High Wycombe Archives - South Buckinghamshire Tile Doctor

Listed Terracotta Floor Renovation High Wycombe

Renovation of an 18th Century Listed Terracotta Floor in High Wycombe

We were contacted by the owner of an 18th century barn in High Wycombe about a mosaic Terracotta tiled floor that needed renovating. The barn had been converted into a modern house but the customer had to keep the floor as parm of the planning constraints due to the property being listed. With most of the renovation work now completed the floor had become heavily stained and the owner was looking to have the floor sympathetically cleaned.

Listed Terracotta Floor Before Cleaning High Wycombe

Having popped over to the property to take a detailed look at the Terracotta tiles, make sure it was structurally sound and work out a detailed quotation that would include a complete strip, deep clean and reseal. The job would take two days, one day to clean allow drying time and then one day to seal.

Listed Terracotta Floor Before Cleaning High Wycombe

The quote was accepted and date set for the work to start; the floor was solid so no repairs would be needed and no tiles to order beforehand.

Deep Cleaning Terracotta Kitchen Tiles

On day one work started by covering the tiles with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel and allowing it to dwell for twenty minutes or so. This product is a strong alkaline gel cleaner that’s ideal for cleaning old floors that don’t have a damp proof membrane, liquid cleaners use more water and would require longer drying times. The long dwell times allow the product longer to break down the soils in the tile which on this floor was quite heavy.

Next the floor was scrubbed using a Rocky floor machine fitted with a 60-grit carbide brush, these brushes are very good at getting into the crevices of the tiles and take the heavy lifting out of cleaning. Working in small sections I scrubbed the floor with extra weight added to the buffer for maximum traction and a deeper clean.

The soiling was then extracted using a wet vacuum to reveal a real transformation and an impressive difference in the colour of the tiles. The floor was checked and any issues spot cleaned, for instance I noticed a few of the yellow terracotta tiles where darker than the rest so I used Tile Doctor Remove and Go to clean them further and I was pleased to see it made a significant improvement. Just goes to show how resilient tiled floors can be, regardless of age.

Next the floor was given an acid rinse to neutralise the ph. level after the use of alkaline cleaning products and to further clean the tiles and remove any residue marks. To do this another Tile Doctor gel cleaning product was applied called Acid Gel and then rinsed off with water and extracted with the wet vacuum. The floor was also mopped with Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to ensure it was clear of all cleaning products, then after another extraction with the wet vacuum left to dry overnight.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

The next day I arrived and started work by checking if the floor was dry enough for sealing. I used a digital damp meter for this and I was pleased to see the use of gel cleaning products had helped keep moisture to a minimum.

Happy with the moisture readings the first of what would be seven coats of sealer was applied to the floor; Terracotta is very porous so does require a lot of sealer to get the right level of protection. It’s important to use a breathable sealer on an old floor like this so Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra was chosen which is an acrylic-based seal that adds a nice subtle sheen to Terracotta tiles.

Listed Terracotta Floor After Renovation High Wycombe

The sealer is applied using a cotton cloth and wiped over with a white rag building up the layers and leaving a good amount of time in between to dry. The sealer will sit on top of the floor improving its appearance and making it smoother and easier to clean going forward.

Listed Terracotta Floor After Renovation High Wycombe

Once complete the clean tiles and new sealer really brought out the colours in the floor bringing it to life making it quite the period feature in what is now a modern home. Most of the tiles responded well to the cleaning but given its age there were some that I couldn’t get perfect however I think this adds character to an old floor and considering its age it came out well.

For aftercare I left the customer with remainder of the sealer so it can topped up and recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner for regular cleaning.

Professional Cleaning of a Period Terracotta Tiled Floor in South Buckinghamshire

Renovation of an 18th Century Listed Terracotta Floor in High Wycombe Read More »

Slate Shower Floor Tiles Before After Limescale Cleaning in High Wycombe

Removing Limescale from a Slate Shower Floor in High Wycombe

I received this enquiry from a client in High Wycombe who needed the Slate tiled shower floor cleaning. I visited site to view the problem and it turns out this was a bit of an understatement; the whole floor was completely covered in limescale, and this had turned the Slate tiles white over time.

Limescale Stained Slate Shower Floor Before Cleaning High Wycombe

Limescale is a big problem for High Wycombe which is classed as a hard water area which basically means the water contains high levels of calcium carbonate. These deposits are carried in the water and left on the tiles after each shower. You can install a water softener to alleviate the problem but that won’t solve this client’s current issue. There are numerous limescale removal products that you can buy in supermarkets however these are acidic and can etch natural stone if you are not careful. Always read the label!

Cleaning a Slate Tiled Shower Floor

The limescale build up on this floor was really bad so I felt the best approach would be to use a light acidic cleaning product to help remove the worst of it and then to refinish the appearance and removing any etching of the tiles using a series of diamond encrusted stone burnishing pads. I provided the client with a quote based on this solution and it was accepted.

To start removing the limescale I applied neat Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is an acid cleaner that can remove grout smears and other mineral deposits such as in this case calcium carbonate deposits. I then used my handheld polishing machine with a very coarse 80-grit diamond brush attached and scrubbed it to remove the crust of the limescale.

