Cardiff Tile Cleaning Archives - South East Wales Tile Doctor

Geometric Mosaic Edwardian Floor Restoration Cardiff

Edwardian Geometric Mosaic Tile Restoration in Cardiff

Earlier this year I was contacted by a homeowner in Cardiff to see if anything could be done to save their Edwardian tiled hallway floor. They had previously contacted another local company who advised to remove the floor and have it retiled. They felt upset to hear this news, having discovered the tiles under the hallway carpet and realised they must be original from when the house was built in 1910. Ideally, they wanted this original feature restored and so they reached out to us.

Geometric Mosaic Edwardian Floor Before Restoration Cardiff

Having spoken to them over the phone I was happy to re-assure them that the floor could be restored and arranged a visit to survey the floor and carry out a cleaning test to see what could be achieved.

The floor although in a bad way was very impressive, someone had clearly spent a lot of time laying down a mosaic of what must have been thousands of small square tiles arranged in a repeating geometric pattern. During the visit I realised extensive tile repairs would be required however the sample clean proved successful and the clients were delighted.

Geometric Mosaic Edwardian Floor Test Clean Cardiff

I worked out a quote for the restoration which they were happy to accept, and a date was arranged for my return.

Repairing and Cleaning Edwardian Mosaic Floor Tiling

Work started with tile repairs which were done with replacement tiles cut to size, secured with adhesive and grouted in. The floor was then left to set hard before moving onto the next step of cleaning.

Before the carpet had been installed a thin layer of self-levelling cement had been spread across the floor and this had to be removed. To do this I carefully scraped off as much cement as possible along with paint splashes and remnants of plaster all of which were marking the tiles. The waste from this was then swept and bagged up.

To get the floor clean, a mixture of Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU and Pro-Clean were mixed together and applied to the surface working on one square meter at a time. The solution was rinsed, worked in with a Black scrubbing pad and then rinsed again before being extracted with a wet vacuum with clean water and then vacuumed away.

After carrying out the same procedure on the rest of the floor I then started the second procedure which was to apply Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up using wire wool to remove all the cement residues. Again, this was rinsed off with clean water and vacuumed away as I worked.

These two processes removed all the dirt and contaminants from the floor leaving the tiles clean, after a final rinse I used the wet vacuum again to get the tiles as dry as possible and ready for sealing the next day.

Sealing an Edwardian Mosaic Tiled Hallway Floor

The clients wanted a satin shine finish so after leaving the floor to dry overnight it was tested for moisture the next day and this confirmed the floor was dry enough for their desired sealer application.

The choice of sealer was Tile Doctor Seal & Go which produces a lovely satin finish and highlights the colours. Another advantage is being a water-based product it doesn’t leave a smell as it dries.

The floor responded really well to the treatments and I’m please to say the owners were delighted with the final result and eager to recommend Tile Doctor to their family and friends.

Geometric Mosaic Edwardian Floor After Restoration Cardiff

The sealer will protect the floor by ensuring dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away using a sealer sensitive tile cleaner such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner.

Geometric Mosaic Edwardian Floor After Restoration Cardiff

Professional Restoration of an Edwardian Mosaic Floor Tiling in South Wales

Edwardian Geometric Mosaic Tile Restoration in Cardiff Read More »

Terrazzo Hallway Floor Restoration Cardiff

Terrazzo floor restoration in Cardiff

The owner of this property is an architect living close to myself in the centre of Cardiff. He approached Tile Doctor late last year about the restoration of a Terrazzo hallway floor. He recently purchased the property which was built around 1910 with an aim to restore the whole house back to its original condition and he wanted to preserve as many original features as possible.

Terrazzo Floor Before Restoration Cardiff

I went over to the property to survey the floor and carried out a cleaning test on a small part of the flooring to show him the potential result I could achieve. Whilst I was there, I measured up the Terrazzo which extended throughout the downstairs hallway and through to a matching section at the front of the property.

Happy with the result of the test clean I worked out a quote for restoring the whole floor, which was accepted, and a date set for the new year. The floor was one of many projects being caried out at the property which was unhabitable at the time so it would be just a question of picking up the keys and letting myself in.

Cleaning and Repairing a Terrazzo Tiled Hallway

My first task was to remove as much plaster and paint from the floor as possible with a sharp bladed scraper. Then I started scrubbing the floor with a very coarse 50-grit pad fitted to a rotary machine. The pad is applied with water for lubrication and run over each part of the floor several times. The floor is rinsed and extracted with a wet vacuum and the whole process repeated with a finer 100-grit pad and then a 200-grit pad.

Moving up the grits the next stage was to scrub the floor to remove staining with a 400-grit burnishing pad using a strong 50:50 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The pad was applied as before, rinsing and extracting once done and then moving up to the 800 and then 1500 grit pad.

Terrazzo Floor During Restoration Cardiff

As the floor became cleaner the cracks and damage to the terrazzo became clearly visible and so I started on repairing the cracks with a colour matched filler designed for this type of work. This was left to dry hard and sanded lightly until level with the floor.

The floor was then left to dry overnight, and I returned the next day to apply the last burnishing pad which was a very fine 3000-grit polishing pad to achieve the desired shine, also to polish out any light marks.

Terrazzo Floor During Restoration Cardiff

Sealing a Terrazzo Tiled Hallway in Cardiff

The sealer we selected was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnator that soaks into the Terrazzo occupying the pores and preventing dirt from residing there. The sealer achieves a durable hardwearing finish and enhances the natural colours in the stone chippings it also ensures the dirt will remain on the surface where its easily cleaned away.

Terrazzo Floor After Restoration Cardiff

Once done I returned the keys, and the architect contacted me later to congratulate me on the restoration of the finished floor. For after care cleaning of polished Terrazzo I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a mild but effective floor cleaning solution that helps maintain the patina.

Professional Restoration of a Terrazzo Tiled Hallway in South Wales

Terrazzo floor restoration in Cardiff Read More »

1930 Geometric Tiled Floor Cleaning Cardiff

Cleaning and Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Julian Iancono

A homeowner from Cardiff was in touch earlier this year regarding their 1930’s Geometric tiled floor more commonly referred to a Victorian. These floors are created using encaustic cement tiles benefit greatly from being sealed to prevent dirt from becoming ingrained in the tile and in this case the sealer had worn off some years ago.

1930 Geometric Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Cardiff

I paid a visit to the property to survey the floor and come up with a restoration plan and produce a quote for work. It was clear that the floor had seen many years of heavy foot traffic since it had been last renovated and now you could see black staining building up on the tile. This had not gone unnoticed by the owner and wanted the floor restoring to its former glory.

1930 Geometric Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Cardiff

I worked out a quote which was accepted and we agreed a date for the work to start.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

To get the floor clean I created a 50:50 solution of two Tile Doctor products, Pro-Clean and Nanotech HBU Remover. The two products combine to create a very powerful alkaline tile cleaning product. The solution was applied neat to approximately one square meter at a time and after leaving it to soak for ten minutes it was worked in using a hand size scrubbing pad cut from a Black 17-inch floor pad.

This is an aggressive pad which helps shift the dirt with the help of the products which penetrate the pores of the tile to lift out the ingrained dirt. After working on the area for around five to ten minutes at a time it was rinsed with water and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to repeat the process using Grout Clean-up which is an acidic cleaning product that helps to further clean up the tiles, removing old cement residues and will dissolve any efflorescent salts that may be present in the floor. After another rise and extraction, I was able to move on to the next square meter.

Hallways lend themselves well to this approach as you can start at one end and progress down the floor, working in this manner also ensures each meter is checked and any issues are resolved as you progress.

One the whole floor had been cleaned in this way it was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The following day I returned and first used the damp meter to check that the floor was dry enough to seal. Satisfied with the results I began with the application of the first coat of sealer which for this floor we used Tile Doctor Seal and Go. This sealer provides a satin shine finish which also enhances the deep vibrant colours of the tiles.

1930 Geometric Tiled Floor After Cleaning Cardiff

The customer was delighted with the results so much that they asked me to return later to restore the Red Quarry tiled floor in there dining room. Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning for which I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, this is a gentle but effective tile cleaning product designed for use on sealed floors that will ensure easy maintenance and keep the floor in great condition.

1930 Geometric Tiled Floor After Cleaning Cardiff

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Wales

Cleaning and Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Cardiff Read More »

Terrazzo Hallway Floor Renovation Bishop of Wales Residence Cardiff

Terrazzo Hallway Floor Renovation in Cardiff for the Archbishop of Wales

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning / Julian Iancono

After undertaking restoration work for Catholic churches in the areas of Wales and England over the past years, I was recommended to the team who maintain the personal residence of the Archbishop of Wales in Cardiff. They had decided to restore the Terrazzo flooring at the property and I was invited over to quote for doing the work.

The flooring had seen many years of wear and tear due to the nature of the building and the amount of footfall relating to meetings and staff. They were delighted to have found us and I was more than happy to get involved and be able to reassure them that I was confident the floor could indeed be restored to its former glory.

Terrazzo Floor Before Renovation Bishop of Wales Residence Cardiff

I attended a meeting at the property with the church architect to discuss the work needed and talk about the history of the property. It turns out the floor had been covered in carpet and this had been giving people at the property an allergic reaction due to dust accumulating in its thick pile. After removal of the carpet, they discovered the original Terrazzo floor underneath and decided it would be best to have that renovated.

The Terrazzo suffered from numerous issues including adhesive staining and the imprinted pattern of the carpet underlay, fortunately however there were no cracks which can be an issue with Terrazzo floors of this age. Having surveyed the floor I explained the method of work needed to the architect, and we then agreed the price and arranged to carry out the work on a time schedule that suited.

Cleaning and Repairing a Terrazzo Tiled Hallway Floor

To start the restoration process, I began by scraping as much of the remaining adhesive and other contaminates off the surface of the floor with a handheld scraper attached with a 6-inch razor blade. Then I was able to run over the Terrazzo with a coarse 50-Grit diamond pad fitted to a rotary floor machine, this was followed by a 100-grit then 200-Grit pad to remove more ingrained residues. Water is used to lubricate this process and the slurry generated is rinsed off after the application of each pad and extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next stage was to polish the Terrazzo using a set of less aggressive burnishing pads, starting with a Tile Doctor 400-grit pad then a 800, 1500 pad again using water to lubricate the process, rinsing with water between pads and vacuuming the waste as I worked.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The Terrazzo was left to dry out overnight and the following morning the floor was tested for moisture with a damp meter. I do this to avoid applying sealer to a damp floor which can lead to an uneven finish. In this case the readings were fine so I was able to move on to apply the sealer.

The sealer used was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which contains a colour enhancing ingredient that lifts the colours in the stone whilst providing a durable hard wearing sealed finish. Additionally, this product is fully breathable which is an important consideration when sealing old floors like this that won’t have a damp proof membrane.

Terrazzo Floor After Renovation Bishop of Wales Residence Cardiff

Once completed the entrance hall looked a lot more welcoming for visitors, more importantly the Archbishop and the Architect were delighted with the result as they were initially unsure if it could be restored.

For aftercare cleaning going forward I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective pH neutral cleaner that is safe to use on sealed floors and has a nice fresh smell.

