Kendal Archives - South Cumbria Tile Doctor

Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration in Kendal

A homeowner from Kendal asked me to inspect an old Quarry tiled floor laid in the classic Red and Black Dorchester pattern. Several tiles were damaged or back filled with concrete and so needed replacing, but overall, the floor just required a deep clean and seal. I suspect something had been dropped on the damaged tiles at some point, causing them to deteriorate over time. With old floors like this, their history is often lost.

Red and Black Dorchester Pattern Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration in Kendal

I provided a quote for the work, which included replacing the damaged tiles, deep cleaning the floor, and sealing it for protection. Red and Black Quarry tiles are still popular, so I was confident I could find replacement or salvaged tiles that would match the floor. The homeowner accepted the quote, and a date was set for the work to begin.

Cleaning and Repairing a Quarry Tiled Floor

Upon arrival, we protected the areas near our work site and carefully removed the damaged tiles, ensuring not to dislodge adjacent tiles and expand the project unnecessarily. The foundation was cleaned to remove rubble and old adhesive, and the replacement tiles were shaped and dry-fitted. They were then secured with fresh adhesive and grouted. I was confident the repair would be invisible once completed.

Red and Black Dorchester Pattern Quarry Tiled Floor During Repair in Kendal

The tiles were left to set overnight. The next day, we deep cleaned the entire floor using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel. Old floors like this lack a damp-proof membrane, so I prefer gel cleaners that minimise water usage. The gel was applied neat to the quarry tiles and allowed to soak for about ten minutes before being worked in with a 200-grit pad fitted to a rotary buffer. This combination is excellent for cleaning old tiles, as there was a significant amount of carpet glue around the room’s edges that needed removal.

The slurry was extracted with a wet vacuum, and the process was repeated with another gel product called Tile Doctor Acid Gel scrubbed in with a deck brush. This product further cleans the tiles and being acidic dissolves any salts present in the tile, it also etches the tiles microscopically which helps to achieve a better bond with the sealer. The gel was then rinsed off and extracted with the wet vacuum, and the floor was left to dry overnight.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Floor

The moisture level readings were satisfactory the next day, and we proceeded to seal the floor with a coat of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal. This oil-based breathable sealer is ideal for old floors like this, as it leaves a light sheen and enhances the colour of the black and red clay.

The result was transformative; the repair was indeed invisible, and the Quarry tiles looked much cleaner and brighter. Needless to say, my client was very pleased with the work.

Red and Black Dorchester Pattern Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration in Kendal

X-Tra Seal works by soaking into the clay tile, occupying the pores, and preventing dirt from becoming ingrained in the tile, where it can be difficult to remove. This effectively keeps dirt on the surface, where it can be easily cleaned away.

For aftercare cleaning, I recommended using a sealer-compatible tile cleaner such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This pH-neutral cleaner won’t erode the sealer, which can be a significant problem with many stronger products found in supermarkets.

Red and Black Dorchester Pattern Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration in Kendal

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Floor in South Cumbria

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200-Year-Old Black Flagstone Floor Restored at Kendal Gaol

Earlier this year I was asked to improve this tired looking Black Flagstone floor which was at a house in Kendal that dates back over 200 years. The property used to be the Prison Wardens house and was part of the House of Corrections which was situated in Kendal on the Hill on the road up towards Windermere. The old Stone walls, in what is now the car park, are still present but the Gaol has long gone with new houses built in its place around 120 years ago.

Black Flagstone Floor Before Renovation Kendal

The flagstones formed the floor of what is now a Kitchen and Pantry and sometime in the past a red cement base was put on top of the stone to level it and was then covered in a wooden Parquet floor. The trouble with this was that it stopped the stone from breathing leading to damp spreading into the walls which in turn encouraged mould to grow. Certainly not what you want in a house and certainly not in the Kitchen.

The customer had removed all the old Parquet floor which was rotten anyway and knocked out a lot of the leveller but the stone was very rough and he was unable to get it clean as it would shred mops and the dirt would get trapped in the pits and build-up.

I went over to look at the Flagstones and recommended that we mill the stone which would remove what remained of the levelling compound allowing the stone to breathe again and remove the roughness of the stone allowing it to be cleaned easily. I came up with a restoration plan to do that, address the pointing and then seal the stone with a breathable sealer. Happy with the quote and relieved they now had a practical solution we were given the go ahead to do the work.

