Tile Cleaning Archives - South Yorkshire Tile Doctor

Victorian Floor Repair Restoration Sheffield

Repairing and Restoring a Salt-Stained Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Sheffield

The owner of this tired and unloved Victorian Tiled Hallway in Sheffield was unhappy with its appearance and decided it was time to have it restored and looked at its best again. As well as renovating the appearance of the floor there was also a damaged area that needed pulling out and re-tiling to match.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Before Restoration in Sheffield

The property and tiling dated back to the 1890’s and hadn’t been maintained in a long time; it is typical of a lot of property in the area which sprung up in the 1890s. At the time the city of Sheffield was devoted to work with chimneys dominating the skyline and population approaching 400,000 and rising rapidly. It pulled in workers from all around and was a time of great change as medieval street layouts were widened to accommodate trams and other vehicles

I visited the property to survey the floor and provide an accurate quote for doing the work. I could see there was an old sealer present on the tiles however this was now worn thin in places and was well overdue for replacement. Also, because it wasn’t a breathable sealer it was trapping moisture in the tiles which resulted in efflorescent white staining.

Efflorescence is often a problem on these old floors which don’t have a damp proof membrane to prevent moisture rising through the floor. It’s best to allow the floor to breath so moisture can evaporate at the surface, if it becomes trapped it can pool and reach out to the walls resulting in rising damp.

I worked out a plan to strip off what was left of the old sealer, clean the tiles, deal with the efflorescent staining, repair the broken tiles and finally seal the floor with a breathable sealer. My quote was accepted and a date agreed for the work to being.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Floor

The first job was to repair the areas of damage using replica tiles that I had managed to source the week before. There are several companies you can go to for replicas and these were chosen for their matching colour.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor During Repair Restoration in Sheffield

The loose and cracked tiles were carefully removed and cleared away, then the replicas were cut to fit the empty gap and once I was happy, they were laid in place with a flexible adhesive which would allow for some movement.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

To strip off what was left of the old sealer the tiles were sprayed with a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, this is a strong treatment that breaks down floor coatings. After ten minutes a rotary machine fitted with a very coarse 200-grit diamond pad was run over the floor to work the remove and go into the floor.

The slurry generated was then removed with a wet vacuum and the tiles inspected and any stubborn areas which were then retreated.

Next step was to counter the efflorescent salt problem by applying Tile Doctor Acid Gel which being an acid neutralises the alkaline salts and removes other problems such as grout smears. The gel was worked in using a 200-grit diamond pad fitted to the rotary floor buffer. Afterwards it was removed with the wet vac and the floor was wiped clean with slightly acidic water.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor was left to dry off for several days, before returning to apply the new breathable sealer. Beforehand the floor was tested with a moisture meter to ensure it was fully dry.

The readings were fine so the floor was sealed with Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra which is a full breathable sealer and gives the floor a nice satin finish. Nine coats of Seal and Go Extra were applied in total.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor After Repair Restoration in Sheffield

Once done the floor looked brand new and my client was very pleased. The new sealer also blended in repaired section of Victorian tiles with the original.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. Most of the tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets are simply too strong for the sealer and can degrade them prematurely.

Professional Repair and Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Yorkshire

Repairing and Restoring a Salt-Stained Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Sheffield Read More »

Victorian Hallway Floor Restoration Barnsley

Unloved Victorian Hallway Floor Renovation in Barnsley

1 Comment / Barnsley Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Matthew Lovett

A young couple recently bought a house in Barnsley and were renovating it from top to bottom, included in the plan was the desire to have the previously unloved Victorian floor made beautiful again. The house stands in an area of Barnsley famous for its’ big Victorian villas and quite rightly they felt it was important to ensure period features like this original floor were correctly maintained.

Unloved Victorian Hallway Floor Before Renovation

Due to the floor being covered up for many years the floor had developed damp staining, it also had a lot of paint splattered on it. There were also some loose tiles that needed fixing back in place and the layer of old floor polish was present which would need removing.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I started by protecting all the skirting boards, doors and carpets bordering the tiles from splashing. The loose tiles were then cleaned up and then secured back in place using a fast-setting adhesive.

