It’s always a great surprise to find old tiled flooring hidden underneath carpet or linoleum which appears especially common with 19th century properties where it’s not unusual for the owners to uncover fantastically patterned, original Victorian tiled floors and, naturally, they want to restore them to their former glory. If you have a property of this type you might want to look under the carpets. The majority of the time, however, these tiles have been covered up for decades, allowing for thick layers of muck to build-up and are invariably damaged carpet grippers, surface glue and adhesive tape. This was pretty much the case with this customer who lives in the town of Warminster and was keen to have her own newly discovered Victorian hallway brought back to life, and called me down to see what could be done. Upon arrival at the property, I determined that the tiles would definitely require a very deep clean, including the remove of numerous glue stains, followed by the application of a new seal. Before I could begin the deep cleaning process, I needed to remove the carpet grippers and surface glue, attempting to remove as much as possible by hand using a scraper. For the particularly stubborn areas, I applied Tile Doctor Remove & Go, a powerful stripper specially designed to break down adhesives and solvents, and left it to dwell for 20 minutes to eat through the glue deposits. I then attached a black pad to a rotary machine and scrubbed the area thoroughly to clean the affected areas, before removing the resulting slurry using a wet vacuum and rinsed with clean water. Once I was satisfied that all of the glue had been removed, I proceeded to soak the floor using a solution of the high alkaline cleaner known as Tile Doctor Pro Clean. This is a versatile product that can be used on a wide range of natural stone floors to deal with heavy soil build-up. I left the Pro-Clean to dwell for ten minutes, and then scrubbed it into the tiles to remove the ingrained dirt and also to break down any old and ineffectual seals. The floor was then once again rinsed thoroughly with clean water which was then extracted using a wet vacuum before being left to dry for a couple of days. Upon our return to the property I immediately tested the floor for damp using a damp meter. This is an extremely important test to carry out before sealing any kind of tiled flooring, due to the fact that excess moisture left over from cleaning can cloud the sealer and damage its ability to protect against dirt and stains. Thankfully, the damp test revealed no excess moisture, and I was able to proceed with sealing the tiles. My choice of sealer was Tile Doctor Seal and Go, a water-based topical sealer that simultaneously provides both a stain resistant surface seal and a durable and aesthetically pleasing low sheen finish, also being water based it doesn’t give off a smell as it dries. This is a very cost effective product that is highly suitable for use on Victorian and Quarry tiles, I applied five costs to achieve the desired finish. The customer was very pleased with the final results. It’s always satisfying to restore original Victorian tiled floors to looking their best once again – and this one was no exception. Stuart Ford Wiltshire Tile Doctor

Terrazzo is a quite a bit different from the natural stone floors we most commonly work with. It’s a type of flooring material that was made popular by Venetian builders in Italy in the 1920s, but is ultimately descended from styles of design that date back hundreds of years. A typical Terrazzo floor consists of chips of marble or granite set in concrete and polished to result in a smooth surface. This Terrazzo floor, installed in the hallway of a property in Bridgend, South Wales, was in relatively good physical condition, but it had clearly lost its shine due to the build-up of dirt and muck over the years. In fact, it was first installed in around 1940! The owner was keen to have it rejuvenated to its best possible condition, so they asked me to come in to see what I could do. My first course of action was to apply Tile Doctor Pro Clean liberally across the floor and leave it to dwell for a short period. This is a high alkaline cleaner that is designed to deal with light to moderate soil build-up, and to strip away any old sealer remaining on the floor. I scrubbed the product in using a black pad fitted to a rotary machine and vacuumed up the resulting cleaning with a wet-vac machine. Next, to restore the shine to the floor, I undertook a process known as burnishing, which involves the application of diamond encrusted polishing pads. We will typically start with a Coarse grit pad to level off any uneven areas of the floor and grind down any particularly stubborn marks and stains. Then, we gradually refine the polish on the floor using Medium and Fine grit pads. A small amount of water is used as lubrication with each pad. After I had finished applying the first three pads in our four-pad system, I gave the floor a thorough rinse and left it to dry overnight. I returned to the property the next day and immediately ran some damp tests to check for excess moisture issues, which one might expect with an old floor like this one. Thankfully, the floor proved dry – and I could finish the burnishing process with the fourth and final Very Fine diamond encrusted burnishing pad, which achieved a beautiful shine finish. Finally, I sealed the floor with three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, an impregnating sealer which provides robust protection and enhances the coloured patterns in the Terrazzo. As you can see from the photos above, the floor is looking so much more colourful and bright after a deep clean, polish and a fresh seal. The customer was over the moon! Julian Iancono South East Wales Tile Doctor

