quarry tile cleaning Archives - South East Wales Tile Doctor

Red Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration in Penarth

This client from Penarth contacted Tile Doctor to see if their 100-year-old Quarry tiled floor which had broken and missing tiles could be salvaged. The property dated back to 1890 and had experienced many years of wear and tear and it certainly showed. One of the biggest problems however would be to renovate the area in front of the old fireplace where a hearth was once situated.

Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Penarth

It was clear the area in front of the fireplace would need to be rebuilt using matching replacement quarry tiles more of which would be needed for the other repairs that needed doing. Once that was done the floor would then need a deep clean and a fresh sealer applied to give the whole floor a consistent appearance.

I worked out a comprehensive quote which included the repairs and renovation work. This was accepted by the client and a date set for the work to start.

Cleaning and Repairing a Quarry Tiled Room

Work started with the tile repairs which involved breaking out the damaged tiles and those in front of the old fireplace and then cleaning up the floor ready for the replacement tiles to be installed.

Quarry Tiled Floor During Restoration Penarth

Quarry tiles are still very popular, so it wasn’t a problem finding matching replacements which I had manage to source before work commenced. The replacements were then laid in-line with the existing tiles using rapid set adhesive and grouted in.

Once the tiles had set, I was able to start the cleaning process which started with scraping off as much cement, paint, and plaster residue off the floor as possible. This was then followed up with a deep clean of the tile and grout using a mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean combined 50:50 with with Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU Cleaner.

After leaving these products to soak in for ten minutes I worked by hand scrubbing in 1m2 sections at a time, cleaning and rinsing with water and vacuuming up the waste with a wet vacuum as I progressed. Doing it this way ensures maximum attention to detail and ensures the floor is as clean as possible.

Once done, the floor was given an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which was brushed onto the floor and extracted with the wet vacuum as before. Old floors like this don’t have a damp proof membrane and are susceptible to efflorescence, giving the floor an acid rinse like this counters salts and helps further clean the tiles.

After another rinse and extraction with the wet vacuum the floor was left overnight to dry.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Floor in Penarth

The next morning the floor was tested for moisture with a damp meter and the readings confirmed it had dried sufficiently to accept a sealer. I don’t recommend sealing a damp floor as it impacts the sealers’ ability to cure and leads to a patchy finish.

Sealing started with the application of a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a very durable and breathable sealer which being an impregnator provides an excellent base. The customer wanted a shiny finish so this was followed up with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. This product further protects the floor and adds a subtle shine which together with the Colour Grow really brought out the colours in the Quarry tiles. As you can see the red colour of the floor looks vibrant and stunning after the two different sealers were applied.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration Penarth

My client was delighted with the result and offered to recommended Tile Doctor to their family and friends which was nice. For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a gentle but effective tile cleaner that’s ideal for cleaning sealed floors.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration Penarth

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Floor in South Wales

Red Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration in Penarth Read More »

Cleaning Old Red Quarry Tiles in Treharris

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

This Red Quarry Tiled floor had been laid when the house was built back in 1910 so it was over 100 years old and had years of wear and tear to show for it including old cement and paint from some decorating work that had been done some years prior. The house was located in the town of Treharris just outside of Cardiff and being an original feature of the house the owner wanted it looking as good as it could be.

Red Quarry Tiles Floor in Treharris Before Cleaning

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Floor

I first checked for any moisture as these old floors were often laid without damp proofing and a damp floor can impact sealing later. Fortunately the reading was nice and dry, I then set about carefully scrapping off as much old paint and cement as possible. I then swept up as much of the dust as I could and caught the rest with a hoover.

The next step was to cover the whole floor in Tile Doctor Remove and Go mixed with a little NanoTech Ultra Clean which basically adds tiny abrasive particles to a powerful coatings remover. I left this on to soak into the tile for about an hour knowing that using this combination would not only remove any old surface coatings such as sealers it would also clean the floor as well. The solution was then worked into the floor using a rotating scrubbing brush attachment on a floor machine effectively letting the machinery do all the hard work. The floor was then rinsed twice with clean water which was then removed using a wet vacuum.

Red Quarry Tiles Floor in Treharris Scrubbed

It was clear at this point that the cement I could see on the surface of the tile was basically grout from an appalling tiling job when the floor was laid 100 years earlier. Fortunately Tile Doctor has a solution for that problem called Grout Remove and Go which is an acid based product that will remove grout and mineral deposits such as efflorescence. Being an acid I had to be careful so it was applied to the tile working one square metre at a time cleaning and scraping as I went along. After each section the floor was given a good rinsing again using the wet vacuum to remove the liquids from the floor. The last step of the cleaning process which I always do for Quarry and Victorian floor tiles was to finish off the rinsing process with a steam clean which brings out any remaining dirt and brings the tile back to its raw state.

Red Quarry Tiles Floor in Treharris Cleaning

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Floor

I cleaned the floor on the Friday and then left it to try for two days coming back on the Sunday to damp test the floor once again to ensure it was ready for sealing. The moisture reading was fine for sealing and as the customer had asked for a mild shine finish I sealed the floor using Tile Doctor Seal and Go which brought out the black and red colours in the tile back to life.

Red Quarry Tiles Floor in Treharris Sealed

Old Quarry Tiled floor restored in South Wales

Cleaning Old Red Quarry Tiles in Treharris Read More »

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.

Grubby Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Cardiff After Cleaning and Sealing

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.

Quarry Tiled floor restored in South Wales

Kitchen Quarry Tiles Cleaned and Sealed in Cardiff Read More »