Remove and Go Archives - Berkshire Tile Doctor

Jerusalem limestone Floor Polishing Mortimer Common Reading

Pitted Jerusalem Limestone Floor Renovated in Mortimer Common

I was called out to a property in Mortimer Common, which is a few miles West of Reading to survey a Jerusalem Limestone floor that had been installed quite some time ago when an extension was added to the property.

Jerusalem Limestone Before Cleaning Polishing Mortimer Common Reading

Over time their once beautiful Jerusalem limestone floor had become dirty, dull and in areas chemically damaged. In an attempt to freshen up the stone floor the customer brought some sealer from a local trade store and applied it to the floor, however the product she purchased was actually a topical sealer (Polish) which left the floor looking worse, in her words made the natural stone looking “artificial”. On very rare occasions topical sealers can be used on honed/polished floors but can easily go wrong that’s why we recommended using impregnated sealers when working on this type of material.

Limestone is also acid sensitive so best to avoid the use of strong acidic cleaning products such as bleach which will etch into the stone with use and in some cases open naturally forming cavities in the stone itself, a problem we often refer to as pitting.

Cleaning a Jerusalem Limestone Tiled Floor

My first task was to remove the topical seal that was recently applied and deep clean the dirt filled pits and grout. To do this I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go left it to soak in for ten minutes and then agitating using a combination of a stiff nylon brush and a Black stripping pad fitted to a rotary machine. I made sure to go over any pits in the stone multiple times to release the trapped dirt. The resultant slurry was vacuumed up as I went along and the floor given a rinse with water afterwards.

Once clean I addresses the small pits in some of the tiles by backfilling them with a rapid setting filling compound that I colour matched with various shades of brown and cream.

Jerusalem limestone Before Filling Mortimer Common Reading

Jerusalem limestone After Filling Polishing Mortimer Common Reading

With the old sealer removed and the holes/pits taken care of I continued with the restoration of the floor by moving onto the burnishing process which cleans and polishes the stone. This involves honing the Limestone with a set of burnishing pads starting with a course 400-grit and finishing with a fine 3000-grit. The pads are applied to the floor with a heavy floor buffing machine using water to lubricate the process. The pad is run over each tile around five times and the chalky slurry this process generates is rinsed off afterwards with water and then extracted with a wet vacuum. You then move onto the 800-grit and then 1500-grit slowly building back the appearance of the stone.

Once each of the three pads had been run over the floor it was given a final rinse and then dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum before leaving it to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Jerusalem Limestone Tiled Floor

We returned to the property the following day, by which time the floor had dried completely. I finished the burnishing process with the fine 3000-grit burnishing pad which is brings up the polish even further and is only applied using a little water sprayed onto the tiles.

Jerusalem Limestone After Cleaning Polishing Mortimer Common Reading

Once done I moved onto applying the sealer which for this floor, I chose Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone to provide durable protection whilst enhancing the natural colours in the stone. The customer was over the moon with the results and was stated the floor looked better than when it was installed all those years ago.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for maintaining the patina on polished stone floors.

Professional Restoration of a Jerusalem Limestone Tiled Floor in Berkshire

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Terracotta Tiled Staircase Renovation Maidenhead

Renovating a Terracotta Tiled Staircase in Maidenhead

This customer in Maidenhead had contacted numerous companies about the renovation of their Terracotta tiled Steps but no one was interested in. Fortunately, he finally found Tile Doctor and this sort of work is exactly what we do.

I went over to take a good look at the problems and it turns out they had a long history and were only recently discovered during some improvement works. The property was Victorian and located on the banks of the river Thames, at some point the steps had been covered with both plywood and then carpet on top.

Terracotta Tiled Steps Before Renovation Maidenhead

Once removed it was clear the steps were in a sorry state and this may explain why they were covered up in the first place. Undeterred I ran a few cleaning tests and came up with a renovation plan and provided a quote for the work. Keen to have the steps restored my quote was accepted and we agreed a date for the work to start.

Deep Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

Before starting I covered the paintwork to protect it during cleaning as we knew it was going to be a messy job. Next, we turned our attention to the steps and removed the remaining carpet clips, nails, and grippers.

Given the state of the Terracotta I knew I would need a very strong product so opted to apply Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a coatings remover which I have used many times before to effectively remove old sealers, paint, and adhesives from tiles.

Remove and Go was applied neat to the steps and then covered with plastic sheeting so it could sweat the tile and not dry out too quickly. The steps were left like this for about thirty minutes so the Remove and Go could get to work breaking down the old carpet glue and adhesive. After this the plastic sheet was removed and the floor then scrubbed the tile and grout with a handheld rotary buffer fitted with a Black abrasive stripping pad and plenty of water.

