Colour Grow Archives - Glasgow Tile Doctor

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovation Cumbernauld

Travertine Tiled Floor Restoration in Cumbernauld Kitchen and Utility

We were contacted by a homeowner from the town of Cumbernauld in Glasgow about cleaning their Travertine tiled floor. The travertine tiles had been laid throughout the kitchen and utility room some years prior and since that time had become dull and unappealing. Kitchens are a high traffic area and more prone to staining than most rooms, in this case the grout had become very discoloured.

Travertine Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Polishing Cumbernauld

I visited the property to survey the floor and check the extent of the problems. I could see that the original sealer and polish had basically been worn down with use over the years and to resolve it would need deep cleaning including the grout, stone polishing, and re-sealing. Having worked out a solution I explained the plan to my client and reassured him that the floor could be renovated, and we would soon have it looking good again. I gave them a price which was accepted and a date agreed for our return to do the work.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen and Utility Floor

This work was carried out over 2 days, on the first day we deep cleaned the stone and grout using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a versatile tile and grout cleaning product. This product was left to dwell for a short while allowing it to soak in and get to work on the ingrained dirt. It was then agitated using the rotary floor cleaner fitted with a black scrubbing pad. Afterwards the dirt is then rinsed away with water and the soiling extracted using a wet vacuum.

Travertine Tiled Floor During Cleaning Polishing Cumbernauld

Next, a 400-grit diamond burnishing pad was applied to start the honing and polishing and is the first step in restoring the polished appearance of the Travertine. We worked our way through the 400, 800, 1500 then 3000 grit burnishing pads that day, slowly cleaning and re-building the polish. In between each pad the soiling was extracted, and grout scrubbed reapplying Tile Doctor Pro-Clean as required to remove any residues left by the pads. The floor was then left overnight to dry ready for applying the seal the following day.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen and Utility Floor

Returning the next day work began by checking the moisture readings of the floor using a damp meter. The readings were good and it confirmed the floor was dry and ready for sealing. If the floor proved to be damp then the seal would fail to cure properly.

To seal the floor, we had agreed on the use of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that contains a colour enhancer that will provide the stone floor with a lovely semi matt finish. The first coat of sealer was still visible after 10-15 minutes so the excess was buffed off with a White pad and then left to cure for an hour. We then went over the floor with the White buffing pad again just to bring up the shine on the Travertine. Sometimes it is necessary to apply several coats of the sealer, but this floor had taken it well, so this was not needed.

Travertine Tiled Floor Ater Cleaning Polishing Cumbernauld

One done the floor looked fantastic, it has a lovely light sheen and the natural brown tones of the floor looked fabulous. The client was over the moon with the work we had carried out.

Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning which for a polished stone floor like this, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a gentle cleaning product that won’t impact the sealer and will maintain the patina.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen and Utility in Glasgow

Travertine Tiled Floor Restoration in Cumbernauld Kitchen and Utility Read More »

Victorian Hallway Tiles Before After Restoration Glasgow West End

Victorian Hallway Tiles Fully Restored in Glasgow West End

1 Comment / Glasgow Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Steven Thomson

The restoration of this Victorian Tiled hallway floor at a property in Glasgow’s West End proved to be quite a challenge. It had seen a long life and over that time it had numerous so called repair work carried out on it which basically resulted in bits of problematic floor being ripped out and back filled with concrete.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Full Restoration Glasgow West End

The current owner fully appreciated the value a fully restored period feature like an original tiled floor can add to a property so we were asked to pop round and provide a quote. Having restored numerous floors in the area I was happy to take on the job and provide a quote for the work. With the quote accepted and a date agreed I set about sourcing replacement tiles to match the existing.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Restoration Glasgow West End

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first job was to lift all the tiles that were damaged or loose and move them to one side. This was followed by carefully knocking out all the areas of concrete back fill and screed from the original repairs. With the rubble cleared those areas were then levelled off with a mixture of cement board and self-levelling compound until the floor was level with the base of the original tiles.

Victorian Tiled Hallway During Restoration Glasgow West End

While the repairs to the subfloor were setting the focus work moved on to salvaging as many of the original tiles as possible by grinding down the sides and backs to remove the old adhesive and cement. Once the tiles were cleaned and the sub floor had dried it was time to lay the tiles to match the original pattern. Many of the original tiles were unusable so a mixture of original and new reproduction Victorian tiles were used. Most of the tiles had to be hand cut down to size to fit.

The floor was then left to set and then re-grouted before moving on to the next step of restorative cleaning and sealing.

Restorative Cleaning and Sealing of an Original Victorian Hallway Floor

Old Victorian floors like this one do not have a damp proof membrane are as such are very susceptible to Efflorescent salt issues, so because of this I opted to go with a low moisture cleaning method.

