Church Floor Restoration

Quarry Tiled Church Floor Renovation Cowbridge

Damp Quarry Tiled Church Floor Restored in Cowbridge

Tile Doctor was approached by an architect, overseeing restoration work at a church in the rural town of Cowbridge just outside Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan. The project included the restoration of a 25mm thick Quarry tiled floor that was worse for wear. The original church which dated back to the 11th century, and a small extension had been added in the early 19th century.

St Hilary Church Cowbridge

I contacted the architect who was overseeing the work to arrange a date to visit the church and survey the floor. Older floors installed before the invention of the damp proof membranes and can suffer from damp issues and will be problematic due to age and wear of the tiles especially in public areas such as churches. As a result, it’s very difficult to provide a quote over the phone from photographs so I do need to see the floor in person and run a few tests.

The floor had three layers of carpet covering the tiled area and after lifting the carpet at the four corners I could see damp issues seeping through to the surface of the floor which had created hard crystallisation. The coverings were clearly preventing moisture for evaporating at the surface and if left unchecked would cause damage to the tile. Once the floor was fully exposed, I was able to get a good idea of what the level of work would involve.

Quarry Tiled Church Floor Before Cleaning Cowbridge Quarry Tiled Church Floor Before Cleaning Cowbridge

Having worked on similar churches floors in the past in other I was able to speak from experience and explained to the architect what could be achieved due to the state of the floor. This was based on the age of the floor and the extent of the staining and so I set the expectation that the final finish would be good but not perfect. He accepted that it would be unrealistic to expect a perfect result and was happy for me to do my best.

I provided a detailed quote for the restoration of the floor which was accepted and a date set for the work to start.

Restorative Cleaning of a Quarry Tiled Church Floor

The restoration work began by carefully scraping off as much of the crystallisation as possible with a sharp bladed hand tool. Then neat Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the tiles working in one square meter sections at a time scrubbing it in with a coarse handheld brush. The section was then rinsed with water and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum as the work progressed. In total two litres of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean were used in the cleaning.

Quarry Tiled Church Floor During Cleaning Cowbridge

Once the whole floor had been scrubbed and rinsed it was treated to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. This process will help to dissolve the crystallisation and latent salts in the tile to stop the appearance of efflorescence as the floor dries. This process was applied at least three times as the crystallisation was difficult to remove, in total three litres of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up was used to do this.

The floor was finally rinsed with Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to remove any cleaning products and then given a vacuum to remove as much moisture as possible.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Church Floor

I returned three days later to check for moisture in the floor using a damp meter which proved to be border line. I decided to go ahead and seal the floor after drying the tiles further with a heat gun.

The chosen sealer was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a durable breathable colour enhancing impregnator which will cope well with future damp issues once cured. Two coats were applied and a one litre tin proved to be sufficient. Colour Grow is a hard-wearing impregnator that soaks into the pores of the Quarry tiles preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there and ensuring it remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away.

Quarry Tiled Church Floor After Cleaning Cowbridge

Once complete the floor was looking in a much better condition after all the hard work involved and the congregation were delighted with the results.

For the aftercare of sealed tiles floors I recommend they use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a gentle but effective tile cleaner that won’t impact the sealer which can be the problem with the stronger products.

 

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Marble Tiled Church Floor Before After Renovation Cardiff

Black and White Marble Church Floor Tiles Renovated in Ely Cardiff

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.

Marble Church Floor Before Renovation Ely

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.

Marble Church Floor During Renovation Ely

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.

Marble Church Floor During Renovation Ely

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.

Marble Church Floor During Renovation Ely

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.

Marble Church Floor After Renovation Ely Marble Church Floor After Renovation Ely

 

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

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