Professional Restoration of a Terrazzo Tiled Hallway in South Wales

Terrazzo Hallway Floor Renovation in Cardiff for the Archbishop of Wales Read More »

Terracotta Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed Cardiff

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning / Julian Iancono

This Terracotta tiled floor was installed at a property in Cardiff around twenty years ago. It hadn’t been professional cleaned since installation and in that time any sealer that was once present had worn off and dirt had built up in the pores of the tile. Terracotta works very well in a Kitchen but you do need to maintain the sealer otherwise the tiles will start to absorb dirt which is very difficult to remove with standard equipment.

Terracotta Flooring Before Cleaning Cardiff

After speaking to the owner on the phone we arranged a time for me to pop over, survey the floor and test clean the tile and grout to work out the best method for cleaning it. The test went very well and proved the floor could be restored to an almost new condition, impressed with the result I was booked in to complete the job.

Terracotta Floor Before Cleaning Cardiff

Deep Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

The test clean I conducted earlier enabled me to work out which Tile Doctor products had worked best to bring the floor back to life. With this in mind I was able to start work with a clear plan which in this case involved applying a combination of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, Nanotech HBU and Tile Doctor Remove and Go. These are all tile cleaning products and have different properties. HBU for instance stands for Heavy Build-Up and is good for handling a large amount of dirt and Remove and Go is a stripper that can remove paint stains and old sealers.

Terracotta Floor During Cleaning Cardiff

This mixture was applied to the floor and left to soak in for about fifteen minutes before being scrubbed into the floor. Scrubbing started with the grout which was done manually with a hand-held scrubbing brush. This was followed up with a Black Scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer.

Once done the floor was rinsed with water and the soiling extracted using a wet vacuum. The Terracotta tile and grout was then inspected and the whole process repeated multiple times until I was satisfied all the ingrained dirt was gone and the floor was as clean as it possibly could be.

The next step would be to seal the floor but it would need it to be dry first. The trouble with Terracotta however is it’s a porous material and retains water during the cleaning process. So, to assist with drying a fan was placed on the floor after I finished the cleaning of a section.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Floor

I returned the next morning and tested the tiles with a damp meter to ensure the tiles were dry before applying the sealer. All was well, so I started with the application of the first coat Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water-based sealer that works well on clay tiles and adds a lovely sheen finish to the floor. Due to the porous nature of Terracotta, it took eight coats of Seal and Go before it was completely sealed.

The clean and new sealer really lifted the appearance of the kitchen much to the delight of my customer who was very happy with their new floor. For aftercare cleaning I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective cleaning product designed for use on sealed tiles.

It’s also worth knowing that the life of a sealer greatly depends on what you use to clean it as most tile cleaning products you find in a supermarket are only designed for use on Ceramic or Vinyl flooring and are simply too strong for use on a sealed tile (always read the label!).

Terracotta Floor After Cleaning Sealing Cardiff

Professional Cleaning of a Terracotta Tiled Floor in Cheshire

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Travertine Floor Tile Cleaned Sealed Cardiff South Wales

Travertine Floor Tile Refresh in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning / Julian Iancono

I actually laid this Travertine floor in Cardiff myself back in 2010 and since then it has experienced a lot of wear and tear. The floor was installed throughout the kitchen and adjacent diner which are some of the busiest rooms in the house, also the client owned dogs which spent a lot of time in the kitchen.

Travertine Floor Before Renovation Cardiff

Deciding it was high time for a refresh the client got in touch to have me return and to discuss some other tiling work they required. During my visit to look at the other work I could visibly see how much this floor needed a thorough renovation. Before starting work I suggested that I carry out a test clean on one tile to show what could be achieved. The demonstration worked well, and the client was delighted to see what could be achieved. This also helped me work out which cleaning products and methods would work best.

The property was close to the buzzing city of Cardiff, thankfully there was on site parking, which can be a bit of a problem when we work this near to the city. Over the years I have invested in a heavy rotary machine and vacuum extractor which give a better clean and makes the work more efficient.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Diner Floor

Focusing on the grout I started to clean the floor with a handheld scrubbing brush and a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and Tile Doctor Nano HBU tile cleaner which is also a stripper that helps to remove the old sealers and grease. These two combinations were worked into the tiles with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. Following that the floor was thoroughly rinsed with clean water and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum.

Travertine Floor During Renovation Cardiff

I was then able to see where the work had been effective on the travertine and grout and was able to identify stubborn areas and spot treat them by hand. Whilst doing this manually takes a little longer it is well worth the effort to achieve the best finish. Once I was satisfied the floor was left to dry overnight for the sealer to be applied.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Diner Floor

Returning the following morning, I used the damp meter to test that the floor was dry, the floor was then ready for me to apply the sealer. The choice of sealer for this floor was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is also a colour enhancing impregnator. It soaks into the pores of the tiles rather than sitting on the surface.

Two coats of the sealer were applied, waiting for the first coat to dry before applying the next. Knowing they have two large dogs this sealer is usually my preferred choice as it is a very hard-wearing product.

Travertine Floor After Renovation Cardiff

Once complete the floor looked great, and the client was very happy with the work we carried out. We recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is pH neutral and will ensure they can maintain the floor moving forward.

Professional Renovation of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in South Wales

Travertine Floor Tile Refresh in Cardiff Read More »

Black Limestone Patio Restored in Cardiff

Cardiff Patio Ruined by a Builder Restored in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing / Julian Iancono

This customer from Cardiff was in despair after a builder ruined her expensive Black Limestone Patio after using brick acid to clean it up. She contacted Tile Doctor in the hope that it could be saved and being their local agent, I was asked to contact her.

Black Limestone Patio Before Renovation Cardiff

I visited the property to assess the damage to the patio and it was immediately clear to me what needed to be done as this is not the first time I had come across this problem. It turns out the builder was attempting to remove cement splatters from the stone after applying render to the back of the property. Limestone is a sedimentary stone composed primarily of calcium carbonate which can be dissolved in acid, so using acid on Limestone is never a good idea.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Patio Floor

I spent the first day removing the damage to the stone by burnishing the patio with a weighted buffer machine fitted with a 100-grit diamond pad lubricated with water and using a wet vacuum to remove the soiling it generates.

This was followed by a 200-grit, 400-grit and then finished with an 800-grit diamond pad until I had removed all the damage and resurfaced the Limestone. Again, water was used to lubricate the process and the floor was rinsed with fresh water after each pad and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum.

This work was done in August 2022 and I had purposely chosen a patch of good weather to do this work and was able to leave the patio to dry off overnight after another thorough round of rinsing with water and extracting.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Patio Floor

I returned the next day to finish the renovation, first checking first that the stone was dry with the use of a damp meter. The readings were good, so I went ahead and applied the sealer. Secondly its recommended for outdoor use and is UV safe so should last a long time ensuring the patio will now be able to withstand the outside weather and the stone will be protected from the elements.

The results were amazing, and my customer was relieved and delighted with the finished result allowing her to look forward to several summer garden parties that were planned.

Black Limestone Patio After Sealing Cardiff

Professional Restoration of a Black Limestone Tiled Patio in South Wales

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Terrazzo Hallway Floor Restored in Cardiff

Restoration of a 1930s Terrazzo Hallway Floor in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Julian Iancono

Tile Doctor were appointed to restore a 1930’s Terrazzo hallway floor in Cardiff which was deeply ingrained with dirt after being covered with carpet for many years. Rather than coving the floor with carpet again the owner had decided it was time to have it restored having had our services recommended by a previous client.

After surveying the floor, I could see the carpet had been down so long you could see its pattern in the Terrazzo. I could see there was a large amount of ingrained dirt in the floor that would need to be flushed out which meant several cleans would probably be required. There were numerous cracks in the floor and in one area near a wall the Terrazzo had broken up and turned to rubble.

Terrazzo Hallway Floor Before Restoration Cardiff

Unfortunately, there was little that could be done to repair this, so we agreed to back fill it with cement and the owner planned to cover it with a timber boxing and then paint.

Cleaning and Repairing a Terrazzo Tiled Hallway Floor

To get the Terrazzo looking its best I planned to remove the dirt and restore the surface by burnishing the floor with a six-stage diamond polishing process. This would involve applying Tile Doctor burnishing pads of differing grits ranging from very coarse to very fine, rinsing between each pad to extract the soiling.

To start I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and left it to dwell and soak into Terrazzo for a short time so it could get to work digesting and breaking down the dirt. The first pad was then applied which was a very coarse 100-grit pad using the Pro-Clean for lubrication. The combination of the two lifted out the dirt from the heavily soiled pores of the Terrazzo where it could be extracted from the surface with a wet vacuum.

Terrazzo Hallway Floor During Restoration Cardiff

This process was repeated working through each of the six different burnishing pads, rinsing the floor along the way and extracting the soil after each pad. It was an arduous task, but it was rewarding to see the floor slowly come back to life.

With the floor clean the next stage was to make repairs to the various cracks. Terrazzo is poured onto the floor in one go and then polished to leave a unique and hardwearing surface, so you can’t simply replace a tile or cut out a section. What you can do however is to fill the crack with a resin or flexible grout colour matched to the unique colours in the floor. Once the whole floor had been sealed the crack should be difficult to spot.

Sealing a Terrazzo Tiled Hallway Floor

The next step would be to seal and protect the floor however it needed to be fully dry first, so it was left to dry for twenty-four hours and when I returned this was confirmed by taking several moisture readings with a damp meter.

The sealer of choice for this floor was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a fully breathable impregnating sealer which also enhances the colour of the stone chippings in the Terrazzo. This sealer is an impregnator that works by soaking into the pores of the floor rather than sittings on the surface, thus protecting it from ingrained dirt. Hallways are by their very nature a high traffic area so this should provide adequate protection and keep the floor in good condition for a long period of time.

Terrazzo Hallway Floor After Restoration Cardiff

Colour Grow is however a matt finish and my client had requested a very high sheen finish. So, after leaving the sealer to dry for 24 hours I returned to apply a further product called Tile Doctor Shine Powder which is a crystalline powder that is worked into the floor using a white buffer pad running at slow speed.

The client was delighted with the newly restored floor, as you can see from the pictures it looked so much fresher and of course free of dirt, not bad for a 90-year-old floor. For the aftercare of polished Terrazzo, I recommend Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is compatible with the sealer and will help maintain the patina.

Professional Restoration of a Terrazzo Tiled Hallway in Southeast Wales

Restoration of a 1930s Terrazzo Hallway Floor in Cardiff Read More »

Fossil Sandstone Floor Clean Seal Newport

Deep Cleaning a Fossil Sandstone Tile Kitchen Floor in Newport

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Julian Iancono

The Fossil Sandstone floor pictured was installed in the kitchen of a property in Newport South Wales. The grout was originally a matching Sandstone colour, but it had been some time since the installation and now the stone and the grout had darkened with wear and ingrained dirt. The Sandstone itself was really grubby and the unique and beautiful fossils imprinted in the stone were barely recognisable.

Fossil Sandstone Kitchen Floor Tiles Before Renovation

Unhappy with the appearance of their stone floor and aware of our reputation from a friend, the owner got in touch to see what could be done and to get a quote for renovating the floor. I arranged to visit and conduct a survey and could immediately see that the protective sealer had long since worn off and not the stone was very dirty with ingrained dirt ruining its appearance.