This involved cleaned the tiles using a Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was worked in initially with a 100-grit diamond pad and then a 200-grit diamond pads fitted to a weighted rotary bonnet machine. This was carried out several times with all the slurry extracted using a wet vacuum. The advantages of Acid Gel is that an acidic cleaner will neutralise and alkaline salt, being a gel its very easy to control and finally its good at removing grout smears left over from tiling.

After a final inspection the floor was left to dry out overnight with the help of a fan to assist the drying before we could return to seal the tiles.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned the following day to seal the floor checking first that it had dried using a damp meter. Once I was satisfied, three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied to the tiles to enhance their appearance and protect then going forward.

Victorian Tiled Hallway During Sealing Glasgow West End

I chose Colour Grow mainly because it’s a fully breathable sealer that will allow moisture to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface. Use of a non-breathable sealer can lead to moisture becoming trapped under the floor where it could spread into the walls leading to rising damp.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Full Restoration Glasgow West End

The hallway was completely transformed by the time we had finished and as you can imagine our client was more than happy. So much so they even recommended us for another job and went to the extent of inviting them round to view the work.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Glasgow

Victorian Hallway Tiles Fully Restored in Glasgow West End Read More »

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Renovated in Johnstone

Dirty Victorian Hallway Floor Tiles Renovated in Johnstone

1 Comment / Johnstone Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Steven Thomson

This is another Victorian hallway floor we deep cleaned in Johnstone which is located to West of Paisley. Before quoting I visited the property to survey the Victorian tiles and ensure I had a complete idea of what would be needed to fully renovate floor.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Johnstone

After inspecting the floor, I could see there were no surprises such as loose or cracked tiles that would need replacing and that the main issue was it was just incredibly dirty. All that it needed would be deep cleaning including stripping of any remaining sealer, then cleaning and ultimately sealing.

This is a typical Tile Doctor job for us to carry out and having worked on many Victorian floors before I was very confident of a great result. The client was happy to go ahead with the quotation and we arranged to return a few weeks later.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor was given a pre spray of Tile Doctor Remove and Go diluted 50:50 with water and then left to soak in for10 minutes to give it time to break down the dirt and any previous coatings that may have been present on the floor. Then the floor was scrubbed using a rotary bonnet machine fitted with a silicon carbide brush. This is an effective brush that in combination with the Remove and Go released a lot from the pores of the tile to the surface where it could be extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was dirtier than anticipated and the process was carried out three times to ensure floor was as clean as possible.

Once the chemicals had done as much as they could the Victorian tiles were resurfaced using Tile Doctor 100 and 200 grit milling pads that remove stubborn ingrained dirt and staining. This process was carried out twice rinsing with water and extracted the soiling with a wet vacuum afterwards.

Last process was to give the tiles a mild Acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. This was scrubbed in using soft brushes fitted to the bonnet machine and then extracted as before. This process further cleans up the tile and will counter any efflorescent salts that can build up in floors of this age which won’t had a modern damp proof membrane in place.

The floor was left to dry out for a few days with a fan left in place to speed up the drying times. The floor looked so much cleaner than when we started, and my client was already pleased with the results.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On my return the I took a few moisture readings with a damp meter to check it was dry enough to accept a sealer. We don’t recommend applying a sealer to a damp floor as from experience the results can be inconsistent so always best to check first.

The meter readings were fine, so I started applying the sealer, which for this floor Tile Doctor Colour Grow was chosen. Three coats were applied to fully protect the floor and bring the colours back after being cut back with the milling pads. This sealer works by soaking into the pores of the tile, occupying the pores, and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there going forwart. As the name suggest it’s a colour enhancing product that is also fully breathable which is important for floors with no damp proof membrane.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Cleaning Johnstone

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is a mild pH neutral tile cleaner that is gentle enough for daily use and will ensure that the newly applied seal is not compromised and kept looking good, especially in such a high traffic area.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Glasgow

Dirty Victorian Hallway Floor Tiles Renovated in Johnstone Read More »

Damaged Victorian Hallway Floor Fully Restored in Glasgow West End

Badly Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Fully Restored in Glasgow West End

1 Comment / Glasgow Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Steven Thomson

The client had lifted the old floor in the hallway of their property in Glasgow’s West End and discovered original Victorian tiles underneath. The Victorian tiles had however suffered over the years and parts of the floor had been destroyed during the installation of new heating and electrics some years prior. Following the installation, the damage had just been back filled with cement to provide a level surface and then covered.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Before Restoration Glasgow West End

I visited the property to survey the hallway tiles and work out a plan for restoring them. The cement would need removing, and new replacement tiles would be required. Fortunately, these tiles are still popular today and there are several specialist suppliers in the UK where I can find a good match. The floor would then need deep cleaning and sealing to complete the restoration. I provided the clients with a price for the work, they were happy to accept my quote and we arranged a convenient time to return and carry the work out.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Glasow

The first job was to carefully knock out the cement backfill using a breaker and hammer/chisel for the more delicate bits to ensure not to damage the cables and pipes underneath. The rubble was removed, and the areas backfilled with a self-levelling compound at a height to provide a new base to lay the replacement tiles.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor During Restoration Glasgow West End

