This enquiry from Neath came from an elderly gentleman who was moving into a care home in the near future and wanted his Victorian tiled hallway renovated before the property went on the market. He mentioned he didn’t think it was that dirty however it could do with a clean and reseal. We arranged to call in one morning and take a look at the tiles and whilst there we completed a test clean so we could provide an accurate price for renovating the floor. For the clean I applied Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, the purpose of this was to see whether and how fast the dirt would shift and also to get an idea of the condition of the floor beneath the layer of dirt. The test clean went well and the owner was happy to accept our price and suggested that as we had already made a start we might as well continue. Fortunately, there were two of us that day and I only had a couple of other quotes in the area, so I was able to crack on. I should mention this work was done at the beginning of 2020 before the COVID-19 lockdown. All sorts of detritus gets walked into hallways so we began by using a hand held scraper to take off any anything that sat upon/above the floors surface. This also makes the cleaning process that little bit easier for us. The earlier test clean had enabled us to establish which cleaning methods and products would work best on the floor so it was just a question of putting the plan into action. The process involved applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to the floor, leaving it to soak in for ten minutes and then working it with a coarse 400-grit diamond pad fitted to a rotary buffer. More water was applied for lubrication where required and the soil produced afterwards was rinsed off and extracted with a wet vacuum. The pad is encrusted with industrial diamonds and cuts into the tile and removes a very thin layer leaving the tile very clean. After extracting the soil, the floor was inspected, and we noticed that there were a few tiles throughout the floor that needed more work. To deal with these we used hand-held diamond blocks of varying grits to remove the ingrained dirt and bring the tiles back to life. The client was over the moon with the results of the cleaning and we scheduled a date of the following week to come back and seal the tiles. We also discussed sealers and he had asked if we could leave the floor with a shiny finish. With that in mind we recommended Tile Doctors Seal and Go which works really well on Victorian tiles. It is also water based and so doesn’t produce a smell as it dries. On our return the floor was given a quick wipe down and once dry sealed with four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which will add protection and make them easy to keep clean. Once complete the floor looked great and very welcoming, just what you need when selling a property as initial impressions always count. Adrian Iacono Swansea Tile Doctor

This client owned a property in Haringey, North London, which had a classic Victorian tiled floor laid in the hallway. Unfortunately, the floor was in a bad state, the tiles were dull and dirty and there was a missing section by the bottom of the stairs that had been back filled with cement. Fortunately for him however his neighbour decided to remove their front path which was made with matching tiles and so he was able acquire replacements from him. He then contacted us to see if we could use those tiles to fill in the missing ones and revive the whole floor with a clean and seal at the same time. Before quoting for the restoration work, I paid a visit to the property to survey the floor. I can give quotes from photographs, but much prefer to visit and conduct a test clean, and in this case, I was able to check the spare tiles he had acquired. From that I emailed a quote which the client was happy with, so we arranged a date to return and do the work. This was a large job, so I teamed up with Jackson Davis the Central London Tile Doctor and whilst Jackson started on cleaning the floor, I took the reclaimed tiles outside and carefully grinded off the excess cement and adhesive from them and cleaned them by hand. We managed to do this by about 3pm. Jackson and I work on a lot of jobs together so it made sense to work as a bubble from the beginning of Covid so we could continue to work together, with two of us on the job it also means we can get the job done quicker. Cleaning the floor involved applying a 200-grit diamond burnishing pad to the tile lubricated with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, the slurry was then rinsed off the floor with more water and then extracted with an industrial vacuum. The process was repeated on stubborn areas until we were satisfied the tiles were really clean. We then moved onto carefully removing the cement from the floor at the bottom of the stairs and cleaning up the base. Once done the newly renovated replacement tiles were laid in place using a rapid setting adhesive which meant they could be grouted later that day before heading home. The floor was then left overnight to dry off. We then returned the following day and took some moisture readings with the damp meter. The readings were within the expected range, so we were good to go ahead and apply the sealer. If the floor is not dry the seal will not cure properly, and this can lead to a patchy finish. Three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied to seal the tiles. This is a colour intensifying impregnating sealer that works from with and will gives the Victorian tiles durable protection, ideal for a high traffic area such as the hallway. In addition, Colour Grow is a fully breathable sealer so it will allow for moisture to rise through the tile and evaporate, this is critical for floors of this age that will not have the benefit of a damp proof membrane installed under the floor. The hallway is now looking transformed by the work we did, we certainly thought so, but more importantly our client was very happy with the result and now has the floor he hoped for. Andrew Newstead North London Tile Doctor