Before creating a quote, I conducted a couple of cleaning tests on a small inconspicuous section of stone and grout to work out the best method and products to restore its appearance. Once I had worked out the best approach, I provided a quote for the renovation, and they agreed to go ahead.

Cleaning a Fossil Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

I had found the most effective method for cleaning this floor was to start by applying a combination of Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU Cleaner with the same amount of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. HBU stands for Heavy Build-Up which pretty much described the problem I was facing here however both products and versatile stone and grout cleaning products. The solution was applied to 2 square meters of floor at a time and given a light scrub with a handheld scrubbing brush paying specific attention to the grout.

Fossil Sandstone Kitchen Floor Tiles During Cleaning

The solution was left to soak into the floor for about five minutes and then with clean warm water added to the surface by a sponge from a bucket and then agitated with the scrubbing brush. It took quite a while as we were working on a small area at a time. But by working methodically it wasn’t long before it was completed.

Fossil Sandstone Kitchen Floor Tiles During Renovation

The grout joints were also scrubbed in the same way as the stone. As we cleaned the controlled areas the waste dirt was then vacuumed up. We then rinsed twice with fresh clean water, vacuuming the liquid waste away so as not to let the dirty water soak back into the tile. Afterwards the floor was inspected, and the process repeated until I was satisfied it was as clean as possible. The floor was then left to dry overnight.

Sealing a Fossil Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

On my return the sandstone tiles were tested for moisture using a damp meter. I wanted to ensure that it was dry enough to apply a sealer and I don’t recommend applying a sealer to a damp floor as the new seal won’t cure and I’d probably get a call back.

The preferred sealer was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing impregnator that soaks into the pores of the stone to create a durable barrier that will prevent future staining and to make maintenance easier. Several coats were applied, allowing each one to dry before applying the next.

The clients were not home during the work being carried out as they went on a short break.
On their return they had a lovely surprise to see their floor looking in tip top condition.
They left a glowing feedback report to Tile Doctor stating their delight with the result. Another happy client!

Sandstone Floor Renovation Feedback Newport

Unfortunately, I forgot to get a final picture of the finished floor for this post however I did leave them a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner for aftercare cleaning.

Professional Cleaning of a Fossil Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor in South Wales

Deep Cleaning a Fossil Sandstone Tile Kitchen Floor in Newport Read More »

Terrazzo Church Floor Restoration Cardiff

Chancel Terrazzo Floor Restoration at a Cardiff City Church

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Julian Iancono

During last summer I was asked to restore a Terrazzo floor in the chancel of a Catholic Church in the centre of Cardiff city centre. Our client was actually the architect in charge of the restoration, and he wanted to see if the Terrazzo floor that was laid around 1900 could be restored.

Terrazzo Church Floor During Restoration Vale of Glamorgan

The architect was coordinating different trades with a plan to restore the church interior back to its near original state and I’m proud to say that Tile Doctor was the architect’s choice of contractor to carry out the work. We talked though what needed to be done, how we would gain access, and agreed a plan of work, as well as the price for the job.

Deep Cleaning a Terrazzo Tiled Chancel Floor

The altar at the back of the church had been taken away for renovation which was just as well as the carpet ran underneath. With this section of the church to ourselves the first job was to remove the black rubber carpet underlay glued to the surface of the Terrazzo. To remove the bulk, it had to be scraped off using sharp blades and a great deal of effort. This was a messy process that could only be completed manually.

Once the underlying Terrazzo floor was visible, I was able to work out what products and processes would be the best option for the restoration. With the bulk of the rubber out of the way I decided to try burnishing the floor with Tile Doctor Diamond Floor Pads starting with a very abrasive grade lubricated with water.

To keep the mess to a minimum the waste was vacuumed up as we went, and this made it possible to crack on across the whole area. At this first stage we also burnished around the perimeter and awkward to reach areas with a handheld polisher to ensure nothing was missed and to blend the areas.

One finished with the coarse pad the floor was given a full rinse with water and the remaining soil removed with the wet vacuum. Once done finer grit burnishing pads were applied using the same process to bring up the polish on the Terrazzo. After the wet work was completed, the floor was left to dry out for a minimum of 24 hours.

Sealing a Terrazzo Tiled Church Floor

On our return a few days later, the fourth and final polishing pad was used to create a shine and smooth the surface. The church council had requested a deep shine appearance to the Terrazzo so to finish the floor in two stages starting with the application of a sealer. For this floor I chose to apply two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, a colour enhancing impregnating sealer which provides hard wearing surface protection whilst improving the colour contrast.

The final stage was to grind Tile Doctor High Shine Powder into the floor completing two sqm at a time and rinsing with clean water as we worked. This is a crystallising powder that provides a very high shine and provides a tough durable finish that works well on many floor types and was perfect for this terrazzo floor.

Terrazzo Church Floor After Restoration Vale of Glamorgan

Once the final polishing had been completed, we buffed the floor with a soft White Buffing Pad. The church members and architect were delighted with the finished result and contacted Tile Doctor to relay their thanks. This was a lovely project to complete, it is always nice to work within the community as well as for retail clients.

Professional Restoration of a Terrazzo Church Floor in South Wales

Chancel Terrazzo Floor Restoration at a Cardiff City Church Read More »

Verde Limestone Kitchen Floor Renovated Cardiff

Vomit Damaged Verde Limestone Floor Renovated Following Drunken Party in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Julian Iancono

The young gentleman who owned this property in Cardiff was distressed about his new Verde Limestone kitchen floor. He explained to me that he recently had a party at the house and one of his friends drunk too much and vomited over the stone floor. Easy enough to clean up you would think, however in a rush to clean up the mess he slipped banged his head on the corner of the worktop and ending up bleeding onto the sick.

Vomit Stained Limestone Kitchen Floor Before Renovation Cardiff

Thankfully his friend was ok. but unfortunately, the acid from the stomach, had caused the surface of the Limestone to be etched quite considerably and now appeared to show permanent wipe marks across some of the floor. Thankfully I advised that we could repolish the surface of the stone to rectify the problem, and this would soon have his floor looking good as new again. The 12mm Verde Limestone tiles have a lovely green shade and set the newly fitted kitchen off a treat. We agreed a price for the work, and I booked the job in soon after.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

To restore the appearance of the floor it needed to be burnished with a set of Tile Doctor Diamond encrusted pads which resurface the tile and rebuild the polish. I started with an abrasive 400-grit pad fitted to a weighted rotary machine worked into the Limestone using only water to lubricate the process. The floor is then rinsed with water to remove the soil which is then extracted with a wet vacuum. This process is repeated using an 800 , 1500 and finally a 3000-grit until the surface of the floor was restored with a high polish.

Vomit Stained Limestone Kitchen Floor During Renovation Cardiff

The grout was then cleaned with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a versatile cleaning solution ideal for grout cleaning. It’s diluted with water and then left to soak into the grout line for a short while before being scrubbed in. After scrubbing the waste is rinsed off with water and extracted with the wet vacuum.

The floor was left to dry overnight with assistance from a floor flan so it would be nice and dry for sealing the following day. By the end of the first day the stain was gone, and the Limestone looked so much better, much to the relief of my client.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

The next morning, I took a few moisture readings from the tile to make sure it was dry and ready for sealing. The readings were fine, so I set about applying Tile Doctor Stone Oil to the stone. This product soaks into the pores of the stone restoring the natural oils to the stone and enhance the strong dark green colour of the Verde Limestone.

Vomit Stained Verde Limestone Kitchen Floor During Sealing Cardiff

The Limestone needed to be dry before continuing with the last stage of sealing so stone oil was left to dry off overnight and I came back the next day to finish off. People may get the impression from reading this that I am a little over cautious, but I’ve learned from experience that applying a sealer to a damp floor is not a good idea.

So the next day I returned to seal the tiles and for this floor I used three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is impregnating sealer that protects from within whilst enhancing the natural colours in the stone. The combination of the Stone Oil and Colour Grow add long lasting protection to the stone whilst improving its appearance.

Vomit Stained Verde Limestone Kitchen Floor After Renovation Cardiff

The gentleman in question was over the moon with the result as he left the following glowing feedback for me; I understand he is not planning any more parties any time soon!

We are absolutely delighted with Julian’s work! Our limestone kitchen floor was very damaged and we were worried that the damage would be irreparable – Julian diamond polished and resealed the floor and it looks like new. He was an absolute pleasure and the quality of the work was amazing. I will definitely be getting in touch to help preserve the floor in the future. Thank you!

Professional Restoration of a Damaged Limestone Kitchen Floor in South East Wales

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White Marble Floor Before After Renovation Cardiff Bay

White Marble Hallway Renovation in Cardiff Bay Listed Building

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Julian Iancono

This beautiful Marble Tiled Hallway can be found in a listed building in the heart of Cardiff Bay. Situated on a very grand corner plot the property was previously occupied by various banks which served the financial markets of shipping and coal import/export businesses for over 200 years.

White Mable Hallway Before Polishing Cardiff Bay Listed Building

The building has now been converted into fourteen very desirable apartments one being the penthouse on the top floor with panoramic views of the bay and even a private lift accessed from the main hallway directly to the lounge! Very impressive.

The Marble floor was mostly original and has been added to with similar Marble tiles during previous renovation works. The stone was an off-white marble with various colour veins running through the body. The area of the restoration was the main entrance and hallway to access the staircase and lift to the apartments.

Deep Cleaning a White Marble Hallway Floor

The main method I used to restore the floor was to apply a set of Tile Doctor diamond encrusted burnishing pads of various grits to rebuild the polish on the floor. Before starting that process however I gave the tiles a general clean with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean scrubbed in with a coarse black pad fitted to a rotary floor machine (also supplied by Tile Doctor). Afterwards the floor was rinsed with clean water and the soil extracted using an industrial wet vacuum. This was followed by scrubbing the grout lines with more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to get them clean, again extracting the soil afterwards.

I then proceeded to apply the first pad in the four-pad set which is a very course 400-grit pad which removes any light scratches and previous sealers or waxes. Using water to lubricate the process I run the pad over each tile around three times before moving on to the next. Once that section of floor has been completed the soil generated is rinsed off with more water and extracted with the wet vacuum.

White Mable Hallway During Polishing Cardiff Bay Listed Building

This process is repeated with an 800-grit pad which also cuts slightly into the surface of the tile and is the first step in rebuilding the polish on Marble. Finally, a finer 1500-grit diamond pad was applied which further brings up the polish on the tile. Again, after each pad was applied the floor was rinsed and extracted to remove the soil.

After allowing the section of floor to dry for 24 hours I applied the last of the four Tile Doctor burnishing pads which is a 3000-grit very fine pad. This last pad is applied dry with only a sprinkle of water to further build the polished appearance of the Marble and produce a pleasing shiny finish.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Hallway Floor

With the floor dry I was able to move quickly onto the final stage which involves applying a sealer to further improve the look of the floor and most importantly to protect it from staining. For this floor I chose to apply a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that protects the tile so it’s impervious to liquid spills and making it much easier to keep clean.

White Mable Hallway After Polishing Cardiff Bay Listed Building

Just to be thorough once the sealed section of Marble was dry, I then lightly went over the floor again with the 3000-grit polishing pad to remove any light smears and finished by buffing with a White buffing pad to bring up the shine even further.

