. This was left to dwell for a while and then agitated using a rotary machine fitted medium brush head. The soiled solution was then removed using a wet vacuum and the floor was then rinsed down with fresh clean water. Doing this removed a lot of dirt, that was ingrained in the stone, and by using the brush it got into the recesses of the grout, once I had done this the floor looked great but I could see it would still needed to be burnished to restore the original appearance.

Limestone tiled floor Westminster Initial Clean Limestone tiled floor Westminster Initial Clean

Burnishing Limestone Floor Tiles

We used a set of diamond encrusted Burnishing Pads fitted to a rotary buffing machine to polish the Limestone floor. These pads are ideal for restoring the shine on hard stone surfaces such as Limestone, Travertine and Marble, the come in a set of four and you start with the Coarse pad together with plain water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through the Medium, Fine and Superfine polishing pads one to achieve a high polish.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

The floor was left to dry and I returned a couple of days later to seal it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that brings out the colours in natural stone, finally buffing the floor using a soft white buffing pad.

Limestone tiled floor Westminster After Cleaning Limestone tiled floor Westminster After Cleaning

The lady was really pleased with the result and left a nice testimonial on the tiled doctor website, she has also booked me in to sort out two bathroom floors (one Marble and one Limestone) and she has also booked me in to carry out the cleaning of all her carpets.

Limestone tiled floor Westminster Before and After
 

Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing in Westminster, London

Limestone Kitchen and Hallway floor Cleaned and Sealed in Westminster Read More »

Travertine Floor Surbiton After

Travertine Tiled Floor Diamond Polished in Surbiton

I recently carried out a clean and diamond polish of a Travertine tiled floor in Surbiton for a customer who had been fed up with the floor since she and her husband had moved in 2 years ago. The floor was the last job on their list of things to be done and they wanted to make sure that it was done properly as unfortunately in the past they have fallen prey to unscrupulous tradesmen who had not lived up to expectations.

When I was asked to quote I explained what I would do and showed pictures of previous work, and also my Trustmark Accreditation. They had also researched my work through my website and through the work history where there are lots of examples of Travertine tiles I have worked on in the past. I received the work order the next day and booked the job in for three weeks after.

Travertine Floor Surbiton Before Travertine Floor Surbiton Before Marked

Stripping and Polishing Travertine Tiles

I arrived at the agreed date and time and was pleasantly surprised to see that they had put sheeting around all of their kitchen units and skirting so all I had to protect was the wooden flooring next to the travertine.

Travertine Floor Surbiton Before Cleaning Travertine Floor Surbiton Before Cleaning

My first job was to scrub the floors Using Tile Doctor Pro Clean to get rid of any ingrained dirt and clean the grout, the soiled cleaning solution was then removed using a wet vacuum and we moved onto burnishing the stone. This is done using a rotary scrubbing machine fitted with a coarse diamond encrusted burnishing pad and a little water began to strip off the old dirt and seal from the floor, the resulting slurry was then removed using a wet vacuum. The burnishing pads come in a set of four so once we were done with the coarse pad we moved on to the Medium pad which is the first step in the polishing process.

At this point I could see more work was required to improve the grout which was done using a combination of pressurised steam, more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and a stiff brush. Once I had removed all the dirt and old seal from the grout I went on to the next stage of polishing and used the fine pad finally moving on to the extra fine pad to give the floor that extra deep shine.

Sealing Travertine Floor Tiles

Once the floor was dry we set about sealing it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing impregnating sealer designed to provide maximum stain protection on natural stone floors whilst bringing out the colour in the stone. After the second coat was applied I waited 10 minutes before buffing any excess residue with a white buffing pad.

Travertine Floor Surbiton After Travertine Floor Surbiton After

I offered the customer the option of creating a higher shine by applying Tile Doctor Shine Powder to give it a mirror polish but she declined as she was more than happy with the finish. Overall the floor came out really well and I found it quite a humbling experience as she was constantly saying thank you due to the fact that she had been messed about by previous contractors so was quite relieved to find someone who could actually do the job properly.

Travertine Floor Cleaned, Polished and Sealed in Surbiton

Travertine Tiled Floor Diamond Polished in Surbiton Read More »

Victorian Tiled Floor Balham Before and After

Restoring a Victorian Tiled floor hidden under Carpet in Balham

This post is from a house in Balham where the owner was doing some renovation work and after deciding to change the flooring in the hallway they discovered an original Victorian tiled floor. They planned to restore the floor unfortunately however their builders did not listen and didn’t bother to put down any protection when decorating leaving it in a worse condition than when they found it.

Victorian Tiled Floor Balham Before Cleaning Victorian Tiled Floor Balham Before Cleaning

Cleaning the Victorian Tiled Floor

To initially clean the floor I put down a 50/50 mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and Nanotech Ultraclean diluted with four parts water; this creates a powerful alkaline cleaner that is safe to use on tiles and contains tiny abrasive particles to cut through the grime. This solution was left to dwell on the tile for twenty minutes before being agitated using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. This action did well to deep clean the tiles and remove dirt but there was still plenty of other problems to deal with including paint from the decorating and glue from the carpet.

To remove the glue and paint I treated the surface with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which as its name suggest is designed to remove coatings from the surface of tiles without damaging them. Working in sections the product was left to dwell for forty minutes on the surface of the tile before being worked in by hand into the glue and paint. Once it had all been removed I gave the whole floor a scrub with Grout Clean-Up to remove grout from the surface of the tile and this brightened up the colours. Last step was to give the floor a thorough rinse down using clean water, this is quite important and you need to ensure any trace of product has been removed before sealing. The water was removed using a wet vacuum which literally sucks the water off the floor and reduces drying times, the floor was still fairly damp at this stage so we called it a day leaving an air blower in place to help the floor to dry overnight.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

When I came back the next day I decided to seal the tiles using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that penetrates into the pores of the tile blocking any dirt from getting in and making the tiles easier to clean.

Victorian Tiled Floor Balham After Cleaning Victorian Tiled Floor Balham After Cleaning

Two coats were sufficient and Colour Grow also brings out the colour in the tile improving its look, certainly my customer thought so as all they could say was:

“AMAZING I didn’t think it was possible to get like this.”