For this job I travelled to the town of Albrighton, which is actually the most easterly settlement in the whole of Shropshire. My client had an issue with their Marble tiled floor which was installed in the kitchen and hallway. They had dropped and broke a bottle of vinegar in the kitchen, and the substance unfortunately came in contact with the tiles. Since Marble is highly sensitive to acid, the vinegar (an acetic acid) had basically etched the surface of the tiles make it impossible clean chemically. Although the tiles were a nice, expensive Marble, the person who had first installed them had done a poor job, leaving lippage of up to 5mm in some areas, which would make work trickier. Undeterred I could see it would be possible to restore the floor using a combination of burnishing for the tiles and cleaning with a high alkaline product for the grout lines. I demonstrated this to my client on one tile which went well and I was then given the go ahead to restore the entire floor. My first task focused on cleaning the grout lines using a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in with a stiff grout brush. Pro-Clean is a high alkaline cleaner suitable for use on most types of natural stone floor. It helped to alleviate most of the grout staining caused by the vinegar, whilst also lifting out any ingrained dirt and muck, and this left the grout looking a lot cleaner. After cleaning the grout lines I was able to move on to burnishing the tiles. As previously mentioned, no chemical product would be able to have an effect on the damaged tiles, so I resolved to burnish them using a system of four diamond encrusted burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine. Working first with a coarse burnishing pad, and moving through to medium, fine and very fine pads, lubricated with a little water, I was able to significantly reduce the appearance of the acid stains, while also giving the tiles a nice polished finish. Following the cleaning and burnishing processes I gave the tiles a good rinse to remove any remaining residue and then ensured the floor was completely dry before starting on the sealing. To seal the floor and maximise the appearance I used Tile Doctor Colour Grow and Tile Doctor Shine powder. Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer that seeps into the pores of the stone intensifying and enhancing the natural shades and colours in the stone whilst also providing stain protection; Shine Powder on the other hand is a crystallising powder that is ground directly into the tiles to provide a high shine finish and durable surface protection. My client and her husband were really happy with the results and left the following message on the Tile Doctor Feedback system: “Jozsef was a charming young man in every respect, who worked very hard and achieved an amazing result. The tiles look better than the day they were laid. We are absolutely delighted with the work he has done and will recommend him to all our acquaintances. Thank you, Jozsef!” Jozsef Hoffmann Shropshire Tile Doctor