The Bunker House is a two-story house with a bomb shelter in the basement. A bunker house is a two-story residential building with a basement bomb shelter. In a short time, we had to equip the basement, master the "two walls" principle and properly seal the windows to protect ourselves and our family from the impact of the shock wave. Our priorities have changed when choosing a home - proximity to the city center or transportation hubs no longer matters. Moreover, SENCE ARCHITECTS also took care of other safety aspects. According to the rules, the storage has two distributed exits outside, each with light "hints" of the direction of evacuation. The basement area is sealed and equipped with a double ventilation system. This is a zone of guaranteed protection against missile attacks, poisonous or radioactive substances, combustion products, and bacteriological weapons. The first mode works on air recovery, providing a fresh flow of it in the absence of heat loss. The second is carried out by a filter ventilation unit — it cleans the outside air, and then distributes it to the compartments and creates excess pressure. Thus, contaminated air will not penetrate inside even through small cracks in protective structures. CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION The structures of the building itself are made of strong reinforced concrete — this way SENCE ARCHITECTS suggests abandoning "glass" facades. The number of windows has also been reduced: they will have a protective anti-shock film, and in case of an explosive wave, they will be closed with reinforced shutters made of fire-resistant plywood. At the entrance to the house and bomb shelter, armored doors are installed. Water is supplied from its own artesian well, electricity — from its own diesel power plant. This means that possible damage to infrastructure facilities will not affect the lives of residents in any way. The house is equipped with modern types of radio- and telephone communication, and satellite Internet, which will work even in the bomb shelter. The signaling and air-raid alert systems are to be installed too. The systems are powered autonomously and have backup channels. Overall, given its specificity, the house is designed for a family of 4-5 people. Size / 733 sq.m. Year / 2022

The pictures showed are of an Encaustic Cement tiled floor that had been installed in the bathroom of a property in Twickenham. At the time the tiles were installed, they did not seal them and had since accumulated dirt, especially in the grout lines. Encaustic cement tiles have become extremely popular in the last few years with many beautiful artistic often geometric patterns available to choose from. The very nature of the cement-based tile however does make it slightly porous, and if left unsealed dirt will become ingrained in the tile making it difficult to remove and keep clean. Like grout they do therefore need to be sealed in order to keep them looking at their best for longer. Now we normally recommend using diamond encrusted burnishing pads when renovating Encaustic Cement tiles however in this case the face of the tiles were not too bad and it was really the grout that needed the most attention. So, to cut the cost for customer, I advised a straightforward alkaline scrub clean and seal. To clean the tile and grout I sprayed the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and left it to soak into the dirt for ten minutes. Space in the bathroom was quite tight so instead of using a mechanical floor scrubber I scrubbed the tile and grout by hand working the alkaline cleaning solution into the pores to release the grout in dirt. After scrubbing the floor was rinsed with a little water and the soil removed with a wet vacuum. Afterwards the floor was inspected, and any stubborn areas retreated with repeat of the process. After a final rinse, the floor was dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum. Fortunately, the weather has been amazing of late and so it did not take long for the floor to dry, being a small space and a little encouragement from a heat gun always helps. Removing excess moisture before sealing is essential as even a small amount can cloud the sealer resulting in an uneven appearance. Once satisfied that the floor was dry, I proceeded to seal it by applying a couple two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow across the Encaustic tile and grout. As an impregnating sealer Colour Grow penetrates the pores of the cement occupying the space and thus prevent any dirt from becoming ingrained there. Colour Grow’s colour intensifying properties also helped to deepen the black colour of the tile enhancing the contrast between the tiles and grout. Now the floor has been properly sealed it will be far easier for the customer to keep them clean in future. For maximum longevity of the sealer I recommend maintenance cleaning with Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner. Don’t be tempted to use supermarket cleaning products without reading the label first, many are simply too strong for cleaning sealed surfaces and will strip off the sealer prematurely leaving the tiles unprotected. Jonathan Oldham South Middlesex Tile Doctor

