These photographs below are of a Slate Tiled Kitchen floor taken at a customer’s house in Henley-on-Thames which, as its name suggests, sits alongside the River Thames in Oxfordshire. My client’s Slate kitchen floor had recently been cleaned with unsuitable cleaning products which I suspect impacted the sealer leaving it looking dull. Sealers really to improve the look of a stone floor so unsurprisingly once the sealer had been damaged my client had been unable to find a cleaning product that could have any kind of positive effect on the tiles. It’s fairly well known that many supermarket quality cleaners are only really designed for use on Ceramic or Porcelain tiled floors as they contain acids which strip away at sealers and acid sensitive stone floors, leaving the stone beneath vulnerable. So your select a cleaning product for your floor always read the small print on the back of the label and make sure you avoid anything that mentions not for use on acid sensitive stone; belter still Tile Doctor have a number of products for cleaning tiled floors including Neutral Cleaner and Stone Soap. To clean the floor and remove any remaining sealer I first made a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean which is a strong alkaline cleaner and then spread this over the floor, leaving it to dwell. This allows the cleaner to seep into the slate and get underneath, breakdown sealers and start to lift out ingrained dirt. Following a dwelling period of roughly ten minutes, I agitated the floor periodically with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad and scrubbed along the grout lines with a stiff grout brush. I then used a wet vacuum to extract the resultant slurry away and then followed up by rinsing the floor with clean water, and once again vacuumed up the residue. Any stubborn areas were retreated until I was happy with the floor and then I left the floor to dry off completely overnight, in preparation for sealing the following day. Upon my return to the house the following day, I ran some damp tests on different parts of the floor to check for any excess moisture which could potentially damage the performance of the sealer. Once I was satisfied that the floor was completely dry, I proceeded to seal the tiles using Tile Doctor Seal & Go. This will provide a robust surface seal for the future, along with an aesthetically pleasing low-sheen finish. This sealer works particularly well on Slate tiles and, being a water-based sealant, additionally Seal & Go does not emit an unpleasant smell as it dries. Slate is quite a porous stone so I applied six coats of seal to provide long-lasting protection. Barry Woodward Oxfordshire Tile Doctor

This job was for a repeat client in Toft near Cambridge who had aa stunning large hallway that was tiled in beautiful pale Limestone. My client had asked me back to work on the floor having previously completed the deep clean and seal of a Terracotta floor previously. The Limestone tiling in the entrance hall had years of some type of topical sealer applied to it. This caused the stone to look slightly discoloured and from certain lights showed up hundreds of scratches and smudges embedded in the seal. I’ve tried to capture this problem in the photographs on this page, but it was very difficult. A topical sealer sits on the surface of the tile where it is vulnerable to scratching, hallways are generally high traffic areas and so more likely to see this sort of problem. Ideally an impregnating sealer should have been applied, impregnators work by occupying the pores in the stone thus preventing soiling from becoming ingrained in the stone. Before starting we protected the woodwork against splashing with blue film, I don’t usually make a great deal of mess, but you can never be too careful when working in someone’s property especially one as beautiful as this. To strip off the old sealer I began by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go to the Limestone tiles. I split the floor into sections and used a 400-grit diamond burnishing pad to work the Tile Doctor Remove and Go into the tiles. The floor was then rinsed off using our high-pressure cleaning system that applies pressurised hot water to the floor whilst simultaneously extracting the soil with its built-in vacuum. The system is quite heavy, so it is built into my van, and I run a large flexible hose to a spinner tool that does the cleaning. It is an expensive tool, but it saves a lot of time and leaves the floor fairly dry afterwards. The 400-grit pad had released a lot of the sealer but there were quite a few layers to get through, so I changed the burnishing pad to a coarse 200-grit pad and repeated the process. After another rinse and extract I would see it had the desired effect and I was able to carry on building up the finish on the Limestone by apply the 400-grit followed by the 800, 1500 grit pads. It was a large floor and so this took up much of the day so once complete I left for the day so it could dry off overnight. The next day I finished the polishing process with the application of a 3000-grit burnishing pad which is applied with a little water sprayed onto the tile and really brings up the polish on the stone. This process has the added advantage of leaving the floor dry so not long afterwards I was able to move on to sealing. For this floor two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal were applied, it is an impregnating sealer that won’t alter the colour of the tiles leaving a natural look. My client was much happier with the new finish and has asked for another quotation on some more Terracotta flooring that needs attention. For aftercare I recommend using Tile Doctor stone soap, it’s a special formula that builds on the patina which will help maintain the polished appearance of the Limestone. Tom Conlon Cambridge Tile Doctor

The Vancouver Downtown East Side Women's Centre required a proper space to store and offer clothing and accessories to vulnerable women in need. We were honoured to design and install this full walk-in closet for them.