I thought I would share this case history of a Yellow and Black Victorian Tiled floor that we worked on at a large house in Lancaster last year. It’s a great example of the typical problems we face with old Victorian floors, especially around door thresholds where the transition between the different foundation invariable cause problems. I didn’t know the full history of the floor, but it was now in quite a state and recent renovation work had left the floor unstable with loose and cracked tiles. The tiles needed to be removed and then the damaged subfloor carefully scraped out and replaced. Once that was done the floor would need relaying and then cleaned and sealed so everything would blend in. After visiting the property and providing a quotation we were given the go ahead and agreed a date to do the work. We returned on the agreed date and set about carefully removing the loose and cracked Victorian tiles and put them aside for later use. Some would need replacing however this would not present a problem and they are still widely available, and I have several contacts I can turn to for this. Once this was done and the subfloor exposed and cleaned up, I used self-levelling cement to bring the floor level up and in-line with the existing. This now needed to set hard, so the rest of the day was spent cleaning up the tiles we removed earlier with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up and Pro-clean. Our goal is to reuse as many of the original tiles as possible to preserve the heritage of the floor. The next day with the new subfloor set it was ready for tiling. This involves laying out the tiles first without adhesive carefully cutting and fitting new tiles as needed to maintain the overall pattern of the floor. Once I was happy the tiles were moved to a board and then fitted with fresh adhesive. I came back on day three with the aim of cleaning the floor so it could be sealed however whilst inspecting my new tiling I was disappointed to discover some were not as level as I had hoped. I had noticed the replacement tiles were not the same thickness as the originals the previous day but I had worked around this by using different levels of adhesive, clearly this plan was not as effective as I had hoped for. To counter this problem, I used a set of 50-Grit, 100-grit and then 200-grit diamond pads in sequence to mill the floor flat and remove the lippage between them. This is done with water to lubricate the process and a weighted floor buffer. The pads generate a lot of slurry and so you need to rinse this off with more water and extract all the soil after each pad. I followed this up with various Diamond burnishing pads of increasingly finer grits across the whole floor until we achieved a consistent finish and had the added benefit of getting the whole floor clean. More water is used to rinse the tiles after burnishing and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum as before. Once done and inspected the floor was left to dry off overnight. Tile Doctor Colour Grow was applied to enhance the appearance of the tiles and protect them going forward. This product copes well with damp which can always be a problem with old floors like this one with no damp proof membrane present. The floor looked amazing when finished and our attention to detail had really paid off, in fact you simply could not tell we had done any tiling work or replaced any tiles. For aftercare I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is designed for the regular cleaning of sealed tiles. Russell Taylor Lancashire Tile Doctor

We were called out to look at this new Black Limestone patio in Ashford which was not looking as it should. The client had laid it himself but unfortunately had not managed to polish off all the grout from the surface of the Limestone thereby degrading the appearance of the stone. Grout Smearing or Grout Haze is a common problem when it comes to tiling and this problem seems to be on the increase due to new grout formula’s which are tougher but dry a lot faster. Usually, the excess grout can be removed using a mild acid however it is not possible to do that on Limestone as this Stone is acid sensitive and as well as etching the stone can cause it to turn white. I know Tile Doctor has resolved a few jobs like this in the past for builders who do not always understand the unique characteristics of the stone. I discussed with the client how Tile Doctor could help and gave him a quote for the work to be carried out. He was happy to go ahead so having consulted the weather forecast for a couple of dry days we agreed a date to return. To remove the Grout Haze and clean the appearance of the Limestone I applied a Tile Doctor Brick and Patio Cleaner and worked it in with a coarse 400 grit diamond encrusted burnishing pad. The coarse pad does leave the stone looking a little rough, so the surface was then renovated using the finer burnishing pads of 800 and 1500 grit using water for lubrication. By using the pads in sequence, it gradually smooths the surface of the stone. Once done the tiles were rinsed with water and the soil removed with an industrial wet vacuum. The patio was looking good, the day was nice and bright, so we left the patio for a few hours to dry in the sun. Once the stone was dry the patio was sealed with single coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil which is an impregnating sealer that improves strength and restores colour to the stone. Once dry the Stone Oil was followed by a coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer which like the Stone Oil penetrates the pores of the stone improving colour and adding protection. The treatment and combination of products transformed the appearance of the patio and provided the client with exactly the look he required. As you can see from the after pictures the patio had a rich black colour and looked as it should. The client was over the moon with the result and was thankful that we had managed to rescue his work. Lesson learned for any future project he might take on, beware of grout haze! Michael Conlon South Kent Tile Doctor

