Colour Grow Archives - South Lancashire Tile Doctor

Flagstone Flooring Resurfaced in Ramsbottom

Transformation of a Tired and Stained Flagstone Flooring in Ramsbottom

This enquiry about the restoration of a flagstone floor came from a lady in Ramsbottom who had seen a similar floors to hers on our website. The main areas for concern were by the fireplace in the living room and dining room, also by the front door and the foot of stairs where previous coverings that had been glued to the floor and paint splashes had stained the stone. There was also an area that had once been covered in bitumen. The pointing was also in need of attention with gaps and crumbling in several spots.

Flagstone Floor Before Milling Ramsbottom

This wasn’t the first time she had investigated having the floors restored and had previously received mixed advice from other professionals which didn’t help. In the meantime, with the floor not a priority in the budget she occasionally spent some time chipping off some of the the old rubbish on the floor.

Having sent over lots of photographs, I was able to come up with an estimate for the floors restoration so she could consider how to fit the work into the budget before arranging a visit on-site to survey and provide a detailed quotation. We also discussed the financial benefit of completing both rooms together.

Flagstone Floor Before Milling Ramsbottom

Happy with the estimate I arranged to come to the property, survey the floor and provide a detailed quote which corresponded with our earlier estimate and was accepted.

Cleaning a Flagstone Tiled Floor

Work started with milling the flagstones in the lounge and dining room using a set of Tile Doctor Flexi Diamond Milling pads. These come in 50, 100 and 200-grit and you start with the 50-grit and work up from there using a specialised rotary floor buffer running at slow speed and weighted to increase traction. Water is used to lubricate the process, and the pads are run over each tile several times to cut the surface of the stone back.

Although time consuming, the process is so effective we often find that the pads are all you need to clean the stone so very little cleaning product is needed. Although I did use some Tile Doctor Remove and Go for spot cleaning here and there. The pads generate a lot of slurry though, so it’s necessary to rinse the floor with water after each pad and extract all the waste with a wet vacuum.

With the milling done, the next step was to give the floor an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which was applied with a soft 200-grit milling pad. The acidic nature of this product further cleans the tiles after milling to remove any residue and counters any alkaline salts in the stone which can be a problem with old floors.

The last step was to remove loose mortar and then repoint with VDW800 joint mortar and then the flagstones were given a final rinse with water and dried with the wet vacuum.

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Floor

Once the flagstones were fully dry, I started applying the sealer which for this floor I used Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal mixed with Tile Doctor Colour Grow. These two impregnating sealers work well together to improve colour and enhance the natural characteristics of the stone. Both products are fully breathable which is an important feature for old floors like this that don’t have a damp proof membrane.

Flagstone Floor Sealing Ramsbottom

Once done the floors looked fantastic and my client said that despite the cost, she felt relieved that the saga of the downstairs floor was finally finished, she also left the following feedback.

“Lots of patient, helpful advice in the first place from Russell and then a spot on job from Kevin. Good communication, professional, zero quibble about the job.”

Flagstone Floor After Milling Restoration

The smoother stone and new sealer will ensure dirt can’t penetrate the pores of the stone keeping dirt on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away; and on the subject of aftercare cleaning I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is an effective but sealer friendly tile cleaner.

Professional Restoration of a Flagstone Tiled Floor in South Lancashire

Transformation of a Tired and Stained Flagstone Flooring in Ramsbottom Read More »

Victorian Encaustic Tiled Hallway Floor Renovation Uppermill

Deep Cleaning and Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor in Uppermill

1 Comment / Oldham Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Kevin Parry

The photographs below are from a property in a Victorian terrace in Uppermill with an original tiled hallway floor. The client had been renewing the flooring in the house and discovered the tiles under the hallway carpet. Realising the tiles were original from when the terrace was built it was decided to see if they could be restored as an original feature.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Before Restoration Victorian Uppermill

I popped over to survey the floor and was able to report that the carpet had kept the tiles in good physical condition albeit there were some holes from where the carpet gripper rod had been secured through the tile. I created a quote for repairing the damage and a low moisture clean and seal which was accepted, and a date agreed for the work to start.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Before Restoration Victorian Uppermill

Old floors like this don’t have a damp proof membrane to prevent moisture rising from the foundation so they can suffer from damp and with it the appearance of efflorescent salts. Using a lot of water during intensive cleaning can make this worse so we opt to use gel cleaning products that reduce the use of water.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway

In this case work started by applying Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel to the floor, leaving it to dwell and then scrubbing it in with a rotary floor machine. This was then quickly rinsed off and extracted with a wet vacuum.

During the cleaning I realised some of the carpet must have been secured with glue and to deal with this I spot cleaned along the edges and glue staining with handheld burnishing blocks and Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a stripper that’s safe to use on tile and stone. The floor was inspected again and stubborn areas re-treated using this process.