Victorian Tiled Floor Balham Before and After
 

Victorian Floor Restoration in Balham

Restoring a Victorian Tiled floor hidden under Carpet in Balham Read More »

Limestone Tiled Floor Kensington Before and After Cleaning

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Polished in Knightsbridge

Details below of a Limestone Tiled Floor we cleaned and polished in the kitchen of a flat in Knightsbridge, the customers were waiting to move into their new home and the kitchen floor was dirty, especially after they had some new tiles fitted and looked out of place.

They had other companies in to quote but were not impressed by their knowledge of how to clean the floor, and one large London based company sent some people to do a test patch with completely inappropriate equipment and failed to make any difference at all. Sorting out natural stone floors is what we do for a living so and although I was unable to carry out a demo on this occasion I managed to get the job by answering all their questions in detail setting realistic expectations without promising the earth and showed them pictures from a portfolio of work we had done before.

Limestone Tiled Floor Kensington Before and After Cleaning

Stripping and Polishing Limestone Floor Tiles

Before starting to clean the floor we removed the plinths from the kitchen units and then using a rotary scrubbing machine fitted with a coarse diamond encrusted burnishing pad and a little water began to strip off the old dirt and seal from the floor, the resulting slurry was then removed using a wet vacuum.

The burnishing pads come in a set of four so once we were done with the coarse pad we moved on to the Medium and then Fine pads again with a little water until the floor was polished. The Next step was to use Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines with a stiff brush to get the grout clean as well.

To bring up the polish on the Limestone tiles the last “Very Fine” pad was fitted to the rotary machine and run over the floor to buff it to a nice shine.

Limestone Tiled Floor Kensington Before and After Cleaning

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

Once the floor was dry we set about sealing it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer designed to provide maximum stain protection on natural stone floors whilst bringing out the colour in the stone, this was followed with a final buff with a soft white pad.

Limestone Tiled Floor Kensington Before and After Cleaning
The customers were really pleased with the finish and pleased that they chose a Tile Doctor to do the work. I should mention that they were not expecting to be able to see the new and the old tiles blend and were really happy that we could achieve this for them.

Limestone Floor Cleaned, Polished and Sealed in Knightsbridge

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Polished in Knightsbridge Read More »

Limestone Floor Fulham Before and After

Limestone Tiled Floor Cleaned and Polished in Fulham

This Limestone tiled floor was installed at a property in Fulham, I was asked round to quote for cleaning the floor and whilst I was there I did a patch test. The test worked very well and the owner couldn’t believe that the grout was actually white not dark grey.

Limestone Floor Fulham Grout Cleaning 1

Cleaning Polished Limestone Floor Tiles

The first step was to give the floor a quick sweep to remove any surface grit etc. Before starting the burnishing process which we use on hard stone surfaces such as polished Limestone to clean and bring up the shine on the floor. The burnishing pads and encrusted with diamonds and come in a pack of four consisting of Coarse, Medium, Fine and Very Fine 17” pads. I started with a coarse pad which removes sealers and dirt from the floor, a little water is added to lubricate the process.

Limestone Floor Fulham Before Cleaning Zoom 2 Limestone Floor Fulham Before Cleaning 3

Once we had finished with the coarse pad the grout was cleaned up using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean diluted 1 part cleaner to 4 parts water. The solution was then scrubbed into the grout with a stiff hand brush until it was clean. The floor was then rinsed with clean water to remove any cleaning products and we then continued with the remaining burnishing pads applied in order with Medium, Fine and Very Fine until the floor was thoroughly cleaned and polished. We left for the day at this point to allow the tiles to dry overnight.

Limestone Floor Fulham Before Sealing 4

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

The following day we returned to seal the floor using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a great sealer for natural stone such as Limestone as it works to lift the colours out of the stone. The last step was to buff the floor to a nice shine with a rotary machine fitted with a white polishing pad.

Limestone Floor Fulham After Cleaning Sealing 5 Limestone Floor Fulham After Cleaning Sealing 6

The customer was really pleased with the result and couldn’t believe that the floor could look so good.

Limestone Floor Fulham Before and After
 

Limestone Floor, Cleaned, Scrubbed, Polished and Sealed in Fulham

Limestone Tiled Floor Cleaned and Polished in Fulham Read More »

Old Encaustic Floor Fulham Before and after Restoration

Old Encaustic Tiled Floor Restored in Fulham

I had an inquiry from a client in Fulham, who was representing the residents of an old building. The building had recently undergone redecoration and in the hallway, they had removed a thirty year old carpet to discover an original encaustic tiled floor underneath which turned out to be 102 years old.

Old Encaustic Floor Fulham Before Cleaning 1 Old Encaustic Floor Fulham Before Cleaning 2

As you can see from the photographs the floor was extremely dirty and covered in lots of glue and paint from the carpet and decorations. Naturally they were keen to have it restored and brought back to life. Given the condition of the tile and the age I to set their expectations and told them that although I was confident of making a big difference to the floor I couldn’t give any guarantees. I gave them my quotation and although it was slighter higher than what they had I mind, it was still less than other quotations that they had received and were also considering the option of replacing the carpet.

After a couple of days I received a call asking me to go ahead with the work and I booked it in.

Encaustic Tiled Floor Cleaning

My approach to the job was to initially spray a mixture of Tile Doctor Remove and Go combined with Tile Doctor NanoTech UltraClean which creates a powerful tile safe coatings remover with tiny abrasive particles that aid the cleaning process.

I left this to dwell on the tile for about fifteen minutes before scrubbing it in using a black scrubbing pad on my rotary machine. This approach removed some glue and a lot of old grime so I then sprayed down more Remove and Go and also used a steamer to loosen the remaining glue and paint. This process was repeated a section at a time until at the end of the day I gave the whole are a thorough rinse before packing away my equipment and leaving it to dry.

Encaustic Tiled Floor Sealing

I returned three days later and carried out a test with my moisture meter to make sure that the floor was dry enough to seal. The meter confirmed it was dry so I then sealed the floor using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that really brings out the colour in the tiles.

Old Encaustic Floor Fulham After Cleaning 3 Old Encaustic Floor Fulham After Cleaning 4

And as you can see the floor is transformed and now I have some happy residents who are really pleased that they opted to have the old floor cleaned instead of replacing the carpet. Not to mention that restoring such an original feature has probably added value to their investment as well.