These photographs were taken of a bathroom and WC in a property in Histon The client had just had these modern Encaustic tiles laid a couple of months prior. The owner had never been happy with the final look of them and from the markings on the surface it looked like had been damaged in storage or left outside and neglected. They are a pretty unusual design so I can only assume the tiler thought their appearance was perfectly normal at the time of installation. I was confident I could improve the appearance of the tiles and gave the client a quote for the work. Whilst she didn’t want to spend more money on her new floor, she did want it to look as it should, so rather reluctantly she agreed to go ahead. Histon is next to Impington, they are small villages in Cambridgeshire, over the years the two villages have grown and have entwined together. Many villagers in fact do not know where one village starts and the other ends. The have 6 pubs in total! I wasn’t sure what had been applied to the tiles so after adding protective tape to the wooden skirting I gave them a deep clean with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was worked into the tiles with a black scrubbing pad. Then to renovate the surface and remove the markings I honed the surface with 400-grit and then 800-grit burnishing pad using water to lubricate the process and rinsing and extracting the soil away after each pad with the wet vacuum. There were two areas that needed work so whilst one area was drying, I was able to get to work on the second and then return to the first later to apply a sealer. My product of choice for this floor was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer which improves the colour and works by penetrating the pores of the tile and protecting it from within. I applied three coats allowing each one to dry before applying the next. The bathroom now looked as it should have done from the beginning. My client was very happy with the improvement and left the following 5-Star review. I only had my floor tiles fitted a few months or so ago and was so disappointed with them. I called Tom and within a few hours, he had transformed them! They look absolutely fantastic! Great value for money as well! I recommended that in order to maintain the tiles, she should use Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner, this is a pH neutral cleaner which will keep the floor without harming the sealer. Many tile cleaning products are only designed for Ceramic or Porcelain tiles and are too strong for use on sealed floors where they will strip the sealer off with time. Tom Conlon Cambridge Tile Doctor

This client from Highgate in North London, N6 contacted us about their large honed Limestone tiled floor that was installed throughout the ground floor. It had been laid seven years prior and was now grubby and in need of a deep clean and seal including the grout which had turned black with dirt. I visited the property to survey and assess what was required and provided the owner with a quotation for the renovation. The hallway pictured was in the worst condition, it was a busy house with young children and dogs and over the years the sealer had worn down leaving it vulnerable to ingrained dirt. Without a sealer to protect the stone it had become heavily soiled and lost its original polished appearance. Happy with the quote we scheduled a date for the work to go ahead. The quote included deep cleaning and burnishing the stone to bring back the polish, grout cleaning and re-sealing the Limestone to protect it. We arrived on the first day and prepared the area by taping up the skirting and woodwork to protect them from potential splashing. Next step was to burnish the floor using a set of Tile Doctor Diamond Burnishing Pads, specifically the 400, 800 and 1500 grit pads fitted to a rotary machine, these were used in sequence running each pad over the tiles several times with water to lubricate the process. The water turns into a fine slurry as pores in the stone are opened and the dirt is released, the slurry is rinsed off with more water and extracted using an industrial wet vacuum after each pad. The finer 800 and 1500-grit pads slowly close the pores and refine the appearance of the stone building up the polish in the process. A strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was then applied to the grout lines, leaving it for a short while to soak in and then hand scrubbing with a grout brush. The dirty cleaning solution and were then removed from the floor with the wet vacuum. This process was repeated across the different sections of the Limestone floor until I was satisfied with its appearance. Before leaving for the day, I rinsed the floor again using a buffing machine fitted with a brush fitted to give it a final clean. The floor was dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum and then allowed it to dry off fully overnight. The following day the final 3000-grit pad in the four-pad set was applied to the floor to bring up the polish even further. The pad is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the tile. We call this process a “Spray Burnish” and as well as leaving the floor nice and dry ready for sealing it adds a nice subtle shine to the stone. The floor was then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer. This is a colour intensifying impregnating sealer that works by occupying the pores in the stone so dirt cannot become ingrained there. It will provide durable protection and make the floor much easier to keep clean. It worked well on the pale Limestone and beautifully enhanced the colour and features in stone. Once complete the floor looked brand new again. I left a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap with the client and gave them some information about how best to maintain the floor. This product is pH neutral and cleans whilst maintaining the patina on the stone helping to keep the floor in great condition. The client was delighted with the result and left us a great review. “Andrew is excellent and gets on with the job and we got a fantastic result. Highly recommend. By Aaron S, Highgate, 15 March 2021” Andrew Newstead North London Tile Doctor