The Bunker House is a two-story house with a bomb shelter in the basement. A bunker house is a two-story residential building with a basement bomb shelter. In a short time, we had to equip the basement, master the "two walls" principle and properly seal the windows to protect ourselves and our family from the impact of the shock wave. Our priorities have changed when choosing a home - proximity to the city center or transportation hubs no longer matters. Moreover, SENCE ARCHITECTS also took care of other safety aspects. According to the rules, the storage has two distributed exits outside, each with light "hints" of the direction of evacuation. The basement area is sealed and equipped with a double ventilation system. This is a zone of guaranteed protection against missile attacks, poisonous or radioactive substances, combustion products, and bacteriological weapons. The first mode works on air recovery, providing a fresh flow of it in the absence of heat loss. The second is carried out by a filter ventilation unit — it cleans the outside air, and then distributes it to the compartments and creates excess pressure. Thus, contaminated air will not penetrate inside even through small cracks in protective structures. CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION The structures of the building itself are made of strong reinforced concrete — this way SENCE ARCHITECTS suggests abandoning "glass" facades. The number of windows has also been reduced: they will have a protective anti-shock film, and in case of an explosive wave, they will be closed with reinforced shutters made of fire-resistant plywood. At the entrance to the house and bomb shelter, armored doors are installed. Water is supplied from its own artesian well, electricity — from its own diesel power plant. This means that possible damage to infrastructure facilities will not affect the lives of residents in any way. The house is equipped with modern types of radio- and telephone communication, and satellite Internet, which will work even in the bomb shelter. The signaling and air-raid alert systems are to be installed too. The systems are powered autonomously and have backup channels. Overall, given its specificity, the house is designed for a family of 4-5 people. Size / 733 sq.m. Year / 2022

The Bunker House is a two-story house with a bomb shelter in the basement. A bunker house is a two-story residential building with a basement bomb shelter. In a short time, we had to equip the basement, master the "two walls" principle and properly seal the windows to protect ourselves and our family from the impact of the shock wave. Our priorities have changed when choosing a home - proximity to the city center or transportation hubs no longer matters. Moreover, SENCE ARCHITECTS also took care of other safety aspects. According to the rules, the storage has two distributed exits outside, each with light "hints" of the direction of evacuation. The basement area is sealed and equipped with a double ventilation system. This is a zone of guaranteed protection against missile attacks, poisonous or radioactive substances, combustion products, and bacteriological weapons. The first mode works on air recovery, providing a fresh flow of it in the absence of heat loss. The second is carried out by a filter ventilation unit — it cleans the outside air, and then distributes it to the compartments and creates excess pressure. Thus, contaminated air will not penetrate inside even through small cracks in protective structures. CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION The structures of the building itself are made of strong reinforced concrete — this way SENCE ARCHITECTS suggests abandoning "glass" facades. The number of windows has also been reduced: they will have a protective anti-shock film, and in case of an explosive wave, they will be closed with reinforced shutters made of fire-resistant plywood. At the entrance to the house and bomb shelter, armored doors are installed. Water is supplied from its own artesian well, electricity — from its own diesel power plant. This means that possible damage to infrastructure facilities will not affect the lives of residents in any way. The house is equipped with modern types of radio- and telephone communication, and satellite Internet, which will work even in the bomb shelter. The signaling and air-raid alert systems are to be installed too. The systems are powered autonomously and have backup channels. Overall, given its specificity, the house is designed for a family of 4-5 people. Size / 733 sq.m. Year / 2022

The Bunker House is a two-story house with a bomb shelter in the basement. A bunker house is a two-story residential building with a basement bomb shelter. In a short time, we had to equip the basement, master the "two walls" principle and properly seal the windows to protect ourselves and our family from the impact of the shock wave. Our priorities have changed when choosing a home - proximity to the city center or transportation hubs no longer matters. Moreover, SENCE ARCHITECTS also took care of other safety aspects. According to the rules, the storage has two distributed exits outside, each with light "hints" of the direction of evacuation. The basement area is sealed and equipped with a double ventilation system. This is a zone of guaranteed protection against missile attacks, poisonous or radioactive substances, combustion products, and bacteriological weapons. The first mode works on air recovery, providing a fresh flow of it in the absence of heat loss. The second is carried out by a filter ventilation unit — it cleans the outside air, and then distributes it to the compartments and creates excess pressure. Thus, contaminated air will not penetrate inside even through small cracks in protective structures. CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION The structures of the building itself are made of strong reinforced concrete — this way SENCE ARCHITECTS suggests abandoning "glass" facades. The number of windows has also been reduced: they will have a protective anti-shock film, and in case of an explosive wave, they will be closed with reinforced shutters made of fire-resistant plywood. At the entrance to the house and bomb shelter, armored doors are installed. Water is supplied from its own artesian well, electricity — from its own diesel power plant. This means that possible damage to infrastructure facilities will not affect the lives of residents in any way. The house is equipped with modern types of radio- and telephone communication, and satellite Internet, which will work even in the bomb shelter. The signaling and air-raid alert systems are to be installed too. The systems are powered autonomously and have backup channels. Overall, given its specificity, the house is designed for a family of 4-5 people. Size / 733 sq.m. Year / 2022

