Stone Soap 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

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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

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Soot-Stained Limestone Fireplace Renovation Guiseley Yeadon

Soot-Stained Limestone Fireplace Renovated in Guiseley

1 Comment / Leeds Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing / Chris Allen

Detailed below is the cleaning of a Limestone Fireplace surround and hearth at a property in Guiseley near Yeadon on the outskirts of Leeds. Soot

The fireplace had been installed approximately five years prior and was now badly stained with soot and smoke from the wood burner and this readily stood out against the pale Limestone. Having decided to do something about it the owner tried cleaning it but was unhappy with the result and decided to call in some professional help.

Soot-Stained Limestone Fireplace Before Cleaning Guiseley Yeadon

Happy to oblige I was able to provide a quote based on photographs which was accepted and a date scheduled for the renovation which would only take a few hours.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Fireplace

Work started by adding protection to the surrounding carpets and the metal work of the log burner. Then to get the Limestone clean I decanted a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean into a spray bottle and sprayed it on to the stone. The spray mixes the solution with air making it lighter and more able to stick to the vertical surface. You can also use Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel for this which is a similar gel-based product. After leaving it to soak in for ten minutes the solution was worked in, using handheld diamond blocks of increasing grits.

Soot-Stained Limestone Fireplace During Cleaning Guiseley Leeds

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Fireplace

Once dry, the fire surround and hearth were sealed with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal sealer to help protect from more soot. This is an invisible sealer that works by soaking into the pores of the Limestone protecting it from within. This keeps dirt and contaminants on the surface where they can be easily cleaned away with a product such as Tile Doctor Stone Soap. It’s important to use a pH neutral product for the regular maintenance cleaning
of sealed stone as stronger products will erode the sealer prematurely.

Soot-Stained Limestone Fireplace After Cleaning Guiseley Leeds

Once complete the Fireplace looked like new again much to the delight of the homeowner who left the following 5 Star feedback for me:

“Limestone Fireplace in the lounge is very badly stained with soot and smoke. Got in touch with Chris Allen and he did a splendid job bringing it back to its original state. Excellent craftsmanship and kept us informed of what was going on and how to care for the Fireplace in future. Very knowledgeable and lovely gent to have done the work.”

Professional Renovation of a Limestone Fireplace in Northwest Yorkshire

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Limestone Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Sealed Brighouse

Limestone kitchen floor in Brighouse

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Leeds Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing / Chris Allen

This limestone floor in the kitchen at a property in Brighouse was laid over five years ago and since then the sealer had worn off allowing dirt to become ingrained in the stone and grout lines. It now needed to be deep cleaned with attention to the grout lines and then sealed to protect it going forward.

Limestone Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Brighouse

I visited the property to survey the floor and work out a restoration plan that would renovate the stone back to its original condition. The work required was straight forward so it didn’t take long to work out a quotation for the renovation.

Happy with the quote we agreed a date for my return.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Kitchen

To deep clean and renovate the Limestone I used a set of 17-inch diamond burnishing pads which included 400, 800, 1500 and 3000 grits. Before I could get to work though the wooden kitchen units had to be protected from the cleaning solutions by applying a thin line of clean silicone sealant between the floor and the base boards. Doing this ensures water doesn’t soak into the wood where it can cause them to warp.

The Kitchen was quite small and the equipment proved to be a challenge to operate in such a confined space. I was using a weighted rotary floor buffer and triple motor wet vacuum, so extra care was needed.

I began the stone floor cleaning with the application of a 400-grit pad fitted to a rotary buffer and ran over each tile four to five times using water for lubrication. The soiling generated from this action was then extracted with a wet vacuum and I turned my attention to the grout lines.

Limestone Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Brighouse

To clean the grout, I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to soak into the grout for ten minutes before being scrubbed by hand along joint lines. This was then rinsed off and extracted as before. Switching back to the limestone floor the burnishing work continued with the 800 and 1500 grit pads, applied as before with water for lubrication and rinsing and extracting afterwards.

After the end of the first day the floor looked much cleaner, and it was left overnight to dry out.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen

The next day I continued with the stone burnishing using the last pad in the set which is a very fine 3000-grit pad that adds a nice polish to the limestone. This pad is applied dry with only a small amount of water sprayed onto the tiles. This last pad leaves the floor dry and ready to be sealed.

The floor was then sealed with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which was chosen to keep the floor looking as close to its natural light colour as possible. Ultra-Seal is a virtually invisible sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within and works well on limestone.

Limestone Kitchen Floor After Renovation Brighouse

The client was very happy with the result and the finish, and the new sealer would ensure dirt remains on the surface of the stone where it can easily be cleaned away with a product such as Tile Doctor Stone Soap. I always recommend this product for cleaning polished stone floors as its formula helps maintain the patina.

Limestone Kitchen Floor After Renovation Brighouse

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor in West Yorkshire

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