Pontcanna is a popular residential area in the western district of Cardiff, in South East Wales. Known for its rather large houses and spectacular foliage, interestingly enough roughly a quarter of the population are English folk. I was called down to a property in the area to take a look at a Victorian tiled floor which was in quite poor condition. Along with the typical amount of dirt and muck seen on poorly maintained tiles, there were a number of missing tiles and a fair bit of cement caked on the surface of the floor. It would require a robust clean, fresh seal, and several repairs to get this floor back into optimum condition. To begin, I checked for excess moisture problems using a damp meter in various places of the hallway floor and, thankfully, it was showing dry results. Any dampness could have potentially caused problems later on in the restoration process, so it was s good idea to run tests before starting. Next, I manually scraped as much of the dry paint and cement off the tiles as possible, with no lubrication necessary. I then proceeded to clean the floor with a solution I mixed early, consisting of equal parts Tile Doctor NanoTech HBU and Tile Doctor Pro Clean, rinsing as I went. Both products are designed to tackle heavy soil build-up, with the former uniquely using nano-sized particles (as the product name suggests) to penetrate deep into difficult to reach areas in the tiles in order to lift out ingrained muck. Following the initial clean, I removed all of the loose tiles and those heavily affected by cement, before retiling as necessary with fresh Victorian tiles, and grouting the whole floor. Of course, these replacement tiles were carefully sourced to ensure consistency, as far as possible, with the original pattern of the floor. The next day, I went over the whole floor with an application of the acid-based Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up, diluted with a little alkaline Pro Clean to form a cleaning solution. I then used a black pad to scrub the cleaner into the tiles, similarly to the previous day’s cleaning. This was followed by a through rinse with water to neutralise the floor. It was at this point that I noticed some stubborn cement stains remained so I set about breaking them down using a 60 grade hand held diamond polishing block, and this technique proved successful. After completing the clean, I left the floor to dry out for roughly 24 hours. Upon my return to the property to seal the tiles, I tested again for moisture. It is recommended to run damp tests before sealing, as excess moisture can cloud the sealer, affecting its performance in the long run. Fortunately, no dampness was detected and I was proceeded to seal the floor with seven coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which enhances the natural colours in the stone and provides a nice satin gloss appearance, as requested by the customer. I was extremely pleased with the results of this restoration, as was the customer. The extent of the soil build up and damage was such before the restoration that, after completion, the floor looked like it had been newly laid! Julian Iancono South East Wales Tile Doctor

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. 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. 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. 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. Heidi Taylor South Cumbria Tile Doctor

Travertine floor tiles are very appealing and very hardwearing, but without the protection of a sealer to stop dirt becoming ingrained in the pores of the stone their appearance will degrade. Fortunately, this can be remedied as demonstrated in these pictures of a Travertine floor I recently polished at a house in Weston Favell, Northampton. This owner of the property had called me out as their kitchen floor was looking very sorry for itself and he was concerned that a lot of holes were appearing which was making cleaning the floor difficult as dirt was getting trapped in the holes. I went over and carried out a test clean on two separate tiles in the kitchen and the customer was amazed at how clean they came up and especially the grout. The kitchen was stunning, but unfortunately the state of the Travertine tiled floor was bringing down its overall appearance. Impressed with the test clean they were keen to get the whole floor renovated so we agreed a price and I scheduled the work in for the following month. I returned on the agreed data and made a start by protecting the kitchen units by removing the plinths and covering base units and the appliances with a protective film. We then commenced the cleaning process to remove surface dirt by cleaning with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean paying special attention to the grout lines. The holes in the Travertine were filled with a stone resin, mixing it to closely match the colours of the stone. The resin was allowed to dry before starting to re-polish the Travertine using a set of Tile Doctor Diamond encrusted burnishing pads. These pads are applied individually to each tile in sequence starting with a coarse 400-grit pad before moving onto the 800-grit and finishing with the fine 1500 grit pad. A little water is used to lubricate the process along the way and the floor is rinsed in between each pad with the resulting residue extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum. The process takes some time, but it really brings up the polished appearance of the stone and the results are well worth the effort. After a final rinse the floor was inspected and then left to dry off fully overnight. When we returned the next day, the floor had dried, and we were able to give the floor a final polish with a very fine 3000-grit burnishing pad applied with a little water sprayed onto the tile. Finally, the floor was then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which provides excellent protection without changing the colour of the stone to provide a natural look. The client was over the moon with the outcome and surprised at the improvement. They were left with a floor that would be easy to clean and maintain. Phil Vissian Northamptonshire Tile Doctor

1.Appearance:White powder 2.The frosted surface feels smooth with small tinys spreading evenly,the dim white frosted surface is bright and lubricous as jade. 3.Mainly used as sliding door and partition wall in official and home decoration.

