Photo: Kayla Stark © 2016 Houzz
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Bath Stone is a material that we don’t often encounter. A variation of LimestoneCardiff was quite upset that her Bath Stone window sills had become so unsightly over the four-year period since her house was built, so much so that she contacted Tile Doctor to see if we could help. While at Tile Doctor we most often work on tiled floors, patios and shower cubicles, I was more than happy to assist in this situation. I popped round to the property to carry out some initial cleaning tests on an inconspicuous area of one of the window sills. I applied Tile Doctor Pro Clean, which is our high alkaline cleaner, since it’s a very versatile and reliable product, and is suitable for use on most kinds of natural stone. Some fantastic results were achieved quickly, with Pro Clean working efficiently to remove the green and black algae that I presumed came from the trees which were plentiful around the property. With the test clean a success, we agreed a date to complete the job. I returned on the agreed date with a ladder to treat the rest of the sills using Pro Clean, including the one on the first floor window. Before carrying out the work, I tested the stone for moisture and the readings were sky high. Therefore, I suggested to the customer not to seal the stone, but instead to maintain it using the same cleaning process as I had undertaken. The outcome of my restoration was brilliant, so now when the customer feels that the sills need to be rejuvenated again, she can do so very easily. Julian Iancono South East Wales Tile Doctor

These pictures of a Victorian Tiled Hallway are from a property in Canterbury that was once a nursing home and was now being renovated to become a children’s home. The building was being gutted and extended at the same time and when the carpet was pulled up in the hallway, they were surprised to find a relatively intact Victorian tiled floor underneath. Whilst they thought it bizarre that anyone would want to cover up such an attractive floor the carpet had protected it over the years. They realized it would make a marvellous feature at the entrance to the property, but professional restoration would be needed to do it justice. After a bit of research, they came across Tile Doctor and got in touch. Canterbury comes under my North Kent designation, so I went to visit the property and survey the floor and quote for doing the restoration. There were a few missing and loose tiles that would need replacing and refixing also there was a lot of ingrained dirt so a deep clean and application of a new sealer would be required. I gave them a price for the work which they readily accepted, and we arranged a suitable time to carry out the work. Subject to the building schedule I had calculated the floor would take three days to restore. On the first day I set about replacing and re-fixing the missing, broken, and loose tiles. This is delicate work as you need to extract the old tile without disturbing its neighbours and then clean up the area ready for its replacement. Being a Tile Doctor I keep a selection of stock tiles for repairs, some are reclaimed, and some are replica. Also, there are several companies still making Victorian style tiles so I can usually source what I need. After the individual missing and broken tiles had been replaced and the adhesive had set, it was then a matter of renovating the floor as a whole. The tiles were covered in a thick layer of carpet adhesive which needed a combination of specialist tools and products to remove. First, a liberal layer of Tile Doctor Remove and Go was applied and left to dwell for thirty minutes. Next, Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was added and scrubbed in with a black pad. This process softened the adhesive sufficiently in readiness for the next stage which involves using a set of diamond burnishing pads on a weighted buffing machine. Several applications were needed, each time with a successively finer grade of diamond pad and rinsing off the slurry in between. The tiles were first milled using a very coarse 50-grit pad, followed by 100, 200 and finally burnished with a 400-grit burnishing pads. This removed all the adhesive and dirt in the tiles, which was cleaned up using the wet vacuum. Old Victorian floors like this do not have a damp proof membrane installed under the floor, and with a lot of water being used in the cleaning process I was concerned White efflorescence salts could appear later as the floor dried. To counter this, I gave the floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel to counter and dissolve the salts, it also gives the tiles another clean and will remove any old grout smears further improving the appearance of the tiles. Once done the floor was left to dry overnight. On my return I tested the floor was dry by taking several moisture readings around the floor with a damp meter. Applying sealer to a damp floor is never advised and can lead to clouding and an unwanted finish. Happy that the tiles were dry, a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer was applied. This is an impregnating sealer with a colour enhancing component to ‘lift’ the stronger colours of the floor. Colour Grow however does leave a matt appearance and as the client had asked for a shiny finish it was topped up with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. This is a compatible topical sealer which added a mid to high sheen. By the end of the third day the Victorian floor looked brand new, and I received the following feedback from the client. Its rare to receive feedback from commercial customers so they were clearly overwhelmed with the transformation. Did not think this glued covered bad old floor could look sooooo good Fabulous Fantastic job Looks Amazing Thank you For aftercare I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which isn’t as harsh as many of the products you find in supermarket. Stronger products can actually strip off the sealer over time leaving it vulnerable to dirt and detracting from its appearance. Graham Davis North Kent Tile Doctor

