Pro-Clean Archives - Berkshire Tile Doctor

Badly Stained Travertine Table Polished to New Condition in Newbury

We were recently asked to renovate a Travertine tabletop at a property in the market town of Newbury. This post follows on from a previous article I published about the renovation of their garden room floor tiles where the table was situated. If you haven’t seen that post do take a minute to take a look using the following link: Terracotta Tiled Garden Room Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Newbury.

If you recall the client asked me to do something to improve the condition of the stone table that had sat in the conservatory for many years and was stained with water stains, ring marks and the dirt from the many plants that had been sat on it.

Travertine Tabletop Before Renovation Newbury

Cleaning and restoring a Travertine Tiled Tabletop

The travertine table had been cracked and was heavily stained due to years of standing water from various pots. So, after cleaning the conservatory floor I turned my attention to the table and started the renovation process using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean so I could see the full extent of damage. Being a tabletop, this had to be done by hand, allowing the solution to soak in and then scrubbing it in with a scrubbing brush. Due to the height of the table, it was a bit awkward to use the hot water encapsulation system to extract the dirt after cleaning, but I managed.

The next job was to fill the crack using a two-part epoxy resin designed especially for this sort of work and colour matched to the table. This was then allowed to set before smoothing out with a set of handheld burnishing blocks of different grits.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Tabletop

Once the resin had dried hard the table was burnished using an extended set of diamond encrusted pads starting from a coarse 100-grit all the way to a fine 3000-grit leaving the table with a polished look. Naturally I couldn’t use my floor buffer for this, so I had to use smaller 6-inch pads fitted to a hand buffer. The pads are applied with water for lubrication and the soiling rinsed off as before using the encapsulation system.

Once the Travertine had dried out, I sealed it with Tile Doctor Colour Grow to enhance the colours and textures of the stone. This is an impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the stone occupying the pores and thereby keeping any dirt or liquids on the surface where they can be easily cleaned away.

Travertine Tabletop After Renovation Newbury

The Travertine table was completely transformed by the cleaning and polishing and needless to say my client was very happy with the outcome and was sure his friends would be impressed! For maintenance of the table I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Patina Spray. This is a spray-and-buff cleaner that is designed to enhance the natural beauty and lustre of polished stone.

Terracotta Tiled Garden Room Floor After Renovation Newbury

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tabletop in Berkshire

Badly Stained Travertine Table Polished to New Condition in Newbury Read More »

Terracotta Tiled Garden Room Floor Renovation Newbury

Terracotta Tiled Garden Room Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Newbury

I recently did some work for a customer in Newbury renovating a Terracotta tiled garden room floor. The conservatory was used to host annual horticultural themed events; however, years of use had worn off the sealer allowing dirt and contaminations to build-up in the floor and leaving it looking tired.

Terracotta Tiled Garden Room Floor Before Cleaning Newbury

I went over to survey the tiles and work out a plan for their renovation. Whilst talking I discovered the floor had never been professionally cleaned since it was installed twelve years ago. The customer also had a stone table that was in a similar state however I’ll cover that in a separate article.

Terracotta Tiled Garden Room Floor Before Cleaning Newbury

From my renovation plan I worked out a quote which they were happy to go ahead with and a date was arranged to carry out the work which would take two days.

Deep Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

To get the Terracotta tiles clean I applied a strong dilution of an alkaline cleaning agent called Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and left it to soak in for several minutes. This dwell times gives the product time to breakdown the dirt and any remaining sealer present on the tile.

The solution was then scrubbed into the tile and grout using a silicon carbide brush fitted to a mechanical rotary machine that I had added extra weights to in order to increase traction. This process releases the dirt from the floor turning the cleaning agent into a dark slurry which is then extracted. I use a hot water encapsulation system for this which cleans the floor and extracts the soiling at the same time, it’s a real time saver and the hot water ensures the floor dries quickly.

Then the whole process was repeated using a mild acid cleaner called Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. This second product further cleans up the tiles by removing unwanted grout smears and being acidic also neutralises the pH level of the floor after the use of the alkaline cleaner earlier. After another rinse and extraction, the floor was then left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

The next day I returned to seal the floor first checking it had dried with a damp meter. I had decided earlier that the best sealer for Terracotta in this environment would be Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal. It’s a modern oil-based product that is rates for internal and external use.