I received an enquiry from a property in Crowthorne to come and survey an unknown Flagstone Floor in a converted barn that was ready to be rented out. The owners where concerned the stone was letting the rest of the property down due to it being dirty and heavily stained, particularly around the kitchen and entrance areas. If your selling or renting out a property it really needs to look its best if you want to achieve a good price. Having spoken over the phone we agreed a date for me to pop over to complete a survey. From further inspection I confirmed the stone was in fact a Sandstone, it was also clear that the sealer protecting the stone from ingrained dirt had worn away and was now allowing dirt and staining to ruin the appearance of the flagstones. It was a large floor so I measured up so I could work out the quantities of cleaning and sealing products needed and then walked the customer through the cleaning process. Later that day I sent over a detailed quotation which was accepted, and a date agreed for my return. I should mention this work took place during the Covid restrictions, fortunately being a rental property, I was able to work in the property alone. To deep clean the floor and remove the ingrained dirt and staining I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. It is sprayed onto the floor and left to soak in for five minutes before agitating with a Black scrubbing pad fitted to a weighted buffing machine. The resultant slurry was then wet extracted away using a powerful high-pressure van mounted extracting system. This action cleaned up most of the stone nicely however certain areas where heavily stained, particularly in the kitchen area where food and drink stains were more apparent. To tackle this, I applied a stronger cleaner/stripper product called Tile Doctor Remove and Go this time allowing ten minutes for it to soak in before scrubbing the surface with a very coarse 100-grit soft milling pad. This took quite a few attempts each time extracting the slurry away and then inspecting the floor to see if more work was needed. Happy the stains have been removed, I then focused on renovating the surface Sandstone after the application of the coarse pad. This involves the application of several finer grit burnishing pads which close the pores and adds a subtle polish to the Sandstone. As I started with 100-grit pad it was necessary to gradually refine the surface with an incremental series of pads that included 200, 400 and finally 800-grit pads. Then to ensure a uniform finish across the floor I continued the 400 and 800 grit pads throughout the property. Water is used to lubricate the process and this turns into a fine slurry that is rinse extracted as before. The cleaning process took up the whole of the first day and I am pleased to say the Sandstone floor looked very clean after I had finished. The stone was then allowed dry off overnight with the aid of an industrial air mover and I returned later the next day to apply a new protective seal. In the meantime, my customer had been over to check out the floor and were over the moon with how it looked and wanted to keep the finish as natural as possible. With this in mind, I applied Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal sealer to the Sandstone throughout, only two coats were needed. This is a premium sealer that is almost invisible and works by penetrating the stone thus preventing dirt from becoming ingrained. Once done the floor looked very clean and much brighter than before, it now had that wow factor which will help it attract a good yield in the rental market. The trouble with rental properties of course is making sure the tenant uses the right product to maintain the floor and not a typical supermarket tile cleaner that are only designed for use on Ceramic and Porcelain tiles. In fact, these types of cleaning product can slowly strip the sealer off the floor so it’s always worth checking the label before purchasing. Fortunately Tile Doctor sells a product called Neutral Cleaner that is ideal for maintaining sealed stone floors, so I left them with a complimentary bottle and recommended they get some more to leave under the sink for the new tenant. Dennis Buckland Berkshire Tile Doctor