Once the adhesive was set, I turned my attention to stripping and cleaning the floor starting with the application of a coarse 200-grit diamond pad fitted to a weighted rotary buffing machine. The pad was lubricated using a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go which was applied to small sections of the floor and left to soak in for ten minutes first. I run the buffing machine at a slow speed to minimise splashing. Remove & Go is amazing at removing old floor coatings (i.e. sealers), dirt and grime from the floor. When the diamond pad had been used on each section of the floor for five minutes the slurry was vacuumed up using a wet vac machine and I moved onto the next section. Once the whole floor had been cleaned in this way it was time to start the next step.

Old floors like this which don’t have the benefit of a damp proof membrane, and have been covered up for a long time, can suffer from efflorescence issues due to moisture being trapped in the tile. This will result in white salt staining appearing on the tiles for days, weeks and sometimes months afterwards. To counter this the alkaline salts are neutralised by giving the floor an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel and leaving it to dwell for five minutes before going over the floor again with the coarse diamond pad. The slurry was again removed with a wet vacuum and the floor was scrubbed clean with damp cloths.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned a few days later once the floor had dried to seal the floor. The client wanted a satin finish so knowing the floor had damp and efflorescence issues I opted for Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra. This is a topical sealer which leaves a lovely satin finish but also allows for the floor to breathe. six coats were required to make the floor look perfect, allowing the lovely colours to come through.

Unloved Victorian Hallway Floor After Renovation

Unloved Victorian Hallway Floor After Sealing

Once complete the floor looked much brighter and the colours really shone through. The owners were really happy with the renovation we carried out and before leaving I took time to discuss how best to maintain the tiles going forward including the use of Neutral Tile cleaner.

Professional Renovation of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Yorkshire

Unloved Victorian Hallway Floor Renovation in Barnsley Read More »

Victorian Floor Before After Cleaning Nether Edge Sheffield

1850’s Victorian Hallway Restored at Ex NHS Property in Nether Edge

1 Comment / Sheffield Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Matthew Lovett

Detailed below is the restoration of a beautiful Victorian tiled hallway that we completed for a ‘co-housing’ community who had purchased a large house in Nether Edge. Situated three miles south if Sheffield, Brincliffe House was built in 1850 and had been used as NHS offices since the end of the Second World War but had been empty since 2012. Built originally for Herbert Unwin who was the owner of Pond Street Brewery it was now subject to a three-million-pound conversion into fifteen apartments.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Restoration Brincliffe House Nether Edge

When we first visited the property to survey the floor, we were shown around the ground floor where they had discovered magnificent Victorian tiled floor. The new owners had no idea the floor was there as the NHS had covered it up decades earlier and glued carpet on top. Being a co-housing community, they were keen to do the restoration themselves however after several unsuccessful attempts to remove the strong carpet adhesive they thought better of it and called us in. We ran several tests and worked out the best way to remove the glue. The floor covered about 70 sqm in total so we knew we had our hands full.

Removing Carpet Glue from an Old Victorian Tiled Floor

I’d worked out that the best way to remove the carpet adhesive was a combination of coating remover products and abrasive burnishing pads, these are industrial diamond encrusted pads that are usually used to resurface stone however we find they work equally well on Victorian tiles as well.

Working in small sections the floor was treated with a Tile Doctor 200-grit 17 inch Diamond pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer using water as a lubricant. This stripped off a lot of surface dirt and glue which was then rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. Next the floor was coated with a mixture of Tile Doctor Remove & Go and Wax Away, two powerful coating removers that are safe to use on Tile and Stone. The mixture was left to soak into the tiles for about twenty minutes before being scrubbed in with a black scrubbing pad which slowly released the glue and dirt from the pores of the tile. In some areas the glue was so thick we found it necessary to use hand scrapers as well. As before the soil was rinsed off with water and then extracted using a wet vacuum.

Victorian Tiled Hallway During Restoration Brincliffe House Nether Edge

Each section of flooring was inspected and retreated where necessary, then once happy with the result it was given a final rinse with water to remove any trace of cleaning product. After two days of hard work the results were truly amazing, and it was very satisfying to see the floor come back to life section by section.