Milling a 200-Year-Old Black Flagstone Floor

We used a series of coarse DRB milling pads to grind off a thin layer of stone off the flagstones. This exposes new stone underneath and removes the contaminates in the process. The work starts with the very coarse 50-grit DRB milling pad and is applied to the floor using a heavy-duty buffing machine that has weights added to improve traction. Water is used to lubricate the process and this slowly turns to a slurry as work progresses. The slurry is then rinsed and extracted from the floor and the process repeated with the 100 and then 200-grit DRB milling pads.

Once done we moved onto the pointing which was knocked out with a Hammer Drill and replaced with a breathable pointing product called VDW in a stone-grey colour. Work continued into the next day where the sandstone was cleaned again with the 200-Grit milling pad and focus turned to cleaning all the edges and corners where the pads struggle to reach. Once done the floor was given another rinse and extraction and left it to dry overnight.

Sealing a Black Flagstone Tiled Basement Floor

To return the dark Black colour to the stone I decided to use a breathable oil-based sealer called Tile Doctor X-Tra seal that leaves a low satin finish. This product is rated for internal and external use and being breathable it will allow moisture to rise through the floor and evaporate at the surface. Old floors like this don’t have a damp proof membrane so it is important to choose a sealer that can allow the floor to breath and this will resolve the damp issues the property was experiencing previously.

Black Flagstone Floor After Renovation Kendal

This was not an easy job for us, but luckily it was quite a small floor. I’m not sure the photographs really do it justice but our work certainly made a difference and my customer was very happy with the result. They even left the following 5-star feedback on our website.

Brilliant job, our flagstone floor is completely transformed!
By Helen M, Kendal, 11 March 2024

Black Flagstone Floor After Renovation Kendal

For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which will clean the floor without impacting the sealer which can be a problem with many of the stronger products you find in supermarkets.

Professional Restoration of a Black Flagstone Basement in Cumbria

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Brazilian Semi Riven Slate Kitchen Floor Kendal Cumbria

1 Comment / Kendal Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning / Heidi Taylor

This client in Kendal recently had a new kitchen fitted, but the builder/ joiner didn’t put any protection over the Brazilian Black semi riven Slate flooring resulting in quite a mess. As a result, the new Kitchen units looked great but the floor was pulling the look of the whole job down.

Brazilian Black Slate Before Cleaning Kendal

The client called us in to rectify it, we have a lot of experience with stone floors and have the know-how and equipment to achieve a good result. You will see from the photographs we took time to protect the new kitchen units whilst we were cleaning, this is standard practice for a Tile Doctor it is just a shame the kitchen fitters hadn’t done the same to protect the floor.

Cleaning a Brazilian Black Semi Riven Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

Work started by stripping off the old sealer with a product called Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was diluted and worked in with a 200-grit diamond milling pad. This process leaves the floor free of old sealers and dirt resulting in lots of soiling which was rinsed off with water and extracted with an industrial wet vacuum.

Brazilian Black Slate During Cleaning Kendal

The next step was to treat the floor to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up, this removes any mineral staining from the tile including grout smears and leaves the tile in a pH neutral state after the use of Remove and Go which is a strong alkaline product. Another advantage of doing this is that it will improve the bond with the new sealer later. Once that was done the floor was given a rinse with water to remove the Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up and then dried with a wet vacuum.

Sealing a Brazilian Black Semi Riven Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

Once the deep clean had been completed, the protective plastic was then removed from the kitchen units and the sealer was applied; on this occasion the client preferred a nice satin finish rather than a dull matt finish which was on there before we had arrived.

To seal the floor, we used Tile Doctor Seal and Go which produces an appealing satin finish and brings out the best in Slate tiles as you will see on the photos. The new sealer will protect the stone from staining and is very durable so will be ideal in this kitchen situation.

Brazilian Black Slate After Cleaning Sealing Kendal

For aftercare cleaning we recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This is pH neutral product that is effective yet won’t impact the newly applied sealer which can be a problem with stronger floor cleaning products.

Professional Restoration of a Brazilian Black Slate Tiled Kitchen in South Cumbria

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Flagstone Basement Floor Renovated Kendal Cumbria

Tired Black Flagstone Floor Restored in Kendal Basement

1 Comment / Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Kendal Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Heidi Taylor

I was contacted by a client in Kendal to see if I could help with their Black Flagstone basement floor. As you can see from the photographs it was in a bit of a state and the stone looked mostly White rather than Black.

Black Flagstone Floor Before Renovation Kendal

I carried out a site visit, to survey the floor and work out the best approach to restore its appearance. After testing a few different products and techniques I worked out an effective restoration plan and discussed this with the owner. Happy with my plan and costing’s we agreed a date to start the work. Being in the basement of the property had its challenges but it would mean we could work socially distanced from the owner.

