Tile Replacement 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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Quarry Tiled Floor Renovation Askern Doncaster

Full Restoration of a 150-Year-old Clay Quarry Tiled Floor in Askern

1 Comment / Doncaster Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Matthew Lovett

The owner of this house in Askern north of Doncaster was unhappy with the state of its Quarry Tiled Kitchen floor and was contemplating having it ripped up. The house was around 150-years old so this would have been a real shame and after a long conversation I managed to persuade the owner into letting us restore it. Restoring the floor is not only a much cheaper option than having a new floor installed, but it is also much better for the environment. On top of that original features like these original clay Quarry tiles are much sought after and add character to the property which otherwise would have been lost.

A previous owner of this property had taken out some of the old thick clay Quarry tiles and replaced them with some modern Quarry tiles that looked very out of place, they ruined the look of the floor and the current owner wanted them replacing as well as numerous tile which were damaged. In addition, there were two areas where renovations had taken place which had exposed concreted sections of floor which needed to be tiled too. All in all, about 150 tiles were to be installed, fortunately I managed to source a batch of suitable reclaimed tiles which would match well with originals.

Clay Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration Askern

Askern is right on the edge of the Borough of Doncaster and is only a stone’s throw away from the North Yorkshire border. The history of Askern can be traced back to the 14th century. It really started to grow however in the 19th century when this property was built, due to the local mineral water which made it famous as a Spa town.

Repairing a Clay Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

The restoration began with the removal of the poorly matched red Quarry tiles and the cracked tiles. Another factor I had to contend with here was the difference in the thickness of the more recent tiles compared with that of the original tiles which were much thicker.

The concreted areas were also carefully dug out so they would be deep enough for a new level subfloor to be poured giving the replacement tiles a good bed to lay on.

Clay Quarry Tiled Floor During Tile Removal Askern

Clay Quarry Tiled Floor Installing New Subfloor Askern

As I mentioned earlier there were roughly 150 tiles in different parts of the Kitchen to be installed, grouted, and finally left to set so it took some time to complete.

Clay Quarry Tiled Floor Fitting Replacement Tiles Askern

Cleaning and repairing a Clay Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

We returned a few days later to start cleaning the floor. My process for this was to apply a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to the floor and then leave it to soak in for about ten minutes. Then I followed up by scrubbing the floor with a rotary floor buffer fitted with a black stripping pad.

After scrubbing each tile several times, the slurry generated was rinsed off with water and then extracted with an industrial wet vacuum. For the more stubborn areas this process was repeated until I was satisfied the floor was as clean as it could be and that all the decades of muck and grime stuck to the old tiles had been removed.

Sealing a Clay Tiled Kitchen Floor

Once I was happy with the floor it was left to dry over a week, 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 floor a beautifully satin look and protecting the floor for years to come.

Clay Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration Askern

The client was very happy with the work we had carried out and is looking forward to continuing the renovation of the property including the installation of a new kitchen. For after care I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This is an effective cleaner that has a neutral pH formula that will not prematurely erode the newly applied sealer like many stronger supermarket products.

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

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Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Before and After Restoration Doncaster

Restoring Victorian Hallway Tiles in Doncaster

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

This beautiful Victorian tiled hallway was in desperate need of some TLC. The house had recently changed hands and the new owners of the house were having the entire property renovated. The last part of the renovation plan was to have the Victorian hallway tiles restoring back to their former glory. Floors are always best left until last, especially hallways as last as workmen don’t usually take a lot of care in my experience.

The house was built in the early 1900’s and was situated close to Doncaster town centre a couple of streets away in fact from the famous Doncaster Racecourse which dates to the late 1500’s.

Victorian Hallway Tiles Before Renovation Doncaster

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

There were a few areas of damage to the floor that would need dealing with first. This is not surprising given the age of the floor which must have seen a lot of comings and goings over the years. Our first task therefore was to repair the damage using replica tiles sourced to be as close a match to the originals as possible. We usually find any slight differences disappear once the floor has been deep cleaned and sealed. Once removing the damaged tile and cleaning the base we use a fast setting adhesive to fix the replacement tiles in place so we can get on with the cleaning as soon as possible.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Repair Doncaster

Once the replacement tiles had set, we unloaded our slow speed rotary floor machine and large wet vacuum which would be used during the cleaning. To start the cleaning the floor was sprayed with Tile Doctor Remove & Go and this was left to dwell on the tiles for twenty minutes. This gives time for the product to break down old floor coatings and grime, this was followed by scrubbing the tiles with a 200-grit diamond pad fitted to the floor machine and assisted with the addition of more water to help lubricate the process. This process generates a lot of slurry as the dirt and old sealers etc are released from the tiles and this is extracted from the surface of the floor using the wet vacuum.

The next step was to give the floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which is applied to the tiles and left to dwell for fifteen minutes and scrubbed in again with the floor buffer and 200-grit diamond pad. Once done the floor was rinsed with water and then dried using the wet vacuum to extract as much moisture as possible. This last process is designed to counter any alkaline salts that may be present in the floor which may cause efflorescence to appear later. It also removes old mineral deposits and generally get the tiles looking much brighter. Once complete the floor was left to dry off naturally overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I came back the next day to seal the tiles first checking the floor was dry using a moisture meter. Satisfied that the floor was ready for sealing I started to seal the tiles using multiple coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is a fully breathable sealer which is important for old floors like this. Seal and Go Extra also leaves a lovely satin finish which works well on Victorian tiles and brings the floor alive.

Victorian Hallway Tiles After Renovation Doncaster

This was the last step in this properties renovation, and I think you will agree that the floor responded really well to the restoration process and the colours in the tiles are now very vibrant.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Yorkshire

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