I was recently engaged to refresh the Limestone tiled floor at a house in St. John’s Wood, which is a very affluent area and apparently has the 5th most expensive postcode in London so as you can imagine this was a very expensive floor. The client had requested an improvement condition of the Limestone tiles in the living room and a thorough clean, polishing and seal was required. Over time, the floor in this busy living room – which was also used as a play area for young children – had become dirty and certainly worse for wear with all the use it had been getting. So, I set about my work to get this floor back to looking its best. Cleaning and burnishing a Limestone floor My initial task before beginning the cleaning process was to remove any furniture (as well as toys) from the room so I would have a clear area to work in. I then applied a layer of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean cleaner, diluted with water, to the floor. Pro-Clean is also suitable for use on other natural stone floors such as Slate, Granite and Travertine. After leaving the solution to dwell for a period of a few minutes, I began to scrub the floor with a stiff hand brush. Whilst helping to remove a lot of the built up dirt on the surface of the tiles, the product also stripped off the old sealer and polish. Following this, I paid special attention to the dirty grout lines, cleaning them with Tile Doctor Oxy-Pro, a powerful, high-alkaline cleaner. After completing the cleaning, I rinsed the floor with clean water to remove any excess cleaning products. I then began to burnish the floor using Tile Doctor Diamond encrusted burnishing pads. This was done in four steps, as I used four different pads (coarse, medium, fine and very fine) rinsing the floor with water between each pad. I would recommend using this setup of four pads for restoring the appearance of polished stone floors; you starting with a coarse pad and the gradually work your way up to the very fine pad achieving a high polish finish in the process. I finished of the process with a quick rinse and a buffing pad to give the floor a final polish before I commenced the sealing. Sealing a Limestone floor My choice of sealer was Tile Doctor Colour Grow, which is specifically designed to not only provide durable surface protection, but also to intensify the colour of the tiles. The sealer penetrates deep into the pores of the stone, providing water resistance and long-term protection from ingrained dirt and stains. As you can see from the photos, the sealer really helped to accentuate the fantastic natural colours in the Limestone. My client was very pleased with the final result, and was amazed by how quickly I had been able to improve the state of her floor which, with a colourful and shiny finish, has really brightened up the living room.