I then applied more Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up and watched the remaining scale fizz away; the floor was then rinsed to remove the soil using water and our wet vacuum. The next step was to apply a 400-grit six-inch diamond pad, again fitted to the hand polisher to buff the floor and prepare it for the new seal.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Shower Floor

After waiting for the stone to dry I was able to finish the floor with a fresh sealer. For this I applied one coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which was left to soak in and then buffed with a clean cloth to remove the excess. I then applied one coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil to restore the natural oil in the stone and buffed this in, I then finished with one more coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow and buffed the floor with a 3000-grit diamond pad to bring up the polished appearance of the stone even further.

Limescale Stained Slate Shower Floor After Cleaning High Wycombe

The client was delighted with the restoration and surprised at how we had managed to shift the limescale. the shower looked a lot more inviting! For aftercare I recommended cleaning with Tile Doctor Stone Soap which will help build patina and maintain the polished appearance of the stone.

Professional Restoration of a Slate Tiled Shower Floor in South Buckinghamshire

Removing Limescale from a Slate Shower Floor in High Wycombe Read More »

Slate Floor Before After Renovation High Wycombe

Tired Black Slate Kitchen Floor Renovated in High Wycombe

1 Comment / High Wycombe Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jack Day

This Customer moved into a property in High Wycombe around a year or so ago and the Black Slate floor in the kitchen was more grey than black. The slate looked tired and had clearly not been well maintained. They had recently had a new kitchen fitted and had decided to retain the existing floor, so I was asked to bring it back to life. High Wycombe is a large town in Buckinghamshire well situated as close to London with great links to nearby Reading and Maidenhead.

Kitchen Slate Floor Tiles Before Renovation High Wycombe

I initially went to survey the floor and confirmed my suspicion that any sealer that was once present on the floor had now completely worn off. This is a typical problem with stone floors and without a sealer in place the Slate had lost its protection allowing dirt to become ingrained in the pores of the stone and difficult to remove. I carried out a test clean which went well, my quote was accepted and arranged a date to return to renovate the floor.

Cleaning a Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

First, I taped up the plinths on the new kitchen and the skirting boards to ensure no solution would be splashed on them. I then applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to the tiles, I left this to dwell for a short time so it could start working on breaking down the dirt and any old sealer. I then worked it in with a large black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary buffing machine to get the dirt out of the slate. I also used a stiff hand brush along the grout lines with neat Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to really get the grout clean. The floor was then rinsed off with water and the slurry extracted with a wet vacuum.

There were a few problem tiles with stubborn marks which I managed to resolve with a further application of neat Tile Doctor Pro Clean and some assistance from a steamer. The floor was then inspected again and once I was happy it was left to dry off over the weekend.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I returned the following Monday to seal the Slate tiles first checking they were dry with a moisture meter; all was so I started applying the sealer. I selected to use Tile Doctor Seal and Go for this floor as it works really well on Slate. Seal and Go is a specially formulated water-based blend of acrylic polymers that provides both a stain resistant surface seal and a durable low-sheen finish. Four coats of Seal and Go were applied allowing each coat to dry before starting on the next one. Once done you could see the floor looked amazing and the new sealer gave the floor a lovely subtle sheen finish without being over shiny.

Kitchen Slate Floor Tiles After Renovation High Wycombe

The client was very happy with the result, the floor now appeared brand new and looked great under the new kitchen.

Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare with the client and advised her to use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, this is a pH neutral product that won’t prematurely erode the sealer which is a big problem with most supermarket cleaning products. This should make it easy for the client to maintain the floor and only a small amount of product it needed to clean the floor.

Professional Restoration of a Slate Tiled Floor in South Buckinghamshire

Tired Black Slate Kitchen Floor Renovated in High Wycombe Read More »

Cleaning and Polishing a Limestone tiled floor in High Wycombe

1 Comment / High Wycombe Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Jack Day

The photographs on the page come from the kitchen and dining area of a house in High Wycombe which had previously been rented out to tenants and the client wanted required the Limestone Tiled floor tiles to be cleaned and polished before the next occupant moved in.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Floor

We started the project with a deep clean of the tiles and grout using a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a heavy duty alkaline cleaning product specially designed for use on natural stone floors. This was left to dwell for a while and then agitated using a rotary machine fitted with a Black Scrubbing pad. The soiled solution was then removed using a wet vacuum and the floor was then rinsed down with fresh clean water; the process was repeated until a satisfactory result was obtained and we also treated the discoloured grout lines with more Pro-Clean and a stiff brush.

Limestone Tiled Floor Polishing

We used a set of diamond encrusted Burnishing Pads fitted to a rotary buffing machine to polish the Limestone floor. These pads are ideal for restoring the shine on hard stone surfaces such as Limestone and Marble, the come in a set of four and you start with the Red pad together with plain water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. The floor was then washed down again, this time with Tile Doctor Neutral cleaner which is an everyday cleaning product and then left to dry overnight.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

On the second day we gave the Limestone a polish using a Green burnishing pad which is a very fine pad that provides a high polish. The last step was to seal the Limestone which we did with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying sealer that brings out the colours in natural stone and provide lasting protection.

Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Cleaning and Polishing a Limestone tiled floor in High Wycombe Read More »