Old Encaustic Floor Fulham Before and after Restoration 5

Original Encaustic Tiled floor cleaned and restored in Fulham

Old Encaustic Tiled Floor Restored in Fulham Read More »

Marble Tiled Floor Oxshott

300m2 Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Polished in Oxshott

Following on from a referral from a Property Management company I paid a visit it to this palatial property in Oxshott which had approximately 300m2 of Marble tiled flooring that they wanted cleaning and re-polishing, my initial quotation to do this mechanically was too high so I offered an alternative using diamond encrusted burnishing pads which reduced the cost significantly. I didn’t receive an answer so I thought that was the end of it however five months later I got an email asking me to carry out the works.

Marble Tiled Floor Oxshott Marble Tiled Floor Oxshott

Marble Tiled Floor Polishing

This was a very large area so we had two men working with burnishing pads in 10 metre sections. The pads come in a set of four; you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the final polishing pad which provides a high polish.

Marble Tiled Floor Oxshott Marble Tiled Floor Oxshot

Fortunately there were not many stains and the ones that were there came out quite easily. When we had completed a room using this system we then applied Tile doctor Shine powder which is a crystallising power worked into the floor using a white buffing pad and a little water; it adds an extra level of deep shine to the marble floor giving it that extra wow factor together with a tough durable finish, we did this working 1 m2 at a time.

This whole process took five days to complete and when we had finished the client came to inspect it with the homeowner. She was delighted with the final finish and has said that she will be recommending us to all her friends and clients. This is also great for the property manager because it has given him a good reputation for providing a trustworthy and highly skilled contractor for the works. Also he has promised us further work from his other clients including a job to carry out the external stone cleaning works for the same client.

Marble Tiled Floor Oxshott Marble Tiled Floor Oxshott

 

Cleaning and Polishing a Large Marble Tiled floor in Oxshott, Surrey

300m2 Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Polished in Oxshott Read More »

Antislip Porcelain Tile Wimbledon

Applying Anti Slip Treatment to Porcelain tiles in Wimbledon Office

We were contacted by a builder who had recently laid Porcelain Tiles in an office reception in Wimbledon. Although he has laid this type of tile in various art galleries around London without problem, in this particular lobby which is situated next to a shopping centre the tiles were extremely slippery and the facilities manager wanted the tiles changed at the expense of the builder.

Antislip Application Porcelain Tile Wimbledon
Obviously this would have been an expensive option and so the builder contacted Tile Doctor for help. Initially he had considered having a member of his team apply the treatment however he realised that as a Tile Doctor applicator we had been trained to apply the treatment properly and this gave the facilities manager confidence it would have been applied to the correct standard so we were awarded the work and asked to carry it out on a Sunday when the building would be empty.

Antislip Application Porcelain Tile Wimbledon

Applying the Anti-Slip Treatment

We arrived at the agreed time and were let in by the shopping centre security team. The area we were treating was around 25m2 so decided to work in 5m2 sections first cleaning the tile using the first stage Ant Slip product worked into the tile with a rotary floor machine fitted with a polypropylene brush head and then removing with a wet vacuum followed by rinsing with clean water.

We carried on with this process until the whole floor was done and let it dry before going onto the next stage to apply the Anti slip (stage two) and leaving for between 3 to 5 minutes before applying the stage three which locks in the Anti Slip.

Antislip Porcelain Tile Wimbledon
The Anti Slip product is invisible to the eye however it’s very easy to test it’s been applied, all you need to do is wet the tile as the product only activates when it’s wet.

Antislip Porcelain Tile Wimbledon
When we had finished the whole floor we then tested it again just to make sure that everything worked well we cleared away all the tools making sure we left the area tidy and safe and locked the building up.

The Job took us one night and the customer is now recommending us to all other sites that have had these tiles fitted.

Preventing slips and trips on Porcelain Tile in a Wimbledon Office

Applying Anti Slip Treatment to Porcelain tiles in Wimbledon Office Read More »

Victorian Tiled Floor Balham After Cleaning

Victorian Tiled Hallway Restoration in Balham

Set of photographs here from a Victorian Tiled floor for a customer in Balham, South London. They had found the floor under an old carpet, and wanted to restore it. Unfortunately their builders did not listen and didn’t bother to put down any protection when they painted, as a result there was paint everywhere, I’ve include a detailed photograph below so you can see for yourself what a state the floor was in.

Victorian Tiled Floor Balham Before Cleaning Victorian Tiled Floor Balham Before Cleaning

Cleaning the Victorian Floor Tiles

Initially the floor was cleaned using a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed 50:50 with NanoTech UltraClean which had been left to dwell for 20 minutes before being agitated using a rotary machine fitted with a buffing pad. I used a wet vacuum to remove the dirty cleaning solution and then realising something more powerful would be required to shift the stubborn stains and paint marks. To rectify this I applied a Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a coatings remover and left it to dwell on the Victorian tile for forty minutes before applying plenty of elbow grease. This did the trick to remove the paint and glue etc. so I worked across the floor in sections applying the same treatment until the floor was completely clean.

Once it had all been removed I gave the whole floor a scrub with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up and this brightened up the colours and finally I gave the floor a very thorough rinse with clean water to remove any remaining cleaning product that might have an adverse effect on the sealer. I left the floor to dry over the weekend and returned on the following Monday to seal it, but first I carried out a couple of repairs because some of the tiles were loose so I reset them in cement.

Sealing Victorian Tiled Floor tiles

On my return I sealed the floor using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a penetrating sealer that provides maximum stain protection whilst bringing out the colour in the stone.

Victorian Tiled Floor Balham After Cleaning Victorian Tiled Floor Balham After Cleaning

All the customer could say was AMAZING I didn’t think it was possible to get like this.

Victorian Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Balham, South London

Victorian Tiled Hallway Restoration in Balham Read More »

Quarry Tile Cleaning Ashtead after

Quarry Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Ashtead

A while ago I was asked to quote to clean up an old quarry tiled floor in a converted barn in Ashtead. Whilst I was there I carried out a test patch for the lady to show what the results would be; she had said that if she wasn’t satisfied she was going to replace the floor so she must have met her expectations as a week later we were given the go ahead to carry out the work.