Sealing Victorian Hallway Tiles

The community were very happy with the results and thankful I had managed to achieve such an amazing transformation. They were however keen to do as much of the project as they could by themselves, so I advised them on the importance of protecting the tiles with a sealer and left that bit tot the community.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Restoration Brincliffe House Nether Edge

With regards to sealing my recommendation was to apply a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow as it would enhance the red and blue colours in the tiles even further. Also, being fully breathable it would be able to cope with any moisture issues which is important on these old floors which were laid without a damp proof membrane.

Removing Stubborn Carpet Glue from old Victorian floor tiles in Sheffield

1850’s Victorian Hallway Restored at Ex NHS Property in Nether Edge Read More »

Old Victorian Floor Before After Restoration Sheffield

Restoring a Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Sheffield

1 Comment / Sheffield Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Matthew Lovett

I received a request to take a look at renovating this old Victorian tiled hallway at a ground floor flat in Sheffield. The home owners had recently bought the property and had uncovered the floor under an old carpet. They wondered if the floor was fixable and worth getting repaired, cleaned and sealed.

Victorian Floor Restoration Sheffield Before

The floor was in quite a serious state with patches of sunken areas which had been covered in a levelling compound. There were many cracked and loose tiles and there were a lot of stains, carpet glue and paint on the tiles. The home owner had done some research into the property and had found out that it was once used as Doctors surgery and the hallway had been the waiting room which would make sense as it had certainly seen a fair amount of wear over the years, especially around the door thresholds.

Our client wanted the existing floor repairing, cleaning and sealing, ideally without replacing the cracked and sunken tiles. They were very keen to try and restore the floor as an original feature which I’m sure you will appreciate are very sought after. I discussed the work that would be needed and how we would proceed. They accepted the price for the work and worked out a date for the work to start.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

We were able to commence work the following week and started by removing all the self-levelling compound that had been applied to the areas of sunken tiles. The tiles were also removed in these areas and a new sub floor created to lift the floor in-line with the rest of the hallway.

Victorian Floor Restoration Sheffield Chipping Away Self=Leveller Compound

The original tiles were then cleaned up and installed back in place. Nearly all the many loose tiles were removed and re fixed in place, unfortunately a few loose tiles were left as removing these would have caused more damage to the floor.

Victorian Floor Restoration Sheffield During Repair

There were many areas of discoloured and stained tiles so after the fixed areas of damage had been left to set overnight, we returned the next day to start on cleaning the tiles. To get the tiles clean we used a combination of Tile Doctor Remove & Go and Acid Gel agitated with a 17-inch 200 grit diamond burnishing pad fitted to a slow speed rotary floor polisher.

Victorian Floor Restoration Sheffield Cleaning with Acid Gel

Combined this created a powerful cleaner/stripping action that can remove sealers, epoxy grout haze, urethane coatings, synthetic finishes, glue adhesives and paints. The resulting slurry was removed with a wet vacuum and rinsed off thoroughly with water. The immediate result showed a marked improvement and you could now get a real impression of how beautiful the floor actually was.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor was left to dry overnight, and we returned the next day to complete the restoration with the application of a sealer. Beforehand he floor was tested with the moisture meter to ensure the it was fully dried. We then sealed the floor with three coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra which is a full breathable sealer and gives the floor a nice satin finish. It’s important to use a breathable sealer on these old floors where no damp proof membrane has been installed otherwise moisture can become trapped under the floor and will find its way up the walls instead.

Victorian Floor Restoration Sheffield After Sealing with Seal and Go Extra

The floor looked fantastic, the client was very pleased, the natural pattern and beauty had been restored to its’ former glory.

Victorian Hallway Floor Sheffield After Restoration

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Yorkshire

Restoring a Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Sheffield Read More »

Dirty Textured Ceramic Tiles Before After Cleaning Barnsley South Yorkshire

Textured Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Barnsley

1 Comment / Barnsley Tile Cleaning, Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Work History / Matthew Lovett

This ceramic tiled floor at a house in the old coal mining town of Barnsley was trapping dirt and bothering our client who was finding it impossible to keep clean. In fact, she got in touch with Tile Doctor to explain that however they cleaned the floor they just couldn’t get the tiles cleaned and looking bright.