Stains? Cracks? Our stucco painting service has got your home covered. Our Liqua-Wrap paint for stucco delivers all the things that you would want from brand-new stucco: no more cracks or stains, protection against water and the elements and of course, an amazing new look. Oh, and without the price tag. Hairline cracks don’t just make your stucco look old, they can leave your home vulnerable to water infiltration that can lead to mold and rot behind your stucco walls. Plan your defence with a coating that bridges hairline cracks and wraps your home in waterproofing colour coat. Give us a call to book your free in-home consultation! (604) 260-4525

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

Stains? Cracks? Our stucco painting service has got your home covered. Our Liqua-Wrap paint for stucco delivers all the things that you would want from brand-new stucco: no more cracks or stains, protection against water and the elements and of course, an amazing new look. Oh, and without the price tag. Hairline cracks don’t just make your stucco look old, they can leave your home vulnerable to water infiltration that can lead to mold and rot behind your stucco walls. Plan your defence with a coating that bridges hairline cracks and wraps your home in waterproofing colour coat. Give us a call to book your free in-home consultation! (604) 260-4525

When the weather begins to get colder, this can be a dangerous time for trees. There are many reasons how the cold and other elements during winter can harm your trees and surrounding landscape. This also means that there are many ways in which you can help prevent any unfortunate accidents due to the weather. Some of the most common reasons trees can get damaged from the cold weather are as follows: -Root damage -Extensive bark -Core chewing from pests We here at Five Star Tree Services want to provide you with the right information on how to help prevent winter tree damage. Root Damage Prevention Unlike the rest of the tree, which includes the stems, branches, and buds, the roots are the last part of the tree to go dormant for the winter. This means that they are more vulnerable when the weather takes a sharp cold turn. The reason this tends to happen is that the soil temperatures stay warmer than the air, hence why the branches go dormant first and the roots take longer. There are also a number of different things that dictate soil temperatures. For instance, dry soil gets colder quicker than sodden soil. Making it so that there is more ice present in sandy or dry soils, which is how it gets colder in temperature. If you want your soil temperatures to be higher, mulch and snow can help insulate the ground and keep it sheltered from the harsher elements. If you have recently planted a tree, the disturbed soil will now allow cold air to get at the roots, which will hinder any root development or even kill newly grown roots. How To Prevent For newly planted trees, you should cover the roots with 3-4 inches of wood mulch. The best thing to do is make a 6-inch circle surrounding the base of your tree but make sure to keep it away from the trunk. Doing this is going to help support the tree during the winter and help stop unusual roots from growing. Before you lay your mulch down, you should also be checking for holes or breaks in the soil and fill them in before laying your mulch down. In the fall and spring, the soil is continuously being defrosted and refreezing again. This makes the soil contract and expand and can hurt newly planted roots. It can also be enough to push them out of the ground completely! Making mulch even more important since it can provide more consistent temperatures in the soil. If you are experiencing a dry fall with little to no rain happening, you need to give your tree a really good watering before the ground starts to freeze. Doing this is going to lower the risk of your tree getting infiltrated by ice or frost. Pest Damage Prevention There are plenty of things that can harm your trees when the weather turns cold. Some of these other things include: -Sunscald -Dieback -Brown evergreen foliage -Salt damage But aside from weather related ailments, you also need to worry about the damage done by certain pests as well. This can include: -Mice -Hares -Voles -Deer These seemingly harmless animals are known to do major damage to plants during the winter when they are foraging on things like twigs, bark, stems, and leaves. They have even been known to completely eat bushes, right to the ground, and kill trees when they destroy their bark. One of the only ways to prevent animals from chewing on the bark is by building barriers around your trees in order to keep the pests from getting at them. Luckily, making these barriers isn’t as hard as you might be thinking. There are numerous potions for you to choose from that are easy to assemble and disassemble that you can find at your local garden center or landscaping stores. How Five Star Tree Services Can Help Colder weather insights many potential negative things for your trees that can severely harm them, damage them, or even kill them if they are not properly protected. It is always important to make sure that your trees are properly prepared for the winter months ahead. This means utilizing preventative measures to alleviate the risks of things like root and animal damage. If you require help to prepare your trees for winter, our team at Five Star Tree Services is here to help you with our tree care services in Richmond Hill, don’t wait until it’s too late, give us a call today at (416) 990-3355!