Last step in the cleaning process was to give the tiles an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid-Gel which is another gel cleaning product. This was pasted on as before, left to soak in and then scrubbed in using the rotary fitted with a black pad. The acidic nature of this product has several advantages; it cleans the tile of grout smears and neutralises alkaline salts lurking in the floor that could lead to efflorescence appearing later. The floor was rinsed and extracted again and then left of several days to dry out.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor During Cleaning Victorian Uppermill

Before leaving for the day, I spent some time going around the floor and filling the gripper holes with a specialist colour matched filler.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

When I returned some days later, I checked the floor for damp using a moisture meter. The readings were good, so we started with the sealing. For this I applied a couple of coats of Tile Doctor X-Tra seal which is a modern fully breathable oil-based sealer that adds texture to encaustic tiles, improves colour and generally lifts their appearance. I tend to mix in a little Tile Doctor Colour Grow into the X-Tra seal before application as this makes it more manageable.

Once done the floor was buffed with a white pad to remove excess sealer and bring up the appearance of the tiles further. X-Tra Seal is a hard-wearing impregnator that works by occupying the pores in the tile thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there, keeping it on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor After Restoration Victorian Uppermill

My client was very pleased with the result and left the following feedback:

“Kevin was a very friendly and helpful person. He made my hall tiles come up almost like new. Where I used to be ashamed of my hallway, I now want to show everyone them. They look amazing now, thanks to Kevin. I will not hesitate to recommend to my friends and family. Thanks, you so much Kevin.”For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor’s Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild yet effective product that won’t impact the sealer.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor After Restoration Victorian Uppermill

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Lancashire

Deep Cleaning and Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor in Uppermill Read More »

1850’s Flaking Flagstone Flooring Renovated in Saddleworth

Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Oldham Tile Cleaning / abzdominise

A couple from Saddleworth contacted us about their flagstone flooring which was laid throughout the ground floor in their home which was built around 1850. Since buying their home they had decided to take up the carpets and floor coverings to most of the ground floor (approx. 60sqm) to allow the floor to breathe and help with some damp issues in the walls. In addition, it would be in keeping with the house to have its original floor back in use and make a great period feature.

Flagstone Floor Before Renovation Saddleworth

With the stone covered for such a long period the main issue was ingrained dirt and grime as well as the remnants of self-levelling compound and paint. The whole floor also had flaking issues on numerous stones and was very uneven in parts.

After some discussion over the phone around the options of cleaning, stone milling, repointing, and sealing I scheduled a survey. I recommended the floor needed the render removed, stone milled (and possibly repointing) before cleaning and finally sealing. An impregnating sealer which provided a matt, colour-enhancing finish was recommended in view of the damp and animals. In addition, we suggested the use of breathable pointing.

Flagstone Floor Before Renovation Saddleworth

Whilst the work was more involved than initially anticipated, they fully understood the scale of the problems and what was needed and so decided to go ahead.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started with the application of 50-Grit Extra Coarse Milling pads which were fitted to a weighted rotary floor machine. The pads were run over each of the rough Yorkshire flagstones to remove the top of the flaking stone and reveal new stone underneath. The process was lubricated with water and Tile Doctor Remove and Go, the water helps keep the dust down and the Tile Doctor Remove and Go helps clean up the stone. We used quite a lot of these pads to clean up the whole floor. The resultant slurry was rinsed away with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Flagstone Floor During Renovation Saddleworth

Once done, the process was then repeated using 100-grit and then 200-grit milling pads to improve the surface of the stone. I must give credit to Russell Taylor from Lancashire Tile Doctor for his experience and assistance on this job, an extra pair of hands were needed given the scale of the work and to speed up work given the owners were still living in the property.

We next used an acid wash Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up, this is to counter any efflorescence salts that can be generated with floors like this that have no damp proof course. After application it was rinsed off and extracted with the wet vacuum.

After this the pointing was then redone using a modern flexible product.

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Floor

The floor was then left to dry out for a few days before returning to seal the floor using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that contains a colour enhancer to bring out the natural colours in the stone. This product is also breathable which is an important consideration for old floors like this.

Flagstone Floor After Renovation Saddleworth

The project went well, and the floor was completely transformed. My clients were very happy with the work and left the following feedback for us.

“Kevin and Russell did a great job on our flagstone floor. They regularly checked in with us throughout the process and worked around us being in the house most of the time with no problems! Highly recommend.”

For aftercare cleaning I recommend they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild yet effective tile cleaner that won’t harm the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Flagstone Tiled Floor in Greater Manchester

1850’s Flaking Flagstone Flooring Renovated in Saddleworth Read More »