Sealing Travertine Archives - South Essex Tile Doctor

Silver Travertine Floor Renovation Shenfield

Renovating a Silver Travertine Kitchen Floor in Shenfield Brentwood

The tiles in the pictures below are Silver Travertine located in the Kitchen of a client in Shenfield which is an affluent suburb of Brentwood. Silver Travertine rich blend of Silver and Grey and displays lots of character when maintained. In this case the floor hadn’t been cleaned and sealed in some years and the previous sealer had now worn down leaving it vulnerable to ingrained dirt and resulting in a dull appearance.

Unhappy with how the floor now looked I was asked to quote for renovating it. The owner was struggling to keep it clean and wanted it cleaning and re-sealing, additionally the grout was stained in places and needed attention.

Silver Travertine Floor Before Cleaning Shenfield

I called in to survey the floor and was able to see for myself the problems they were facing. I worked out a plan for renovating the stone and grout and discussed what sort of finish they wanted for the floor which would affect the choice of sealer.

The renovation plan led to the creation of a quote which was accepted and a date scheduled for the work to start.

Cleaning a Silver Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On arrival I applied a 1:3 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell for thirty minutes so it could soak into the pores and break down the dirt, grease, and any remaining sealer. The floor was then scrubbed with a rotary buffing machine fitted with a coarse 400-grit burnishing pad to get the stone clean and free of sealer.

The grout was then hand scrubbed to get it clean as possible; the pads do clean the grout but can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout line, so I always find following up by hand gets the best result. The slurry was then vacuumed off the floor using a wet vacuum and then rinsed with water and vacuumed again.

Next step was to apply the next burnishing pad in the series which is a medium 800-grit. This is the first step in the polishing process which improves the appearance of the Travertine and adds a pleasing shine to the tile. The pad is run over each tile several times using only water to help lubricate. Once done the floor is rinsed and extracted with the wet vacuum as before. This polishing process was then repeated using a fine 1500-grit.

After another rinse and extraction to the floor was left to dry off overnight with a turbo dryer left in place for several hours to speed things up.

Sealing a Silver Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

Returning the next day, I completed the polishing of the Travertine using a very fine 3000-grit burnishing pad which is run over the floor dry using a little water sprayed onto each tile as you progress. This left the Travertine with a lovely subtle shine; it also leaves the floor dry and ready for sealing.

To get the best from Silver Travertine we had chosen to seal the floor using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that contains a colour enhancing formula. Two coats were applied leaving around thirty minutes drying time between each coat. Tile Doctor Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer that enhances and improves the colour and texture of natural travertine whilst providing durable protection.

Silver Travertine Floor After Grout Cleaning Shenfield

My client was very happy with the improvement in the appearance of the floor, and I think you will agree the Travertine and Grout looks so much cleaner and inviting.

Silver Travertine Floor After Renovation Shenfield

Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare and recommended the client to use Tile Doctor Stone Soap as a maintenance cleaner.

Professional Restoration of a Silver Travertine Tiled Kitchen in Essex

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Travertine Kitchen Floor Renovation Chelmsford Essex

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Chelmsford

1 Comment / Chelmsford Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning / Matthew Tyler

Earlier this year I paid a visit to a client in Chelmsford who had a large that needed attention. The floor had been installed twelve years ago when a extension was added to the rear of the house.

Travertine Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Chelmsford

Discussing the floor on the phone my client had said that the floor always seemed dirty and was proving hard to keep clean. This to me is a sign that the protective sealer that keeps dirt on the surface of the tile had failed. It is important to maintain the sealer on a stone floor as without it the dirt becomes ingrained in the pores of the tile where it is difficult to shift. With stone floors like Travertine, I always recommend our annual maintenance program to ensure the floor keeps looking its best.

I paid a visit to the property to survey the large floor and came up with a renovation plan that would deep clean the floor, remove the ingrained dirt from the tile and grout and then re-seal. Keen to improve the appearance of the floor my quote was accepted, and a date set for the work to start.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen

To remove what was left of the original sealer and get the tiles clean I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go and left it to soak in for ten minutes. Then the floor was scrubbed using a rotary buffer machine fitted with a Black pad running at a slow 150 rpm. The black pad was then changed to a poly brush which would be better at cleaning into the recesses of the grout lines. The floor was then rinsed with water and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum.

Travertine Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Chelmsford

Once clean I was able to inspect the floor and spot clean any stubborn areas. With the cleaning finished the floor was given a final rinse and then dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum. The floor was then left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen

I returned the next day and checked the floor was dry using a damp meter. I always like to do this as applying sealer to a damp floor can result in a patchy result. The moisture readings were fine, so I went ahead and sealed the floor with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer.

This is a colour enhancing impregnator that works by soaking into the pores of the stone, improving colour and preventing dirt from residing there. Tile Doctor Colour Grow is ideal for characterful tiles like travertine as it helps bring out the brown shades in the stone. It certainly did the trick on this floor and helped bring out its character.

Travertine Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Sealing Chelmsford

For aftercare cleaning I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a gentle yet effective tile and grout cleaner that won’t impact the sealer. This is important as many of the tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets are simply too strong for use on a sealed floor and will quickly degrade the sealer.

Professional Cleaning of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen in Essex

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Travertine Kitchen Floor Renovation Gidea Park Romford

Dirty Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles Renovated in Gidea Park Romford

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Romford Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning / Matthew Tyler

These photographs are of a Travertine kitchen floor at a property in Gidea Park near Romford. The floor was approximately 20m2 and had been laid 20 years ago. Although it had been sealed the client had been cleaning the floor with the wrong products and that had stripped the sealer off the floor. As a result, dirt had become ingrained into the pores of the stone making it look very dirty.

Travertine Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Gidea Park Romford

My client was so unhappy with its appearance they were seriously considering taking the Travertine tiles up and replacing it with something more manageable, as they could never get it to look clean. You can imagine their relief after I visited and advised them that the floor could indeed be recovered.

After surveying the stone floor, I worked out a plan for its renovation and provided them with a quote which they were happy to go ahead with.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen

I started the cleaning with the grout lines which had darkened with accumulated dirt. To do this I applied a 4:1 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines and left it to soak in for ten minutes. The grout lines where then scrubbed by hand until their original colour returned. Although harder work, I find this method works better than using pads with a machine as the pads can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout lines.

To get the ingrained dirt out of the stone and restore the beautiful appearance of the Travertine I used a set of Tile Doctor Burnishing pads. These are applied with a rotary buffing machine starting with the coarse 400-grit pad and worked into the stone with more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean.

Travertine Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Gidea Park Romford

After rinsing and extracting I then moved onto the 800 and 1500-grit pads, using only water this time for lubrication and rinsing and extracting after each pad. The last 3000-grit pad was applied with a little water sprayed onto the tiles to bring up a polish on the stone.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

The floor was left to dry overnight, and I returned the next day to seal it using two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal sealer to give it a nice sheen. This will give the floor hardwearing protection by ensuring dirt remains on the surface where it is much easier to remove with regular cleaning.

Travertine Kitchen Floor After Renovation Gidea Park Romford

My client was very happy with her new floor and relieved that the new sealer would make it much easier to keep clean going forward. She also left a 5-star review and commented:

“GOOD JOB….PLEASED”

On the topic of cleaning, I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a pH neutral cleaner. It will not strip the sealer like the previous products she had been using and should ensure the floor is kept in this condition for many years to come. Obviously, we are on hand in the future if she has any further problems.

Source: Travertine Kitchen Tile Cleaning and Renovation Service in Gidea Park South Essex

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