Neutral Tile Cleaner Archives - South Yorkshire Tile Doctor

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Repair and Restoration Sheffield

Full Restoration of a 135-Year-Old Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Sheffield

This 135-year-old Victorian Tiled floor was uncovered in the hallway of a property in Sheffield by the owner. It had been hidden away under carpet and a floor matt for decades before it was discovered and this was probably due to the state it was in with lots of cracked and loose tiles.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Before Restoration Sheffield

The owner was keen to have it restored as an original feature that would add value to the property and was told by one contractor that it was beyond repair. Undeterred he reached out to Tile Doctor for a second opinion and having worked on numerous floors like this one I was more than happy to provide a quote for its restoration.

I visited the property to survey the floor and could see it would need a lot of rebuilding with reclaimed tiles. I was confident however it could be saved so set about putting a repair and restoration plan together. From this I was able to identify how many reclaimed tiles I would need and the various products needed to complete the work.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Repair Plan Sheffield

The plan fed into a detailed quote for doing the work that included elements for sourcing the replacements, carrying out the repairs, deep cleaning and finally sealing. My quote was accepted and a date agreed for the work to start.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Floor

I managed to source all the reclaimed tiles we would need ready for the start date and began by pulling out all the damaged and loose tiles. You have to be careful when doing this so as not to disturb adjacent tiles and make the project bigger than it needs to be. Once done the base was cleared of old adhesive and the work area cleaned up ready for tiling.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor During Repairs Sheffield

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor During Restoration Sheffield

With the tiles removed several cracks in the base became obvious that reflected historical movement in the floor which will have led to tiles becoming loose. These cracks were filled and then the work to re-create the geometric tiled design commenced. Putting a floor like this back together is slow but rewarding work, it requires patience and you can’t fail to admire the skill of the craftsman who laid the original tiles. All the missing and damaged tiles were carefully replaced and secured with a flexible adhesive before being grouted.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Once the floor was whole and set work progressed onto tile cleaning. There were years of ingrained dirt and grime built up in this floor and no history of what may have been applied to the surface to protect it, so cleaning started with an application on Tile Doctor Remove & Go. This is a strong alkaline treatment which was left to soak in for ten minutes before scrubbing with a rotary machine fitted with a black pad. The slurry generated was then removed with a wet vacuum and the tiles inspected.

Next step was to give the floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was brushed into the tiles. This further cleans the floor and being an acid will neutralise any alkaline salts and remove other problems such as grout smears. Once done the gel was removed with the wet vac and the floor rinsed to remove any trace of product before the next step of sealing.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor was left to dry off for several days, before returning to apply the new sealer. Beforehand the floor was tested with a moisture meter to ensure it was fully dry, we don’t recommend applying sealer to a damp floor as it will affect the result. The readings were fine so the floor was sealed with an initial coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow to improve colour and then when that had dried Seal & Go to add a lovely finish.

Once done the floor looked amazing and my client was overjoyed with the transformation. The new sealer also allowed the reclaimed tiles to blend in very well with the original and it was very difficult to spot the repairs.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor After Restoration Sheffield

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.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor After Restoration Sheffield

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Yorkshire

Full Restoration of a 135-Year-Old Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Sheffield Read More »

Red Black Quarry Tiled Floor Renovation Peak District Sheffield

1870’s Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in the Peak District near Sheffield

I was contacted by a young couple who had just bought a charming old house with a Quarry Tiled floor nestled on a hill side in the Peak District close to Sheffield. The Peak District is a national park at the southern end of the Pennines surrounded by the cities of Manchester, Derby, Stoke and Sheffield. It’s hugely popular with tourists and attracts millions of visitors every year.

The building dated to the 1700’s, in 1870 a big renovation took place on the house and it is thought this floor was laid then, before 1870 the hallway where the tiled floor is was actually a gap between two buildings but when the buildings were renovated in 1870 the two houses were converted into one.

Red Black Quarry Tiles Before Cleaning Peak District Sheffield

After peeling back, a smelly old red carpet our customers discovered the original hallway tiled floor, but as they started taking the carpet up they realised it was very badly damaged. A few decades ago the house was converted into a Bed & Breakfast and extra bathrooms were put in, a lot of the tiles had been ripped up to run a soil pipe the length of the house.

The new owners were desperate to have the floor put back to its original state, on our first inspection we asked them if we couldn’t fix the floor what would they do, they simply replied ‘We have no plan B’.

We did some moisture readings, inspected the tiles, looked closely at the damage, and came up with a plan to save the floor. Some reclaimed tiles were sourced from the local reclamation yard, they were almost a perfect match.

Restoring a Quarry Tiled Floor

On the first day we cleaned the undamaged areas, this way we could see exactly how much damage there was and see how many tiles we had to replace. We used a combination of the strong alkaline stripper and degreaser Pro-Clean to remove any dirt, grime, and old floor coatings. This is worked into the floor using a black scrubbing pad and then the soiling rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

The floor was then given an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel to help fight any salt issues, old floors in old properties aren’t protected from damp by a Damp Proof Membrane so any moisture coming up through the floor can leave salt deposits on the tiles which over time which can damage the clay. This is a much bigger problem with floors that have been covered up for a long time like this one.

The next two days were spent repairing the areas of missing tiles, we had to dig out the concrete and install new sub floors to lay the reclaimed tiles on. Most of the damage was down to a soil pipe that had been dug through the floor and two areas where the central heating system had been installed and pipes laid.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Floor

Once I was happy with the floor it was left to dry out for a few days to ensure it was dry before sealing, this is important as clay tiles can take a long time to dry and the floor needed to be bone dry to achieve the best results when sealing.

When I eventually returned six coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra were applied to the floor giving the tiles a lovely satin finish which will protect the floor for years to come.

Red Black Quarry Tiles After Renovation Peak District Sheffield

The young couple were totally over the moon with the floor and for aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Clean which is a gentle but effective tile cleaning product that is fine for use of sealed surfaces.

Professional Restoration of Old Clay Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor in South Yorkshire

1870’s Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in the Peak District near Sheffield Read More »

Sandstone Kitchen Floor Clean Seal Maltby

Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Maltby, Rotherham

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Rotherham Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Matthew Lovett

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.

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.

Professional Restoration of a Sandstone Tiled Floor in South Yorkshire

Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Maltby, Rotherham Read More »