Quarry Tile Cleaning Ashtead before
 

Quarry Tile Cleaning Ashtead before2

Cleaning Hallway Quarry Tiles

Fortunately for us they had recently removed the old kitchen and scheduled us after to clean the quarry tiles before completing the decorating and refitting a new kitchen. We cleaned the tiles using a mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean diluted 1:4 parts with water and Nanotech Ultraclean which adds tiny abrasive particles into the cleaning solution. Normally I would work this into the floor using a black scrubbing pad however the floor was very uneven so I used a medium nylon brush on my rotary machine instead, this had the added advantage of reaching into the grout as well. I should mention we thoroughly rinsed the floor as we went along using a wet vacuum to remove the soiled solution. It took two of us two days to scrub the areas that had to be done and we had a blower running to help dry out the floor.

Sealing Hallway Quarry Tiles

We returned three days later and carried out moisture test to ensure the floors were dry and ready to be sealed. The Quarry tiles were then sealed them with five coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that reaches into the pores of the tile and lifts the natural colours. The owner was extremely happy with the floor and couldn’t wait to have her new kitchen installed to see how it would look.

Quarry Tile Cleaning Ashtead after
 

Quarry Tile Cleaning Ashtead after2
 

Old Quarry Tiles Restored in Ashtead, Surrey

Quarry Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Ashtead Read More »

Applying Anti Slip to Shiny Slippery Porcelain Tiles in Ashtead

Applying Ant-Slip to a shiny Porcelain Patio

Last week we were asked to carry out a demonstration of our AntiSlip Treatment for a lady in Ashtead Surrey. She has white shiny Porcelain tiles laid on a patio area and when they get wet they are really slippery and dangerous and she was especially concerned about young children hurting themselves. We carried out a test patch for her and asked her to see if she could slip, not only did she try, but her gran and mother-in-law also tried and were extremely impressed. I left her with our quotation so she could discuss it with her husband. The next day I received a call asking me to go ahead and carry out the works.

Applying the Anti-Slip Solution

When applying this treatment it is vital that you follow all the guidelines and times for the different types of stone. It is a 3 stage application, the first is the primer which is mixed 4 : 1 which we scrubbed into small areas of about 6m2 at a time, when scrubbing we used a brush head on our rotary scrubbing machine which has the added advantage of cleaning the tiles.

Shiny Slippery Porcelain Tiles in Ashtead26
After about 5 minutes of scrubbing using a scrubbing pad we then vacuumed it all and left the tiles to dry and because we were outside in the sun it didn’t take long to dry. The next stage is to apply the Antislip treatment and for this we used a flat mop and for these type of tiles we needed to leave it to dwell for between 3 and 5 minutes, but we had to make sure that it did not dry in.

After the dwell time the 3rd stage is to scrub in another solution of the primer, but this time it locks in the Antislip. When you are scrubbing this stage you can feel the treatment working. Once we have completed this stage we vacuum it all up then rinse the area with fresh water to remove any residues.

Applying Anti Slip to Shiny Slippery Porcelain Tiles in Ashtead33
The complete area was around 50m2 and luckily the treatment package covered this area. In all the application took two of us around five hours to complete and after clearing our equipment away we then put all the garden furniture back in place.

We returned the next day because the customer also asked us to clean their driveway and the patio area was wet because of rain, but it was great to walk on and I did not slip at all.

Shiny Slippery Porcelain Tiles in Ashtead41
The customer was really happy, because if the treatment hadn’t worked her only other option would have been to rip up the tiles and replace them at a cost of thousands and to make things even better for her, this treatment will last around 4 years before she needs to have it re-applied.

Preventing slips and trips on shiny porcelain patio tiles

Applying Ant-Slip to a shiny Porcelain Patio Read More »

Balham Slate Floor Before and After

Slate Tiled Floor restored to a natural finish in Balham, South London

This beautiful slate tiled floor installed in the kitchen and hallway of a house in Balham London; I was asked by the owner if we could restore the floor following some work that had been carried out by a builder who had failed in his attempts to remove the old seal. To instill confidence that we could complete the work we carried out a demonstration on a small test area which was enough to prove that money would not be wasted and we were booked for the job, we even agreed to clean the floor on Sunday and seal it on the Monday so it would be ready in time for visitors who were due on the Wednesday.

Balham Slate Floor Before Balham Slate Floor Before

Cleaning slate Floor Tiles

We cleaned the floor using Tile Doctor Pro-clean which is an alkaline cleaner safe to use on natural stone such as Slate; it’s very good at removing general dirt, grime and even grease. Next step was to remove the remaining sealer using Tile doctor Remove & Go which was applied to a small area at a time. I scrubbed the product into the slate and left it on the surface for a further hour making sure not to let the area dry out which temporarily made it look really dark (see photo below). Finally I gave the floor a through rinse to make sure that no chemical remained on the stone before sealing and then left for the evening.

Balham Slate Floor After Cleaning

Sealing Slate Floor Tiles

The next day I checked the floor was dry using a moister meter which thankfully it was and then started to seal using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer design to provide maximum stain protection on natural stone floors whilst bringing out the deep colour in the stone and providing a natural matt finish.

Balham Slate Floor After Sealing

My customer was really happy with the results and left a nice testimonial on the Tile Doctor website, she has also booked me in to clean her driveway next month.

Balham Slate Floor Before and After-

Slate Floor Cleaned, Stripped and Re-Sealed in Balham, South London

Slate Tiled Floor restored to a natural finish in Balham, South London Read More »

Limestone Tiled Floor Before and After

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Polished in Fulham

Beautiful Limestone tiled floor installed in the kitchen of a house in Fulham, the owner was keen to have the floor cleaned and re-polished; Limestone is a very hardwearing material but does need an occasional professional polish to keep it looking its best.

Limestone Tiled Floor Before Limestone Tiled Floor Before

Cleaning Limestone Floor Tiles

The floor was given a quick wash with Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner in order to remove any surface grit and then cleaned using a set of Burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine. The burnishing pads come in four different colours and you work your way through them starting off with the red pad with a little just water and then carry on with the white pad and then the yellow pad until the floor is thoroughly cleaned. Next step was to use Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines with a stiff brush to get the grout clean as well. To bring up the polish on the Limestone tiles I used a green polishing pad which is the last in the set of the four burnishing pads.

Limestone Tiled Floor During Limestone Tiled Floor During

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

Once the floor was dry we set about sealing it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer designed to provide maximum stain protection on natural stone floors whilst bringing out the deep colour in the stone. The last step was to buff the floor to a nice shine with a rotary machine fitted with a white pad.