The photographs below are of an 80m2 Black Limestone Patio that was laid in rear garden of a property in Sandbach. All was going well until the installer decided to clean up the stone and remove the excess grout (aka grout haze) using brick acid. This is common practice in the trade after laying a patio however what they failed to realise is that Limestone can be marked by acids and in fact can be dissolved over time. This left the patio looking drained and in quite a state as you can imagine. In an attempt to restore the black colour of the stone, the tiler painted on a restoration product however with the grout haze still present on the stone all this did was to add to the problems. Frustrated the customer decided to call Tile Doctor and so I went over to see what could be done. I quickly deducted that the brick acid will have damaged the surface of the stone so to restore it I ran some tests on a small part of the patio that I been badly affected using a series of diamond encrusted burnishing pads of different grits. The pads successfully demonstrated that the appearance could be restored and impressed with the difference I was given the job of renovating all 80m2. Being outside weather was an issue and I had to reschedule until a dry weather window appeared. Cleaning during damp weather isn’t a problem, it’s the sealer which needs to be applied when the sone is dry to get the right result. Made with industrial diamonds and available in different sizes and grits, burnishing pads are ideal for restoring the appearance of polished stone floors. The first step was to work on the most badly damaged tiles with a coarse 100 and then 200-grit diamond milling pad fitted to a weighted rotary machine and lubricated with water. This took off the ruined top layer of the limestone bringing up the virgin stone underneath. Next the patio was worked on with a 400-grit diamond burnishing pad, followed by 800-grit, and then 1500-grit pad. Each pad further renovates the appearance of the stone (Honing) and had to be rinsed after each pad to remove the slurry that is generated. With 80m2 of Limestone paving to cover it took four days to completely restore all the stone using this method. It was tough work, but it made an incredible difference and naturally was far more cost effective than replacing the patio. With the stone cleaned up the last step was to restore the natural black colour in the Limestone with an application of Tile Doctor Stone-Oil which restores the deep black colour and adds texture to the stone, it’s also an impregnating sealer in its own right that adds protection and improves mechanical strength once cured. I allowed this to dry overnight then returned the next day to finish the patio restoration with a further coat of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal, a no-sheen natural-looking sealer formulated to provide maximum stain protection without altering the colour of the stone. The customer was delighted with the transformation, what was one an uninviting ugly area now looks fantastic and welcoming. Impressed with the result they left the following glowing feedback: “Kamila is A M A Z I N G! From discussing our issue over the phone to meeting her in person, her advice and professionalism was second to none. She worked hard to repair our outdoor patio and we are thrilled with her results! We would happily recommend Kamila and wish her every success with her business in the future! Thank you Kamila! X Kamila Logonzy East Cheshire Tile Doctor

This customer, who lives in East Byfleet had been experiencing difficulties in keeping her fantastic Travertine tiled kitchen floor in good condition. Over the years it had suffered from a heavy build up of dirt and oily stains, not to mentioned a number of cracks and small holes. Needless to say, the customer was keen to restore the Travertine tiles to their former glory. To begin the restoration, I applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go across the entirety of the large tiled area. This heavy duty remover breaks down any old sealers and other coatings, leaving the area ready to cleaned or, in this case, burnished. Burnishing is a method for cleaning and polishing certain types of high-end stone, including Travertine, Marble, and Limestone. Our burnishing system involves the application of four diamond encrusted pads of varying grits. Firstly, I applied the Coarse grit pad, which helps to break down any dirt and stains on the surface of the tiles. Then, I worked my way through the Medium, Fine, and Very Fine pads, using a little water as lubricant, to gradually refine the polish on the Travertine. It was then rinsed and left to dry. To round off the first day of work, I filled any cracks and holes using our two-part resin system which greatly improved the look of the tile. The following day I returned to the property to seal the tiles checking first that the floor had dried. All was well so I proceeded to seal the floor using our colour intensifying impregnating sealer Tile Doctor Colour Grow. Once that was dry, I added the finishing touches by buffing the floor with a soft white buffing pad. As you can see from the photographs, the combination of a fresh seal and polish worked wonders. We did such a good job with the floor that the customer asked if we could also improve the appearance of their natural stone fireplace which was suffering from bad rust and oil stains however I do a separate write up on that. Wayne White West Surrey Tile Doctor