After four days the Marble floor was looking immaculately clean with a high polish. They say first impressions count when selling property and the polished floor added that extra wow factor for those looking to buy.

Professional Marble Floor Renovation and Polishing in South East Wales

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Marble Tiled Floor Renovated Cardiff Wales

Marble Kitchen Floor Grout Cleaned and Polished in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Julian Iancono

I took the pictures below during the renovation of a beautiful Marble floor that was installed in the kitchen and adjacent dinning area of a property in Cardiff. Busy family life had taken its toll on the floor and it had now lost most of its shine and the grout had darkened to an almost black colour due to ingrained dirt. Marble however is an amazing stone that responds well to polishing so I knew I could restore its appearance.

Covering Cardiff and the surrounding area I’m your local tile and stone restoration specialist covering the renovation of all types of Tile and Stone. My background is tiling, and I have been a member of the Tile Doctor restoration network for over ten years so if you need help do get in touch.

Deep Cleaning a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in Cardiff

First, I deep cleaned the grout lines using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, leaving it to soak into the grout for ten minutes before scrubbing it in by hand. I then rinsed off the solution with water and extracted the slurry with a wet vacuum to lift the deep staining.

Marble Kitchen Floor During Grout Cleaning Cardiff

With the grout now clean I turned my attention to the Marble tiles, I needed to remove any previous sealer and the ingrained marks. This was done using a 400-grit red burnishing pad applied to the rotary buffing machine. The pads are another Tile Doctor product and was the first in a series of four pads I would use to renovate this floor. After running the pad over each tile at least three times the floor was rinsed with water which was then extracted with the wet vacuum as before.

This was followed by an 800-grit pad to prepare and smooth the surface of the tile again rinsing and extracting afterwards. I then continued the process using a 1500-grit pad to smooth more and prepare the surface for the final pad. By using the pads in sequence, it is a gradual process and ensures the tiles have a consistent surface. The floor was then left to dry overnight.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in Cardiff

I returned the next day to apply the final pad which brings up the polish on the floor. It is a very fine 3000-grit pad which creates a nice shine and is applied dry using a small amount of water using a process we call a “Spray Burnish”.

Finally, the sealer was applied to the Marble, the sealer chosen was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which soaks into the pores of the stone and protects it from within. Colour Grow is a very durable sealer that enhances the natural colours in the stone without making the surface shiny. In this instance however the client requested the floor to have a high shine, so I went back for the 3rd day to ensure the initial sealer was cured and then applied a coating of Tile Doctor Shine Powder. This is a crystal type substance which is ground into the tiles using a white buffing pad to build up a deep and durable polish on the Marble.

Marble Kitchen Floor After Renovation Cardiff

This final step gave the floor a very high shine with a deep lustre and the client was delighted with result. For the regular maintenance cleaning of polished stone, I recommend using Tile Doctor stone soap which is specifically designed for maintaining this type of floor and will help maintain its lustre.

Professional Renovation of a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in South Wales

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Marble Tiled Church Floor Before After Renovation Cardiff

Black and White Marble Church Floor Tiles Renovated in Ely Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

I was contacted by “The Church of the Resurrection” in the Ely suburb of Cardiff to ask if we would improve the appearance of their Marble floor. We are always up for a challenge at Tile Doctor, so I arranged an appointment to visit the church, survey the floor and recommend a solution.

Marble Church Floor Before Renovation Ely

The church itself is relatively new and dates to 1934, the black and white Marble floor tiles were original however at some point in the past it had been covered in a carpet which had been glued down. The church committee now wanted to restore the Marble tiles back to its original beauty. I carried out a test sample which proved very successful and they were delighted with the results. I was very optimistic that this floor could be saved and would look pretty good at the end. We agreed a price and arranged the most convenient time to carry the work out when the church wasn’t in use.

Cleaning a Marble Tiled Church Floor

On my return I started the cleaning process by working in sections using a solution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go worked in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine to breakdown the glue. Next, I worked thorough a range of burnishing pads, first changing the pad to a coarse 100-grit diamond pad which was run over the floor using the Remove and Go as a lubricant. The soil was then rinsed off the floor with more water and extracted using a wet vacuum. The pad was then changed to a 200-grit pad and the process repeated. The combination of the Remove and Go and the pads cut into the surface of the tile and remove the adhesive staining.

Marble Church Floor During Renovation Ely

Then I continued with a 400-grit diamond burnishing pad this time applied with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. After rinsing and extracting the soil I moved onto an 800-grit, 1500 grit and finally the 3000-grit pad to achieve a finish that they desired. These 17-inch diamond burnishing pads are available in set of four and really restore the deep polish of stone.

Around the Altar there were two concrete areas which looked unsightly now that the floor was uncovered so I suggested that I carry on with the pattern of the floor using concrete paint. This proved very successful as it blended in well improving the general appearance of the area.

Last step in the cleaning process was to improve the appearance of the Black Stone steps in front of the altar which were dull and marked from years of use. It was confined working space, so I polished these with a handheld machine fitted with 6-inch diamond burnishing pads. to restore the polished appearance of the stone.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Church Floor

After cleaning and polishing the areas I proceeded to seal the Marble with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within. Additionally, this sealer doesn’t change the colour of the stone, so it preserves its natural appearance. The black steps were sealed with Tile Doctor Stone Oil which really did enhance the jet-black lustre it was so in need of.

Marble Church Floor After Renovation Ely

The work was carried out in April 2019 and was completed over the coarse of a few days. The floor now looks stunning and gives the whole church a lift. Certainly, the project management team were delighted with the results as they had thought the floor was unsalvageable. They said they would highly recommend Tile Doctor again for future church projects, which is always very pleasing to hear.

Professional Restoration of a Marble Tiled Church Floor in South East Wales

Black and White Marble Church Floor Tiles Renovated in Ely Cardiff Read More »

Terrazzo Tiled Floor Before and After Restoration Cardiff University

Terrazzo floor Restoration Project at Cardiff University

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

Last summer I was asked to carry out a survey at one of the Cardiff University buildings where they were looking at having a large Terrazzo floor restored. The University was on its summer recess so with no students around it was an ideal time for major works to be carried out.

At some point in the past the whole floor had been covered in a layer of self-levelling compound ranging from 2mm – 10mm thickness, so it could be covered with square carpet tiles which had then been secured with adhesive. You can still see the outlines of the tiles in the pictures below. It’s hard to appreciate from the photo that underneath there’s a beautiful Terrazzo floor waiting to be rediscovered.

Terrazzo Floor Before Restoration Cardiff University

The University had removed the carpet tiles but were unsure of how to remove the screed without damaging the Terrazzo underneath and so asked me to quote for restoring the whole floor. I carried out a test clean on the floor first to show the architect’s and university staff an example of what could be achieved.

Terrazzo Floor Demonstration Clean Cardiff University

The method I used for the test sample was to use a process called milling with a 50 grit Milling Pad, which I used to grind off the levelling compound until the stone became visible underneath. The test clean took me a good hour to complete but the results I achieved proved very satisfying both to myself and the clients and I was awarded with the contract.

Cleaning and Restoring a Terrazzo Tiled Floor

On commencement of the work I realised after 4 hours of milling that this method although effective was very time consuming and extremely messy! So, I tried using a long handheld sharp scraper which turned out to be a lot faster and cleaner in removing the cemented compound. In the end it took four days for two men and a great deal of hand ache to remove the screed for the floor.

Terrazzo Floor During Restoration Cardiff University

After removing the compound, I started milling the floor with a Tile Doctor Milling Pads, first the 50 segment & then a 200-segment pad to cut deep in to the floor to remove the stains in the Terrazzo and scratches from using the scraper.

This was followed by burnishing the stone with a set of four Tile Doctor Burnishing Pads. This involves the application of four pads in sequence from a coarse 400 grit through to a very fine 3000 grit to refine the surface of the Terrazzo and improve the lustre of the floor with each grade of pad.

Sealing a Terrazzo Tiled Floor

The architect had specified a hardwearing finish as this was a very busy entrance way for students entering the buildings. So, after finishing the burnishing of the floor with a very fine 3000 grit pad I sealed the floor with three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which seeps into the pores of the Terrazzo protecting it from within enhancing the colours of the chippings in the process whilst providing maximum protection. Finally, we polished the floor after sealing with another application of the 3000 pad and a polishing cloth to shine the floor further.

Terrazzo Floor After Restoration Cardiff University

It was a large floor, so I managed the project in sections, and this enabled me to start on the cleaning of a new section whilst the floor was drying in the previous section. As you can see from the pictures the floor was transformed and looked great. Needless to say the University were very happy with the result.

Professional Restoration of a Terrazzo Tiled Floor in South Wales

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Victorian Tiled Pathway Before and After Rebuild Cardiff

Damaged Victorian Tiled Path Rebuilt in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

This Victorian tiled path leading up to a lovely period house in Cardiff was in a really bad state of repair with many damaged and cracked tiles. I had already been working on their hallway tiles and the customer was hoping I would be able to salvage the original tiles in the front path. I was confident something could be done but when I started to remove a few I soon found out that would be unlikely. I made a few calls and fortunately I was able to find replacement tiles in a local salvage yard that were a perfect match.

Victorian Tiled Pathway Before Rebuild Cardiff

The border tiles were a different matter though, so I had to buy new tiles that could be mixed with old for the border which I purchased from original style. I’ve used Original Style tiles on a few occasions in the past, they have a section dedicated to Victorian Tiles and stock quite a few of the popular patterns and decorative border designs.

Rebuilding a Victorian Tiled Path

The foundation of the path was cracked and crumbling so after carefully removing as many tiles that were worth saving I rebuilt the base with a new layer of cement.

Victorian Tiled Pathway During Rebuild Cardiff

Once the new base was dry I was able to start Tiling as normal, I had taken photographs of the original pattern, so I was able progress quite quickly.

Once the central pattern had been laid I progressed onto the edges which took longer to lay due to the complex pattern. Once all the tiles were laid and the adhesive had set I was able to move onto Grouting.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Path

Once the tiles were laid and grout had set I was able to move onto cleaning the whole path starting with an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up to remove any grout smears left over from the grouting and also to counter act any salts within the tile which could cause problems later.

After a rinse with water the path was then give a good scrub with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a heavy-duty Tile and Grout cleaner that worked well to brings out ingrained dirt.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

The path was left to dry off overnight and I came back the next day to seal them, I left protection over the path each night after leaving and fortunately we experienced a rare spell of decent weather that week.

The sealer I chose was Tile Doctor Colour Grow, it’s fully breathable, which is important when sealing tiles exposed to damp conditions and it’s a colour enhancing sealer which brought out the best in the red quarry tiles as well as giving good protection to the tile surface.

