Skipton

Terrazzo Tiled Floor Renovation Addingham West Yorkshire

Old Terrazzo Tiled Bakery Floor Renovated in Addingham Village

The Terrazzo tiled floor at this house in Addingham, which sits between Skipton and Ilkley, had quite some history to it. Apparently, the property was once the village bakery and originally had a traditional Yorkshire stone floor. However, they struggled to keep the flags clean and as one of the bakers was half Italian, they decided to tile over the stone with Italian Terrazzo tiles. All of this happened nearly 100 years ago but was discovered by the new owners who had managed to trace back the history of the 200-year-old building.

Terrazzo Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Addingham West Yorkshire
Clearly the Terrazzo had been down for a long time and was very overdue some care and attention. Terrazzo floors are a flooring material which is traditionally made by exposing marble chips on the surface of concrete and then polishing until smooth. They are now, often used in public buildings because the surface is so long-lasting, and it can be refinished repeatedly to bring it back to life.

The client wanted the floor as shiny as possible however the floor was quite pitted due to heavy foot traffic, so it was clearly going to be a challenge. Having worked with all sorts of stone floors I was optimistic I could restore this one to a good standard and quoted for the work which would take two days. The quote was accepted, and we agreed a suitable time to carry out the work.

Cleaning a Terrazzo Tiled Kitchen Floor

To begin I taped up the skirting and plinths in the kitchen to protect them from splashing. Next, I gave the floor an initial clean with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, this is a concentrated, multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, which strips and degreases. We dilute it to varying strengths depending on the job requirements. It is a very effective Tile and Grout cleaner and is particularly good for areas that have been neglected or subjected to heavy use.

This was ideal for this floor and the Pro-Clean was left to dwell for a short while before being agitated using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The process was repeated on the stubborn areas, but it lifted all the ingrained dirt, the floor was rinsed with water, and the soiled solution removed using a wet vacuum. The floor was then left overnight to dry.

Polishing a Terrazzo Tiled Kitchen Floor

Returning the next day, I set about improving the appearance of the Terrazzo tiles using a coarse 400-grit burnishing pad, again fitted to the rotary machine. Water is used to lubricate the process and the pad is run over each tile at least three times. Tile Doctor Burnishing pads are made from tiny industrial diamonds and lightly cut into the surface of the tile to remove pitting and scratches. The water quickly turns into a grey slurry that is rinsed off with water and extracted from the floor as before.

Terrazzo Tiled Floor During Cleaning Addingham West Yorkshire Terrazzo Tiled Floor During Cleaning Addingham West Yorkshire

Once done the process was repeated with other finer grit burnishing pads which further refine the surface of the stone to give it a light polished appearance. The Terrazzo tiles benefited greatly from the polishing and I was pleased to see the pitting was gone and the tile was once again smooth.

Sealing Terrazzo Floor Tiles

The polishing process leaves the floor dry, so it wasn’t long before I was able to move onto the sealing the floor in order to protect it from ingrained dirt and staining. My initial thought was to use Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal for this however this product although ideal for Kitchens is almost invisible and the owner had specified a shine, so I opted for Tile Doctor Seal and Go.

Terrazzo Tiled Floor After Cleaning Addingham West Yorkshire Terrazzo Tiled Floor After Cleaning Addingham West Yorkshire

I applied the sealer to a small area first to see how it might look and to ensure the Terrazzo would take it without any issues. The tile took the sealer no problem and so three coats were applied, leaving them to dry before applying the next. The floor now had the shiny finish the client had requested.

I was very pleased with the outcome as was the client.

Terrazzo Tiled Floor After Cleaning Addingham West Yorkshire
 

Professional Restoration of a Terrazzo Tiled Kitchen Floor in West Yorkshire

Old Terrazzo Tiled Bakery Floor Renovated in Addingham Village Read More »

Indian Fossil Stone floor After Cleaing in Skipton

Indian Fossil Stone Floor in Terrible Condition Restored in Skipton

This Indian Fossil Sandstone tiled floor in Skipton was in a terrible state. Indian Sandstone, sometimes known as Indian Sandstone Flags, are an alternative to Yorkshire Sandstone (or ‘Yorkstone’), which is known for being particular hard wearing and high quality.

