Floor Renovation Archives - Cambridge Tile Doctor

Renovating a Dirty Terracotta Kitchen Diner Floor in Haslingfield

A few months ago, I was asked to look at this Terracotta tiled floor that was installed in the kitchen diner of a house in Haslingfield. The client wanted to have it deep cleaned and re sealed because regular cleaning no longer had any effect and the tiles were now looking very dirty. The village of Haslingfield is only about six miles south-west of Cambridge and only a twenty-minute drive from my base in Dry Drayton.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Haslingfield

After discussing the problem floor on the phone, I arranged to visit the property, survey the floor and work out the best course of action. As you can confirm for yourself from the pictures on this page the floor was indeed looking dull and dirty and I suspected the sealer had worn down and was now allowing dirt to build-up in the pores of the tile. I carried out a test clean to show the client what the result could look like and the floor responded rather well. They were very satisfied and happy to go ahead with my quote and so we arranged a convenient time to carry out the work.

Cleaning and Restoring a Terracotta Tiled Hallway Floor

To deep clean and remove what was left of the old sealer I applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go, this is sprayed on and left to soak in for ten minutes. Then it was scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The dirt released from the tiles was then rinsed off the floor with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. This process was repeated as needed before turning my attention to the grout lines which was hand scrubbed with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which cleans the grout and removes any excess grout.

The floor was given a second rinse and then inspected with any stubborn stains spot treated by with a repeat of the previous process. Thankfully the initial clean had been effective and there were only a couple of areas that needed further attention.

Once the deep clean was completed, the floor was left to dry off overnight and the following morning.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning in the afternoon, I tested the floor for excess moisture with the damp meter. This confirmed the tiles were dry, so I started applying a fresh sealer. I selected to use Tile Doctor Seal and Go for this as this is a specially formulated water-based blend of acrylic polymers which provides both a stain resistant surface seal and a durable low-sheen finish which the client wanted. Five coats were applied allowing enough time for each coat to dry before applying the next.

Terracotta Tiled Floor After Sealing Haslingfield

I think you will agree from the pictures there was a remarkable transformation during this restoration. Certainly, my client was very happy with the result and has since had us back to repeat the process on another Terracotta tiled floor. They also left the following comments on the Tile Doctor feedback system which is always appreciated.

Tom did a great job bringing back depth and tone to our very dirty Terracotta kitchen tiles. Very happy with the results.

Professional Renovation of a Terracotta Tiled Floor in Cambridge

Pitted Limestone Floor Before After Renovation Warboys Cambridgeshire

Pitted Limestone Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Warboys

1 Comment / Cambridge Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Tom Conlon

The photographs below are from a Limestone tiled floor which had been installed throughout the kitchen, hall and downstairs WC of a property in the Cambridgeshire village of Warboys. The owner was fed up with the floor which was not cleaning up after multiple attempts, he surmised it was overdue a deep clean and re-seal and so got in touch with us to do the work.

We visited the property to survey the floor and could straight away that the owner was right to call us, the floor was definitely overdue a professional clean and he would not have been able to improve it without the right equipment. It was a large space and being the hallway and kitchen area, it was subject to a lot of foot traffic so was not looking its’ best. One of the biggest problems was the pitting in the Limestone which had trapped a lot of dirt which was difficult to shift. We discussed the options and the cost for the work which was agreeable to the client and arranged an appointment to return to carry out the renovation.

Deep Cleaning and restoring a Limestone Tiled Kitchen and Hallway Floor

Before starting I wrapped protective tape around the woodwork and removed the kickboards from underneath the kitchen units to protect them during the cleaning process.

Limestone and Travertine are notorious for pitting and on this floor the pits had trapped dirt making it look very unattractive. To deal with this I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, allowed it to soak in and break-down the dirt and old coatings such as sealers for ten minutes and then scrubbed it in with a 400-grit diamond burnishing pad fitted to a rotary machine.

To remove the slurry that was generated I used our hot water pressurised extraction system which is a great tool that operates from a large compressor situated in my van which was parked outside. It fires hot pressurised water onto the floor via a floor spinner tool and then extracts the dirty water back onto a tank in the van. The pressure allows the water to penetrate deep into the pits of the stone to maximise the dirt extracted. This machine was an expensive investment however it saves a lot of time and allows me to achieve some outstanding results.

This process was repeated across the floor using the 800-grit and then the 1500-grit diamond burnishing pads using only water to lubricate and the extraction system to extract the slurry afterwards.

There were number of areas to cover so it took most of the day to clean all the floors, by the end of the day however the floor looked much cleaner and brighter. I left the floor to dry out overnight and came back the next day to apply a sealer.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen and Hallway Floor

The next day I inspected the floor and checked it was dry before applying the sealer. To seal the Limestone I applied multiple coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer which penetrates into the stone, protecting it from within and enhancing the natural colours in the stone in the process. Any excess sealant was buffed off the surface with a cloth after ten to fifteen minutes.

Limestone Tiled Floor After Cleaning Sealing

The sealer really brought out beauty and colours in the natural stone and the floor was transformed in just two days. The owner of the house was happy with the results and left the following feedback on the tile doctor feedback system.

‘Tom did a superb job of cleaning my tiles to look like new. Very professional, methodical and proud of his work’
Brian A, Warboys

Professional Renovation of Pitted Limestone Floor Tiles in Cambridgeshire

Pitted Limestone Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Warboys Read More »