Limestone Tiled Floor After Limestone Tiled Floor After

This job took me two days, and the owner was extremely happy with the results and said it looked better than when it had first been laid eight years ago.

Limestone Tiled Floor Before and After
 

Limestone Floor Cleaned, Polished and Sealed in Fulham

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Polished in Fulham Read More »

Sandstone Tiles Before and After

Resolving Sandstone Flagstone issues in Clapham

Details below of a Sandstone floor installed in the Kitchen of a house in Clapham, South London. The client had not been happy with the floor since it had been installed because the tiler hadn’t applied the seal correctly. The owner had also had a quote from a stonemason who had recommended grinding off the top later of stone. I explained that that would not be necessary and went on to explain the process to restore it. As it turns out my quote was £500 cheaper that the Stone mason but I was confident I could get as good a result and the customer could see I knew what I was talking about and gave the job to me.

Sandstone Tiles Before Cleaning Sandstone Tiles Before Cleaning

Sandstone Tile Cleaning

I began work on the floor using a coarse diamond burnishing pad fitted to a rotary scrubbing machine with a little water. I slowly scrubbed the floor in small areas and removed the old sealer from the whole tile. The next step was to tackle the grout which was done by applying Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in along the grout lines using a stiff grout cleaning brush. After this the pad was replaced on the rotary machine with a medium brush head and the floor was given a good scrub followed by rinsing thoroughly with fresh water.

At this stage it was evident that a couple of stubborn areas were still in need of attention due to the old sealer still being present so Tile Doctor Remove and Go was applied which is a strong sealer stripper and left to dwell for around 40 minutes before being scrubbed in and washed down again.

I can recommend a Wet Vacuum at this point as they are great at removing liquids from floors; at this point I left for the day to allow the floor to dry overnight ready for sealing the next day.

Sandstone Tile Sealing

Then next day when I returned I checked to make sure the floor was dry and ready to seal, there were a couple of little patches I needed to redo and once they were rinsed I dried them using my heat gun. I then sealed the floor with four coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow and when the last coat had dried I demonstrated to the customer that it was fully sealed using a water test.

Sandstone Tiles After Cleaning Sandstone Tiles After Cleaning

The client was really pleased with the results and that I had saved him so much money and left the following comment on our feedback system.

Bill was great and worked hard to restore and protect the floor. We’re very pleased. There has been some accidental damage outside which I’m happy we’ll sort.
Ian Blandford, Clapham

Sandstone Tiles Before and After
 

Sandstone Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed in South London

Resolving Sandstone Flagstone issues in Clapham Read More »

Quarry Tile Cleaning Before and After

Quarry tiled floor restoration in Grove Park, South London

I recently completed this Quarry Tile restoration work for a young couple in Grove Park, South London. They were refurbishing their property and wanted to keep as much of the original features that they could. In the kitchen they had the original quarry tiles and had attempted to clean the floor themselves but we’re unsuccessful. I quoted for the job and took time to explain the process and which products I would be using.

They contacted me a couple of days later to let me know that they wanted me to carry out the work which was gratifying as I had put a lot of time into the quote. Turns out I got the job because they could see I knew what I was talking about giving them confidence I could do the work and another company had quoted twice the price I gave them and didn’t even pop round to carry out a site survey.

Quarry Tile Cleaning Before Quarry Tile Cleaning Before

Cleaning Hallway Quarry Tiles

I turned up at the agreed time and set about by cleaning the floor with a mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and NanoTech UltraClean which combine well together to produce a very effective cleaning product that is safe to use on tile and stone. The solution was worked into the floor using a rotary scrubbing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad; after a while the soiled solution was removed using a wet vaccum and the floor was given a thorough rinse with clean water to see what I had left to deal with.

What was left was a mixture of paint, grease and sticky residues from old carpet tape and if that wasn’t enough there were limescale deposits. To tackle this a stronger product was required so I laid down Tile Doctor Remove and Go and left it to dwell on the tile for about 45 minutes which was sufficient to break down the stubborn marks and allow for them to be scrubbed out. Remove and Go is a strong coatings remover which as its name suggests should remove just about anything and with the exception of the limescale it lived up to its name.

I think it’s a fair statement to say that Tile Doctor have a product to treat every problem and to remove the limescale I used Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is an acid based product usually used to remove excess grout but it’s also effective on the removal of mineral deposits; needless to say it removed the limescale without a problem. You do have to be very careful when using strong products like these on tile so I only left it on the floor long enough to do the job.

The last step was to fit a brush head onto my rotary floor machine and gave the floor a thorough rinse neutralising the floor and making sure that all trace of cleaning products were removed. Once I had finished I locked up the house and left the floor to dry for several days.

Sealing Hallway Quarry Tiles

When I returned I first checked that the floor was dry enough to seal using a moisture meter. The floor was dry so we started the process of sealing the floor with Tile Doctor Seal and Go, the Quarry Tiles were very porous and it tool seven coats of sealer before the tiles were completely sealed. Seal and Go was chosen as the customer wanted liked the low sheen finish this sealer provides whilst also offering excellent stain protection.

Quarry Tile Cleaning After Quarry Tile Cleaning After

The owners were absolutely delighted with the results and they put in a fantastic review about me on the Tile Doctor website.

“Bill Bailey provided an extremely professional and high quality service from first point of contact to end result. He took time to assess the tiles to be cleaned and approached the job with a genuine commitment to get it right and achieve the best possible results. He carefully explained all the processes involved and was able to answer all our questions and provide advice. We would not hesitate to recommend him very highly. Gemma, London

Quarry Tile Cleaning Before and After
 

Quarry Tile Renovation in Grove Park, South London

Quarry tiled floor restoration in Grove Park, South London Read More »

Travertine Mitcham After

Travertine Tiled Kitchen floor in Mitcham

I was recently asked to visit a customer with a Travertine Tiled Kitchen floor in Mitcham South London who had spilt a strong cleaning product on the Travertine Tiles. Due to the litigious nature of the wold in which we live I can’t name the product in this post but I can tell you it’s advertised on the TV as a wonder cleaner, unfortunately acidic products like this one will eat into the sealer and with frequent use cause holes to appear in natural stone. Fearing that he had ruined them I checked the floor over and assured him I could make his tiles look as good as new.

