Colour Grow Archives - North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor

160 Year Old Encaustic Tiled Victorian Hallway floor Restoration York

Encaustic Tiled Victorian Hallway Floor Restored in York

Detailed below is the renovation of an original encaustic tiled floor at a Victorian tiled property in York which was 160 years old. The floor had been cleaned regularly but unfortunately using the wrong cleaning products which were too strong and had prematurely stripped off the sealer. This had left the tiles vulnerable to ingrained dirt and were now proving difficult to keep clean.

I went over to survey the floor and create a quote for its renovation and discovered areas where the tiles were loose and missing. One area in particular was quite bad and would need more attention to the foundation to make the floor completely level and easier to maintain.

160 Year Old Encaustic Tiled Victorian floor Before Cleaning York

From the survey I was able to create a plan for the restoration and work out a detailed quote that included replacement tiles and products. The quote was accepted and a date agreed for the work to start.

Cleaning an Encaustic Victorian Tiled Hallway

Before cleaning the floor, it was necessary to address all the problems with loose and damaged areas. So, work started with the removal of cracked and broken tiles. This needed to be done carefully so as not to lose any neighbouring tiles and therefore making the job larger than necessary. To solve the badly damaged area I had to remove the tiles and take away the lime mortar foundation underneath. This area then had to be re-levelled and made good before re-tiling with replacement reproduction tiles, I had sourced earlier.

Once the repairs had set properly, I returned to clean the whole floor using a rotary floor machine fitted with a black pad to scrub in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. This is an effective tile cleaner that lifts the dirt out of the tiles and removes what was left of the original sealer. This floor was then rinsed with water and the soiled solution extracted with a wet vacuum.

Next step was to give the floor and acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which neutralises the floor after the use of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is alkaline. It also dissolves any salts which may be present in the floor and could appear as white efflorescence as the floor dries.

160 Year Old Encaustic Tiled Victorian floor During Cleaning York

Next, I addressed some slight lippage issues that were inherent in the floor. To do this a very coarse 50-Grit milling pad was run over the raised areas to reduce them. I used a heavy polishing machine for this which has an automatic water feed for lubrication. After cleaning away the soiling that was generated, the process was repeated with a 200-grit milling pad to improve the appearance of the tiles.

Sealing an Encaustic Victorian Tiled Hallway

The floor was left to dry overnight and then on my next visit sealed with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a fully breathable colour enhancing impregnator. It’s worth mentioning that using a breathable sealer is very important when choosing a sealer for old floors that don’t have a damp proof membrane.

160 Year Old Encaustic Tiled Victorian floor After Restoration York

Once done, the repaired and restored floor looked much cleaner and made the whole hallway look more inviting. My client was happy with our work and left the following 5-star feedback:

“We had our Victorian hallway tiles refurbished, cleaned and sealed with amazing results. The hallway looks ready for another 150 years. Chris was professional and a real expert”

160 Year Old Encaustic Tiled Victorian floor After Restoration York

For aftercare I had arranged for the client to receive a bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is an appropriate cleaning product for the regular cleaning of sealed floors.

Professional Restoration of an Encaustic Victorian Tiled Hallway in North Yorkshire

Encaustic Tiled Victorian Hallway Floor Restored in York Read More »

Sandstone Floor Renovation Rylstone Skipton

Gruby Sandstone and Black Limestone Floor Restored in Rylstone Skipton

Pictured is a 100-year-old stone floor laid with a mix of sandstone with black limestone edging and inserts in the hallway of a property in the village of Rylstone near Skipton. It was very grubby and any sealer that may have been present was gone leaving it vulnerable to ingrained dirt. I understood the floor had never been cleaned using neutral cleaners and this is most likely the cause of the sealer deteriorating.

Sandstone Floor Before Cleaning Rylstone Skipton

The stone floor was heavily ingrained with dirt and looking very unappealing which was a shame as it was quite an unusual design. I paid a visit to the property the next time I was in the area and after surveying the floor and running a few tests, I discussed what needed to be done to restore the appearance of the stone. Although the floor was intact there were a few areas where the sandstone had delaminated, and the grout needed replacing.

Keen to have the floor looking its best I worked out a quote for the renovation which was accepted and a date set to restore the floor.