Cleaning a Tired Black Flagstone Tiled Basement Floor

To restore the floors appearance, I started with a set of coarse wire (60 and 120 grit) brushes lubricated with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a strong coatings remover. I had considered using milling pads on the tiles to reveal a new surface underneath but that does involve the use of an expensive set of coarse pads and given it was a basement the owners didn’t feel the extra expense would be justified.

The wire grits work well on rough stone floors when attached to a weighted buffing machine and we add some Tile Doctor Remove and Go to the mix. Once clean the floor was rinsed with water and the slurry extracted using an industrial wet vacuum. After cleaning the floor, it looked transformed, some pointing was required so we carried this out after the main clean.

Sealing a Black Flagstone Tiled Basement Floor

The stone was left to dry out for a few days before returning to apply a sealer. For this floor I felt Tile Doctor X-Tra seal would be the best product and applied two coats. I chose X-Tra seal for this job as it ticks a lot of boxes, it’s a breathable oil-based resin sealer which being breathable will allow moisture to rise through the floor. Old floors like this don’t have a damp proof membrane so it is important to choose a sealer that can allow the floor to breath and not let damp build up under the floor where it can reach out to the walls and cause rising damp.

I also chose X-Tra Seal as it has a great ability to bring out the colour of the darker stone due to its high oil content, the oil will deter salts from forming if efflorescence is an issue. This is a unique property of this sealer as we never know if efflorescent salts are going to form or not so having this in place as a sealer is a great plus for a Tile Doctor, it is new to the market and is already proving popular on floors like this and for protecting external stone.

If the tiles are smooth Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal adds a bit of a sheen to the appearance of the stone however this stone was very rough, so we didn’t manage a shine, but the customer was happy with the matt finish and the slightly honed effect.

The floor looked great and much more appealing making the space more attractive and likely to be used. For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which will clean the floor without impacting the sealer which can be a problem with many of the stronger products you find in supermarkets.

Black Flagstone Floor After Renovation Kendal

Professional Restoration of a Black Flagstone Basement in Cumbria

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Victorian Tiled Entrance Floor Before and After Restoration in Prizet Kendal

Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Floor in Prizet, Kendal

1 Comment / Kendal Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Heidi Taylor

The photos below are of a 1.7 metre by 3 metre Victorian tiled floor at the entrance to a property in Prizet, south of Kendal. As you can see the hallway and porch was in a poor state due to old age and neglect. Some tiles were cracked, missing and stained with cement, and what I suspect was carpet adhesive. One of the tiles had a four-inch hole down to the cellar where a soil pipe was installed previously when the room was used as a downstairs W.C. The client was doubtful that we would be able to restore the floor but thought it would be worth contacting us just in case.

Victorian Tiled Entrance Floor Before Rebuild Prizet Kendal

I visited the property to take a proper look and found their description of the floor was accurate and clearly overdue some serious attention. I also noticed that some point in the past cracked tiles had been removed and replaced with cement. However, I was confident the floor could be restored and gave them a price for the restoration which they were happy to proceed with.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started by rebuilding the worst part of the floor which would require the services of my partner Russell. This involved removing the existing tiles, then preparing the concrete base which needed to be level and smooth before we started tiling.

Victorian Tiled Entrance Floor During Rebuild Prizet Kendal

We had previously managed to source very similar tiles which would be needed to replace those that were missing or damaged. Once the floor was prepped, the replacements were cut to fit taking care to ensure they matched the original pattern. Once cut they were fixed in place with flexible adhesive. We recommend the use of flexible floor adhesive on old floors due to the potential movement and the flexible floor adhesive doubles up as a grout as well. The floor was then left overnight to dry.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On day two the floor was deep cleaned using a 100-grit resurfacing pad followed by a 200-grit pad and then a 400-grit burnishing pad. The pads are attached to a rotary machine and the floor is rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum in-between.

We then finished the clean with an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up. This is needed to remove the cement stains from the surface of the Victorian tiles and neutralise any potential efflorescent salt issues in the tiles. Another advantage is the acid slightly etches the tiles making a better bond with the sealer.

The floor was given another rinse with water and then the wet vacuum was pressed into surface again to extract the fluids and get the floor as dry as possible before leaving for the day.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

We returned on the third day and first checked the floor was fully dry using a moisture meter. Four coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied to achieve a strong enduring seal that will cope well with the traffic coming through the entrance.

Colour Grow is a colour intensifying sealer that provides durable surface protection to the tiles, but at the same time allows the surface to breath which is important in a floor such as this where no damp proof membrane is present. The results speak for themselves I was particularly happy with the area where we had repaired the hole, it was barely noticeable.