This hallway floor was actually at a house in the town of Stamford which is just over the northern border of Northamptonshire and slightly out of my area; however I was recommended to the owner by another client which is always welcome and a testimonial in itself. I work right across the county so it wasn’t long before I was in the general area and arranged a visit to carry out an inspection of the Victorian Quarry tiled floor and provide a quote for a full restoration. The owner of the house had just moved in recently and although the floor was in good overall physical, it was in need of a thorough clean and new seal to bring back some life to the tiles. Additionally she was having lots of other building work done to the house and she wanted to retain this as an original feature of the property. My quote was accepted and I was able to book the work in for the following week. These first photos show how dull the floor looked due to a build-up of builder’s dust and general wear and tear. They also show some of the equipment needed to undertake the following cleaning process. I used a brush and vacuum to remove as much loose debris and dust from the surface of the floor as possible. I then applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean to the floor which is a strong alkaline cleaner which can also be used to remove sealers; the solution was left it to dwell for roughly ten minutes before agitating it with scrubbing pads and brushes to remove the muck that was lifted to the surface. This was then wet-vacuumed twice to remove all the slurry and neutralise any chemicals. As it was such an old property I then used a steamer to heat up the tiles and draw up any contaminants and assist with the drying process. I also chose to install two fans and a dehumidifier to dry the floor even further. With the cleaning process complete – and achieving a marked difference to the appearance of the floor – I left the tiles to finish drying for 24 hours. Upon my return to the house, I checked for any excess moisture by running damp tests as this has the potential to affect the performance of the sealer. Once satisfied with the results, I sealed the floor with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, a colour enhancing sealant which offers both a robust surface seal and an aesthetically pleasing finish. I also carried out water repellency tests to ensure the sealer was working as expected and the floor had sufficient protection and will be hard-wearing for a hallway which is a high traffic area. On my client’s return to the house she was very happy with the final results – in fact, she was also in contact about some further work in the New Year! Phil Vissian Northamptonshire Tile Doctor

Recently I was called to a house in the very small town of Marton in Warwickshire which is known for its proximity to the medieval “Marton Bridge”, which lies just to the north, crossing the River Leam. The entire downstairs flooring of my client’s house consisted of Quarry tiles apart from one room where the tiles had been covered by screed and then linoleum. Quarry tiles are a classic hard wearing tile used for both internal and external commercial and residential flooring due to its ability to withstand heavy usage. Reception areas, outdoor patios and porches, for example, are commonly tiled using Quarry. My client wanted to restore the covered floor back to its original state so that it would match the rest of the downstairs. Realising that this would be a complex and physically demanding task, my client decided to call in Tile Doctor to carry out the restoration. Removing the Linoleum covering was a relatively straightforward process, so I was able to do this relatively quickly. The main issue concerned removing the screed, which is far more difficult to remove, requiring a lot of physical scraping. Thus I opted to call in some extra manpower in the form of the Nottinghamshire Tile Doctor, Steve Carpenter. With the two of us armed with scrapers we set about removing the screed, taking extra care not to damage the Quarry tile underneath. Once Steve and I had scraped off as much of the screed as physically possible, I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go, a stripper with cleaning properties that is particularly effective at breaking down coatings such as adhesives, plasters and sealers. The product was left to dwell for ten minutes before I worked it into the stone with a scrubbing pad. After cleaning the tiles, I noticed a layer of grout haze on the surface of the exposed Quarry tiles, so I applied Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to remove it. Once the cleaning process was complete I gave the floor a thorough rinse with clean water, before soaking up the resulting residue with a wet-vac machine. The first day of work was a gruelling 12 hours long, but I was very pleased with the results and left the floor to dry overnight. On day two I returned to finish the job by sealing the newly uncovered Quarry tiles, but not before using a damp meter to check that they were completely dry. Any excess moisture left on unsealed tiles can potentially effect the performance of any sealers that are applied. I sealed the tiles using Tile Doctor Colour Grow, an impregnating, colour-enhancing sealer which gave the surface an aesthetically pleasing shine, as well as durable protection against dirt and wear for the future. After two long days of work the job was done and the transformation was fantastic and highly rewarding to see, the house now has a fantastic looking Quarry tiled floor running throughout the entirety of the lower level. Mick Gayton Warwickshire Tile Doctor