Travertine Mitcham Before Travertine Mitcham Before

Cleaning Travertine Tile

I used the diamond encrusted burnishing pad system starting with the red pad and water to clean the tiles and remove any topical sealers that may have been present. This was continued with the white and yellow pads using nothing but water and then with a stiff grout cleaning brush and a weak solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines to make sure all the grout was thoroughly cleaned. Last step of the cleaning process was to rinse the floor of any dirt picked up by the pads and then when the floor was dry I used a green polishing pad to add a shine to the floor.

Sealing Travertine Tile

To protect the travertine it was sealed using a single coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer which brings out the natural colour in stone. Once it was all dry again I buffed it up again but used a soft white buffing pad. As you can see by the photos the tiles look great and I have one very grateful customer who said they look better than when they were first laid.

Travertine Mitcham After Travertine Mitcham After

 

Travertine Tiled Kitchen floor in Mitcham

Travertine Tiled Kitchen floor in Mitcham Read More »

Encaustic Floor Tiles After Cleaning

Cleaning Encaustic Kitchen Floor Tiles in Beckenham

On a visit to a customer to a customer in Beckenham, Kent who had a pair of rugs that needed cleaning I was asked to take a look at her Encaustic kitchen floor tiles which had become dull and she couldn’t keep them clean. I carried out a demonstration on how I would clean them and also explained the different sealer options available and how each sealer can have a different effect. She was pleased with the demonstration and engaged me to clean the tiles as well as the rugs specifying a sealer that would leave a sheen on the tile.

Encaustic Floor Tiles Before Cleaning

Cleaning black Porcelain floor tiles

I set about scrubbing the floor using a hot water dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean Tile and Grout cleaner combined 50:50 with NanoTech UltraClean which adds tiny abrasive particles to the solution to make a more effective cleaning product. The solution was worked into the tiles by scrubbing with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad and a stiff hand brush was used along the tight grout lines. The soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum and floor thoroughly rinsed down with clean water. The tiles were then left to dry with the aid of a Turbo Air blower to help speed up the drying time.

Encaustic Floor Tiles Before Cleaning Encaustic Floor Tiles Before Cleaning

Sealing Encaustic Floor Tiles

Once the tiles were dry I applied five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water based protective sealer that doesn’t give off any odour and produces a nice low sheen the customer was looking for.

Encaustic Floor Tiles After Cleaning
The final result was one happy customer with a clean easy to maintain tiled floor and two clean rugs as well.

Cleaning Encaustic floor Tiles in a Beckenham Kitchen

Cleaning Encaustic Kitchen Floor Tiles in Beckenham Read More »

Travertine Floor After

Travertine Tiled floor in Gerrards Cross

I had a phone call a few weeks ago from a lady in Gerrards Cross to come and clean her large Travertine tiled floors prior to her renting out a property. I had actually carried out this job for her four years ago and she was really pleased with the service we provided and had therefore asked me come back. Thinking back four years is a long time between floor polishes so we certainly did a good job on the floor the first time.

Travertine Floor Before Travertine Floor Before

Maintaining Travertine Tiles

Travertine is a very hard stone which required the surface to be cut back before polishing, to do this we make use of a diamond encrusted burnishing pad system which is supplied in a set of four pads each one having a different purpose. We started with a Red pad first together with a little water and this strips dirt and old sealers from the floor, this is followed with the White, Yellow and finally Green pad which doesn’t required the use of any water. As you progress through the pads you find the polish is restored and you get a deep shine in the surface of the tile.

Travertine Floor Mid-Clean Travertine Floor Mid-Clean

Sealing Travertine Tile

To protect the floor from stains it was sealed with a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that brings out the colours in natural stone. Once the sealer was dry it was buffed using a white buffing pad to make sure that I hadn’t left any residues from the seal.

Once again the lady was really pleased with our work and promised to call the next time the property was to be let out again, but next time she wants me to do the carpets and the patio areas as well.

Travertine Floor After Travertine Floor After

 

Travertine tiled floor maintained in Gerrards Cross

Travertine Tiled floor in Gerrards Cross Read More »

Quarry Tile Kitchen Floor Before and After

Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Brixton

These photographs are from a Quarry Tile Cleaning job we did for a lady in Brixton recently, as you can see from the early pictures they were not only dirty but there was also evidence of an old sealer and splashes of paint on them as well both of which would have to be removed first.

Quarry Tile Kitchen Floor Before Quarry Tile Kitchen Floor Before

Cleaning Hallway Quarry Tiles

The first task we did on arrival was to disconnect her cooker and washing machine which were placed outside in the garden, this would allow us to get at all the tiled areas and also meant there was less to protect.

Working in small sections the next step was to pre-wet the floor tiles followed by adding a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go combined 50/50 with Nanotech UltraClean, these two products combine to make a powerful cleaner/stripper that’s safe to use on tile. The cleaning solution was left to soak into the tile whilst we set up all of our equipment and added protective coverings to the kitchen units, walls and adjoining floors.

After about forty five minutes we re-wet the areas and hand scrubbed the tiles using scouring pads. This process was repeated covering small areas at a time until the kitchen was finished. We then used our scrubbing machine with a medium brush head fitted and thoroughly rinsed the floor to remove any trace of chemical.

We needed the floor dry for sealing so a couple of Turbo blowers we setup to force dry the floor and this took a couple of hours before my moisture meter told me that the floor was dry enough.

Sealing Hallway Quarry Tiles

After discussing sealer choices with the customer it was decided to seal the floor with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which provides a natural finish whilst lifting the natural colours in the tile. Two coats were sufficient and once it had dried we refitted the cooker and washing machine, put all the plinths back and removed all of our protective coverings.

Quarry Tile Kitchen Floor After Quarry Tile Kitchen Floor After

The lady was really pleased with our work and left the following testimonial.

“Bill did a fantastic job on my kitchen floor, I can’t thank him enough. Mrs Scott, Brixton”

Quarry Tile Kitchen Floor Before and After
 

Quarry Tile Renovation in Brixton

Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Brixton Read More »

Dirty Travertine Sealed

Kitchen Travertine Tiled floor cleaning in Mortlake

We recently cleaned and sealed a small Travertine floor in a kitchen for a customer in Mortlake near Richmond upon Thames in Surrey. To be fair the floor wasn’t that bad, it was just a bit dirty because the customer had been told to use a steamer to clean the floor which was bad advice as the heat from the steam was breaking down the sealer and resulting in the tiles getting dirty.

