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Terracotta Tiled Floor Renovation Hawkshead

Terracotta Tiled Flooring Stripped and Sealed in Hawkshead

The client from Hawkshead had used Tile Doctor previously to renovate a Terracotta tiled floor. Now eleven years later the floor needed attention again and so I went over to the property to survey the tiles and get a good understanding of any issues and requirements.

I went out to the client to assess the floor and could see the sealer had all but gone and dirt was becoming ingrained in the Terracotta. It turns out the client had been using flash floor cleaner which has a PH over 12 making it a strong alkaline and similar in PH to our own product Remove and Go which we use for stripping sealers off floors.

Terracotta Floor Before Cleaning Hawkshead

After discussing the floor in detailed I proposed stripping the floor back completely to its pre-seal state, deep cleaning to flush out the ingrained dirt then and re-sealing to bring the tiles back to their best condition. I worked out a detailed quote which was accepted and a date set for the work to start two weeks later.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Hallway Floor

Before stripping and cleaning time was spent adding protection to the kitchen island, skirtings, and exposed surfaces. This is necessary to prevent moisture and chemical exposure soaking into the woodwork which can result in warping and staining.

Next a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was sprayed across the entire floor and after leaving it to soak in for ten minutes scrubbed into the tile and especially the grout. This product is an effective Tile and Grout cleaner and served as an initial clean to the grout and Terracotta which is very porous.

Terracotta Floor During Cleaning Hawkshead

The floor was inspected and there was still evidence of sealer in the less used areas of the floor as well as deeply ingrained grime. To deal with these problems Tile Doctor Remove and Go was sprayed onto the problem areas and left to soak in as before. After ten minutes the solution was agitated using a deck brush and then worked into the Terracotta using a rotary scrubber fitted with a black pad. Each part of the floor was scrubbed five to six times to remove any remaining sealer and release the dirt. Afterwards the floor was rinsed with water and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum and at this point you could really see the true colours of the Terracotta.

Next step was to give the tiles and acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which applied to the tiles and diluted with water whilst being brushed into the tiles. This removes residues, mineral deposits, old grout smears and remaining contaminants. Being acidic it neutralises the floor after the alkaline cleaning products used earlier. After being allowed to dwell briefly it was then removed using the wet vacuum. The floor was then rinsed with water and extracted again to remove any trace of product prior to the next step of sealing.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Hallway Floor

I left the floor to dry out overnight with multiple floor fans to accelerate drying and returned the next day to seal the floor with Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This product is an impregnator that soaks into the pores of the Terracotta and acts as a barrier to prevent dirt from becoming ingrained there. It also contains a colour enhancer that really works well on Terracotta to bring out the natural red and orange colours in the tile.

Once that Colour Grow had dried which leaves a matt finish, I completed the sealing by topping it off with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds a nice subtle shine to the tile. When complete the floor looked so much better with improved colour and depth and a lovely silky appearance.

Terracotta Floor After Cleaning Sealing Hawkshead

The outcome was very satisfactory and the client was extremely pleased with the result and the floor was ready in time for Christmas guests. For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild yet effective cleaning product that won’t affect the sealer.

Professional Renovation of a Terracotta Tiled Flooring in South Cumbria

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Salvaging Heavily Damaged Slate Flagstones in Hawkshead

Stone and Tiled floors will degrade over time so much that they can appear to be simply beyond being restoration. It goes without saying that years of neglect will do this to any surface but it’s worth knowing that the appearance of Tile and Stone can be extended when treated to routine maintenance using the right products and methods.

I’m sure many other tile cleaning companies had passed up on the opportunity to restore this Slate Flagstone tiles at a cottage in Hawkshead, simply because they did not feel they had the resources to make a good job of it. The tiles were in such a rough state that the property owner felt like there might be no alternative other than to rip them up and replace them.

Slate Flagstone Floor Before Milling in Hawkshead Cumbria

However, while the floor was certainly past its best, it remained secure. Some areas had been concreted to reinforce them, but the floor was mainly suffering from an aesthetic problem, rather than a structural one.

We knew that a general clean and seal job would not do the trick, but Tile Doctor have developed a system to successfully salvage tiles in these situations. It is called ‘Milling’ – here’s how it works.

Milling a Slate Flagstone Tiled Floor

Milling is a process which uses very coarse diamond encrusted pads to remove the old, damaged surface layer of stone to re-face the stone with a new, smoother surface.

This not only makes the floor look completely like new; it also makes it much easier to start cleaning regularly again to maintain its appearance for the long-term. Additionally, it means that we can successfully seal the stone to protect it against ingrained dirt and staining.

Once we had completed the milling process the stone and grout was given a thorough scrub with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean agitated with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. This was needed to remove the soil generated by the milling process and also to ensure the grout was clean. Once done the soil was rinsed away with water and this was then removed using a wet vacuum.

It had become apparent during the milling process that much of the grout had also failed so the next step was to rake out the grout and replaced with a flexible floor grout and the floor left to dry out completely.

Sealing a Slate Flagstone Tiled Floor

Since there was no damp-proof membrane present (due to the floor being very old), we sealed the tiles using Tile Doctor Colour Grow, an impregnating sealer that allows for moisture vapour transmission and therefore helps to eliminate damp issues.

Colour Grow is also a colour intensifying sealer, so it really helped to elucidate the natural dark shades in the Slate. The outcome of the restoration is pictured below.

Slate Flagstone Floor After Milling in Hawkshead Cumbria

The customer was absolutely amazed by the transformation and left the feedback below on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“We found old flagstones under the carpet which were in need of cleaning. Russell came out to view work and he recommended painting areas of cement with grout paint to match flagstones. Pleased with the work carried out and help and information received from himself and Heidi.”

It can be hard to believe that floors which appear so far beyond salvation can be saved but this example goes to show that anything is possible with the right knowledge and techniques!

Hawkshead