Remove & Go Archives - South Essex Tile Doctor

Edwardian Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Refurb Leigh-on-Sea

Edwardian Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Refurb in Leigh-on-Sea

We were asked to help this homeowner in Leigh-on-Sea refurbish their original Edwardian Quarry tiled floor following a spot of decorating. The floor had been well maintained, and some parts of the floor were still being protected by an old sealer.

Edwardian Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Before Cleaning Leigh-on-Sea

I visited the property to carry out a survey and confirmed that the sealer however was worn down on the busier areas of the floor. This has resulted in the Quarry tiles becoming ingrained with dirt and that combined with the paint splashes meant it was time for a deep clean and fresh sealer.

I worked out a detailed quote later that day and emailed it over to the owner who replied confirming they would like to go ahead and provided several dates which would work for them.

Cleaning an Edwardian Quarry Tiled Hallway

To deep clean the floor, it would be necessary to remove all the sealer from the tiles, otherwise adding more sealer would result in inconsistent layers of sealer on different parts of the floor and a patchy result. The first step therefore was to strip the tiles of all sealer and dirt using Tile Doctor Remove & Go which is a coatings remover. This was applied to the floor, left to soak in for ten minutes and then scrubbed in using a black buffing pad fitted to a rotary machine running at a slow 150 rpm.

This action removed the old sealer and pulled dirt from the pores of the Quarry tile into the cleaning solution where it darkened the solution. The soiling was then rinsed away with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

When the floor dried it was showing some signs of efflorescence, so it was treated to an acid wash with the application of Tile Doctor Acid Gel. The acidic nature of the gel dissolves efflorescent salts and further cleans the tiles, it also neutralises the pH level of the tiles after the use of Tile Doctor Remove & Go which is a strong alkaline.

The cleaning finished with another rinse and extraction and the wet vacuum used extensively to remove as much moisture from the floor as possible. Once done the tiles were left to dry off fully overnight.

Edwardian Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor During Cleaning Leigh-on-Sea

Sealing an Edwardian Quarry Tiled Hallway

Work continued the following day checking first that the tiles had dried using a damp meter. The results were within tolerance, so a coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer was applied to the tiles and left to dry; this is an impregnating matt sealer that improves colour. When dry this was followed by three coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go which adds a nice satin sheen to the tiles and left a very appealing and attractive finish.

The results speak for themselves, and my client was very happy and left the following five-star feedback:

“Matthew was totally reliable from first contact. The floor cleaning and sealing has surpassed our expectations and looks amazing. He is so professional and a perfectionist. Thank you. By Joanna T, Leigh-on-sea”

Edwardian Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor After Renovation Leigh-on-Sea

For the aftercare cleaning of sealed Quarry tiles, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a ph neutral tile and grout cleaner that won’t affect the sealer.

Edwardian Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor After Renovation Leigh-on-Sea

Professional Renovation of an Edwardian Quarry Tiled Hallway in South Essex

Edwardian Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Refurb in Leigh-on-Sea Read More »

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor Renovation St Peters St Pauls Black Notley

Restorative Cleaning of Victorian Floor Tiles at St Peter and St Pauls Church Black Notley

Recently I was asked to clean a Victorian Quarry tiled floor at St’ Peter and St’ Pauls Church in Black Notley on the outskirts of Braintree. Originally of Norman origins the Nave floor was probably laid in 1879 when the church was renovated by the Victorians. Naturally these floors see a lot of wear from parishioners and the tiles were now dull and in need of a restorative cleaning and sealing.

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor Before Cleaning St Peters St Pauls Black Notley

I paid a visit to the church to discuss its renovation and quoted for cleaning and sealing the aisles in Nave which had seen the most wear. Any remaining sealer on the tiles would need to be stripped off before the floor was cleaned and then re-sealed so I quoted for deep cleaning and then re-sealing. The quote was accepted and a date set for the work to start that would work into the schedule of the church.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Quarry Tiled Nave

Working in sections the floor was sprayed with a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go which was left to soak in for ten minutes before being scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. This process removes any remaining sealer and pulls ingrained dirt out of the pores of the tile and grout to the surface where it becomes held in the cleaning solution. The solution darkens as the dirt is released and is then rinsed with water and extracted from the floor with a wet vacuum.

Next step was to ensure the grout was clean which was done by inspecting the floor and hand scrubbing the grout with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up where required. Once done the soiled solution was rinsed off with water and extracted with the wet vacuum as before.

The last step in the cleaning process was to give the floor an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. Using too much water when cleaning is always a concern on old floors like this that were laid before the invention of the damp proof membrane so using a gel product helps minimise that. Being an acidic product, it neutralises the floor after the use of Remove & Go which is a strong Alkaline and it will counter acts any alkaline efflorescent salts inherent in the floor. After being scrubbed in with a brush It was extracted with the vet vacuum and the floor rinsed with water and extracted again.

The floor now needed time to dry out completely before the final step applying the sealer so it was sectioned off and left to dry for several days.

Sealing a Victorian Quarry Tiled Church Floor

When I returned my first task was to check the floor was dry using a damp meter. The readings were fine so started by applying a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating hard wearing matt sealer that improves colour. Once dry it was followed up with several coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go which adds a nice sheen to Quarry tiles and leaves a satin finish.

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor After Renovation St Peters St Pauls Black Notley

Once complete the floor had re-gained its vitality; the Church Warden and his wife were extremely happy with the results and left the following feedback:

Matthew was extremely professional. His communication was excellent and he did exactly what he said he was going to do. He was fastidious in his efforts to get a perfect result for the tiles in our Church. We are delighted with the outcome and would highly recommend Matthew.

Professional Cleaning of a Victorian Tiled Church Floor in Braintree

Restorative Cleaning of Victorian Floor Tiles at St Peter and St Pauls Church Black Notley Read More »