X-Tra Seal Archives - Bedfordshire Tile Doctor

Grout Stained Encaustic Tiled Floor Renovated Ampthill

Grout Haze Removed from Modern Encaustic Floor Tiles in Ampthill

Last year I was asked to look at cleaning a modern Encaustic tiled floor at a property in Ampthill with a striking design. Many people are drawn to the luxury look of encaustic tiling which are often featured in high end magazines so I thought it would be worth sharing.

It’s absolutely a beautiful type of flooring, however, as our client from Ampthill realised, the tiles must be installed by a professional who understands their makeup. Unlike ceramics they are made from cement and are porous and need to be sealed. In this case the floor had only recently been laid and the tiler had not managed remove all the grout haze before sealing. Consequently, the rough haze attracted dirt making the floor look less than desirable.

Encaustic Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Ampthill

Encaustic Tiled Floor Before Restoration Ampthill

Cleaning and Renovating an Encaustic Tiled Hallway

To remove the Grout Haze, it was first necessary to remove the sealer which was done using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This is a powerful stripper that is safe to use on tile and stone. The solution was sprayed onto the tiles and and then left to dwell for about ten minutes before being scrubbed into the floor with a coarse 200-grit diamond pad. This effectively cleaned the floor removing the sealer and the grout haze.

The next step was to rinse away the soiling from the cleaning and give the tiles a deep clean for which I used a high-pressure truck mounted spinner tool. The tool applies water at high pressure to the floor whilst simultaneously extracting the waste back to a tank on the vehicle leaving it clean and almost dry.

Sealing an Encaustic Tiled Hallway

Once the tiles were completely dry, they were then sealed with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is a fully breathable impregnating sealer, it provides water and stain repellence and adds robust protection and enhances the overall beauty.

Encaustic Tiled Floor After Cleaning Ampthill

For aftercare cleaning of any sealed floor, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild yet effective tile and grout cleaner. This is a pH neutral product which ensures the newly applied sealer isn’t stripped off which can be the problem with the stronger floor cleaning products you often find in supermarkets.

Professional Cleaning of a Modern Encaustic Tiled Hallway in Bedfordshire

Grout Haze Removed from Modern Encaustic Floor Tiles in Ampthill Read More »

Victorian Tiled Pathway Restoration Bedford

Rust-Stained Victorian Tiled Pathway Repaired and Restored in Bedford

After 140 years of use this Victorian tiled pathway at a property in Bedford had seen a lot of traffic and wear. Although generally well maintained the floor had some major problems including loose and broken tiles and rust straining from the use of metal planters.

Victorian Pathway Before Restoration Bedford

I visited the property to survey the path and advise on the work needed to restore it for another 140 years of use. I calculated there were approximately 70 tiles that needed attention and took detailed pictures and measurements so I could source matching replacements.

I was confident of being able to restore the path and provided a quote that included cleaning and sealing the tiles and replacing the broken tiles and dealing with the rust. Happy with the plan the quote was accepted and an initial date booked in for the work to start, I say initial date as I need a dry weather window for external work.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Path in Bedford

Work began with repairing the broken and loose tiles using the matching tiles I had managed to source in time for the job. Removing the loose and cracked tiles must be done carefully so as not to disturb adjacent tiles and making the job a lot larger than originally intended.

With those tiles removed the replacements combined with salvageable original tiles are dry fitted into position making any cuts as necessary. With the tile pattern worked out the tiles were laid using rapid setting flexible adhesive.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Path in Bedford

Once the tiles had set work moved on to cleaning which began with the application of a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Driveway and Patio Cleaner. This product works best when used with long dwell times and in this case some of the path needed much longer times than others to get them clean.

Next job was to deal with the rust impregnation and for this Tile Doctor Rust Away was applied. This product breaks down the rust turning it a purple colour that can then be simply rinsed off and extracted. Once done the tiles were inspected and the process repeated if required and, in this case, it took four applications to complete.

Still not quite satisfied with the appearance of the tiles I ran a set of Tile Doctor Diamond Pads fitted to a rotary machine over the tiles. I worked through different grits from 50 up to 1500 grit to bring the brightness back. These pads are applied with water for lubrication and then the floor rinsed and extracted with a wet vacuum after each pad.

After a final rinse the floor was dried as much as possible using a wet vacuum and left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Path in Bedford

Once the path had dried it was sealed with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is oil-based and externally rated with UV protection making it ideal for applications like this one. This product is a fully breathable, colour intensifying sealer which really brought the colours in the tile back to life.

Victorian Pathway After Restoration Bedford

The client was in London during the work so we sent pictures and received this reply:

`Thanks for making our path look lovely`

Client satisfaction is always at the forefront for us and when we receive messages like this it really makes our day.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Path in Devon

Rust-Stained Victorian Tiled Pathway Repaired and Restored in Bedford Read More »

Old Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Restored at Grade II Listed Building in Bedford

1 Comment / Bedford Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning / Mike Conlon

The owner of this property in Bedford was convinced little could be done to restore the appearance of these Kitchen Quarry tiles at the best thing to do would be to cover them up, however as the building was Grade II listed thought it would be best to get a professional opinion first and I was asked to take a look.

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Bedford Before Cleaning

I went over to survey the floor and could see that over the years pits had developed in the surface of the tile which had trapped dirt resulting in black staining. In my analysis I thought we could certainly improve their appearance but hesitated at promising the world as even I had not seen a quarry tile this badly damaged. However the client was happy with the quotation and the request was `Do what you can!`

Cleaning Grubby 200-Year-Old Kitchen Quarry Tiles

I could see this floor was going to be a challenge so after protecting all the skirting boards, kitchen units and appliances I set about soaking the tiles in a strong cocktail of Tile Doctor Remove and Go with Nanotech HBU, HBU stands for Heavy Build-Up so quite appropriate I thought.

The next step was to run over the tiles with a set of burnishing pads of different grades which are encrusted with industrial diamonds. It took more than one attempt at this process but the abrasive pads had the desired effect and eventually revealed the beautiful quarry flooring below. The pads are effective on the tiles but the grout sits a little lower and so to reach these a stiff brush was scrubbed into the grout by hand where needed.

To remove the dirt that was released from the cleaning process and further clean the tiles I used an extraction tool that’s powered from a large compressor that sits in my van. This forces hot water under pressure onto the tiled floor whilst simultaneously extracting the dirty water back to a separate tank using a vacuum. It’s an amazing tool that is very effective however you do need to have the van parked close the house due to a limitation on the hose lengths.

With the tiles now clean and rinsed with water the floor was dried as much as possible with a wet vacuum and left to dry for a couple of days.

Sealing 200-Year-Old Kitchen Quarry Tiles

On my return I first tested the floor with a damp meter to ensure it was dry; all was well so I able to move onto applying a sealer that would further enhance the appearance of the Quarry tiles and add protection.

Given the age of this floor I decided to use a modern fully breathable product and selected Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which work by occupying the pores of the tile, improving colour, and preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there.

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Bedford After Renovation

The client was in fact over the moon with the results and given the floor was 200 years old I even impressed myself. For me, even after having done this work for over 30 years it still provided a sense of achievement, a perfect combination of experience coupled with modern chemicals, machinery and working methods.

Professional Restoration of an Old Quarry Tiled Floor in Bedfordshire

Old Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Restored at Grade II Listed Building in Bedford Read More »