The scrubbing action released the dirt and other contaminates from the tiles and the soil was extracted with a low-pressure extraction machine. The floor was inspected and I re-treated the areas that needed more work. The inspection also allowed me to see all the small holes that were left behind from the removal of nails and staples etc. I had anticipated this however and once the cleaning was completed, I moved on to filling the holes using Terracotta repair putty.

Terracotta being made from clay is known to be quite porous and I needed it to be dry before continuing with the next step of sealing so I left the tiles to dry out over the weekend.

Sealing Terracotta Tiled Steps

When I returned on the Monday I began by checking the moisture levels of the tiles by taking a few damp readings. Fortunately the weekend had been enough to get the tiles dry and I was able to proceed with the sealer application.

My customer wanted a soft sheen to the appearance of the tile so I applied Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra. The Terracotta really soaked in the sealer so I applied a total of eight coats leaving roughly twenty minutes between each coat. Air movers were deployed around the room to help reduce the drying time.

Terracotta Tiled Steps After Renovation Maidenhead

Once complete the dark and stained Terracotta steps looked fabulous and were completely transformed by the restoration. Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning and as usual, I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Floor Cleaner. This product has is pH neutral so will ensure the newly applied seals stay in place unlike many strong household cleaners you find in supermarkets that can strip the sealer from the tile.

Professional Renovation of Terracotta Tiled Steps in Berkshire

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Hotel Tesserae Stone Mosaic Tiled Floor Renovated in Taplow Maidenhead

Tesserae Stone Mosaic Floor Restored at Refurbished Hotel in Taplow

1 Comment / Maidenhead Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning / Dennis Buckland

I was recently contracted to renovate a Tesserae Stone Mosaic floor as part of a hotel refurbishment project in Taplow near Maidenhead. Taplow house hotel has been undergoing a large refurbishment project and originally, they planned on laying new Marble floor throughout the entrance/reception area however when they lifted the carpet the discovered the original floor and they were keen to see if the old floor could be restored to some former glory.

Hotel Tesserae Stone Mosaic Tiled Floor Before Renovation Taplow

Taplow house was originally built in 1568, however the Manor House was involved in a devastating fire in 1660, destroying almost all the original building. The Georgian building that stands today was erected in 1751. Home to aristocracy, Taplow house was a private residence before turning into a hotel in 1958 and this is when we believe the floor was covered up with carpet.

Removing Carpet Adhesive from a Tesserae Stone Mosaic Tiles in Taplow

The main issue raised was the floor was covered in old carpet glue and this would need to be removed before it could be deep cleaned and then protected with a sealer.

After reviewing the range of Tile Doctor cleaning products and problem solvers to determine which product would be the most effective at breaking down the residue. My first thought was to use Remove and Go which was developed as a coating’s remover and my go to product to remove old sealers, paint as well as adhesive contamination.

Hotel Tesserae Stone Mosaic Tiled Floor During Renovation Taplow

For maximum impact on the glue the Remove and Go was applied neat to the mosaic floor and then covered with plastic sheeting so it could sweat the tile and not dry prematurely. The floor was left to dwell for about 15 – 30 minutes, so it could get to work breaking down the old carpet glue and adhesive. After this the plastic sheet was removed and the floor then scrubbed with a rotary floor buffer fitted with a black stripping pad using plenty of water. This quickly broke up the adhesive from the tile allowing it to be removed from the tiles with a wet vacuum. It was a large area so as I was cleaning one section there was another section sweating under a plastic sheet.

Once the glue had been removed, I then treated the section to an acid rinse by cleaning the floor with a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which removes old grout smears and will neutralise any salts in the old floor that could result in efflorescence later. Being an acid, this product also neutralises the ph levels in the floor after the cleaning with Remove and Go which is an Alkaline product.

Once the floor was clean it needed time to dry out thoroughly before sealing, however being a busy construction site and the floor being the main walkway between rooms I agreed to do a quick ‘builders clean’ when I returned later.

Sealing Tesserae Stone Mosaic Tiles in Taplow

After my return I gave the floor a quick clean using a mild solution of Grout Clean-up scrubbed with a Nilon brush fitted to the rotary machine. Most of the contamination was plaster residues from ongoing work. After a light rinse and extraction with a wet vacuum the floor was left to dry off overnight ready for sealing the next day.

To seal the tiles, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which as its name suggests is a colour enhancing sealer that works by impregnating the pores of the tile protecting it from within and enriching the colours in the process. This gave a lovely contrast in colour whilst providing a matt finish; another advantage of Colour Grow is it’s a fully breathable sealer which won’t trap moisture under the tile which is an important for these old floors which don’t have a damp membrane.

Hotel Tesserae Stone Mosaic Tiled Floor After Renovation Taplow

Professional Renovation of a Tesserae Stone Mosaic Tiled Floor in Berkshire

Tesserae Stone Mosaic Floor Restored at Refurbished Hotel in Taplow Read More »