Colour Grow Archives - South East Wales Tile Doctor

Terrazzo Hallway Floor Renovation Bishop of Wales Residence Cardiff

Terrazzo Hallway Floor Renovation in Cardiff for the Archbishop of Wales

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

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Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restoration Penarth

Restoration of a Classic Victorian Tiled Hallway in Penarth

Tile Doctor were approached by a homeowner in Penarth hoping something could be done to improve their beautiful Black and White Victorian tiled hallway floor which had been patched up with concrete during the installation of pipework under the floor.

I paid a visit to the property to survey the tiles, recommend a way forward and provide a quote for the restoration of the floor. It was clear the patched section was backfilled with cement and that would need to be cut away and then re-tiled with replacements. Then to ensure the whole floor looked uniform it would need deep cleaning and sealing.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Before Cleaning in Penarth

Keen for the floor to be restored back to its original appearance I was given the go ahead and so I started the search for replacement tiles that would be a good match to the existing. Fortunately, I was able to source some replica tiles from Tile Doctor who had a selection of similar tiles available from other jobs they have done.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started by removing the old mat and carefully cutting out the concrete backfill that went across the floor. The floor tile replacements were then cut to shape and fixed in place with rapid setting adhesive and grouted in using a grey grout similar to the original colour. They were a good match and blended in well.

Once set, the floor was thoroughly cleaned with a handheld black pad using a mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, Tile Doctor Remove & Go, and Tile Doctor HBU Nanotech Cleaner. These cleaning products all have different qualities and together produce a very effective tile cleaner. Afterwards the floor was rinsed thoroughly with water and the soiling extracted using a wet vacuum cleaner.

Next the floor was treated to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is a mild acid that removes old grout and cement smears bringing up the appearance of the tiles even more. Finally, after another rinse with clean water and the floor was dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum. The floor was then left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Retuning the following morning, the floor looked nice and dry, however, to be sure we tested with the damp proof meter. The readings were good, so we were ready to apply the sealer.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor After Cleaning in Penarth

The sealer chosen for this floor was Tile Doctor Colour Grow, the is an impregnator which soaks into the surface of the tiles and provides a matt look and a very hard-wearing protective seal. The floor looked great, the bold black and white pattern really stood out. Colour Grow is also a breathable sealer which is an important consideration when dealing with old floors that don’t have a damp proof membrane.

The client was very pleased with the work we had completed. We recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner for ongoing maintenance; this is a pH neutral cleaner which is mild enough to be used daily and will ensure that the sealant is kept in place.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Wales

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Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restoration Merthyr Tydfil

Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restored in Merthyr Tydfil

1 Comment / Merthyr Tydfil Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Julian Iancono

Tile Doctor was approached by a client in Merthyr Tydfil who was hoping something could be done to improve their beautiful Victorian tiled hallway floor which had been patched up with concrete during the installation of pipework under the floor.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Before Restoration Merthyr Tydfil

I paid a visit to the property to run some tests, recommend a way forward and provide a quote for restoring the floor. The restoration would need to start with the patched section by removing the cement backfill and then re-tiling with matching replacements. Then to ensure the whole floor looked uniform it would need deep cleaning and sealing.

Keen for the floor to be repaired I was given the go ahead and so I started a search for replacement tiles that would be a good match for the floor. Fortunately, I was able to source some replica tiles from Tile Doctor who have had a selection of similar tiles available from other jobs they had done.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started by removing the old doormat and carefully cutting out the concrete backfill that went across the floor.

The rubble was carefully removed and the newly exposed cleaned up so it could be levelled with self-levelling compound which would provide a new base onto which the replacement tiles could be laid.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor During Restoration Merthyr Tydfil

Floor tile replacements were then cut to shape and fixed in place with a rapid setting adhesive and grouted in using a grey grout similar to the original colour.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor was left to set overnight and I came back then next day to begin the cleaning process. For this I created a cocktail of three Tile Doctor cleaning products, namely Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, Remove & Go and Tile Doctor HBU Nanotech Cleaner. The products were mixed, diluted with water, and then sprayed onto the tiles. The floor was left for ten minutes to allow the products to soak into the pores of the tile and digest the dirt and coatings such as old sealers.
The floor was then scrubbed with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine to release the dirt etc from the tiles. Afterwards, the floor was rinsed thoroughly with water and the soiling extracted using a wet vacuum.

Next the floor was treated to an Acid Wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is a mild acid that removes grout haze, cement smears and counters any alkaline salts which may have built-up in the tile and could result in efflorescence later.

Finally, another rinse with clean water and the floor was then dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum. The floor was left to dry 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 reading I chose to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow to seal the floor. This is an impregnator which soaks into the surface of the tiles and provides a matt look with a very hard-wearing protective seal, perfect for a high traffic area. It allows for the lovely colours of the tiles to shine through.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor After Restoration Merthyr Tydfil

The floor responded very well to the treatment and it was impossible to tell where the repair work had taken place. For aftercare cleaning 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.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Wales

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Terrazzo Hallway Floor Renovation Barry South Wales

Grubby Terrazzo Hallway Floor Renovated in Barry South Wales

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

The customer from Barry in South Wales contacted Tiled Doctor to see if anything could be done to revive their Terrazzo hallway floor which was in need of renovation. I contacted them and arranged a mutual time for me to pop over a survey the floor.

Terrazzo is notoriously vulnerable to movement in the subfloor as it’s made from thousands of pieces of crushed stone including marble and laid as single slab so its not just as simple as replacing a tile should any cracks form. I’m pleased to say there was no evidence of any cracks, just signs of wear and tear due to the age of the floor and general maintenance issues.

Terrazzo Hallway Floor Before Renovation Barry

The customer was about to put their house on the market and the Estate Agent had advised them it would be best if they were to sort the floor out first. Naturally first impression count and the hallway would be the first thing any prospective purchases would see when entering the house. Ideally once deep cleaned and polished the Terrazzo floor would add some wow factor to the property and help turn those prospective purchases into buyers.

Deep Cleaning a Terrazzo Tiled Hallway Floor

To renovate the Terrazzo, no chemical products would be needed for the cleaning, just a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads starting with a coarse 400-grit pad. The pads fit to a rotary floor buffing machine which is weighted to improve contact with the floor. The coarse pad breaks out the deepest stains, removing dirt and old sealers and each pad is passed over each tile four times. Water is used to lubricate the process and it isn’t long before this turns into a dark slurry. After each pad the floor is rinsed with a little more water and the slurry extracted with a wet vacuum.

Terrazzo Hallway Floor During Renovation Barry

This process was repeated with the 800 and 1500-grit pads again rinsing and extracting in-between. After a final rinse the last pad in the sequence which is a 3000-grit pad is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto to the floor. This last pad is a polishing pad that adds a subtle satin shine to the Terrazzo.

Sealing a Terrazzo Tiled Hallway Floor

Due to the fact the cleaning process involved minimal amounts of water and the last pad is applied dry the Terrazzo was dry in no time and therefore ready for sealing. For sealing I had selected Tile Doctor Colour Grow which not only seals the floor but enhances the colours of the stone segments to achieve a beautiful result.

Terrazzo Hallway Floor After Renovation Barry

Once done the floor looked cleaner, lighter and all the little characterful motifs really stood out. The customer contacted me a week later to say that the estate agent was delighted with the decision to go ahead with the floor restoration as it had certainly transformed the floor.

Professional Restoration of a Terrazzo Tiled Hallway in South Wales

Grubby Terrazzo Hallway Floor Renovated in Barry South Wales Read More »

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

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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

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