One good coat was applied before buffing off the excess using plenty of sealing cloths. After two hours I gave the complete area a final buff with the rotary buffer fitted with a White pad. This removed any excess sealer and left it with a gentle sheen.

Terracotta Tiled Garden Room Floor After Renovation Newbury

My customer was very happy with the outcome and was sure his horticultural friends would be impressed! For aftercare I left a bottle of neutral floor cleaner to help maintain the floor. This product as its name implies is pH neutral so will ensure the newly applied seals stay in place unlike many acidic household cleaners that can strip the sealer from the floor. It is mild enough to use daily and has a nice fresh smell.

Terracotta Tiled Garden Room Floor After Renovation Newbury

Professional Restoration of a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen in Berkshire

Terracotta Tiled Garden Room Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Newbury Read More »

Travertine Table Repair and Renovation Swallowfield Reading

Repairing a Stone Table for Repeat Client in Swallowfield Reading

1 Comment / Reading Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning / Dennis Buckland

I received a rather fraught text message followed by a bunch of pictures from a client in Swallowfield regarding a broken stone table. My client lets out properties in the Thames Valley and Berkshire areas so over time we have built a nice relationship as maintenance work is constantly needed within these properties.

Damaged Stone Table Before Repair Reading

Unfortunately, my client and his son dropped the large stone table while preparing the property for new tenants causing significant damage to one corner. Time was of the essence as the new tenants were due to move in the following weekend.

Having reviewed the pictures and discussed the damage in detail over the phone I was confident I could significantly improve the damage, so we booked in a date that was mutually convenience. Fortunately, they had the good sense to collect the pieces of broken table which would make the task easier.

Repairing and Cleaning a Travertine Stone Table

My first job was to reconstruct the puzzle of broken pieces to ensure the table would all fix together again. Happy I had all the parts I began the reconstruction using a two-part epoxy resin that binds rock hard in about 15-30 minutes, clamping each part in place while the resin hardened.

Once I was happy with the repair, I gave the table a deep clean using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, this product is a strong alkaline cleaner that breaks down dirt, grease, and contaminations. After scrubbing in a strong dilution by hand it was then rinsed off with water and the table was left to dry.

Sealing a Travertine Stone Table

I returned later that day and happy it was thoroughly dry I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is an impregnating sealer that works by occupying the pores in the stone thereby preventing dirt from taking up residence there. This ensures contaminates remain on the surface where they can easily be wiped away. This product is almost invisible and so doesn’t change the appearance of the stone, so it keeps its natural appearance.

They were impressed with the repair work and as you can see from the pictures there is very little evidence of the previous damage. They were also relieved that it could be repaired as a piece like this is expensive to replace. More importantly the property was also ready for the new tenant to move in.

Damaged Stone Table After Repair Reading

We have already carried out lots of work for this client previously, maintaining the various tiled floors that they have in the various properties, floors you wouldn’t want to trust with a standard cleaning service.

Professional Repair and Renovation of a Stone Table in Berkshire

Repairing a Stone Table for Repeat Client in Swallowfield Reading Read More »

Silver Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaning Sealing Spencers Wood Reading

Dirty Silver Travertine Kitchen floor in Spencer’s Wood, Reading

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Reading Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning / Dennis Buckland

This client in Spencer’s Wood, a small civil parish village located south of Reading within Berkshire, had a spectacular Silver Travertine tiled floor that had become grimy, stained and generally dull from use. Unhappy with how it now looked I was asked to quote for renovating it.

I called in to survey the floor and I could see how the grout had become badly stained and the natural pits in the travertine had trapped a lot of dirt which had accumulated over time. Kitchen floors are generally the busiest in any house and with a build-up of dirt, grease and other soils ingrained into the pores of the travertine.

Silver Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Spencers Wood Reading

It was clear any sealer that had once protected the stone was no longer effective. Though the kitchen was the worse effected area the client wanted the whole tiled area cleaned which included the hallway and cloakroom. I worked out a quote for doing the work, which was accepted and a date was booked in.