The Bunker House is a two-story house with a bomb shelter in the basement. A bunker house is a two-story residential building with a basement bomb shelter. In a short time, we had to equip the basement, master the "two walls" principle and properly seal the windows to protect ourselves and our family from the impact of the shock wave. Our priorities have changed when choosing a home - proximity to the city center or transportation hubs no longer matters. Moreover, SENCE ARCHITECTS also took care of other safety aspects. According to the rules, the storage has two distributed exits outside, each with light "hints" of the direction of evacuation. The basement area is sealed and equipped with a double ventilation system. This is a zone of guaranteed protection against missile attacks, poisonous or radioactive substances, combustion products, and bacteriological weapons. The first mode works on air recovery, providing a fresh flow of it in the absence of heat loss. The second is carried out by a filter ventilation unit — it cleans the outside air, and then distributes it to the compartments and creates excess pressure. Thus, contaminated air will not penetrate inside even through small cracks in protective structures. CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION The structures of the building itself are made of strong reinforced concrete — this way SENCE ARCHITECTS suggests abandoning "glass" facades. The number of windows has also been reduced: they will have a protective anti-shock film, and in case of an explosive wave, they will be closed with reinforced shutters made of fire-resistant plywood. At the entrance to the house and bomb shelter, armored doors are installed. Water is supplied from its own artesian well, electricity — from its own diesel power plant. This means that possible damage to infrastructure facilities will not affect the lives of residents in any way. The house is equipped with modern types of radio- and telephone communication, and satellite Internet, which will work even in the bomb shelter. The signaling and air-raid alert systems are to be installed too. The systems are powered autonomously and have backup channels. Overall, given its specificity, the house is designed for a family of 4-5 people. Size / 733 sq.m. Year / 2022

I was recently contacted by a client who had just moved into a house in Crowborough, a town in East Sussex which by the way was once home to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories. The riven Slate tiled floor in the kitchen had trapped bits of dirt and also food which had become ingrained in the tile. Needless to say, the new homeowner wanted to give the kitchen floor a thorough clean. However, she had tried every cleaning product she could find in the supermarket, but to no avail. Struggling to find a solution she sought out professional assistance and naturally I was happy to help. My first task was to mix up a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The product was only slightly diluted with water, since the floor was quite heavily soiled and a higher concentration of Pro-Clean was needed to help remove several layers of dirt and food waste. Once applied to the floor, the solution was left to dwell for roughly five minutes before I began to work it into the stone with a deck brush. I did the best I could here to clean the floor without using my buffing machine as, since the floor was riven, my black buffing pad would have been ruined by the ridges. Making up for the lack of a buffing machine, I made sure to scrub the floor with Pro-Clean for several hours to remove as much grime as possible. One the cleaning was finally completed I rinsed the floor several times with clean, hot water. I then used a wet-dry vac machine to remove any excess moisture to clear the floor for sealing when I returned 48 hours later. Upon leaving, I left my client with instructions to avoid spilling anything on the floor as, again, any liquid left on the surface might affect the performance of the sealer. After a period of two days, I returned to commence the sealing. My choice of sealer was Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which is suitable for use on internal, unsealed surfaces such as Slate, textured Quarry, Victorian tile, and others. Seal and Go is also a water based sealer so you there’s very little smell given off whilst it dries compares to solvent based sealers. In this case, the client did not want the surface of the floor to be too shiny, so I only used two coatings of Seal & Go, whereas for a shinier result I would have used a few more. My client was exceptionally pleased with the results, which had not only cleaned the floor but brought out the beautiful colours in the stone that had once been hidden under several layers of muck.

This well crafted laundry room is designed to make the chore of laundry as enjoyable as possible. With a large window letting in natural light and excessive cabinetry, this room is spacious and functional.

