Newmarket Archives - Cambridge Tile Doctor

Multi Coloured Slate floor in desperate need of a deep clean West Wickham

Having previously completed the restoration of a stone floor for this client in the village of West Wickham near Cambridge I was asked to return to look at the Multi-Coloured Slate tiles in the Kitchen of a rental property. The Slate floor had been laid throughout the Kitchen/Diner through to the Hallway and Utility room.

Multi-coloured Slate Tiled Floor Before Cleaning West Wickham

Over the years the sealer had worn down and dirt had become engrained in the pores of the Slate and had discoloured the grout. They were now in need of a deep clean and the tenant was pleased to be having the work done. It is always a delight to have an existing client have you back as there is no better testament of how happy they have been your work.

I visited the property to measure the area and carried out a few patch tests to check the best process and from that I was able to provide an accurate quote for the work. Happy with the quote I got the go ahead and a mutually convenient time to do the work was agreed with the tenant. It was a large area so the work would be a little disruptive.

Deep Cleaning a Multi Coloured Slate Tiled Floor

To start I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, left it to soak in for ten minutes and then scrubbed the floor with a black scrubbing pad fitted to rotary machine. This action brought a lot of the ingrained dirt to the surface where I was able to remove it using our van mounted cleaning system that applies pressurised water to the floor whilst simultaneously extracting the soiled water to a tank in the van via a vacuum. This keeps the mess to a real minimum and improves drying times.

The tiles and especially the grout was very dirty and it was necessary to repeat this process a few times, hand scrubbing where necessary until I was satisfied the Slate and Grout was as clean as possible. It was a large area so I had to work in sections until all the floors were complete and once done it was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Multi Coloured Slate Tiled Floor

Returning the following morning work started by taking several moisture readings from each area with a damp meter to ensure the tiles were dry and ready for sealing. The readings were fine so the first of several coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal was applied. This sealer is almost invisible and so doesn’t affect the look of the stone leaving it with a completely natural finish.

Multi-coloured Slate Tiled Floor After Cleaning West Wickham

The client and tenant were very happy with the end result and have ordered some Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner for the regular cleaning of the stone. Using our cleaner which is pH neutral will ensure the newly applied sealer is not compromised and will keep the floor in tip top condition particularly in the heavy traffic areas.

Professional Clean and Seal of a Multi-Coloured Slate Floor in Cambridgeshire

Victorian Terrazzo Floor Tiles Before After Renovation Newmarket

Restoring a Victorian Terrazzo Tiled Hallway, Newmarket

1 Comment / Cambridge Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Tom Conlon

The owner of an older property in Newmarket got in contact with us about restoring his Victorian Terrazzo Tiled Hallway. We like to do a site survey to ascertain the condition of the floor and give the client a fixed price for the works, so we organised a time to pop over and look at the floor.

Adhesive Covered Victorian Terrazzo Hallway Before Cleaning Newmarket

The floor had taken a battering over the years and was completely unrecognisable after being completely covered up with carpet that had been secured in place with a lot of adhesive. Removing the glue and restoring an old floor like this is a difficult task but something we are familiar with and we were confident it could be restored to a reasonable standard. We discussed with the client the process and agreed a price to carry out the restoration.

Cleaning and restoring a Victorian Terrazzo Tiled Hallway Floor

The first day consisted of adding protection to the wooden skirting and then carefully scraping off as much excess adhesive as possible. To remove the rest of the glue a thick coat of Tile Doctor Nano Tech HBU remover was applied. I had tried applying this product on the floor first, but it struggled to make any impact given the huge amount of adhesive that was present. Incidentally HBU stands for Heavy Build-Up which pretty much described the problem with the floor. I left the HBU to dwell for about fifteen minutes, scrubbed it in and then rinsed off the soil with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

To finish the job, I then repeated the process with a coat of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was scrubbed it in to the floor to release the last bits of adhesive. Again, the floor was rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was then inspected to ensure all the adhesive had been removed and stubborn areas were spot treated using a mixture of techniques until I was happy.

Removing the adhesive was hard work and took up the whole of the first day but was well worth the effort as the Terrazzo was now visible and the end goal was in sight. So, returning the next day we proceeded to build on the restoration by honing and polishing the Terrazzo with 100 through to 3000-grit diamond encrusted burnishing pads. They are applied in sequence i.e. 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500 and finally 3000 grit, using water to lubricate and then more rinsing and extracting between each pad.

With the glue was removed and the Terrazzo renovated a large crack was clearly visible across part of the hallway floor, whilst it’s not possible to repair this without taking up the floor I was able to improve its’ appearance by applying a matching filler to the cracks whilst the floor dried.

Sealing a Victorian Terrazzo Tiled Hallway Floor

The final stage was the application of an impregnating sealer. We selected to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing product that soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within. It had been some time since the Terrazzo had been sealed so it took more coats then usual to properly seal the floor.

Adhesive Covered Victorian Terrazzo Hallway After Cleaning Newmarket

As you can see the floor looked a lot better once completed, the client was very happy with the final result and left the following feedback:-

”We knew that restoring our Victorian Terrazzo floor was going to be a very difficult job, so we were heartened when Tom was so positive about doing a good job and his quotation was very reasonable. He tackled the work very professionally, always turned up on time, explained exactly what he was doing and minimised our inconvenience. We are delighted with the finished job (at the quoted price!) and would have no hesitation in recommending Tom to anyone who needs a similar service.” Des B, Newmarket

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Terrazzo Tiled Hallway in Cambridgeshire

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