Project Type : Residential Location : Ethul Kotte Land Area :3267 sqft ( 12 p ) Architects : Archt. Sameera Dharmasena (menakaimai design studio) : Archt. Menaka Karunarathna (menakaimai design studio) Structural Engineering : Eng Sajeewa Edirrisingha Write-up : Archt. Navoda Rthnayaka Photographs : Amila Rathnayaka (Amila Rathnayaka photography) Just as the eyes are the windows to a person’s soul, a house is a window to its architect’s aspirations. The residence for Mr. Alex and family at Ethul Kotte is a perfect example for this, which is an open book with multiple layers. From the entrance to the rooftop, each space creates a specific impression and reveals a little more about the users, as it has been perfectly captured by the architect. The house is located at the further end of a narrow drive-way, almost hidden from view with its dark façade and greenery, and sits in a compact lot that opens to a marsh at its rear end. With its cladded wall of cement blocks with a unique imprint and the line of bamboo covering the length of the front wall, the boundaries are defined effortlessly while drawing focus to the main entrance. Earthy feeling created at this point heavily dwells on the solidity of the materials and the muted color palette, which is juxtaposed by the lightness of the timber gate, perforated external façade and screen of vines flowing down from the rooftop. Upon entering, the ambiance of the house changes from its somber guarded exterior to a bright and spacious interior that completely opens to its surroundings. The floating staircase that climbs along the dark titanium wall and the adjoining courtyard run through the full height of the building, merging the solids and the voids at all levels. Spatial organization in the house is predominantly in three layers and each section of a floor has a clear demarcation between the public and private spaces. Spaciousness is achieved through the simplicity of the spaces, minimalistic furniture and muted tones that are complemented by the complete openness created by the glass facades covering the full height of the spaces. Another noticeable feature is the landscaping where thick low hedges are broken by thin trees to mimic a rampart that characterizes the intermediate space between the interior and boundary of the site, which is demarcated by the alternating solids and voids of the boundary fence. The ground level creates a warm, welcoming ambiance that is ideal for entertaining guests. From the lines of textures and materials used, to heights and orientations of furniture, each element complements each other to add volume and composure to the space. A peculiar feature is a subtle inspiration from Japanese architecture that is visible in the sharp lines and several decorative features, which enhance the ambiance with splashes of vibrancy created by the simple, yet colorful elements. While the open living-dining space is a subtle fusion between a modern western living space and the Sri Lankan lifestyle that welcomes nature and social interactions, privacy of adjoining spaces such as the kitchen and bedroom is ensured by isolation made pleasant by their private courtyards. Gradually gracing a visitor at the extended landing of the first floor is the calming sight of the full height cross formed by light filtering through crafted gaps on the wall which becomes a feature and an open shrine. This , seamless flows to the rest of the floor with its vibrant, spacious family living room and TV lobby a that connects all these well as the custom-designed bedrooms The ambiance of each room voices the unique needs and tastes of its user, while the private balcony screened from the outside by a perforated aluminum façade and a screen of vines, creates an intimate niche. A significant feature is the glazed walls of the master bedroom, which are only screened by thick canvas shades that open to a mesmerizing sunset and a view of the marsh. This makes one question the concepts of privacy traditionally Sri Lankans, whereas the user appears to be embracing the vulnerability in openness and enjoying the soothing beauty in nature through the same. The second floor is mostly the rooftop garden and bar, which is a multi-functional space ideal for a small gathering. The curtain of creepers covering the full height glass façade separating the bar and open terrace creates a significant change in ambiance by defining the cozy, timber interior of the bar, against the outdoor-, where the monotonous greenery is only broken by a splash of red from the punctured cover of a service staircase running to the upper rooftop level. The uniqueness is in how each space caters for contrast in transition between ambiances spanning from an intimate, mystic bar area ideal for isolation, to a lively social space creates a unique mood compared to the rest of the house. The rooftop thus completes the transition of spaces from open and interactive interior to a mind-palace and a garden that inspires the soul. “I think that my job is to observe people and the world, and not to judge them; I always hope To position myself away from so-called conclusions; I would like to leave everything wide open To all the possibilities in the world.” -Haruki Murakami- Layering is a key feature in this design, which is evident in how the façade filters inwards from the curtain of greenery, permeable panel and the external wall, as well as the spatial structure of the interior. The linear form of the building, where the living spaces completely open-out through the glazed facades at the rear end of each floor merges these family-spaces with the neighborhood, which avoids complete isolation of the family. Thus, the design is inspired by the need for a sense of freedom in the residents, while allowing the house to become a place for escape when desired.