Here’s a really interesting commercial job for you, which I recently completed in the town of Hinckley, Leicestershire. I was asked to take a look at a Victorian Geometric and Encaustic tiled floor in the historic Queen’s Head pub. This floor is over a century old and although in good condition for its age had suffered significant wear over the years, along with some cracked tiles and slight inherent moisture issues. What the pub landlord requested was a restorative clean to alleviate the aesthetically damaging effect of the wear, and to enhance the natural colours of the stone. I was also asked to seal the floor following the clean to achieve a semi-gloss finish. The first step in the cleaning process was to mix a strong solution of one part Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to four parts clean water. Pro-Clean is a high alkaline cleaner which also contains stripping properties, allowing it to break down old sealer and tackle heavy soil build-up. The solution was applied to the floor and left to dwell for 15 minutes, giving it times to seep into the stone, get underneath the dirt and lift it to the surface. I addressed several paint spots and areas suffering from glue contamination by using Tile Doctor Remove & Go, which is specially formulated to break down paint and adhesives on unpolished natural stone floors, amongst others. The entire floor was then scrubbed using a special floor cleaning pad, and the resulting slurry was vacuumed away using a wet-vac machine. The final issue to deal with was the inherent efflorescence staining. This was treated using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up, an acid-based product which removes not just efflorescence but also grout haze, mineral deposits, and rust stains. The solution here was one part Grout Clean-Up diluted with four parts water. After completing the clean, I thoroughly rinsed the floor with clean water to remove any trace of cleaning product and dried the floor as much as possible with a wet vacuum, then before leaving for the day i installed a couple of air movers to assist with drying overnight. Upon my return the following day, I checked the floor for any excess moisture before sealing it with our topical, semi-gloss finish sealer, known as Seal & Go Extra which due to its formula is ideal for external or old internal floors where there is unlikely to be damp from membrane. This unique product provides excellent protection, and allows the tiles to breath where floors are suffering from inherent moisture issues. It is suitable for both internal and external use, on Victorian floor tiles, Sandstone, Flagstones, Terracotta, and rough Slate. As you can see from the photo, I was able to fulfil my client’s request to a high standard, bringing the pub’s old yet characterful Victorian tiled floor back to life again. Kay Sylvester Leicestershire Tile Doctor

The Bunker House is a two-story house with a bomb shelter in the basement. A bunker house is a two-story residential building with a basement bomb shelter. In a short time, we had to equip the basement, master the "two walls" principle and properly seal the windows to protect ourselves and our family from the impact of the shock wave. Our priorities have changed when choosing a home - proximity to the city center or transportation hubs no longer matters. Moreover, SENCE ARCHITECTS also took care of other safety aspects. According to the rules, the storage has two distributed exits outside, each with light "hints" of the direction of evacuation. The basement area is sealed and equipped with a double ventilation system. This is a zone of guaranteed protection against missile attacks, poisonous or radioactive substances, combustion products, and bacteriological weapons. The first mode works on air recovery, providing a fresh flow of it in the absence of heat loss. The second is carried out by a filter ventilation unit — it cleans the outside air, and then distributes it to the compartments and creates excess pressure. Thus, contaminated air will not penetrate inside even through small cracks in protective structures. CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION The structures of the building itself are made of strong reinforced concrete — this way SENCE ARCHITECTS suggests abandoning "glass" facades. The number of windows has also been reduced: they will have a protective anti-shock film, and in case of an explosive wave, they will be closed with reinforced shutters made of fire-resistant plywood. At the entrance to the house and bomb shelter, armored doors are installed. Water is supplied from its own artesian well, electricity — from its own diesel power plant. This means that possible damage to infrastructure facilities will not affect the lives of residents in any way. The house is equipped with modern types of radio- and telephone communication, and satellite Internet, which will work even in the bomb shelter. The signaling and air-raid alert systems are to be installed too. The systems are powered autonomously and have backup channels. Overall, given its specificity, the house is designed for a family of 4-5 people. Size / 733 sq.m. Year / 2022

