Rotherham

Sandstone Kitchen Floor Clean Seal Maltby

Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Maltby, Rotherham

Details below of a Sandstone Tiled floor I recently renovated in the Kitchen of a property in Maltby near Rotherham. Sandstone is a beautiful material however the rough nature of its surface needs to be sealed to prevent dirt from becoming trapped in the stone as once that happens no amount of mopping will remove the dirt.

Unfortunately, sealers wear down with use and in this case with it being the Kitchen it had seen a lot of wear. The stone had become darker, and the grout stained. The local area is well known for its coal mining history; however, my client didn’t want that reflected in their kitchen floor, so I was asked to pay them a visit to give the floor some TLC.

Cleaning a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

I started by removing the kickboards under the kitchen units and taping up the rest of the cabinets to protect them from splashing during cleaning. This was followed by the application of a medium strength dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean using the usual method of mopping into the Sandstone tile and Grout and then leaving it to dwell and soak in for ten minutes. We do this as it gives the product time to start softening the dirt and grime making it much easier to remove.

After ten minutes I the floor was scrubbed using a rotary floor buffer fitted with a stiff brush attachment. A brush works much better than a pad on riven stone, the bristles get into all the ridges. Once I was happy with the results the dirty slurry was removed by a wet vacuum.

Sandstone Floor During Renovation Maltby Rotherham

I was then able to inspect the floor and spot treat any stubborn stains by hand scrubbing them using the same treatment as before. Once I was satisfied the stone and grout was as clean as it could be the floor was given a thorough rinse to remove any trace of cleaning product and dirt. The floor was dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum and then assisted with fans.

Sandstone Floor During Renovation Maltby Rotherham

It wasn’t a large area, so I planned to seal the floor later that afternoon.

Sealing Sandstone Kitchen Floor Tiles

After lunch I checked the Sandstone for moisture using a damp meter. My plan had worked, and I was able to start applying the first of what would be three coats of sealer. Having discussed sealer options previously with my client we had opted to go with Tile Doctor
Ultra-Seal which is a hard-wearing impregnating sealer that doesn’t leave a finish on the stone, so you get a very natural look.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photograph of the finished floor this time around however I took the picture below whilst working between two sections so you should be able to see the difference.

Sandstone Floor During Renovation Maltby Rotherham Left Done Right Outstanding

After completion the sandstone looked so much lighter and cleaner, much to the delight of my client. For aftercare cleaning I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is designed for the regular cleaning for sealed floors like this.

 

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Ceramic Tiled Floor Grout Recoloured Wickersley Rotherham

Light Grey Grout Re-Colouring in a Wickersley Kitchen

This Ceramic Tiled kitchen floor at a property in Wickersley was proving to be a pain for our clients, whatever they did the grout just looked dark, dirty, and unsightly. No amount of scrubbing would make a difference and eager to find a solution they wasted a lot of money on various products trying to clean the grout lines, but nothing had worked. Ceramic tiles are glazed which makes them very easy to clean, grout however is a different story.

Ceramic Tiled Floor Before Grout ReColour Wickersley Rotherham

Wickersley is in Rotherham close to the 3 main motorways in South Yorkshire, the M1, M18 and A1. The village took its’ name from the Wickersley family who eventually moved to Sheffield and built the famous Broom Hall, incredibly we restored 100sqm of stone flooring in that very house not too long back. It was a beautiful restoration.

On the first visit we tried a few of our products to clean the grout lines up but sometimes grout just can’t be cleaned, if the staining has penetrated the surface layer and gone right down into the grout it is stained forever. Grinding the grout out and putting in new grout is a big messy expensive job. For this reason, our grout recolouring service is an ideal option and the best thing about it is once it is recoloured the grout is protected and stain resistant.

Tile Doctor have a range of ten grout colours to choose from and in this case our client chose the light grey colour. They were happy to go ahead with our quote and just thankful that we were able to do it relatively inexpensively and without making a huge mess!

Applying Light Grey Grout Colourant to Ceramic Kitchen Tiles

Work started by treating the grout lines with an acidic pre-treater that comes with the Grout Colourant kit that Tile Doctor sell, Tile Doctor Grout Colourant Pre-Treat cleaner, this gets rid of any contamination and prepares the grout for the colourant, so you get a superior bond.

Once dry the Light Grey Grout Colourant was applied the grout lines with a small brush. A steady hand is required, and you need to ensure any excess is immediately wiped away before it dries. It is quite a slow job, but very satisfying when you see the difference it makes. Glazed tiles are sealed during manufacture, so we do not need to apply a sealer like we do on most of our jobs.

Ceramic Tiled Floor After Grout ReColour Wickersley Rotherham

The customer was over the moon with the transformation, the grubby grout lines had been irradicated and because the grout colourant forms a barrier over the grout, they will remain looking good for a long time to come. For aftercare cleaning I recommended using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is pH neutral and gentle enough to use on a regular basis, it also has a nice fresh smell.

