Cowbridge Archives - South East Wales Tile Doctor

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

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.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Church Floor in Southeast Wales

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Stone Bathroom Tiling Renovation Cowbridge

Restoring the Appearance of Bleach Damaged Stone Tiling in Cowbridge

Last year we were approached by a customer in the market town of Cowbridge looking for a professional bathroom restorer to renovate their stone tiled bathroom. Apparently, their cleaner had etched the tiles using neat bleach unaware of the damage a strong product like that could have on natural stone.

Stone Bathroom Tiling Before Cleaning Cowbridge

I arranged to call in on the customer the next time I was in the area to discuss the work and take a close look at the tiling. Three different types of stone had been used in the bathroom with Limestone wall tiles in the shower, Black Marble mosaics formed the shower tray and bath panelling, and the floor had been laid with Black Slate.

Having discussed the bathroom at length with the customer it was clear that their main concerns were that the stone had lost its shine, the grout had discoloured, and a lot of the silicone was stained and needed replacing. I worked out a comprehensive plan to revive the bathroom and created a detailed quotation to do the work that listed all the necessary work. My customer was happy with the quote, and I got the go ahead to book the work in.

Black Marble Mosaic and Limestone Shower Tiling Before Cleaning Cowbridge

Black Slate Bathroom Floor Tiling Before Cleaning Cowbridge

Renovating a Stone Bathroom Tiles

Before starting the cleaning, I spent some time protecting the fragile surfaces that didn’t need attention with protective sheeting.

Stone Bathroom Tiling Before Cleaning Cowbridge

Next the shower Tile and grout was scrubbed with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and a Black pad that I had cut down so it could be used by hand. The shower walls were then rinsed with water using the shower head which is one of the convenient advantages of working in a shower.

Focus then shifted to the Black Mosaic tiles on the floor of the shower using more Pro-Clean this time mixed with Nanotech HBU for extra cleaning power. This was scrubbed into the grout joints with a brush and a Black pad for the tile surface. I used the same process on the Marble mosaic bath panel. Once done the tiles were rinsed with water.

The next step was to cut out the silicone sealant around the permitter of the shower tiling and spray the area with Tile Doctor Duo Clean which kills mould. Once dry the silicone was replaced with a new anti-mould silicone.

Black Marble Mosaic and Limestone Shower Tiling After Renovation Cowbridge

The shower enclosure tiles were then sealed with Tile Doctor Pro-Seal a durable sealer that doesn’t alter the appearance of the stone. The customer liked the light appearance of the Limestone and wanted to keep it that way.

Limestone Shower Wall Tiling After Renovation Cowbridge

Refreshing Black Slate Bathroom Flooring

The last area to focus on were the Black Slate tiles on the bathroom floor which were also in a similar worn condition. The old sealer had clearly broken down on these and was now letting dirt become ingrained in the stone reducing the vibrant appearance of the Black Slate. I tread this by removing what was left of the original sealer with an application of Remove and Go mixed with Nanotech HBU and Pro-Clean. I left this cleaning cocktail to dwell for about half an hour before scrubbing with a coarse black pad and scrubbing brush.

The floor was then rinsed with water to remove the soiling and now looked much improved. Once dry it was sealed with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that contains a colour enhancer and provides a durable finish especially in bathrooms. This worked out very well on the Slate helped to add depth to the stone as well as bringing out more of the features in the stone.

Black Slate Bathroom Floor Tiling After Renovation Cowbridge

The customers were delighted with the result and I’m please to say the service, in fact they have since recommended Tile Doctor to their friends, colleagues and family.

Marble Tiled Shower Cubicle Professionally Refinished in South Wales

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Heavily Worn Polished Limestone Floor Restored in Cowbridge

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

When given the right care, a polished Limestone floor can be an amazing asset to any house. If neglected, however, the tiles can quickly discolour from wear, especially in areas of high traffic, such as the kitchen.

Such was the case at this house in the small, picturesque town of Cowbridge, in South East Wales. My client had contacted Tile Doctor to see what could be done to improve the condition of the tile and grout which, as you can see from the photographs had not been properly maintained.

To get the floor back to its best it would need to be burnished which is a process that rejuvenating the appearance of polished stone through the application of different grades of diamond encrusted floor pads from coarse to very fine.

Re-Polishing Limestone Floor Tiles

Before beginning the burnishing process, I made sure to check that there were no inherent moisture issues using a damp meter, the home owner had informed me beforehand that the floor did have a damp proof membrane installed however it is always a good precaution to check and additionally it provides a good baseline for later when checking the floor has dried after cleaning.

Polished Limestone Before Burnishing Cowbridge

Burnishing and Sealing a Limestone Tiled Floor

The Tile Doctor burnishing system consists of four main burnishing pads. I began by applying the coarse pad to the tiles lubricated with a little water, before rinsing the floor and moving on to medium and fine grit pads again lubricating with water and rinsing after each pad. After finishing with the third pad, I paused to rinse the entire area a thorough rinse extracting the resulting waste with a wet-vac machine.

Polished Limestone During Burnishing Cowbridge

I then paid special attention to cleaning the grout lines, which had turned black in places. I applied undiluted Tile Doctor Pro Clean and agitated the grout lines with a stiff scrubbing brush to restore the original colour. This was followed by another thorough rinse.

Polished Limestone Cleaned Grout Cowbridge

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

I left the floor to dry overnight, before completing the burnishing process by applying the final very fine grit pad which adds that aesthetically pleasing shine. I used the damp meter to check the floor had dried and once I was happy I began the sealing process with the application of three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. Colour Grow is a great choice for Limestone as it penetrates into the pores of the stone protecting it from within whilst enhancing the natural colours in the Limestone. As a final step and to ensure there were no unappealing marks left on the floor, I went back over the floor once more with the fine grit burnishing pad.

Polished Limestone After Burnishing Cowbridge

What was once a dull stone floor with dirty grout lines has now been restored back to its original condition and with the correct maintenance going forward should stay that way for some time.

Cleaning, Burnishing and Sealing a Polished Limestone Floor in South Wales

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