Victorian Tiled Pathway After Rebuild Cardiff

My customer was most impressed with the transformation and left the following glowing testimonial on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“Julian was quick to respond to emails. He arrived on the date we arranged and was finished promptly. We had our hall tiles re-surfaced and the path completely relayed. Where possible outside Julian re-used the old tiles and when not then used new. The final finish is amazing and definitely gives a wow factor to the entrance to the property. Julian is trustworthy and I would highly recommend him and his work. Thanks for the hard work!
Nigel J, Cardiff 15 Jan 2018″

Victorian Tiled floor restored in South Wales

Damaged Victorian Tiled Path Rebuilt in Cardiff Read More »

Victorian Tiled Hallway in Cardiff Before and After Restoration

Original Victorian Tiled Hallway Thought Beyond Repair Rejuvenated in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

Many property owners who are lucky enough to have an original Victorian tiled floor in their homes face the same conundrum: can an old and potentially very damaged floor be salvaged and restored to peak condition or should I replace it?

Some people would instinctively tell you that the answer is no – even trained professionals! In fact, a leading tile restoration company (which shall remain unnamed) based in Cardiff told a recent customer of mine that her original Victorian tiled floor, dating back to 1905, was beyond repair. The company recommended that she not waste any money on having it restored and instead that she should have it ripped up and replaced.

Victorian Tiled Hallway in Cardiff Before Restoration

It was in a bad state, however replacing the floor would incur a significant cost and the original characteristics of the period floor would be lost. The customer was feeling rather deflated and was left undecided on what to do. Fortunately after browsing the web for a solution, she came across Tile Doctor and I was asked to pop over and take a look.

I visited the customer at her home and removed parts of her hallway carpet to get a better look at the Victorian tiles beneath. The floor was certainly in a very poor state, there were many old paint splash marks covering the tiles and the surface of the floor was deeply darkened after many years’ worth of wear and tear. In my opinion however, it was still salvageable, and the customer was happy to see what could be done.

Cleaning an Original Victorian Tiled Floor

A week before I was due to start the restoration, I asked the customer to remove the foam-backed carpet to let the floor breathe a bit.

Before beginning the work, I ran a few damp tests and the floor proved surprisingly dry considering how old it is and the very probable lack of a damp proof membrane. I started by manually scraping as much of the old paint staining off the stone as possible and cleared other debris from the surface.

Knowing that clay based Victorian tiles like these easily soak up paint splashes, I knew it would take a thorough clean to remove them completely. I firstly soaked the floor with water and left it to dry slightly before mixing a concoction of Tile Doctor NanoTech HBU, Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, and Tile Doctor Remove and Go.

NanoTech HBU is a particularly powerful cleaner which uses nano-sized particles to penetrate the pores of the stone, while Pro-Clean is an alkaline-based cleaner that tackles heavy soil build-up. Remove and Go is a multi-purpose product which both cleans and strips away any old sealer.

I left this mixture to dwell on the floor for around half an hour, scrubbed it in firstly using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine and then a wire wool pad. I followed by rinsing the products off with water and extracted up the excess with a wet vacuum machine.

This technique was repeated until I was satisfied with the condition of the floor.

Sealing an Original Victorian Tiled Floor

After leaving the floor to dry off completely overnight, I returned to the property the next day to carry out the sealing process. I applied seven coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go, which not only adds a protective covering to the tile, but also enhances its appearance.

The customer was absolutely thrilled with the results of the restoration, especially considering that she was told the floor was ruined by a leading company and not worth saving.

Victorian Tiled Hallway in Cardiff After Restoration

I think you will agree that its always worth trying to restore a period floor and my customer deserves praise for sticking to their guns.

Professional Period Victorian Hallway Floor Restoration in South Wales

Original Victorian Tiled Hallway Thought Beyond Repair Rejuvenated in Cardiff Read More »

Victorian Hallway Penarth Before and After Restoration

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restored in Penarth

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Penarth Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

This Victorian tiled hallway floor at a house in Penarth needed a deep clean and seal but also there was the added complication of what to do with the under stairs area as you will see in the photographs below. There were many options to consider and after many visits to the property to discuss various options we finally decided on adding new replacement tiles that complimented the main colour in the floor.

Victorian Hallway Penarth Before Restoration

This floor was in quite a bad state covered in paint splashes and cement after new damp proofing also under the staircase there were no tiles just cement which the customer hoped could be tiled. I assured the customer that they made the right choice by contacting Tile Doctor that they would be very happy with the outcome of their project.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Using a Kango hammer I first removed all the cement from area under the stairs that was to be retiled to get the main mess out of way then scraped off as much cement and paint off the tiled surface as possible. Once this was done and the area clear I was able to re-cement the area to be tilled to the right level and once dry tile the area with tiles in the chosen colour from a company known as Original Style which produce good tile replicas.

Victorian Hallway Penarth During Restoration

Deep Cleaning Victorian Hallway Floor Tiles

The floor was checked for moisture which proved dry and then cleaned with a mixture of Tile Doctor products including NanoTech HBU Remover (HBU stands for Heavy Build-up), Remove and Go to tackle the paint splashes and to ensure any sealers were removed and Pro-Clean which is another powerful cleaning product. All these products are safe to use on tiles floors and were worked into the tile and grout using a scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine.

Once the floor was clean the soiled cleaning solution was extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum and the floor then thoroughly rinsed down with water, again extracted using a wet vacuum. Problem areas were re-treated by hand and scraped using wire wool and Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is an acid product designed to remove cement stains and grout smears. The floor was then rinsed again to remove any product traces, dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum and left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

I came back the next day to seal the floor, checking the tiles for moisture first using a damp meter. To seal the tiles, I used Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds that protective layer and a nice sheen to the floor.

Victorian Hallway Penarth After Restoration

The replacement tiles blended in well with the original Victorian floor tiles which now following the deep clean and re-seal looks like a new installation.

Restoring a Victorian Tiled floor hidden in South Wales

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Bathstone Window Cills Before and After Cleaning Cardiff

Dirty Bath Stone Cill’s Deep Cleaned in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Julian Iancono

Bath Stone is a material that we don’t often encounter. A variation of Limestone, its distinctive yellowish or ‘honey’ colouring is best associated with historical buildings in the City of Bath – hence the name ‘Bath Stone’. However, it has commonly been used as a building material throughout southern England and Wales.

The owner of this property in Cardiff was quite upset that her Bath Stone window sills had become so unsightly over the four-year period since her house was built, so much so that she contacted Tile Doctor to see if we could help.

Bathstone window cill before cleaning Cardiff

Bathstone pillar before cleaning Cardiff

Cleaning Dirty Bath Stone Window Sills

While at Tile Doctor we most often work on tiled floors, patios and shower cubicles, I was more than happy to assist in this situation. I popped round to the property to carry out some initial cleaning tests on an inconspicuous area of one of the window sills.

I applied Tile Doctor Pro Clean, which is our high alkaline cleaner, since it’s a very versatile and reliable product, and is suitable for use on most kinds of natural stone. Some fantastic results were achieved quickly, with Pro Clean working efficiently to remove the green and black algae that I presumed came from the trees which were plentiful around the property.

Bathstone window cill after test clean Cardiff

With the test clean a success, we agreed a date to complete the job. I returned on the agreed date with a ladder to treat the rest of the sills using Pro Clean, including the one on the first floor window.

Bathstone window cills after cleaning Cardiff

Before carrying out the work, I tested the stone for moisture and the readings were sky high. Therefore, I suggested to the customer not to seal the stone, but instead to maintain it using the same cleaning process as I had undertaken.

Bathstone window cill after cleaning Cardiff

The outcome of my restoration was brilliant, so now when the customer feels that the sills need to be rejuvenated again, she can do so very easily.

Professional Cleaning of Stained Bath Stone Window Sills in South Wales

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Quarry Tiles After Restoration in Splott Cardiff

Badly Stained Quarry Tiles Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Splott

Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

These Quarry tiles at a house in Splott, a small town not too far from the city of Cardiff, had certainly endured a hammering after what appeared to be recent decoration in the room. The tiles were heavily soiled, with sand and cement mixed up and splattered across the floor, along with deep paint and plaster stains.

Quarry Tiles Before Restoration in Splott Cardiff

The customer had already scraped off as much of the cement and other stubborn stains off – as much as they could, at least. Quarry may be typically hard wearing, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any easier to clean when it gets into a bad way. Eager to find a solution to the problem, the customer found Tile Doctor via the Internet, and not long after we arranged for me to come down to the property to see what could be done.


Quarry Tiles Before Restoration in Splott Cardiff

Upon arriving at the property and giving the tiles an initial inspection, I explained that not all stains and marks will come off or out of the tiles, as some staining is simply permanent. Nonetheless, the customer indicated they would be satisfied with any improvement made to the condition of the floor. Having restored tiles similar to these before, I knew that the results could still come off very well using the right methods and products.

Cleaning a Stained Quarry Tiled Floor

To begin I mixed a strong solution of Tile Doctor NanoTech HBU and Pro Clean, a combination of two different cleaners. Pro Clean is a versatile, high alkaline cleaner that is used to deal with reasonably heavy soil build-up on natural stone floors. It also contains stripping properties that allow it to start breaking down any old sealers when left to dwell on the tiles. NanoTech HBU takes the cleaning process a step further: it is specially formulated to use nano-sized cleaning particles to reach dirt and stains deeply ingrained in the stone, before dissolving and lifting them out.

This solution was applied to the floor and, working in small sections, I scrubbed it into the tiles using a rotating scrubbing machine fitted with a nylon brush attachment. The floor was then rinsed, and the resulting cleaning slurry was vacuumed away using a wet-vax machine.

My next concern was the grout, which was afflicted by stubborn cement marks. I opted to remove these firstly by carefully applying Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up, an acid-based cleaner. Some cement marks remained despite the application, and so I attempted to manually scrape and chisel them away. While I had some good success, as mentioned not all cement stains can be removed, especially if they have been there for a long time. Some old cement mixture is as hard as flint!

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Floor

I left the floor to dry following the clean and came back two days later to seal the tiles, checking first that they were dry by taking multiple readings with the damp meter, and comparing them with earlier results.

The test results came back fine, so I started with the lengthy task of applying eight coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go sealer. Having sealed similar floors with Seal and Go before I knew the results would be very desirable, with the deep natural colours in the stone being enhanced by the product. Seal and Go is my preferred sealer for Quarry tiles as it helps disguise some permanent marks and adds a durable satin shine finish.

While unfortunately a stained floor like this will never be able to look good as new, the results I managed to achieve were very pleasing. Certainly there was no evidence left of recent decoration, with the vast majority of the stains and marks no longer damaging the appearance of the tiles. The fresh seal has really brought out the red and black checked pattern in the floor. Needless to say the customer’s expectations were exceeded!


Quarry Tiles After Restoration in Splott Cardiff

Professional Tile Cleaning and Sealing for a Badly Stained and Soiled Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration in South Wales

Badly Stained Quarry Tiles Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Splott Read More »

Heavily Soiled and Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored in Pontcanna

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

Pontcanna is a popular residential area in the western district of Cardiff, in South East Wales. Known for its rather large houses and spectacular foliage, interestingly enough roughly a quarter of the population are English folk.

I was called down to a property in the area to take a look at a Victorian tiled floor which was in quite poor condition. Along with the typical amount of dirt and muck seen on poorly maintained tiles, there were a number of missing tiles and a fair bit of cement caked on the surface of the floor.

It would require a robust clean, fresh seal, and several repairs to get this floor back into optimum condition.

Cleaning and Repairing a Dirty Victorian Tiled Floor

To begin, I checked for excess moisture problems using a damp meter in various places of the hallway floor and, thankfully, it was showing dry results. Any dampness could have potentially caused problems later on in the restoration process, so it was s good idea to run tests before starting.