Textured Ceramic Tile Barnsley Before Cleaning

Barnsley is my local town, so it wasn’t long before I was able to pop over to the property and survey the floor. When I got there I could see that the tiles, which had been laid throughout the Hallway and Kitchen, were Textured Ceramic which have the advantage of being anti-slip but the disadvantage of being a pain to keep clean. The rougher textured surface traps dirt easily and in this case no amount of mopping was going to clean them.

My customer explained they had tried numerous household cleaners but had been unable to get them really looking clean. I was confident the floor could be deep cleaned and brought back to life using Tile Doctor products and that the job should only take a day to complete. Happy with the quote, we worked out a mutually convenient date for me to return and clean the floor.

Deep Cleaning a Textured Ceramic Tiled Floor

I started by giving the floor a really long soak with a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, the long dwell time allows the product to soak right into every bit of dirt that was clinging to the tiles and break it down. Pro-Clean is a concentrated, multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, stripper and degreaser which can be diluted in different ratios dependent on the situation. In this instance we diluted with 3 to 5 parts water to use as a very effective cleaner which is the recommended strength for removing inground dirt from areas that have been neglected or subjected to heavy use.

Textured Ceramic Tile Barnsley During Cleaning

A black scrubbing pad was then fitted to a rotary floor buffer and run over the floor at slow speed to attack the dirt. It wasn’t long before the Pro-Clean turned dark with the loose dirt and the tiles started looking lighter in colour. The now thick brown slurry was removed using a wet vacuum and then the floor was given a rinse with water which was also extracted with the wet vacuum. The process was repeated over the entire floor and doubly so where the muck was proving stubborn to remove. After we had finished the floor looked lighter and much cleaner, the grout lines also looked cleaner too.

Our client was so relieved to have the floor looking like new again, it had been bothering her for quite some time. As you can see from the pictures the difference was quite apparent.

Textured Ceramic Tile Barnsley After Cleaning

Before leaving we discussed the best way to keep the floor clean. Normally I would recommend a pH neutral tile cleaning product for cleaning tiles however in this case with no sealer present (ceramic tiles don’t usually accept a sealer) and given the textured surface I felt the continued use of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean would be their best option.

Professional Cleaning of Textured Ceramic Tiles in South Yorkshire

Textured Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Barnsley Read More »

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before and After Restoration Rotherham

Full Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Rotherham

1 Comment / Rotherham Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Matthew Lovett

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

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.

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

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

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

Restoring an old Victorian Tiled floor in Yorkshire

Full Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Rotherham Read More »

Victorian Hallway Before and After Cleaning Sheffield

Renovating a Victorian Vicarage Hallway Tiles in Sheffield

1 Comment / Sheffield Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Matthew Lovett

Our client had recently moved into this beautiful former vicarage in Sheffield, the hallway had a stunning Victorian tiled floor and there were quarry tiles in two adjoining rooms. The floors hadn’t been maintained properly in quite some time and due to building work in the house they had become very dirty; the Victorian floor also needed some repairs doing as there were areas of loose tiles.

Victorian Hallway Before Cleaning Sheffield

The new owner wanted the floors restoring which in this case meant making some repairs, deep cleaning the tiles and then sealing to protect them from further staining. I quoted for doing the work which was accepted and agreed a date to return and complete the work.

Repairing a Victorian tiled floor

It made sense to start with the tile repairs first, so I inspected the whole floor for loose tiles and carefully removed them. The tiles and floor were then cleaned up to remove the old adhesive and grout.

Victorian Hallway During Tile Repair Sheffield

The tiles were fixed into place using a quick setting adhesive and whilst that was setting I started cleaning the floor, returning to grout the tiles later with a matching grout once the adhesive had set firm.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian tiled floor

To deep clean the floor and remove any old sealers present on the tiles I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This product works best if you leave it to dwell and soak into the tile for about ten minutes before scrubbing it in. There was a large area to cover so I worked in sections and used a floor polishing machine fitted with a coarse 200 grit burnishing pad to grind off surface dirt and work the product into the tile to release the ingrained dirt. I ran the machine on a slow setting which helps reduce splashing and once the section had been cleaned I rinsed off the soiled cleaning solution with water which was then extracted using a wet vacuum.