The Bunker House is a two-story house with a bomb shelter in the basement. A bunker house is a two-story residential building with a basement bomb shelter. In a short time, we had to equip the basement, master the "two walls" principle and properly seal the windows to protect ourselves and our family from the impact of the shock wave. Our priorities have changed when choosing a home - proximity to the city center or transportation hubs no longer matters. Moreover, SENCE ARCHITECTS also took care of other safety aspects. According to the rules, the storage has two distributed exits outside, each with light "hints" of the direction of evacuation. The basement area is sealed and equipped with a double ventilation system. This is a zone of guaranteed protection against missile attacks, poisonous or radioactive substances, combustion products, and bacteriological weapons. The first mode works on air recovery, providing a fresh flow of it in the absence of heat loss. The second is carried out by a filter ventilation unit — it cleans the outside air, and then distributes it to the compartments and creates excess pressure. Thus, contaminated air will not penetrate inside even through small cracks in protective structures. CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION The structures of the building itself are made of strong reinforced concrete — this way SENCE ARCHITECTS suggests abandoning "glass" facades. The number of windows has also been reduced: they will have a protective anti-shock film, and in case of an explosive wave, they will be closed with reinforced shutters made of fire-resistant plywood. At the entrance to the house and bomb shelter, armored doors are installed. Water is supplied from its own artesian well, electricity — from its own diesel power plant. This means that possible damage to infrastructure facilities will not affect the lives of residents in any way. The house is equipped with modern types of radio- and telephone communication, and satellite Internet, which will work even in the bomb shelter. The signaling and air-raid alert systems are to be installed too. The systems are powered autonomously and have backup channels. Overall, given its specificity, the house is designed for a family of 4-5 people. Size / 733 sq.m. Year / 2022

Every now and again, I get a call from a client located on the small peninsula of Sandbanks, Poole. Sandbanks, sometimes referred to as ‘Britain’s Palm Beach’, is known for its fantastic beach and high value property. My client asked me to take a look at a Travertine floor in his kitchen which was, in fact, more highly polished than he had wanted. The polished finish had worn off the travertine tiles where they had been walked on, leaving a dull trackway running down the centre of the kitchen. With its distinct characteristics, travertine is a popular choice for kitchen flooring, although it is also quite often used in bathrooms. In any case Travertine tiles will need regular maintenance to keep them looking their best. Unfortunately, the kitchen floor must have experienced some sort of settlement or shrinkage as a long crack has appeared, which ran along the same line as the dull trackway. It is not uncommon for Travertine tiles to crack due to wear over time, or even bad fitting in some cases. While the exact cause of the crack was unclear, the homeowner concluded that the floor was certainly in need of restoration. Repairing a crack in a Travertine tiled floor Replacing the Travertine tiles was not an option due to a lack of spare tiles, so I opted instead to fill the crack in the floor using Harbro Stone Filler, an epoxy stone filler, matching the colour of the tile as closely as possible. I left this to set, before sanding down the excess filler. My next action was to use a set of Tile Doctor Diamond burnishing pads to sand out any scratches and restore a more even shine to the floor, as per the client’s request. For polished stone, I recommend using a set of four burnishing pads applied in order: Coarse, Medium, Fine, and Very Fine. I used these one after the other with a little water to lubricate and restore the surface polish to the desired level. Sealing a Travertine tiled floor The next day, I returned to seal the floor with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer. Colour Grow is a colour enhancing, impregnating sealer which penetrates deeply into the pores of the stone, thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained within. This particular sealer also enhances the natural colours within the Travertine tile, whilst also providing long term durable protection. Although the crack could not be made to disappear completely, its appearance was much improved. The customer was also very pleased with the long-lasting lower sheen provided, describing it as “the finish I had wanted in the first place when the tiles were fitted”.

Earlier this year I was contacted by a lady in Icklesham which is a small village near Hastings. My client requested a deep clean for her Limestone tiled kitchen floor which had, over time, become quite dirty, with the grout in particular being very much worse for wear. Limestone is a popular choice for tiled floors however it needs to be sealed to ensure dirt doesn’t get into the pores of the stone otherwise it becomes difficult to clean and if the sealer is not maintained it will wear down and the floor will lose its protection especially in high traffic areas such as kitchens. Cleaning a Limestone tiled kitchen floor My product of choice for cleaning this floor was Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which I found to be particularly effective in lifting ingrained dirt out of the grout. I used a stiff grout brush to work the solution of Pro-Clean diluted with warm water to work the cleaner deep into the grout. I also used a buffing machine fitted with a scrubbing pad and more Pro-Clean to lift the dirt out of the Limestone tiles. It wasn’t long before the dirty grout lines began to disappear, and the floor was well on its way to looking great again. Once I’d also cleaned the nearby utility room, bathroom and cloakroom in a similar manner, I gave the floor a thorough rinse with fresh water before using a wet-dry vac machine to remove the soiled water from the surface of the tiles. I removed as much moisture from the Limestone tile and grout as possible to speed up the drying process as it’s important to ensure a stone floor is bone dry before sealing it as any excess moisture will compromise the sealer. Applying Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer to Limestone tiles I left the floor for three days to dry before returning and used a damp meter on my return to confirm the floor was in-deed dry, spring had arrived and the sunshine really helped. My choice of sealer for the Limestone tiles was Tile Doctor Colour Grow, a product which soaks into the pores of the stone to enhance the colour of tiles whilst also providing durable protection. In this case two coats of Colour Grow were applied and as you can see from the photographs this really did bring out the fantastic natural colours in the Limestone and exaggerate the shading. At the same time, the added surface protection will help the floor stay looking great for longer, even with a lot of usage. When she returned from dog walking, my client was so pleased with the final result that she almost screamed the house down! She was so pleased, in fact, that she promised to have me return every year to ensure her floor was maintained to a high standard. I was also really happy with my work, particularly in terms of getting the grout into far better condition than it had been before.