Victorian Tiled Entrance Floor After Rebuild Prizet Kendal

Many thanks to my customer for sending over the before photos and for leaving the following testimonial.

“Great restoration job done on our Victorian hall and porch tiles including replacing broken tiles and cleaning. Now looking better than ever. Russell was very professional and knowledgeable. Nicola F. Kendal”

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Cumbria

Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Floor in Prizet, Kendal Read More »

Restoring and Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Vestibule in Kendal

1 Comment / Kendal Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Heidi Taylor

I often get asked to do small jobs as well as large kitchens, conservatories and hallways, and there is something especially satisfying about restoring a small entrance like this lovely Victorian tessellated tile floor. The property was in the historic market town of Kendal just to the south of the Lake District and famous for making Kendal Mint Cake.

Being at the entrance to the property the floor had seen some wear over the years and the once beautiful colours in the original tiles had become dull and dreary, and some of the smaller tiles along the edge of the floor had become loose over the years and were now missing. I was asked to repair the damage, clean the floor and restore the colours to their original glory!

Small Victorian Tiled Vestibule Before Cleaning Kendal

Deep Cleaning an Intricate Victorian Tessellated Tile Floor

My first task was to thoroughly clean the tiles and given these old Victorian floors have no damp proof membrane I was wary of potential damp problems which can be exacerbated by the excessive use of water. I decided the best approach would be to apply a coarse Tile Doctor 200-Grit Milling Pad fitted to a slow speed Victor burnishing machine. To lubricate the process, I used 500 ml of water and then added a little more as needed. I carefully went over the whole floor, then vacuumed up the excess water which was now saturated with dirt and grime!

I then went over the whole floor again, replacing the coarse Milling Pad with a Black scrubbing pad. This is designed to deal with heavily built up grime and dirt. I also applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel, a specially formulated PH1 blend of Phosphoric and Hydrochloric acids. This slow release gel works by breaking down any mineral salt deposits that might have built on tiled surfaces up over the years and removes grout smears. The final stage in this part of the project was to scrub the floor with a deck brush, rinse with water and extract immediately with a wet vacuum to leave the floor as dry as possible.

Small Victorian Tiled Vestibule After Acid Wash Kendal

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Vestibule Floor

Once the tiles had been deep cleaned I moved on to repairing the floor. Reproduction tessellated tiles in a design like this one can cost anything up to £300+ per square metre, so restoration is nearly always a cost-effective solution. It is, however, a precise process. The original floor would have been laid by highly skilled tilers who had to accurately position each element of the intricate mosaic pattern. The grout lines were also very fine to allow for tiny dimensional differences without spoiling the beautiful pattern.

Sometimes new tiles can be a shade lighter or darker than the original tiles which are usually well over 100 years old! I always explain this to customers before taking on a job like this because sometimes it is just not possible to find an acceptable match and it is then the customer’s choice whether or not to go ahead. In this case, luckily, I was able to find replacement tiles that were going to work, so I took out all the damaged tiles and carefully replaced them with new ones.

Small Victorian Tiled Vestibule During Repair Kendal

The last stage for that day was to carefully grout the restored areas to secure the tiles and then clean off the excess grout haze. I left the floor over night to dry out completely.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Vestibule Floor

The next day I checked the floor for damp with a damp meter as too much moisture in the floor can affect the sealer. All was well, so I sealed the now clean and restored floor with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying sealer that brings out the amazing colours in the tiles. The sealer will provide durable surface protection and Colour Grow is what we call a breathable sealer that will allows any damp or mineral salts to rise up through the tile. The acid wash we gave the floor during cleaning should counter any efflorescence salt issues however if they do appear they can be easily washed off with clean water.

Small Victorian Tiled Vestibule After Cleaning Kendal

This may have been a small vestibule, but the restored floor now makes a real statement as you enter the customer’s house!

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Vestibule in Kendal

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Shower Room Tile and Grout Restoration in Kendal

1 Comment / Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Kendal Tile Cleaning, Work History / Heidi Taylor

One of the first issues people have with shower rooms is the Silicone needs to be replaced, even a good quality Silicone like Mapei Ultra-seal which is fully waterproof and stain and mould resistant can still succumb to persistent damp issues. In fact it can get so humid in these areas the warm atmosphere is akin to a tropical rain forest.

To avoid the build-up of mould I recommend you rinse the wall tile and silicone down with plain water from the shower head after every shower and then leave the tiles to dry. Open the window and door to let out the warm condensation and after 5 to 10 minutes partly close the window (to the security setting) and then partly close the door, this then normalizes the room temperature thus inhibiting mould spores from blooming, as mould wont start to Spore on a cold room.