This 1920s single bay house in Earlsdon had been restored by the builder from top to bottom. The hallway floor had been covered in laminate flooring which had been removed, revealing an Edwardian tiled floor beneath. Unfortunately, the plasterer had not covered the floor when working on the walls, so the tiles were now covered in plaster! The client was keen to keep as many original features as possible and called me in to see if the original 100-year-old floor could be renovated in keeping with the rest of the house. I visited the property to survey the tiles and explained that it certainly could be and having worked on hundreds of these renovations before I was confident of getting a good result. They were happy to go with my quotation and we arranged a time to carry out the work. The floor tiles themselves were in good condition, but I had to hand carefully scrape the plaster off the tiles before starting on the deep clean. With the plaster removed from the floor I applied Tile Doctor Acid Gel and worked it into the tiles with a coarse 100-grit pad. The floor was then rinsed, and the waste extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum. The process was then repeated with a 200-Grit and then a 400-grit pad until I was happy. The floor was then speed dried with fans whilst I worked on a repair around the threshold of one of the doors. The repair was relatively straight forward, and I managed to restore the tiling, so the repair was unnoticeable. The floor was then left overnight to completely dry out. Floors of this age don’t have a damp proof membrane so moisture can build up if they have been covered as in this case. The next stage in the restoration would be to apply a sealer and the floor needs to be dry before you do this otherwise the result can be patchy. Returning the following day, I first tested the floor with a damp meter to check the moisture levels in different parts of the floor to ensure it was dry enough to seal. The fans had done a good job and I was pleased to find that the floor was dry. To seal this floor, I used Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra, it’s a breathable acrylic based sealer that allows for moisture vapour to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface. This makes it ideal for situations where no damp proof membrane has been installed and there is a low risk of mineral salt deposits being formed (efflorescence). Once completed the transformation was huge and he Victorian tiles looked well suited to the hallway. Feedback from my client was they were over the moon with the newly restored floor! For regular cleaning, I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, this is a gentle pH neutral cleaner that will ensure the newly applied seal is retained and not eroded prematurely. This can be the problem with most household cleaning products which contain strong chemicals like bleach which can break down the sealer over time. Without a sealer dirt gets back into the pores of the tile which will mean the homeowner will need to get the floor cleaned and sealed again – a vicious circle! Mick Gayton Warwickshire Tile Doctor

This project won in the 2013 Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh Housing Excellence Award for Best Urban Renewal Renovation Project. The glass bowl was made in the glass studio owned by the owner which is adjacent to the residence. The mirror is a repurposed window. The door is repurposed from a boarding house. George Mendel

The following job was a bit different from the kitchen and hallway restorations we normally get asked to do, in fact this request came from the vicar of St. Mary’s Church in Far Cotton who wanted us to restore some beautiful old Quarry tiles which lead up to the main aisle. The church dates back to 1885 and given the wear on some of the tiles I can only assume they date back to the same Victorian period; the church is a really welcoming, community-focused place, so it was a pleasure for me to be asked to complete the work. The vicar’s main concern was the large amount of melted candle wax around the font – so much so that this his normal cleaners had been unable to remove it. He also wanted to know if the floors could be sealed to make ongoing maintenance easier – and this was certainly something we would be able to provide. The following photos show the condition of the floor before we started. The next photo shows the work in progress from halfway down the aisle. We started by breaking down any old sealer and the troublesome candle wax, using a black stripping pad in combination of Tile Doctor Pro Clean to deep clean the floor. Since Pro Clean, a high alkaline cleaner, is highly versatile and can be used on all kinds of natural stone and tile. While the church has cleaners that come in regularly to keep the building tidy for the parishioners, the old tiles really benefitted from a deep clean which tackled the stubborn ingrained dirt and staining that had built up over many years. Once I was satisfied that the tiles had been cleaned to the best of my abilities, they were then left for two weeks to fully dry as it is an old church and, understandably, there were some inherent damp issues. As aforementioned, the vicar was keen to have the tiles sealed to make them easier to keep clean and protect them against ingrained dirt and staining for the future. There are only a few situations in which we wouldn’t recommend sealing tiles, such as if they are patio tiles which will already be under constant exposure to the weather. The best choice of sealer for this particular situation was Tile Doctor Colour Grow, which is an impregnating, breathable sealer that won’t trap moisture in the floor and will provide great protection against further staining. Additionally, as an impregnating sealer, Colour Grow penetrates into the pores of the tile protecting it from within and with the added benefit of enhancing the natural colours and restoring the life and character back in the old, dull tiles. I applied it using a paint pad, before polishing it off. I’m pleased to report that the restoration was a great success. The vicar was very impressed with the work, and I’m sure the church community will also be very happy with the new, vibrant tiles. Phil Vissian Northamptonshire Tile Doctor

Photo: Kayla Stark © 2016 Houzz
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Photo: Kayla Stark © 2016 Houzz
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Photo: Kayla Stark © 2016 Houzz
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