Indian Fossil Stone floor Before Cleaning in Skipton
Nonetheless, the problems with the floor were not due to the quality of the stone, per say. Rather, the floor’s poor condition was caused by a lack of sealer, allowing the floor – and by extension the entire house – to become very dusty. In addition, the grout lines had been pointed with cement and sand instead of normal grout, which simply made the floor look messy and poorly cared for.

Indian Fossil Stone floor Before Cleaning in Skipton
I was called down to the property to set the situation right by providing a deep clean and fresh seal.

Cleaning an Indian Fossil Sandstone Floor

I started the job by dealing with the unsightly cement splashes around the grout lines, breaking them down manually using a good old fashioned hammer and chisel.

Nonetheless, my main concern around the grout lines was the grout haze caused by the excess cement. To neutralise the haze I carefully treated the grout lines with a phosphoric acid cleaner known as Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up, this product removes mineral deposits such as excess cement leaving the surface looking a lot tidier. The floor was then rinsed with water to remove the acid cleaner.

To round off the cleaning process, I mixed a solution of one part Tile Doctor Pro Clean to four parts clean water, before applying it to the tiles and scrubbing it in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. This helped to remove the ingrained dirt caused by a lack of sealer and clean the area ready to receive a fresh seal.

Sealing an Indian Fossil Sandstone Floor

I left the property to allow the floor to dry over night. Upon my return the next day, I checked for excess moisture and, once satisfied the floor was dry, I proceeded to seal the floor with four coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go.

Indian Fossil Stone floor After Cleaning in Skipton
Seal & Go is a water-based topical sealer designed to build up stain resistant protection on the surface of the floor and to allow moisture vapour transmission. It is typically used to seal internal, unsealed porous surfaces, including Sandstone, Quarry and Victorian tiled floors.

Indian Fossil Stone floor After Cleaning in Skipton
Given the awful original condition of this floor, the results achieved over the space of two days were very good. Certainly my customer was very pleased with the transformation. The addition of a robust surface seal will go a long way to ensure the floor doesn’t fall back into such a bad state again.

Restoring the Appearance of an Indian Fossil Sandstone Flagstone Floor in North Yorkshire

Indian Fossil Stone Floor in Terrible Condition Restored in Skipton Read More »

Victorian Tiles Skipton After Cleaning

100 Year Old Victorian Tiled Floor Restored in Skipton

This one hundred year old floor needed some serious cleaning; these Orange and Black Victorian tiles installed in the hallway of a period house in Skipton, North Yorkshire had paint, glue and around twenty years of ingrained dirt on them due to previously being covered in carpet.

Victorian Tiles Skipton Before Cleaning Victorian Tiles Skipton Before Cleaning

Restoring Victorian Floor Tiles

To restore the tile surface we used a process we call the Blanket method which involves covering the floor in a mixture of Tile Doctor Remove & Go and Nano Tech Ultra Clean. The whole floor was covered very liberally with the chemical mixture and then sheeted over with polythene and sealed all the way round with water proof tape. There must be a perfect seal so no chemicals can dry out by oxidation and is left over night to soak into the tile.

The next day the polythene was removed in sections and the chemicals were first cleaned off with rags and then rinsed of many times with warm water. The whole floor was then scrubbed with a rotary machine fitted with a black pad and Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed 1 to 4 parts warm water to remove all the residue of the chemicals and any dirt. Pro-Clean is an industrial strength cleaning product that is safe to use on Tile, Stone and Grout.

Sealing the Victorian Tiled Floor

The next day I returned and checked the floor for dampness using a Damp Meter which indicated the floor was dry and ready for sealing. Three coats of sealant was used and for Victorian Floor tiles I recommend Tile Doctor Seal and Go which provides a low sheen finish whilst offering great stain protection.

Victorian Tiles Skipton After Cleaning Victorian Tiles Skipton After Cleaning

The 100 year old floor now looks almost as new and I think you will agree it has been transformed.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Floor in Skipton

100 Year Old Victorian Tiled Floor Restored in Skipton Read More »

Scroll to Top