The pictures were taken from a shower room at a house a few miles up the road in Kendal where mould had caused a lot of staining to the silicone sealant and to the tile and grout both inside the shower cubicle and in the bathroom itself. There were also a couple of loose tiles around the base of the shower cubicle which needed to be re-fixed.

Shower Cubicle Before Restoration Kendal

Cleaning Ceramic Tile and Grout

We started by spraying the tile and grout down with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline cleaner, spraying it on mixes it air which helps it to stick to Vertical surfaces allowing it to get to work on the dirt. We left it to dwell for ten minutes before scrubbing it in by hand using a stiff grout brush; this process certainly improved the grout but unfortunately it had become too badly stained to be satisfactory so we decided to recolour the grout using a white grout colourant.

Once the shower tile was dry the loose tiles were removed and the damp plaster board behind chopped out and replaced. The tiles were then cleaned up, fixed back into position, then grouted and the silicone sealant around the base of the shower cubicle was stripped out and replaced with new.

Shower Cubicle During Restoration Kendal

Colouring Grout

One to two coats of white colourant were applied to the grout throughout the shower cubicle and shower room in order to get a uniform appearance and this final touch completed the transformation.

The other advantage of these particular colourant products is that they are epoxy based and form a barrier of the grout preventing future staining and making it very easy to clean going forward.

I think you will agree bathroom now looks like it was recently installed.

Restoring the Appearance of Shower Cubicles in South Cumbria

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Quarry Tile Cleaning in Kendal Utility Room

Kendal Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History / Heidi Taylor

A customer from Kendal (famous for its Kendal Mintcake) called me in to look at their Quarry Tiled Utility floor, which was looking very dirty and stained. On inspection the sealer had broken down and was no longer protecting the tile resulting in dirt getting ingrained into the pores of the tile resulting in discolouration. We agreed what short of finish was required and the customer booked me in to do the work.

Cleaning Quarry Floor Tiles

My first job was to protect the surrounding areas from splashes so on my arrival I covered the wooden floor in the hallway before starting to remove the old sealer with Tile Doctor Remove and Go, I sprayed it on working in small areas leaving it to dwell for a while before scrubbing it in with a stiff brush making sure I scrubbed it in well before removing the soiled solution with a wet vacuum. I scrubbed all the grout joints at this point to make sure they were all clean and then washed the floor down to remove any chemical and neutralise the floor. It was a relatively small floor so I left it to dry and returned a few house later to seal it.

Sealing Quarry Floor Tiles

On my return I used a damp tester to make sure the floor was dry, which it was, so I sealed it with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a as well as protecting the floor brings the natural colours out in the tile. Naturally if the damp tester had showed that it was damp I would not have sealed the floor that day as the sealer would not have taken properly.

This job took me one day as it was only a very small floor and I was able to seal it in the same day the customer were happy with the result I went through the maintenance program and explained how to clean the floor.

To source Quarry tiles similar to these visit www.KendalTileandStone.co.uk

Restoration of Quarry Tiles in Kendal

Quarry Tile Cleaning in Kendal Utility Room Read More »

Changing the Grout Colour used on Porcelain tiles in Kendal

Grout Cleaning, Kendal Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Work History / Heidi Taylor

A customer in Kendal requested that the colour of grout installed on 20m2 newly laid textured Porcelain tile floor was changed; the tiler had used a Sandstone coloured grout and they were not happy with the colour or the grouting in general which looked patchy. I recommended the use of an epoxy Grout Colouring product that re-colours, seals and rejuvenates existing grout joints and comes in twelve different colours and after showing the customer the different colour options they picked Charcoal Grey.

Textured Porcelain Tile with Limestone Grout in Kendal

Applying Grout Colourant

I did a test area so they could see how it might look under the lights which went well and so I started to apply the grout colouring to the whole kitchen floor completing small areas until the entire floor was covered and taking care not to get any on the Porcelain tile as the textured surface makes it difficult to remove and requires the use of an white abrasive scouring pad. Normally you have to use a Pre-Treater product on the grout before Grout Colouring however this grout was new and so this step was unnecessary.

Textured Porcelain Tile with Charcoal Grey Grout in Kendal

This job took me one day and only required one tube of Grout Colourant. The owner was extremely happy with the result will now have a fairly maintenance free tiled floor as Porcelain tiles are very hard wearing and the epoxy grout colourant acts as a barrier and therefore unlikely to discolour.

To source similar Quarry tiles visit www.KendalTileandStone.co.uk

Changing the colour of grout in Kendal

Changing the Grout Colour used on Porcelain tiles in Kendal Read More »