 

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Victorian Tiled Hallway Before After Renovation Dinnington

Renovating a Paint Spotted Victorian Hallway Floor in Dinnington

The owner of this beautiful Victorian tiled hallway floor in Dinnington had wanted the floor restored for quite some time. The property had many Victorian features, but this floor had an unusual design which made it very special. The owners had researched how to clean it themselves but hadn’t managed to achieve the result they were hoping for. The main problem was that the floor had been spotted with small paint splashes from decades of decorating.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Dinnington Victorian Tiled Floor During Cleaning Dinnington

Dinnington officially forms part of in Rotherham and is the same distance from Rotherham as it is from Sheffield. The area was a big coal mining and steel producing area and unfortunately suffered huge job losses throughout the 80’s and 90’s so its not surprising that the local housing stock suffered for many years as a result.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

We first treated the floor with Tile Doctor Remove and Go, this acts quickly to break down any old sealers still present on the tiles and softens the old paint splashes. After a ten-minute dwell time a coarse 200-grit burnishing pad fitted to rotary floor buffer was applied to the tiles. More water was applied where required to help lubricate the process and make the pad really work its magic. The slurry generated was extracted using a wet vacuum and the floor inspected. The process was the repeated to ensure all the dirt was removed and the floor was as clean as possible.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Cleaning Dinnington

Once happy the Victorian tiles were as clean as the could be it was time to give the floor an acid wash which would remove any old mineral deposits including grout smears. We also recommended this for old Victorian floors which do not have a damp-proof membrane installed and can suffer from white efflorescent salt deposits as moisture rises through the tile. To do this Tile Doctor Acid Gel was scrubbed into the to the floor using a 200-grit burnishing pad to make the acid gel work hard. Afterwards we rinsed the floor several times removing the slurry with a wet vacuum. This kept the mess to a minimum and the floor was already looking great.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Cleaning Dinnington

The floor was left to dry over the weekend, and we would return the following week to carry out the sealing process.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The following Monday we returned to seal the floor. First, we used the moisture meter to test the floor, we needed to ensure it was as dry as possible before sealing it. The client wanted a traditional look, so we opted for Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that leaves matt finish. This product is perfect for this type of floor as it is fully breathable allowing moisture to pass through the tile and sealer and not become trapped under the floor where it could spread to the walls and cause rising damp.

Four coats of Colour Grow were applied in total allowing each to dry before applying the next. The sealer works by occupying the pores in the tile thereby protecting the floor and preventing dirt from becoming trapped making it much easier to clean.

I was very happy with the result; the floor was now in great condition and was one of the more dramatic in colour and pattern that I had come across. My customer also felt the same and left the following feedback for me.

“Matt did a professional and thorough job: our Victorian hall tiles really ‘pop’ with colour. Highly recommend. Karen T, Dinnington”

Victorian Tiled Floor After Cleaning Dinnington Victorian Tiled Floor After Cleaning Sealing Dinnington

 

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Victorian Tiled Hallway Before and After Restoration Rotherham

Full Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Rotherham

Our client in Rotherham had decided to install a new floor in their hallway and after removing many layers of old floor coverings discovered a layer of self-levelling compound underneath. After deciding to chip some of this away they discovered what appeared to be an original Victorian tiled floor. Realising that original features like these are very desirable they decided to call in Tile Doctor to see if it could be restored.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Covered in Self-Leveller Before Restoration Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Restoration Rotherham

Being the local agent for Tile Doctor I was asked to look at the floor and quote for doing the work. I could see this was going to take some time to do properly, the floor was quite seriously damaged, a big area of tiles were missing, the tiles around each doorway were heavily damaged and there were quite a few loose and cracked tiles around the edges of the floor. But we were confident this floor could be made to look amazing once again and add the original charm of this hallway back to how it was intended to be.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Repair and Restoration Rotherham

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first course of action was to make the tile repairs which included digging out and rebuilding the sub floor in some areas.

Victorian Tiled Hallway During Restoration Rotherham Victorian Tiled Hallway During Restoration Rotherham

Fortunately, these black and white Victorian Tiles are fairly common, so I was able to source replacements quite easily. There was a lot of areas to cover so this step took a couple of days to complete.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian tiled floor

To get the floor clean we used a slow speed floor polisher fitted with a 200-grit diamond pad. Aided with Tile Doctor Remove and Go it proved to be an effective combination that cut through and removed the self-levelling compound, it also worked a treat at removing paint stains too.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Restoration Rotherham Victorian Tiled Hallway During Restoration Rotherham

The next step was to give the floor an acid wash to remove any remaining grime and dirt. To do this we applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel which being in gel form is quite easy to control. After being scrubbed into the floor it was extracted using a wet vacuum and then the floor given a thorough rinse with water to remove any traces of product.

Victorian Tiled Hallway During Acid Washing Rotherham Victorian Tiled Hallway During Acid Washing Rotherham

The wet vacuum was employed again to extract as much moisture from the floor as possible and then left to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing an Old Victorian Hallway Tiles

The next day I returned to seal the floors checking first that the tiles were dry. All was well so I began applying the sealer which in this case was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the pores of the tile to prevent dirt from becoming ingrained there.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Restoration Rotherham Victorian Tiled Hallway After Restoration Rotherham

The floor was completely transformed over the course of five days and our customer was over the moon with the results calling it her ‘forever floor’.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Repair and Restoration Rotherham

 
 

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