WPC(Wood Plastic Composite)is mainly made of natural fibers and plastic. Added with some necessary chemical additive, such as antioxidant, UV stabilizer, lubricants, pigments etc, and produced by professional WPC extruded under the high temperature and pressure, so it is perfectly integrated the advantages of wood with the strong point of plastic. May: The Eco-friendly wood plastic composite we produced is made of:30%-35%HDPE,60%-65%wood powder and 10%chemical additivesThis material is extruded by professional wood-plastic extruding machine under high temperature and pressure,so our WPC has good capacity of UV-resistance and low property of thermal expansion and cool contraction.The WPC outdoor decking we made is much more preferred for outdoor park public places,beauty spot,tourists attractions even indoor stair steps etc.There are lots of types of composite decking,like square hollow decking, round hollow decking and solid decking with different width and thickness, which is good for personal use or commercial use. Please feel free to contact usMayWhatsapp/wechat:+8613823963964Email: maydeckingsupplier@gmail.comSkype:May2018

WPC(Wood Plastic Composite)is mainly made of natural fibers and plastic. Added with some necessary chemical additive, such as antioxidant, UV stabilizer, lubricants, pigments etc, and produced by professional WPC extruded under the high temperature and pressure, so it is perfectly integrated the advantages of wood with the strong point of plastic. May: The Eco-friendly wood plastic composite we produced is made of:30%-35%HDPE,60%-65%wood powder and 10%chemical additivesThis material is extruded by professional wood-plastic extruding machine under high temperature and pressure,so our WPC has good capacity of UV-resistance and low property of thermal expansion and cool contraction.The WPC outdoor decking we made is much more preferred for outdoor park public places,beauty spot,tourists attractions even indoor stair steps etc.There are lots of types of composite decking,like square hollow decking, round hollow decking and solid decking with different width and thickness, which is good for personal use or commercial use. Please feel free to contact usMayWhatsapp/wechat:+8613823963964Email: maydeckingsupplier@gmail.comSkype:May2018

I was recently contacted by a client who had just moved into a large Victorian property in the West Cheshire village of Tarvin about renovating their Victorian tiled hallway. Apparently, the floor was in good condition, and it would just be a case of removing what was left of the old sealer, deep cleaning the tiles and then applying a fresh seal. Unless the floor has been regularly maintained with the same sealer it’s important to remove all traces of old sealers before applying fresh. Victorian Hallway Before Cleaning Tarvin Cheshire A lot of the work we do at Tile Doctor can be a lot more involved, often requiring the sourcing of matching replacement tiles and rebuilding large sections of tiled flooring so straight forward clean and seal job is always welcome. To remove what was left of the sealer and the ingrained dirt from the pores of the Victorian tile I dressed the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. On this occasion I used a 1:3 dilution with water and applied it to the floor with a mop. I left it to soak into the tile for fifteen minutes before scrubbing so it could get to work breaking down the old sealer. During this time, I set up a weighted floor buffer and fitted a black buffing pad, these pads are designed for scrubbing hard floors and lifting out the dirt. I applied a little water as required during this process to ensure the pad was lubricated. Shortly the cleaning solution darkened as the old sealer and dirt was released from the tile. The soil was rinsed away with water and then removed using a wet vacuum. Once clear the floor was inspected and the process repeated until I was satisfied it was as clean as it could be and free of sealer. I left the floor to dry off overnight and returned the next day to apply a new sealer. Before doing so however I like to use a damp meter to take moisture readings from the floor. This is needed to ensure it is dry enough to seal which is important as any moisture in the tile can affect the sealer and lead to an inconsistent finish. To seal I started with the application of a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying breathable impregnator that soaks into the tile improving appearance and adding protection from within. Any excess sealant was removed by wiping the floor with a microfibre cloth and then it was left to dry for an hour. This was followed with four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is an acrylic breathable sealer which adds a pleasing subtle shine to the tile. This is an important feature when choosing a sealer for old floors where moisture needs to be allowed to rise through the tile, otherwise it can become trapped under the floor and reach out to the walls causing rising damp. The customer was very happy with the revamped hallway which made the house a lot brighter and welcoming. Before closing I should mention that for aftercare cleaning I recommend Tile Doctor Neutral cleaner which is designed for the daily cleaning for sealed tiles, this is important as most domestic supermarket cleaners are simply too strong and can prematurely erode the sealer. Alastair Robb West Cheshire Tile Doctor

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”.

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