Next, I manually scraped as much of the dry paint and cement off the tiles as possible, with no lubrication necessary. I then proceeded to clean the floor with a solution I mixed early, consisting of equal parts Tile Doctor NanoTech HBU and Tile Doctor Pro Clean, rinsing as I went. Both products are designed to tackle heavy soil build-up, with the former uniquely using nano-sized particles (as the product name suggests) to penetrate deep into difficult to reach areas in the tiles in order to lift out ingrained muck.

Following the initial clean, I removed all of the loose tiles and those heavily affected by cement, before retiling as necessary with fresh Victorian tiles, and grouting the whole floor. Of course, these replacement tiles were carefully sourced to ensure consistency, as far as possible, with the original pattern of the floor.

The next day, I went over the whole floor with an application of the acid-based Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up, diluted with a little alkaline Pro Clean to form a cleaning solution. I then used a black pad to scrub the cleaner into the tiles, similarly to the previous day’s cleaning. This was followed by a through rinse with water to neutralise the floor.

It was at this point that I noticed some stubborn cement stains remained so I set about breaking them down using a 60 grade hand held diamond polishing block, and this technique proved successful.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor

After completing the clean, I left the floor to dry out for roughly 24 hours. Upon my return to the property to seal the tiles, I tested again for moisture. It is recommended to run damp tests before sealing, as excess moisture can cloud the sealer, affecting its performance in the long run.

Fortunately, no dampness was detected and I was proceeded to seal the floor with seven coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which enhances the natural colours in the stone and provides a nice satin gloss appearance, as requested by the customer.

I was extremely pleased with the results of this restoration, as was the customer. The extent of the soil build up and damage was such before the restoration that, after completion, the floor looked like it had been newly laid!

Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in South Wales

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Restoring A Stained Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Julian Iancono

The following post is follows on from the Limestone tiled kitchen floor restoration I recently completed in Cardiff. You may recall that the floor had not been maintained properly since it was first installed in 2008 and one of the key problems I had to deal with during that particular restoration was a number of dark stains left on the tiles by the kitchen dustbin. Here’s a detailed account of how I tacked the staining.

Cleaning a stained Limestone tiled floor

To deal with the stains, I suggested to the client that I experiment with a Tile Doctor product called Reduxa, which is formulated to remove certain stains, including red wine stains, from natural stone. It is suitable on Limestone, Marble and Travertine tiles, amongst others. Nonetheless, I did have to advise the client that unfortunately some stains are unavoidably permanent and that there was no guarantee that the product would be able to remove these particular stains. Had the sealer been maintained on this floor, then the problem would have been much easier to tackle. However, in this case the sealer had worn off over the years.

I began treating the problem area by applying the Reduxa solution, before heating up the tile with a heat gun to lift out the stains. This process of spraying and heating was repeated around eight times.

To cut a long story short, the process worked very well, and both myself and the client were amazed at the results the Reduxa stain removal solution had on the floor. This product really does what it says on the label!

If you would like more information on the product, check out the video on the Reduxa page on the Tile Doctor website.

Professional tile cleaning restoration for badly stained Limestone tiled kitchen floor in Cardiff

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Unmaintained French Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Restored in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Julian Iancono

This customer from the historic city of Cardiff was keen to see what Tile Doctor could do to put some life back into their treasured Limestone kitchen floor that was laid in 2008. My first observations were mainly centred on the horrific condition of the surface which although adequately sealed initially the floor had not received any subsequent maintenance and its condition had deteriorated over time. The light shining in from the patio doors highlighted all the imperfections in the floor caused by surface wear and tear commonly seen in high traffic areas such as a kitchen.

Unmaintained Limestone Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Cardiff

Upon closer inspection, there were further problems: the floor was stained and scuffed, and in most places the sealer had worn off completely allowing the dirt to become ingrained into the pores of the Limestone. Additionally the grout was recessed but was now flush with the tile surface due to dirt build-up. There were also areas contaminated with grease and kitchen cooking oil.

The Limestone floor tiles were 20mm thick French Limestone, and had been laid very well so there was no requirement to do any tile or grout repairs however to get this floor back to its original condition the surface would need to be reconditioned using the Tile Doctor four stage burnishing system.

Restoring a French Limestone Floor

I started by giving the floor a wash with a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, focusing mainly on the grout lines in order to remove the muck that had built-up there. I used a special stiff grout brush for this activity; it’s quite narrow and ideal for grout scrubbing.

This worked well, but the significant build-up of dirt along some of the grout lines meant more work was required. I tackled this problem with a hand scraper assisted with steam. At the end of this process, the whole floor was then rinsed down with water to remove any soil and the resulting slurry was then extracted using a wet vacuum.

Unmaintained Limestone Kitchen Floor During Grout Steam Cleaning Cardiff

Burnishing French Limestone Tiles

The next step was to start the burnishing process, which basically involves applying four diamond encrusted floor pads in sequence over the floor. Each pad is a different grade, starting with the most abrasive coarse pad and moving through to the finer grades using a little water to lubricate and rinsing away any slurry between each pad.

Unmaintained Limestone Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Cardiff

I eventually finished with the extra fine pad which builds up shine and lustre on the tile; it had taken two days to clean the grout and burnish the Limestone but the floor was much improved and so after a final rinse down I left the floor to dry off overnight with the aid of the underfloor heating.

During this time, I also addressed the stained Limestone in the area of the kitchen where the dustbin was situated. This had been a major upset for the customer and I’m happy to report I managed to deal with it. However, it was quite an involved process, so I’ll write about this in a separate post.

Sealing a Limestone tiled kitchen floor

On the third day I came back to seal the floor, checking first that it had dried sufficiently with a damp meter. Fortunately, the underfloor heating had done a great job of drying the stone and I was able to seal the floor using three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealant. This sealant not only provides a durable seal but also penetrates deep into the pores of the stone protecting it from within and enhancing the natural colours of the Limestone in the process.

After the final layer of sealant, I worked over the floor again with the extra fine burnishing pad both to add shine again following sealing, and to ensure that no smear marks were visible as the lighting conditions were unforgiving and highlighted any imperfections.

The customer was delighted with the results: so much so, in fact, that they booked me in to restore their Victorian hallway floor as well but that’s a story for another time!

Restoring French Limestone Kitchen Floor in South Wales

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Tile Installation Problems Resolved in a Cardiff Bathroom

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

Sometimes my clients ask the question: “Why is the grout coming out of the joints in my bathroom floor, and what can I do about it?” This job at a house in the city of Cardiff had exactly that problem and I had been asked to resolve it, additionally one of the tiles had become cracked and need replacing.

Cracked Bathroom Floor Tile Repair Cardiff

The cause was due to movement in the floor when walked on, causing the grout to dislodge from the tile; this is not uncommon on tiled floors where there is wooden base and there is a lack of flexibility in the adhesive, most likely because it was watered down upon initial installation or a flexible product was not used. In this case the floorboards outside the bathroom door would squeak when stepped on, suggesting that there was some degree of movement under the bathroom floor, making the substrate move very slightly – but enough to cause problems. All I could really do in this situation was to remove the existing grout with a small machine and re-grout the entire area using a highly flexible grout.

These thoughts were confirmed when I came to replace one cracked tile in the centre of the floor. Upon removing the broken tile I saw that the tiles had been laid on 13mm of adhesive which was very brittle and soft, allowing it to be scraped off the tile and the floor easily. Only approximately 50% of the tile was covered in adhesive, suggesting that it had been laid rather carelessly. Tiles must have 100% adhesive coverage, especially in bathrooms with underfloor heating, because the heat and cold can directly impact the stone and cause cracks.

Fortunately the customer had a spare tile and so I carefully chopped out the broken tile and removed the surrounding grout and adhesive causing no disruption to the surrounding area. The replacement tile was secured in place with adhesive and then grouted using a matching grout, this time using flexible products.

The next job was to take a look at the shower cubicle where I was disappointed to see that the contractor who was responsible for the initial installation of the floor had used a very cheap silicone between the base and the shower wall. It was now mouldy and had de-bonded in places that it had to be cut out and replaced by a stronger, high quality silicone. Generally speaking, silicone should last more than 2-3 years (this floor had been installed in 2012).

I cut the old silicone out with a sharp knife, cleaned up the edges and replaced the silicone with a quality product.

The ceramic and mosaic tiles were in good condition so this really was just a case of resolving some installation problems however for general cleaning I would recommend Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a new Biodegradable organic product ideal for cleaning bathroom tiles.

Bathroom Installation Problems Resolved in South Wales

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Victorian Chequer Tiled Hallway Floor Deep Cleaned in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

Sometimes you survey a job and you know that if you get the chance to restore it the results will be totally fantastic! This was the case with this Victorian black & white chequer tiled floor in the hallway of a large terraced Victorian house in Cardiff which dated back to around 1900 and was now looking well past its best, I know this because my family used to live in the house opposite. It was a well laid floor with no readings of dampness; I believe it’s imperative you check a floor for dampness before starting so you know what the baseline damp level is and which sealers will work with the floor.

Black and white chequer Victorian Tiles Cardiff Before

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Floor

My first action was to hoover the floor and then scrape as much debris off the surface as possible, and then as always I mixed 50/50 Tile Doctor HBU (Heavy Build-Up) remover with Pro-Clean and on this occasion because I wanted the white tiles to become really white I added the same amount of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. This special recipe created a very formidable and strong cleaning solution which is what the job called for. I swept it over the whole floor letting it soak in for about ten minutes and then worked it into the floor using a scrubbing machine fitted with a coarse black pad adding more of the solution to the floor where it was drying out as I went.

Black and white chequer Victorian Tiles Cardiff During Cleaning

The next step was to rinse the floor twice with water and extract the now filthy cleaning solution using a wet vacuum. At this point I inspected the tiles and I could see there were still a few stubborn areas with spots of paint and glue which I addressed with a decorators steam plate together with a scraper and hand held scrubbing pad.

I was now happy that the floor was clean and ready to be sealed, before sealing though it’s important to remove any trace of cleaning solution as it may contaminate the sealer so I gave the floor a thorough rinse and extracted as much of the water as possible to reduce drying times.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

I left the floor to dry for 48hrs before coming back to seal the tiles taking a reader on my damp meter first to establish they had indeed dried out. To seal the floor I used eight coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go which really works well on Victorian tiles and in this case made the whites really stand out.

The customer wanted this floor to look good because they were selling the property and were due to have an open day. The clean tiles really gave the house the wow factor and period features are so desirable these days so I don’t think it will take long to sell.

Victorian Tiled floor restored in South Wales

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1920’s Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restored in Pontcana

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

The new owner of this house in Pontcana, Cardiff recently discovered a 1920’s Victorian tiled floor hidden under carpet in the hallway and was keen to restore it as an original feature. They contacted Tile Doctor to have it repaired and I popped round to do a survey. I could see there was a great deal of movement in the floor by the front door area where the old brittle cement base had buckled causing the tiles to become loose and uneven.