Cleaning a Silver Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On arrival I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell for ten minutes so it could soak into the pores and break down the dirt, grease, and any remaining sealer. For best results I then went over the floor with a rotary buffing machine fitted with a nylon scrubbing brush. Personally, I find nylon brushing perfect for cleaning grout and pitted travertine as the brush gets into the depressions releasing the contaminations. The resulting slurry was then vacuumed off the floor using a wet vacuum, the floor was then rinsed with water and vacuumed again.

To improve the appearance of the Travertine and remove any potential imperfections caused by wear and tear, it was given a light burnish using a 400-grit then 800-grit burnishing pads this left the floor with a gentle satin sheen. We could then improve the shine further by adding a 1500-grit followed by 3000-grit however, it was the client’s request that they didn’t want the floor to look “too shiny”.

The burnishing pads are attached to the rotary machine and then run over each tile several times using only water for lubrication. After another rinse and extraction to remove the slurry, the floor was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Silver Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

Returning the next day, the floor had dried out and looked stunning. I damp meter was used to test the floor for moisture and after confirming it was dry, I proceeded to seal the Travertine using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow.

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 Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Spencers Wood Reading

The client was thrilled with the outcome of the floor and was glad to have it back to how they remembered it. 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 Berkshire

Dirty Silver Travertine Kitchen floor in Spencer’s Wood, Reading Read More »

Semi-Riven Brazilian Slate Kitchen Floor Before After Cleaning Thatcham

Dirty Semi Riven Brazilian Slate Floor Renovated in Thatcham Berkshire

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Thatcham Tile Cleaning / Dennis Buckland

This customer in Thatcham, near Newbury in Berkshire had inherited a rare semi-riven Slate floor with their kitchen. However, years of dirt and contaminations had built up and left the Slate looking dull and the grout discoloured.

Semi-Riven Brazilian Slate Floor Before Renovation Thatcham

Slate is a very popular floor and wall tile due to its low porosity; there are many varieties and textures of slate available, it does need to be sealed though to keep the dirt from becoming ingrained in the stone. Unfortunately, the previous owners had not maintained the sealer and owning four dogs had probably used a strong acid cleaner on the floor which will have shortened its life. Inevitably time took its toll on the tiles and it was now overdue a deep clean and new sealer.

Cleaning a Semi-Riven Brazilian Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

The first job was to apply a strong dilution of an alkaline detergent called Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was applied and left to dwell for several minutes before agitating with a rotary floor buffer fitted with a scrubbing pad. A stiff brush was also run over the grout lines to get them clean.

I worked in sections and then used a hot water encapsulation system that is used a lot by carpet cleaners to remove the slurry and get the floor as clean as possible. After inspecting the floor, I could see a few stubborn areas than needed more work, so the process was repeated until I was satisfied the Slate tile and grout was as clean as it could be. The floor was then left to dry overnight

Sealing a Semi-Riven Brazilian Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

The following morning, we returned, the floor looked nice and dry but I took several moisture readings with a damp meter just to be sure. All was in order, and I was able to progress onto the next step of applying a fresh sealer to the floor.

For this type of tile and conditions I chose to apply Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water-based sealer (no smell as it dries) that works really well on Slate. Multiple coats were required and each coat is left to dry before applying the next. The seal is very hard wearing, perfect for high traffic areas such as the kitchen and it leaves a lovely sheen without making the floor appear too shiny.

Semi-Riven Brazilian Slate Floor After Renovation Thatcham

The customer was very happy with the outcome and left the following feedback on our website:

“Extremely professional from point of contact till completion of the job, Dennis has done a magnificent job of my tiles. And I would highly recommend his services”

Before leaving made sure to leave a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Floor Cleaner to help maintain the floor going forward. This is a pH neutral product which makes maintenance of the floor easy and ensures that the newly applied sealant will stay in place and not be compromised. As mentioned before most people, including I suspect the previous owner, tend to use supermarket products which are far too harsh and break down the sealer taking them back to square one.

Professional Restoration of a Brazilian Slate Tiled Kitchen in Berkshire

Dirty Semi Riven Brazilian Slate Floor Renovated in Thatcham Berkshire Read More »