Once the self-levelling compound had set the replacement tiles were laid which were about 250 in number combined with a mixture of spare original tiles the client had found in a box.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Glasgow

The full floor was then cleaned several times using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go worked in with 100 grit and 200 grit milling pads fitted to a rotary buffer. Handheld diamond burnishing blocks were also used along the edges and harder to clean areas that are a struggle to reach with the buffer. The floor was then rinsed with water and the soil removed with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to give the floor an acid rinse using a dilution of another Tile Doctor product called Grout Clean Up. Old Victorian floors tend to suffer from efflorescence issues which is where alkaline salts from the foundation are deposited on the surface. Modern floors have a damp proof membrane to prevent this however washing the floor with an acid-based product neutralises the alkaline salts and resolves the problem.

Afterwards we regrouted the full floor in order to help stabilise the other tiles which weren’t replaced or fixed by us and also fill any gaps etc.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Glasgow

The floor was left to dry for a week before returning and returning to apply a sealer. A lot of water was used in the cleaning process and the floor needs to be dry before applying a sealer. Sealing a damp floor will give you inconsistent results so it’s worth the wait.

To seal this floor a chouse Tile Doctor Colour Grow which ticks a lot of boxes for an old floor like this one. First, it’s a matt finish sealer which matches the requirements of the owner; second it contains a colour enhancer that improves colour and third it’s fully breathable so moisture can rise though the tiles and evaporate at the surface. Allowing a floor to breath as otherwise the moisture can build up under the floor and eventually reach out to the walls where it can result in rising damp.

Three coats of Colour Grow were applied, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. This sealer works by soaking into the pores of the tile, occupying the space, and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. This makes the floor much easier to clean and adds durable protection which will last for years to come.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor After Restoration Glasgow West End

As you can see from the photos the Victorian tiled hallway as restored back to its original condition and my client was over the moon. Finally, I like to recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to keep the floor looking in great condition, its pH neutral so will not damage the newly applied seal.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Glasgow

Badly Damaged Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Fully Restored in Glasgow West End Read More »

Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration Glasgow West End

Original Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Glasgow’s West End

1 Comment / Glasgow Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Steven Thomson

We recently carried out renovation work to a Victorian Tiled Hallway floor at a period property in Glasgow’s West End. I went over to the property first to survey the floor and see its condition before quoting for the job. The floor was in quite a state and had pretty much collapsed around the door threshold. I suspect this was due to an old settlement issue.

Having put up with the condition of the floor for some time the owner had decided it was time to have something done about it. As well as a deep clean repair work would need to be done first; this would involve sourcing some replacement tiles which is not usually a problem as there are various suppliers I have sourced similar tiles from in the past.

Confident of achieving a good result for the customer I worked out a quote for the restoration, which was accepted, and a date arranged to complete the work which would take three days.

Victorian Floor During Restoration Glasgows West End

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first task was to remove the damaged subfloor around the door, carefully removing the old Victorian tiles for reuse however most were cracked and broken. What was left of the old subfloor was then removed and backfilled with a quick drying cement screed to a level ready for tiling.

Victorian Floor During Restoration Glasgows West End

I had managed to rescue a few of the old Victorian tiles however there would not be enough to complete the floor however I was able to find matching replacements that would blend in nicely with the original pattern. The replacements were fixed into place with a flexible adhesive in case there was any further movement in the floor.

There were several other areas that needed attention and were fixed down, the whole section was then re-grouted and left to set for a few days.

On our return the floor was deep cleaned using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was scrubbed in with a 200-grit diamond pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer. The floor was then rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum. I repeated the process in a couple of areas that were particularly stubborn with ingrained dirt. The floor was left to dry out overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned the following day to complete the restoration starting by checking the moisture level in the floor with a damp meter. Floors of this age don’t have a damp proof membrane to prevent moisture rising through the sub floor so can take longer to dry out. Also, for best results sealers need to be applied to a dry tile so I always like to check first.

The readings were within tolerance, so I began sealing the floor with the first of two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This sealer was chosen as it’s a fully breathable impregnating sealer which is very hardwearing, perfect for high traffic areas such as hallways. It also enhances the natural colour of the floor without making it too shiny. The breathable nature of the sealant will ensure it copes well with moisture rising through the tiles and its colour enhancement properties really helped blend the old tiles in with the new.

Victorian Floor After Restoration Glasgows West End

The repair, deep clean and fresh seal transformed the Victorian Tiled floor which given its age exceeded the expectations of my customer who was very happy. For maintenance cleaning I suggested Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a gentle tile cleaning product designed for use with sealed floors. I always recommend this product as many tile cleaners are very strong and you can end up stripping the sealer off if you’re not careful.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Glasgow

Original Victorian Tiled Hallway Repaired and Restored in Glasgow’s West End Read More »