Victorian Tiled Floor Pontcana Before Repairs

Most contractors would consider this beyond repair however I suggested we take up the main area of buckled tiles and keep them for the repair to the centre of the hallway where a copper strip had been laid in the cement. I suggested that in the area which we lifted up the tiles by the front door that we made a mat well which not only looks good but serves a purpose and remedies the main problem of the cement base.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first task was to check moisture readings then to remove the tiles carefully as I could in order to save the pieces for the repair of the other damage in the centre of floor. I then chiselled the raised areas of cement away with a small Kango hammer in preparation for the self-leveller which would be needed to make the base suitable for the new doorway mat.

Victorian Tiled Floor Pontcana Starting Repairs

Victorian Tiled Floor Pontcana Removing Damaged Section

Once this was done I proceeded to repair the other damaged parts of the floor using the original tiles that were now spare. I laid the tiles through the damaged areas and grouted them in.

Victorian Tiled Floor Pontcana During Grouting

Once the grout had gone off I was able to start cleaning the floor starting with an application of Grout Clean-Up to remove the grout smears followed by a solution of Tile Doctor HBU mixed 50/50 with Pro-Clean which was scrubbed into the tile and then rinsed off before steam cleaning the floor to make sure any dirt or trace of chemical was removed before sealing the tiles.

Victorian Tiled Floor Pontcana After Repairs

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

The floor was left to dry out and I returned two days later to seal the floor checking that the moisture readings were acceptable first. To seal the floor I used six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which can even make an old floor look vibrant.

The floor now looks great and I’m confident the restoration of this period feature will add value to the property.

Victorian Tiled floor hidden under carpet fully restored in South Wales

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Polished Limestone Central Cardiff Offices after

Polished Limestone Reception Floor Cleaned in Central Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Julian Iancono

We were engaged by a commercial maintenance contractor to clean the large Limestone reception floor area of a very prestigious office building in the centre of Cardiff. The office’s main tenant is a bank and the owners were keen to restore the floor as they were letting out the remaining office space and keen to show off its potential to other businesses. The Limestone floor had been laid in 2009 and naturally being a reception area had seen a lot of foot traffic and the standard cleaning process was struggling to keep pace with the ingrained dirt and would now need to be burnished with diamond encrusted pads to remove the ingrained dirt and bring back the polish.

Restoring Polished Limestone

First went over the area with a very course black burnishing pad fitted to a rotary cleaning machine and a little water to remove the worst dirt and cleaned the grout lines with Tile Doctor Pro Clean in the process with a stiff grout brush. For stubborn areas I mixed in a little Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU which deals with the heavy build-up of dirt, rinsing and extracting the soil with a wet vacuum as I worked.

Once the main ingrained dirt was lifted I moved onto the a medium burnishing pad which is the first step in restoring the surface back to its normal appearance; this was followed with the next pad in the sequence all the time lubricating with water as you go. The floor was then given a thorough rinse to remove any soil created by the processes and left to dry overnight.

The next day the floor was given a final polish with the last burnishing pad which is super fine and then it was sealed including the grout lines with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which impregnates the stone to prevent contaminates becoming ingrained into the tile, it also enhances the natural colours in the stone. Last step was a final run over with a buffing pad to ensure any blemishes were removed.

Polished Limestone office floor restored in South Wales

Polished Limestone Reception Floor Cleaned in Central Cardiff Read More »

Sandstone Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

This Sandstone tiled floor with Limestone coloured grout in Cardiff was laid in 2006 and had now discoloured with wear and tear and had almost turned black in places which I suspect was due to no sealer being applied after installation.

I carried out a cleaning sample using Tile Doctor HBU Remover, which is a strong cleaning solution, applied it to one tile in the utility room and the dirt lifted off with remarkable results; I then dried the tile with a heat gun to show the customer the results which she was happy with.

Cleaning a Sandstone Tiled Floor

For the rest of the floor I started by wetting the surface and carried on treating it with more HBU remover diluted 50% with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which made it thinner and more effective for deep cleaning. Using a stiff sweeping brush with bristles about half inch long (well broken in for this type of job) I then scrubbed away at the tiles and then the grout joints using a small hand held scrubbing brush which I always find is more effective than a machine which can make a lot of mess and can be overly aggressive. I cleaned the tiles in 5m2 sections rinsing each section four times to ensure there were no trace of cleaning solutions left behind. When finished the floor was left to dry for two to four hours and I tested for moisture knowing it would be ok but always worth checking.

Sealing a Sandstone Floor Sealing

I sealed the Sandstone with four coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating and colour enhancing product which will protect the floor for many years to come.

I tested the floor with a water test to ensure it was fully sealed, this is a simple test whereby you check to see if drops of water applied to the surface form beads on the tile. The end result was incredible as you can see the tiles looked as good if not better than the day they were cut from the quarry, and the Colour Grow certainly enhanced the true colours in the stone.

Sandstone Tiled floor cleaned and Sealed in South Wales

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Full Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

Never give up is how I would describe this job!!! I initially surveyed the floor in this Cardiff kitchen in November 2014 and finally completed it and the end of February 2015 working on it off and on as I searched for right tiles to match the existing.

On my survey the Victorian tiled floor which the customer was hoping to restore was covered over by ceramic tiles which the customer agreed to remove before my next visit so I could carry out a cleaning sample. Additionally there was an area of flooring which needed to blend in with kitchen as the pantry wall that previously separated it had been knocked down.

The ceramic tiles were removed and I came round to carry out a cleaning sample in what I thought was one of the more heavily soiled areas; I used Tile Doctor Remove & Go combined with another Tile Doctor product called NanoTech HBU which stands for Heavy Build-up Remover. The results were successful and it was decided to go ahead with the restoration.

Full Victorian Floor Restoration Cardiff Exposing the tiles

During my visit I tested for moisture and in general the readings were good with the highest reading of 12 in different parts of the floor.

Fully Restoring a Victorian Tiled Floor

To restore the tiles I set about cleaning adhesive and grime off using a combination of Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU and Pro Clean which was left to dwell and soak in for two hours before scrubbing with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. I tried this for a while and found it was not removing the dirt as expected and on inspection I discovered that the inner body of the ceramic tile was still stuck to the floor. It seems the when the customer removed the ceramic tiles they had only managed to remove the top layer of the tile and had left the lower part stuck to the floor. This Job was now becoming a nightmare as the solution would be to chip and scrape away tiny pieces of the remaining tile away so I could reach and clean the original Victorian floor.

Full Victorian Floor Restoration Cardiff Scraping Off Adhesive

I had suggested to the customer that it might be cheaper to replace the whole floor but he was adamant that we should continue with our original plan and try to do the best job possible so never giving up I was happy to oblige.

In between cleaning the floor I prepared the base adjacent to the original floor with levelling compound. Also with the cleaning in progress I was getting a better look at the Victorian tiles which were now starting to appear and I could see how badly damaged which would have to be replaced.

Full Victorian Floor Restoration Cardiff Levelling Compound

Full Victorian Floor Restoration Cardiff laying replacement tiles

The hallway floor had to be cut at the kitchen doorway as it protruded into the kitchen which when the door was closed looked odd so the customer was happy with my suggestion. I made different suggestions for the new floor layout, and colours which we felt complimented each floor pattern , the new tiles were purchased from original style and the local reclamation yard but I did have to cut the back off a few because of different thickness.

Full Victorian Floor Restoration Cardiff Trimming reclaimed tiles

Full Victorian Floor Restoration Cardiff Laying new tiles

I finished fixing the replacement tiles and laying the new tiles in a pattern that we had agreed and in a style that best matched the original floor.

Full Victorian Floor Restoration Ready for sealing

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

After all the work undertaken including the tilling of the area attached to the original I gave the whole floor a final and thorough steam clean which I did on a the Friday leaving it to thoroughly dry out over the weekend so I could move onto sealing early the following week.

Unfortunately when I arrived on Monday I discovered patches of efflorescence had appeared on certain tiles and I was still unable to finish the job. To resolve this the tiles needed to be given an wash down with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up diluted 50/50 with water; this did the trick so I gave the floor another rinse with water and left to dry overnight.

When I returned the next day I checked for moisture which was a borderline reading of 15-16 so using a heat gun applied some warmth to the whole floor making sure to let it cool down before sealing with a coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that occupies the pores in the tile to prevent dirt from becoming ingrained there. Next I applied three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which added a nice sheen to the floor and really brought out the vibrant reds in the tile. The following day I returned to do some tiling on wall above the cooker so applied a further three coats of Seal and Go to the floor to ensure it was fully sealed.

If you have read this story through to the end you will appreciate that this was a mammoth job however it was satisfying to do and the final result looks fantastic, needless to say both myself and the customer were very happy with the end result.

Victorian Tiled floor hidden under ceramic tiles fully restored in South Wales

Full Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Cardiff Read More »

Victorian Tiled Floor Discovered in Splot After

Old Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restored in Splott near Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

After removing the hallway carpet the new householders had discovered a Victorian tiled floor and being keen to restore it as an original feature made contact with Tile Doctor. Restoring original features can add a lot a value to a house so it’s well worth pursuing.

Victorian Tiled Floor Hidden Under Carpet in Splot

Restoring a Victorian Tiled Floor

The floor actually caught me out because on initial visit I’d made my judgement on a small area by the doorway which had been uncovered. After removing the rest of the floor covering however I could see the floor was in an extremely poor condition especially around the perimeter which had ingrained dirt and cement, old paint and was generally well worn. I would estimate the floor was original from at least 120 years ago

Before starting any cleaning I put the damp meter reader on several tiles to check the damp levels which read border line .15 -.17 in places which I was not very happy with especially as the weather we’ve had recently had been hot and dry in Cardiff for some time. Undeterred I scrapped the whole floor and then chiselled the edges with Hammer and bolster; next I mixed a 50:50 batch of Tile Doctor Remove and Go with NanoTech Ultra-Clean cleaner and applied this to the whole area, agitated it with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine and left it to dwell on the tile for half an hour so it could work on any old sealers that may have been present on the tile.

I then rinsed the floor twice and although the floor was looking better I could really see how bad the condition was so next I applied undiluted Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to the whole floor which is a strong alkaline cleaner. It was left to dwell on the floor for half an hour scrubbing in between, rinsing with clean water as I carried on.

Although improved again I was still not happy with the results especially the borders as there appeared to be dark cement stains deeply ingrained into the tiles which no doubt had been there for eighty years. So next step was to apply Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is designed to remove mineral deposits and cement, it’s very effective solution for this type of work and it removed most of the stains but not all.

The floor still needed more work so in my frustration I rinsed the floor and mixed a concoction of Remove and Go, Pro-Clean and Grout Clean-up together with a squirt of the NanoTech Ultra-Clean cleaner and spread it over the whole area leaving it to dwell for around 10 minutes before scrubbing it again. The floor was then rinsed and then for the final clean I steam cleaned the area twice rinsing in-between.

Victorian Tiled Floor Discovered in Splot Before

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

The cleaning was done on a Friday and then left to dry out over the weekend. I returned on Monday and tested for moisture which was slightly high in places so being ever over precautions dried the whole floor with a heat gun until it gave me an absolute dry meter reading.

I left the floor to cool down to ambient temperature and then sealed it with three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. The customer was over the moon and I think you will agree that the tiles have been renovated to a high standard.