Victorian Hallway During Cleaning Sheffield

Once the whole floor was clean I followed up with an Acid Wash which removes old grout smears from the tile and neutralises any efflorescence salts inherent in the tile. Efflorescence is a common problem with old floors where no damp proof membrane has been installed and can result in white salt deposits appearing on the surface on the floor. I used Tile Doctor Acid Gel for this step, being in gel form its easier to manage than other products and used the 200-grit burnishing pad to scrub it in. The slurry was then removed with a wet vacuum and the floor dried as much as possible with air movers leaving it to fully dry off overnight.

Sealing an Old Victorian Hallway Tiles

The next day I returned to seal the floors checking first that the tiles were dry. There are a number of sealers I could have used on the floor, but the owner preferred a matt appearance and I wanted to use a fully breathable sealer to ensure it could cope with moisture rising up through the floor due to the lack of the damp proof membrane.

Victorian Hallway After Cleaning Sheffield

With these considerations in mind I choose Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that protects the tiles from within by occupying the pores in the clay thereby preventing anything else from becoming ingrained there. The other advantage of Colour Grow is it’s a colour intensifying sealer that improves the colours in the tile.

Only two coats of Colour Grow were needed, and I think you will agree the floor now looks very clean and so much more vibrant.

Restoring an old Victorian Tiled floor in Yorkshire

Renovating a Victorian Vicarage Hallway Tiles in Sheffield Read More »

Pamment Tiled Floor Before and After Restoration in Silkstone

Restoring a Pamment tiled floor in Silkstone

1 Comment / Barnsley Tile Cleaning, Work History / Matthew Lovett

The owner of this house in the village of Silkstone near Barnsley had discovered this clay Pamment floor when they had a tiler come in to tile the floor. The tiler stripped off the Vinyl floor covering and removed an inch of Bitumen that it had been stuck onto. With the Bitumen removed it became clear that there was wonderful Pamment tiled floor already there. They had a go at restoring the floor themselves but eventually decided to call in the experts.

Pamment Tiled Floor Before Restoration in Silkstone

Having been buried under Bitumen for such a long time the floor had a number of serious issues that would need addressing during the restoration. The grout/cement between the tiles was crumbling and there was a thick layer of dirt ingrained in the clay, there was also evidence of inherent salt efflorescence issues which manifests as white staining.

Pamment tiles are very similar to Terracotta in that they are made from clay and like Terracotta are very porous and need to be sealed to protect dirt getting into the pores. You don’t normally see them in use in Yorkshire, but are quite a common in Norfolk and Suffolk where they are still made by Norfolk Pamments. Silkstone dates back to the Doomsday Book of 1086 and there are some very old houses in the village so you never know what your going to find.

Deep Cleaning a Pamment tiled floor

We removed what was left of the grout/cement from between the tiles using a special tool and replaced with a grout specifically made for wide joints.

Pamment Tiled Floor During Grout Removal in Silkstone

The next day once the grout had fully cured we came back to do the deep clean starting by applying Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to the Pamments and letting it soak in for ten minutes. Then the tiles were scrubbed with a floor buffer fitted with a black scrubbing pad and running at slow speed.

Pamment Tiled Floor During Restoration in Silkstone

The floor was then rinsed with water and the slurry extracted using a wet vacuum. With the floor clear we could see that the process removed had most of the grime but there were areas that needed a bit more attention. To tackle the stubborn stains and neutralise the effloresce salts that were in the tiles Tile Doctor Acid Gel was applied and scrubbed in.

After a final rinse to remove any trace of cleaning product the floor was left to dry out for a few days.

Sealing an Old Pamment Tiled Floor

Due to the age of these tiles, the inherent efflorescence issues and the lack of damp proof membrane we sealed the floor in a fully breathable sealer ‘Seal and Go Extra‘. This provides a beautiful satin finish and allows the floor to breath and any moisture to escape.

Pamment Tiled Floor During Sealing in Silkstone

Our customer was delighted with the results and was so happy to restore another original feature of the house.

Pamment Tiled Floor After Restoration in Silkstone

Restoring an old Clay Pamment Tiled floor in Yorkshire

Restoring a Pamment tiled floor in Silkstone Read More »