These photos are of a four-year-old Limestone kitchen floor at a property in Boughton that the customer was finding hard to keep clean and maintain a shine. Part of the problem was he owned two dogs and we often warn about the problems of dog urine on sealed tile and stone due to it being high in nitrogen. On my initial visit I was able to ascertain that the sealer had almost completely worn off, leaving the stone vulnerable to dirt becoming ingrained into the pores of the stone. I come across this problem a lot, in my experience when stone floors are installed by tilers, they generally apply a single coat of sealant which wears off over time, and as discussed earlier can be prematurely degraded by strong chemicals. My quote to renovate the Limestone floor was accepted and included a deep clean to the stone and grout, stone polish and then re-seal. I arrived on site on the arranged date and began by scrubbing all the grout lines with Tile Doctor grout brushes and a 3:1 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. I then moved on to a small handheld polishing machine to clean around the tile edges using 800 and 1500 grit diamond encrusted burnishing pad to achieve a deep clean. The process was then repeated throughout the rest of the area using larger 17” burnishing pads fitted to a floor polishing machine. The burnishing pads I used come in a set of four starting with 400-grit and moving up to 800, 1500 and 3000 grit, after each pad is applied the floor is rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum. It took me much of the day to complete this stage of the renovation and the floor was still damp so once done I left for the day, allowing the floor to dry off overnight. I returned the following day to complete the final polish using the 3000-grit burnishing pad, this gave a high polished finish which the customer had requested. This last pad is applied dry with only a little water splashed onto the tile, a process we call a spray burnish. The floor was then sealed with three applications of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal Sealant to protect the newly restored and polished tiles. Ultra-Seal is a penetrating sealer that soaks into those recently cleaned pores in the stone, occupying the space and preventing any dirt from becoming ingrained there. It’s also a natural look sealer so it doesn’t change the colour of the stone in anyway and is almost indetectable once applied. “Hard work from Philip has left us with a kitchen floor brought back to life – cleaned and sealed in little over 24 hours – brilliant job – Thanks” Before leaving I gave the customer some tips on maintenance and a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap to enable him to keep the floor looking its best, this product works well with the sealant we applied and is PH neutral so won’t degrade the new sealer. Phil Vissian Northamptonshire Tile Doctor

A local cleaning contractor called us in to work on the Terracotta tiled floors at a council building in Amersham. The Terracotta had not been deep cleaned and resealed for about ten years and the sealer had worn off leaving the tile vulnerable to dirt becoming ingrained in the pores of the tile. The grout had also suffered the same fate and had almost gone black in many areas. This is a common problem with Terracotta which is quite porous and once those pores become ingrained with dirt the tile becomes difficult to clean effectively. The solution is to seal the tile however sealers wear off over time and this was basically the problem. After discussing the issues we agreed on a plan of action to deep clean the Terracotta tile and grout and then re-seal to protect it. Due to the busy nature of the building we agreed to do the work between Christmas and New Year when we knew the building would be empty. We started by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which is a strong tile cleaning product that being in a gel form ensures it sits on the tile for longer, giving it a longer effective dwell time so it can really eat into and loose the dirt. After approximately twenty minutes the gel was scrubbed into the tile with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. This broke down most of the dirt and removed any remaining sealer. Once the whole floor had been treated in this manner it was rinsed thoroughly with water which was then extracted using a wet vacuum. With the soiled cleaning solution removed I could see the next step would be to spot clean stubborn staining and clean the grout. For this task I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean scrubbing it in by hand using stiff brushes and aided with a hand-held steamer to help treat the stubborn staining. Once done the floor was given a final rinse and then as much moisture as possible removed with the wet vacuum. We then left the floor to dry off completely and came back a couple of days later to seal the Terracotta tile. I mentioned earlier that Terracotta is porous; in fact it’s probably the most porous material I deal with, so to fully seal the floor I had to apply eight coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which will provide complete and long lasting protection against staining and dirt. Seal and Go also adds an appealing satin sheen to the tile and the new seal will make it much easier to clean in future. The floor tile and grout now look much healthier and I’m sure the council will be very impressed when they go back to work after the holidays. Happy New Year… Andrew Newstead North Buckinghamshire Tile Doctor

No recreation paradise is complete without a sports court. This 30’ x 56’ court with suspended surface and drainage system from Sport Court Ontario was installed by Salivan Landscape. It’s configured for hockey, basketball and tennis with high panels of screening shielding vulnerable areas.

Timberline® UHD with Dual Shadow Line Lifetime Roofing Shingles were utilized for this Western WI roofing project. Our team also removed the home’s unnecessary antenna, took down the chimney to below the roof line, and framed and built a new peak to eliminate a small flat section of roofing that was vulnerable to leaking. LeafGuard® Brand Gutters were installed near the patio area to protect the concrete pavers.

Example of a huge asian white three-story exterior home design in Hyderabad

Entry to the Village house by GLOw design group. Photo by Jack Lovel
Inspiration for a mid-sized cottage concrete floor and white floor entryway remodel in Melbourne with white walls and a light wood front door

Trendy home design photo in Toronto

Terracotta Shingle key to creative roof design. Builder Brian Lee Master Builder.
Inspiration for a modern exterior home remodel in Sydney with a shingle roof

Takbir Fatima
Inspiration for a large eclectic slate floor great room remodel in Hyderabad with white walls and no fireplace

jennamuirhead@live.com
Inspiration for an entryway remodel in Toronto