Victorian Tiled floor Restored in Splott, South Wales

Old Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restored in Splott near Cardiff Read More »

Versatile Tile Cleaning Penarth After Cleaning

Cleaning Red and Black Versatile Ceramic tiles in Penarth

2 Comments / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Penarth Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

This Ceramic Tiled Floor was in Penarth near Cardiff, the tile were 150 mm x 150 mm red dust pressed composition, known as versatile as it can be laid on both sides sometimes found around swimming pool areas due to their non-slip raised definition. The floor was looking a bit tired, so the customer asked if they could be revived. I did an inspection of the floor and noticed the grout was lose at the lounge doorway and this had to be re-grouted after my wet vacuum sucked it out part way through the cleaning process.

Versatile Tile Cleaning Penarth Before Cleaning

Cleaning Ceramic Tiles

First of all I tested for moisture which read very low, which was good news as it meant I was not going to have any issues with moisture in the tiles. I then applied masking tape to the skirting and carpet riser at the bottom of the staircase; I always protect these areas as once I removed a little paint on another customers skirting with Tile Doctor Remove and Go and so I deducted £50 .00 off the bill by way of compensation.

I then covered the floor with Tile Doctor Remove and Go let it soak in for half an hour, the floor was then rinsed twice and then to clean the grout I applied with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was then scrubbed into the grout joints; it was at this point some lose grout came away. The floor was rinsed twice again and I re-grouted the areas which needed it. The floor was dried with a wet vacuum and then it was left to dry for two days.

Versatile Tile Cleaning Penarth Grouting

Versatile Tile Cleaning Penarth During Cleaning

Sealing Ceramic Versatile Tiled Floor

On my return I checked the damp levels again before starting to seal the floor with three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which also adds a nice shine to the tile. Caution should be applied to this type of tile as streak marks can be prominent when applying the sealer, in my experience I find as soon as the sealer is applied to the tile with a paint pad a cloth or any other method it marks the tile. It’s possible I’m just a being a perfectionist as the customer was thrilled with the finish.

Ceramic Tiled Versatile floor cleaned in South Wales

Cleaning Red and Black Versatile Ceramic tiles in Penarth Read More »

White Victorian Floor Tiles Penarth After

Starburst Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Cleaned in Penarth

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Penarth Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

This Black and White Victorian Tiled hallway floor laid in a “Starburst” pattern at a house in Penarth which had been previous restored in 2011 by another Tile Doctor however the house had recently been subject to some renovations and unfortunately the builders did not cover the hallway floor (typical) so the floor was looking rather tired when I came round to take a look. Whilst I was there I took a damp meter reading which showed the floor to be bone dry which given the hot weather was to be expected; a dry floor and hot weather works in our favour as restoring a tiled or stone floor in hot weather is much more efficient as everything dry’s so quickly.

White Victorian Floor Tiles Penarth Before

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Floor

My first job was to apply masking tape to the Slate step at the front doorway as the customer was very proud of it and I certainly didn’t want to get any Tile Doctor Remove and Go on it which would of stripped of the sealer. I then cut out a few tiles which were to be replaced before cleaning the whole floor with a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go mixed 50/50 with NanoTech UltraClean to make it more effective. The solution was left to dwell for around ten minutes before being scrubbed into the tiles using a rotary machine fitted with a black coarse pad.

This process not only removed any previous sealer but really thoroughly cleaned the tiles as the small abrasive particles in the NanoTech UltraClean gave the floor a light abrasive deep clean. I should mention that during the cleaning stages I rinse the floor at least four times with clean water and then steam clean the whole floor to open up the pores to ensure that there is no cleaning agents present. I then give the floor a final rinse using a wet vacuuming to remove the water and make the floor as dry as possible prior to sealing. Before leaving for the day I carefully fitted the replacement tiles.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

I cleaned the floor on Friday so it was left to dry out over the weekend coming back on Monday to ensure it was dry and then sealing it with multiple coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which works very well on Victorian floor tiles as it gives a nice satin sheen as well as providing stain protection.

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Victorian Floor After Cleaning in Cardiff

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Cleaned in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

This owner of this house built around 1900 in Cardiff had asked me if I could make their look any better following their attempt at renovating their original Victorian Tiled floor. I examined the floor and established that they had sealed the floor without testing for moisture also it seemed it had been sealed but not correctly cleaned and more importantly not rinsed thoroughly to eradicate any cleaning solutions first; the results as you can see has caused a terrible patchy mess .

Victorian Floor Before Cleaning in Cardiff

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Floor

The floor was tested for moisture first which established it was dry and also established a baseline as to what to look for later. The next step was to remove any sealers present which proved very difficult because the sealer had only been applied 6 months earlier and applied thickly with a roller. I used three litres of Tile Doctor Remove and Go in total to strip 6 m2 applying it, letting it soak in and then scrubbing it in to get the sealer off. It took multiple rounds of scrubbing but once the sealer was removed I then went over the floor with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to remove any grout smears and mineral deposits and then gave the floor a thorough rinse with plenty of clean water. To make sure I had given the floor a thorough clean the floor was then finished off more Remove and Go mixed with Tile Doctor NanoTech Ultra-Clean to make it more effective and then steam cleaned. The floor was then rinsed again with another two rinses with fresh cold clean water which was then removed with a wet vacuum I worked.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

The floor was left to dry out and I came back on two occasions to check if it was dry enough to seal. The first time I visited was three days later and the floor had a high moisture level, I tested again after five days and the readings were ok to carry on with the sealing stage. The customer wanted a satin finish so I went ahead and sealed the floor with several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go with great results as you can see.

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Grubby Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Cardiff After Cleaning and Sealing

Kitchen Quarry Tiles Cleaned and Sealed in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

This Quarry Tiled Kitchen floor had been laid in 2000 which is relatively recent compared to some of the floors I’m asked to deal with, the tiles are 150 x 150 mm Quarry tiles with a mixture of colours. A customer in Cardiff said that the Quarry tiles has been sealed by the tiler however it wasn’t long after it was completed that the before became very grubby looking. You can see this for yourself in the photograph below where you should be able to make out the ingrained dirt and discoloured tile grout.

Grubby Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Cardiff Before Cleaning

Cleaning Quarry Tiles

I set about cleaning the floor with undiluted Tile Doctor Remove and Go mixed 3 to 1 with NanoTech UltraClean which adds tiny abrasive particles to a strong coatings remove; this mixture not only removes any previous sealers but also deep cleans the tiles and brings the grout back to its original colour. I used a rotary machine with a disc shaped scrubbing brush attachment disc which really gets into the dirt. The soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum, stubborn areas retreated and then the floor was rinsed until all the cleaning solution had been removed.

Grubby Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Cardiff During Cleaning

Sealing a Quarry Floor Sealing

The floor was left to dry for 24 hours and I came back later to seal it. Before sealing I used a hand held damp meter to verify the floor had dried. I had previously discussed the choice of sealer with the customer to establish how they wanted the floor to look and selected Tile Doctor Seal and Go for its satin shine.

Grubby Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Cardiff During Sealing

I went on to seal the tiles with two coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go using a water test to verify I had applied the right amount of sealer and that liquids were being repelled from the surface of the tile as opposed being absorbed.

The floor cleaned up really well especially after sealing which brought the colours in the tile back to life; the customers were delighted with the results.

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Quarry Tiles After Restoration in Cardiff

Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Restored in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

This Red and Black Quarry tiled floor was discovered underneath a laminate floor in the hallway of a house built in Cardiff around 1910. The customer was keen to restore it as an original feature and I was confident that despite the damaged tiles, cement and paint we would be able to do so.

Quarry Tiles Before Restoration in Cardiff

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Floor

The area around the doorway was in the worst condition and unfortunately those tiles were beyond rescue and needed to be replaced which wasn’t a problem as with a bit of research you can usually find what you need.

The next step was to carefully scrape as much cement and old paint off the tile surface as possible by hand and remove the waste; I also tested the floor at this point for dampness at the doorways as its good to know if there are any damp problems that may require additional attention. I then applied undiluted Tile Doctor Remove and Go to the whole floor with a brush agitating as I went, it was left it on for about an hour to break down any old sealers and coatings before being rinsed off with clean water twice which was then hovered up with a wet vacuum.

The next stage was to remove the cement using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which being an acid based products starts to work as soon as it’s applied to the tile, this was worked in using a small hand held scrubbing brush before being given a good rinse down with clean water.

The last step of the cleaning process was to steam clean the tiles to open up the pores and ensure that no trace of cleaning agents was left behind that could upset the sealer.

Sealing a Quarry Floor Sealing

The floor was left to dry for two days before and I came back the next day to seal it. Before sealing however I wanted to be use it had dried out sufficiently so I tested it again use a Stanley hand held meter, the previous reading I took proved to be a useful benchmark. Sealing was done using two coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which really brought the floor back to life and lifted the lovely colours in the tile. Needless to say the customer was delighted with the restoration of the floor.

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Abused Victorian Floor Cardiff Completed

Abused Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Refurbished in Cardiff

1 Comment / Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Julian Iancono

This is an original Victorian tiled hallway floor in Cardiff that dated back to when the house was built in the year of 1890. The previous householders of which had a radiator installed serviced by laying pipes right through the middle of the floor destroying the tiles as they went, they then back filled the channel with cement. On top of that many of the other tiles had been splashed with cement and paint.

Repairing Victorian Floor Tiles

My first job was to carefully remove the cement from the channel and to precisely cut back any old cement bedding and old cement grout away from any tile edges in preparation for the replacement tiles which fortunately I was able to get hold of.

After all the previous preparation I started carefully scraping off cement from all around the edges of the remaining tiles as well as gloss and emulsion splashes from the surface essentially giving the whole floor a thorough scrape with a hand held scraper vacuuming up the mess as I worked. Interestingly for a floor of its age I tested the floor in various places for moisture and found it to be perfectly dry.

Cleaning a Victorian Floor

To clean the floor I mixed three parts Tile Doctor Remove and Go with NanoTech UltraClean which basically adds small abrasive particles to a powerful sealer and coatings remover making it even more effective. This was applied to the whole floor and left to soak in for an hour making sure not to let it dry out by applying further amounts; leaving it to dwell for an hour gives it time to eat away at any dirt and coatings on the tile making the scrubbing processes easier.

To scrub the tiles I used a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad rinsing and extracting the soiled solution along the way. This cleaned up the tiles well however there were still some cement stains so this time Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up was applied to the floor in sections and left to ten minutes to dwell before working it in with another black scrubbing pad and rinsing off. This product is acid based so you can’t leave on the tiles for too long; once I was happy with the final result the whole floor was given a thorough rinse with plenty of clean water using a wet vacuum to extract the waste and dry the floor.

The channel was then filled with cement and once it had set replacement replica Victorian tiles from The Original Tile Company were installed. I then grouted the floor in a medium grey grout let the tiles become solid and the grout go hard before using a steam cleaner to make sure that I have removed all the tile doctor cleaning solutions prior to sealing.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

The customer wanted a semi-gloss finish so once I had tested the floor again to make sure it was dry I sealed the tiles with Tile Doctor Seal and Go which enhanced the colour of the floor tiles and added a nice sheen.

As you can see the new tiles fitted beautifully and the old floor tiles cleaned up so successfully the difference is impossible to spot. It was a lot of painstaking work though taking five days to finish but well worth the result.

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South East Wales Tile Doctor

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