Cleaning a Sandstone Tiled Hallway

To restore the appearance of the stone where it had delaminated, I had to apply some very aggressive diamond milling pads. The strongest was a 50-grit flexi pad which really cuts into the surface of the stone removing a thin layer of the stone in the process. Water is used to lubricate the process, and this also helps to capture the dust that is generated. Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was also applied to help clean any staining. A heavy rotary machine fitted with 17″ pads is used for most of the work and where needed small 4-inch pads fitted to a 110v water fed hand polisher is used for the edges and awkward places.

After the 50-grit pad the floor is rinsed with more water and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum. The process is then repeated using finer 100-grit flexi pad and then the finer 200-grit flexi pad to refine the stone’s appearance, again rinsing and extracting after each pad. More Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was then scrubbed over the grout lines by hand to get them as clean as possible.

Sandstone Floor During Cleaning Rylstone Skipton

At this point attention turned to resolving some of the other issues such as the re-grouting with black grout near the doorways which were edged with black limestone. The thresholds around doorways always seem to experience damage in older properties, I suspect its due to the extra stresses surrounding the door frames.

Sealing a Sandstone Tiled Hallway

The floor was left to dry out and I returned later to seal the floor using three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which we felt would help bring out the blackness of the limestone. This product also allows for vapour transmission which is essential in older properties without a damp proof membrane, it’s also an impregnator that soaks into the stone protecting it from within.

Sandstone Floor After Renovation Rylstone Skipton

Once done I was very pleased with the work and the floor looked so much fresher and the contrast between the sandstone and black limestone was much improved. My client was also pleased and took the time to leave me the following on-line feedback:

“Chris restored our 100-year stone hallway. He did an absolutely wonderful job. A really nice chap who likes his Yorkshire tea. Would recommend to anyone “

For aftercare I recommended they use Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a gentle yet effective neutral tile cleaner that’s ideal for sealed floors as it won’t harm the sealer.

Sandstone Floor After Renovation Rylstone Skipton

Professional Stone Floor Restoration in North Yorkshire

Gruby Sandstone and Black Limestone Floor Restored in Rylstone Skipton Read More »

Salt Stained Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Green Hammerton York

Removing Staining from a Terracotta Floor Due to a Leaking Dishwater in Green Hammerton

1 Comment / Terracotta Tile Cleaning, York Tile Cleaning / Chris Allen

These photos came from a property in the village of Green Hammerton on the outskirts of York. The terracotta floor tiles were fairly old, we believe around 30 years and had been the victim of a leaking dishwasher which had resulted in staining and efflorescent salt deposits. You can see this next on the tiles next to the kitchen kick boards in the photograph below.

Stained Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Green Hammerton York

The client wanted the staining removed and the tiles restored to their original condition, however they were happy with a large part of the floor and so only wanted the impacted section cleaning. I was happy to do this however, I did raise a concern that the section I would be working on wouldn’t blend in with the rest of the floor.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

I first treated the tiles with Tile Doctor Remove and Go to clean and remove the old sealers. This was applied in the usual way of spraying the affected section with a strong dilution, letting it soak in for ten minutes and then scrubbing it in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The resultant slurry was then removed using a wet vacuum.

To cure the efflorescent salt problems the tiles was then treated to an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. The gel was applied to the floor and scrubbed in with a deck brush before being rinsed off and extracted as before. Being a gel its is very easy to control allowing the acid to dissolve the alkaline salts in the floor and further cleans the Terracotta to remove old grout stains.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

I let the tiles dry out for a few days, then used a handheld polishing machine to remove any residues and prepare the surface for a fresh sealer. I used a few coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow as a base and then a light coat of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra for the finish to match the rest of the floor. This saved the client the expense of having all the floor stripped, deep cleaned and re-sealed. My client was happy with the result which had solved their problem.

Stained Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Renovation Green Hammerton York

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to keep the floor in great condition. This is a pH neutral product which means it ill not strip the newly applied sealer like an acidic household cleaner would. It is mild enough to use daily if needed and has a lovely fresh fragrance. It is therefore perfect for a heavy traffic area such as the kitchen.

Professional Renovation of a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in North Yorkshire

Removing Staining from a Terracotta Floor Due to a Leaking Dishwater in Green Hammerton Read More »