The Bunker House is a two-story house with a bomb shelter in the basement. A bunker house is a two-story residential building with a basement bomb shelter. In a short time, we had to equip the basement, master the "two walls" principle and properly seal the windows to protect ourselves and our family from the impact of the shock wave. Our priorities have changed when choosing a home - proximity to the city center or transportation hubs no longer matters. Moreover, SENCE ARCHITECTS also took care of other safety aspects. According to the rules, the storage has two distributed exits outside, each with light "hints" of the direction of evacuation. The basement area is sealed and equipped with a double ventilation system. This is a zone of guaranteed protection against missile attacks, poisonous or radioactive substances, combustion products, and bacteriological weapons. The first mode works on air recovery, providing a fresh flow of it in the absence of heat loss. The second is carried out by a filter ventilation unit — it cleans the outside air, and then distributes it to the compartments and creates excess pressure. Thus, contaminated air will not penetrate inside even through small cracks in protective structures. CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION The structures of the building itself are made of strong reinforced concrete — this way SENCE ARCHITECTS suggests abandoning "glass" facades. The number of windows has also been reduced: they will have a protective anti-shock film, and in case of an explosive wave, they will be closed with reinforced shutters made of fire-resistant plywood. At the entrance to the house and bomb shelter, armored doors are installed. Water is supplied from its own artesian well, electricity — from its own diesel power plant. This means that possible damage to infrastructure facilities will not affect the lives of residents in any way. The house is equipped with modern types of radio- and telephone communication, and satellite Internet, which will work even in the bomb shelter. The signaling and air-raid alert systems are to be installed too. The systems are powered autonomously and have backup channels. Overall, given its specificity, the house is designed for a family of 4-5 people. Size / 733 sq.m. Year / 2022

We work on a lot of residential tile installations but also cover commercial properties too, such as this new farm office which was in the process of being built in the market town of Driffield, East Yorkshire where a Flagstone tiled floor had been laid at the entrance. Driffield is known as the ‘Capital of the Yorkshire Wolds’ and lies near the source of the River Hull. The farm office project was very big and, with the pressure on to complete it in time, the floor had been laid without being sealed first. As a result, the floor was getting dirty very easily, and was proving difficult to keep clean. It was clear that the Flagstone tiles would need to be cleaned and sealed, and I was called upon to get the job done. To clean the floor I first mixed a 50:50 solution of clean water and Tile Doctor Pro Clean. Pro Clean is a high-alkaline cleaner which is safe to use on a wide range of natural stone floors. The cleaning solution was worked in using a rotary machine fitted with a black buffing pad which proved an effective method, lifting off the dust and residue that had been left on the surface of the Flagstone tiles during the course of construction work. The excess residue was extracted using a wet-vac machine. I then repeated the whole process over again several times in order to get the floor as clean as possible. To seal the floor I used a combination of two different Tile Doctor sealers. Firstly, I applied a layer of Tile Doctor Colour Grow to the floor. This colour intensifying sealer is specially formulated to enhance the fantastic natural colours in the stone, while at the same time providing durable surface protection. The floor was then finished off with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go. This added to the stain resistance of the floor, while also delivering a very nice subtle shine on the surface. All signs of building work have been removed from the stone floor and it is now looking presentable ready for the opening of the new office, the combination sealer applied to the floor will also make sure it stays that way for some time to come. Ronnie Phipps East Yorkshire Tile Doctor