Pro-Clean Archives - South Yorkshire Tile Doctor

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

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Yorkstone Tiled Floor Renovation Hoylandswaine

Yorkstone Floor Covered in Thick Varnish Renovated in Hoylandswaine

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

I was asked to visit a stunning old farmhouse in Hoylandswaine Barnsley to look at a Yorkstone kitchen floor which had several problems. The family who lived there were fed up with its black appearance and more importantly how dangerous it was due to a varnish covering that was applied which when wet became an ice-skating rink. The kids would regularly slip over on the very shiny floor, and it was becoming a real concern.

Yorkstone Flooring Before Varnish Removal Hoylandswaine

On my first visit to the property, I was shocked at how dark the Yorkstone floor had become in fact I thought initially it was Black Slate. Yorkstone is a variety of Sandstone that is quarried in Yorkshire and usually contains a range of pale colours visible, and at worst it can get dirty and turn grey.

After running a few cleaning tests, it was obvious the previous owners of the house had applied many coats of varnish to the floor, and it was going to be quite a job to strip it off.

Stripping Varnish off a Yorkstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

To ensure the best result I tried a range of different products and methods until I came up with a way to strip away the black dirty shiny varnish. Wood varnish isn’t something we often see applied to stone, so a combination of products including Tile Doctor Remove & Go and a heavy-duty polish stripper were applied to the floor and left to soak in.

Yorkstone Flooring During Varnish Removal Hoylandswaine

After leaving the floor for fifteen minutes to soften the varnish it was then scrubbed with a wire brush attachment fitted to a rotary buffer machine and run over each stone for a few minutes. This scraped the varnish off the surface of the stone and started to reveal the natural stone surface for the first time in years. Some areas needed treating two or three times to get rid of all the varnish.

Once I was satisfied all the varnish was gone the stone was given a deep clean using a medium strength dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The product was applied this to the floor and left it to dwell for a few minutes before using the rotary floor machine again. This time the machine was fitted with a black scrubbing pad to clean the stone. The floor was cleared of all the slurry using a wet vacuum before being given a final rinse. The floor was left to dry off overnight.

Yorkstone Flooring During Varnish Removal Floor Drying Hoylandswaine

Sealing a Yorkstone Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning the following day, I reviewed the previous day’s work and could see there were a few bits of varnish stuck in the crevices of the stone and around the edges of the room. I managed to remove these using a wire brush fitted to an angle grinder.

Once the floor was cleaned of dust and flakes of varnish it was ready to for the final step of sealing. The client had chosen an impregnating sealer for this and wanted something that would improve the colours and keep the texture in the stone. Three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied which as its name suggests brings the colours in the Sandstone out and offers protection from within the stone leaving a lovely finish.

Yorkstone Flooring After Varnish Removal Hoylandswaine

They loved the transformation that had occurred and let the following review.

”Matt provided a professional and efficient service from start to finish. He contacted me straight after I initially emailed and made arrangements to come and look at our floor the same day. After working out what he needed to do he got a quote to me that evening. Matt did a great job removing a thick layer of varnish on our stone floor and it now looks beautiful. I would highly recommend him. Thanks so much!”

Professional Restoration of a Yorkstone Tiled Hallway in South Yorkshire

Yorkstone Floor Covered in Thick Varnish Renovated in Hoylandswaine 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

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