Dirty Travertine Before Dirty Travertine Before

Cleaning Travertine Kitchen Tile

I first applied a 50/50 mix of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and Nanotech Ultra Clean leaving it to dwell on the tile for 15 minutes before scrubbing it in with a rotary Machine fitted with a brush head. Once I was satisfied the floor was clean it was thoroughly rinsed with clean water. The dirty solution removed using a wet vacuum and then left it to dry overnight.

Dirty Travertine Cleaned not Sealed Dirty Travertine Cleaned not Sealed

Sealing Travertine Tile

The next day the floor had dried and we proceeded to seal it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which as well as providing a good level of stain protection also brings out the natural colours in the stone. I always use a water test to determine if the right about of sealer has been applied, very simply you drop a small amount of water onto the stone and if it forms a bubble on the surface it’s sealed.

Dirty Travertine Sealed Dirty Travertine Sealed

Before I left I provided the customer with a proper maintenance plan for the floor, and expect a call in around a years’ time to come and do a deep clean and seal. The customer was delighted with the results and said the floor looked better than when they had it laid.

Resolving Travertine steam cleaning problems in Surrey

Kitchen Travertine Tiled floor cleaning in Mortlake Read More »

Quarry Tiled Floor in Wallington

Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Wallington

The owner of this house wanted her hallway quarry tiles renovating, someone had varnished them around 15 years previously and were now overdue a good clean and seal.

Cleaning Hallway Quarry Tiles

The first step was to scrub in a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. However this only managed to remove some of the varnish and so I next applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a much stronger product designed for stripping coatings from floors. The process I used was to apply Remove and Go in sections leaving it to dwell for a hour and then scrubbing it with a brush. I rinsed the floor down to reveal a few stubborn spots that needed some further work and then washed the floor down again before leaving it for the evening to dry.

Quarry Tiled Floor in Wallington

Sealing Hallway Quarry Tiles

We returned the next day and began to seal the floor using six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which leaves a nice deep low sheen on the tile surface as well as providing stain protection. The owner was extremely happy with the result and left the feedback below.

“Very professional, worked continuously. A joy to have 2 men working in the house who conversed quietly with no unpleasant language! A superb job done on our (more than 100 year old) quarry tile floor.”

Mrs Quested, Wallingon

 

Quarry Tile Renovation in Wallington

Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Wallington Read More »

Quarry Tile Cleaning After

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaned in Leatherhead

Details below of a Quarry Tiled kitchen floor that were cleaned and sealed for a lady in Leatherhead. As you can see it was quite a large area and the quarry tiles were looking dull and tired, there was some staining to the grout.

Quarry Tile Cleaning Before

Cleaning Kitchen Quarry Tiles

A solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the floor and left to soak for a short while before being scrubbed in with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The grout also need attention, unfortunately we don’t have a machine that will get into the grout lines so this had to be manually scrubbed by hand using a grout brush, which as you can imagine took some time to do. The soiled cleaning solution was then removed using a wet vacuum and the floor thoroughly rinsed with water and then left to dry overnight.

Quarry Tile Cleaning Before Zoom Quarry Tile Cleaning After Zoom

Sealing Kitchen Quarry Tiles

When we returned the next day we could see there were some grout lines that we had missed the day before so we set about cleaning those up. Once we were happy with the floor it and it had managed to dry off we sealed the floor using six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which provides surface stain protection to the quarry tile and grout and also leaves a nice deep low sheen on the tile surface. The lady was over the moon with the results and her husband was even happier because it meant he didn’t have to pay out for a new kitchen.

Quarry Tile Cleaning After
 

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor in Leatherhead

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaned in Leatherhead Read More »

Terracotta Tile after cleaning and sealing

Terracotta Tiled Floor Sealing

We were consulted on this Terracotta Tiled floor because the owner complained that whenever she cleaned and sealed them they always got dirty quickly. I asked how many coats of seal was used on the floor and as it turns out only two coats were used because that was the instructions on the bottle. I suspect the bottle hadn’t listed Terracotta specifically and I informed the owner that with this type of floor the minimum amount of coats would be seven, she was very surprised by this but the fact is Terracotta is very porous.

Cleaning Terracotta Tile

I started the job using a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a heavy duty alkaline product ideal for cleaning tiles, scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. I had to repeat this about five times and also used a steamer to clean out the grout lines and any bits left on the tiles, once this was done I thoroughly rinsed the floor to remove any remaining chemical and left it to dry overnight.

Terracotta Tile Before Cleaning

Sealing Terracotta Tile

I left the floor to dry overnight and the next day came back to do the sealing. There were a couple of spots that needed further attention which were tackled using the steamer which has the added advantage to neutralising the floor and evaporating leaving the floor dry again. Tile Doctor Seal and Go was used to seal the floor, it’s a water based sealer so it doesn’t give off an odour when it’s drying and also offers durable stain protection together with a low sheen finish. In the end the floor actually took nine coats of sealer before it was fully sealed, which naturally took a long time to apply as you have to wait for it to dry before applying the next coat.

Terracotta Tile after cleaning and sealing
The lady was extremely happy and said it turned out exactly as she had always wanted it to.

Terracotta Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Surrey

Terracotta Tiled Floor Sealing Read More »

Limestone Floor After

Limestone Tiled Floor Cleaning in Fulham

This Limestone tiled floor hadn’t been cleaned properly for 5 years and we were asked to clean and reseal, hopefully you can appreciate the improvement in the photographs.

Limestone Floor Before Limestone Floor Before

Cleaning Limestone Floor Tiles

The first step was to scrub the Limestone tiles with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad and a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong multi-purpose alkaline cleaning product designed for use on stone. A strong dilution of Pro-Clean can remove sealer however it was apparent some sealer was still present on parts of the floor so Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a dedicated coatings remover was applied to remove the remaining seal.

The floor was then rinsed thoroughly with clean water to remove any cleaning products and we then used the Twister Burnishing Pad system with a rotary machine to complete the cleaning process and polish the floor. The pads come in four different colours and you work your way through them one by one until the floor is thoroughly cleaned and polished.

