Maldon Archives - South Essex Tile Doctor

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovation Woodham Walter

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Deep Cleaned and Satin Sealed in Woodham Walter

The photos are of a large Quarry tiled Kitchen floor at a property in Woodham Walter which is a small village between Danbury and Maldon. The floor had been installed 20 years ago by the current owners and although in reasonable condition they felt it was time to have them renovated as the tiles had lost their sheen and now looked flat and unattractive.

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Woodham Walter Maldon

I went over to survey the floor and quote for deep cleaning and then re-sealing. The photographs don’t really show it, but it was clear to me that the sealer had worn off and it was the sealer that had brought the depth and colour to the quarry tiles.

We discussed the process which would take two days and decided on a sealer that would best match their expectations. They were happy with my quote and the work was booked in.

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

On arrival I set about prepping the floor for cleaning which for this floor primarily meant removing the kick boards from underneath the kitchen units.

Working in sections I set about cleaning the quarry tiles using Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This as the name of the product suggests is a coatings remover that cleans the floor and removes any sealer left on the tiles. Although it had been some time since it was last sealed its important that all the previous sealer is removed before applying a new sealer. This ensures you don’t end up with different levels of sealer and some areas appearing darker than others.

The Remove and Go was left to soak in for ten minutes before being worked in with a rotary buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The grout was also scrubbed into the grout lines by hand using more solution and a stiff brush. This action lifts the dirt out of the floor and turns the cleaning solution and old sealer into a slurry, this is then rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Next, I treated the tiles to an acid rinse using a 1:5 dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. This further cleans the tiles and will neutralise the pH level of the floor following the use of Tile Doctor Remove and Go earlier which is a strong alkaline. The acidic nature of the product microscopically etches the tiles to ensure a stronger bond with the sealer.

The Grout Clean-up was brushed into the floor and then rinsed off with more water before being extracted with the wet vacuum. After another rinse with water the wet vacuum was then utilised to get the floor as dry as possible before leaving it to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen and Dining Room

The next day the moisture level of the Quarry tiles was checked using a damp meter to ensure the floor was dry enough for sealing. This is always worth doing as applying sealer to a damp floor can result in a patch appearance.

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor During Sealing Woodham Walter Maldon

The moisture readings were fine and so work started on sealing the tiles using Tile Doctor Seal & Go which works really well on Quarry tiles and results in a warm satin sheen finish. This product is also water based so you don’t get that solvent smell being given off as it dries.

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Sealing Woodham Walter Maldon

Sealers work by keeping the dirt on the surface of the tile where it can be easily cleaned away and on the subject of aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. It’s important to use a neutral tile cleaner on sealed floors like this as stronger bleach-based products will wear the sealer off prematurely.

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen and Dining Room in Essex

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Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Maldon

Here’s a job I completed not too long ago in the town of Maldon, which sits alongside the Blackwater estuary in South Essex. Although the Flagstone tiled floor in my client’s kitchen was – generally speaking – in good physical condition, the surface seal had worn down over time, leaving the tiles looking dull and lifeless.

Flagstone is quite a hard wearing stone that is commonly used for both internal and external surfaces, whether this is something as simple as a kitchen floor, or something more complex like a public monument. I was commissioned to restore the floor back to looking it best, by way of a thorough clean and a new seal.

Cleaning a Flagstone tiled floor

My go to cleaner for most kinds of natural stone tile is Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, a high alkaline product which contains both cleaning and stripping properties depending on the dilution ratio. In this case I wanted a strong solution so I could strip off any remaining sealer and so it was diluted one part Pro-Clean to three parts clean water. The solution was left to dwell for 10 minutes, allowing it to soak into the stone and get to work breaking down any remaining sealer.

I then attached a black scrubbing pad to my rotary machine, and used this to agitate the solution into the tiles. This helped to lift out any ingrained dirt and remove the stubborn marks blemishing the floor. Once the initial clean had been completed, I turned my attention to the grout between the tiles, using Pro-Clean in combination with a stiff grout brush to clean up the grout as much as possible. I cleaned the floor twice in total before rinsing the entire area with water and leaving the house for a few days, giving the surface time to dry.

Sealing a Flagstone tiled floor

Upon my return to the house, I ran some damp tests to double check that the floor had dried completely. This is important as any residual moisture can potentially damage the performance of the sealer. Once I was satisfied that the tiles were able to take the seal, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealant.

Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer that seeps into the pores of the stone provides durable stain protection from within, along with a nice finish. It’s also specially designed to intensify the natural shades and colours in the stone, turning dull floors into characterful household features. Colour Grow is suitable for use most stone surfaces, including Flagstone, Limestone, Marble, Quarry, Sandstone and Slate.

My customer was very pleased with the result, with marked differences in condition and appearance achieved in the space of a few short days.

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