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

Once the floor was dry we set about sealing it using two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a no-sheen natural look penetrating sealer designed to provide maximum stain protection on natural stone floors including Limestone, Granite and Marble. The last step was to buff the floor to a nice shine with a rotary machine fitted with a white pad.

Limestone Floor After Limestone Floor After

The customer was extremely happy with the result and has since recommended us to others.

Limestone Floor, Cleaned, Scrubbed, Polished and Sealed in Fulham

Limestone Tiled Floor Cleaning in Fulham Read More »

Victorian Tiled Floor in Putney Cleaned and Sealed

Attached are photos from a Victorian tiled hallway floor I completed recently in Putney, South West London. The owner had asked if we could do anything to improve her floor because she has been renovating her house for 2 years since she bought it and had left the floor until last. She didn’t know when it was last cleaned or what products had been used, it’s handy to know a floors history when you’re cleaning it so you know what issues you might face.

Victorian Tiled Floor in Putney Before Cleaning Victorian Tiled Floor in Putney Before Cleaning

Victorian Tiled Floor Cleaning

The first step was to remove any remaining sealer and give it a good clean so I applied a solution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go mixed 50/50 with Nanotech Ultra-Clean to half the floor and left it to dwell while i brought in the rest of my equipment. These two products combine together to create an active cleaning product that can remove coatings; after an hour I then scrubbed it with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad and clean water getting on my hand and knees with a scrubbing brush to get into the edges without damaging the skirting board. The last step was to thoroughly rinse the floor and remove any remaining cleaning products which could upset the sealer at a later stage; in fact I rinsed the floor 5 times to be sure. Once this process was complete I repeated it on the other half, I often do hallway floors in two stages so people in the building can still get around without being impacted by the work. I finished off the cleaning using any industrial steamer over the whole floor and plugged in an AirMover to assist with the floor drying before I left for the night.

Sealing Victorian Tiled Hallway

When I returned the next day I checked the floor to make sure I hadn’t missed anything when cleaning and that it was dry enough to apply a Sealer. All was well so I set about applying Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is recommend for Victorian Tiled floors and provides stain resistance along with a durable low-sheen finish. The floor took six coats and as you have to let the floor dry between each coat it took most of the day to complete. Once the last coat was dry I put the AirMover on to help dry it even more and then buffed it with a white buffing pad.

The lady was not there on completion but her mother was and was ecstatic with the result.

Victorian Tiled Floor in Putney After Cleaning and sealing Victorian Tiled Floor in Putney After Cleaning and sealing

 
 

Victorian Tiled hallway floor cleaned and sealed in Putney, South London

Victorian Tiled Floor in Putney Cleaned and Sealed Read More »

Travertine Tiled Kitchen floor in Beckenham

A regular customer of mine in Beckenham was having some work done in his house and insisted the builder use my services to seal their newly laid travertine tiled floor. We do see a lot of installation problems at Tile Doctor so I can only commend his foresight.

Travertine Floor Beckenham

Cleaning Travertine Tile

Once the floor was laid I gave the Travertine tiles a thorough clean to remove dirt and grout residue using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean followed by a rinse with water. A rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad and wet vacuum come in very handy at this point.

Sealing Travertine Tile

When the Travertine tile was dry it was buffed up using a rotary machine fitted with a Green Twister pad before sealing with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is a no-sheen penetrating sealer which gives a natural look. Once the sealer was dry it was buffed again, this time using a white buffing pad.

The builder was surprised at how well it came out and the work involved, he now recommends me to other clients.

Travertine Floor Beckenham Travertine Floor Beckenham

My customer now has me back to buff the floor on a regular basis.
 
 

New Travertine Tiled Kitchen floor in Beckenham

Travertine Tiled Kitchen floor in Beckenham Read More »

Line Textured Slate Kensington Partly Sealed

Removing Limescale from a Slate Tiled Floor in Kensington

We were asked to look a bathroom at a flat in Kensington by a property management company; the slate tiled floor was textured with lines and the stone was affected by a number of problems including limescale and grout haze which had been partly sealed in. The owner was at the property when I arrived and I was able to demonstrate how it was possible to remove the limescale and grout haze using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is an acid based product and so was given instructions to complete the job.

Line Textured Slate Kensington Before

Removing Limescale from Textured Slate

Armed with more quantities of Grout Clean-Up we were able to remove the limescale from the surface of the slate tile. The floor was then rinsed and then covered with Tile Doctor Remove and Go in order to remove the remaining sealer. We had to repeat this process twice in order to remove the grout haze that had been locked in under the sealer.

Sealing Textured Slate

After a thorough rinsing down to ensure no products remained on the floor we left it to dry and returned later to apply three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which will provide future protection and as you can see from the photographs really helped to give the floors appearance..

Line Textured Slate Kensington Partly Sealed Line Textured Slate Kensington Sealed

I then explained how to clean the tiles going forward. She was extremely happy with the work carried out and also pleased with the management company for contacting us in the first place.

Removing Limescale from a Slate Tiled Floor

Removing Limescale from a Slate Tiled Floor in Kensington Read More »

Marylebone Slate After Restoration

Slate Tiled Floor in Marylebone, London

The customer was an American lady who lived in a flat in Marylebone right in the centre of London; she worked in the City and had the slate tiles in her kitchen cleaned and sealed by another company the year before and she had not been impressed with the results.

I had provided a quote and did a small demonstration on the floor to give her an idea of how the finished result would look; having been unhappy with the previous company we had to work hard to win her confidence but the demo combined with photographs and testimonials from previous work that we had done managed to assure her we could complete the job to the right standard.

Cleaning the Slate Tiled Floor

Having turned up at 7am so that she could get to work we set about scrubbing the slate tiled floor with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and a rotary machine fitted with a black pad, we used a grout brush to clean out the grout lines and then rinsed the floor thoroughly with clean water before switching on a air blower to help the floor to dry.

Marylebone Slate Before Restoration

Sealing the Slate Tiled Floor

Once the floor was dry we proceeded to seal it with Tile Doctor Seal and Go which provides good stain protection with a low sheen finish, slate is quite porous and it took five coats before it was fully sealed.

That night I received a call from the lady thanking me for such a good job and not only was she pleased with the work but we were half the price of the original company.

Marylebone Slate After Restoration
 

Cleaning and Sealing a Slate Tiled Floor in Marylebone, London

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