Colour Grow Archives - South West London Tile Doctor

Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor Cleaned and Sealed Richmond

Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor Renovated at Richmond Apartment Block

Pictured below is a large Victorian tiled floor in the lobby area of a residential apartment block in Richmond. Building work had been carried out at the property and the contractors had covered the floor using a used a sticky floor protector. Unfortunately, that left a sticky residue on top of the tiles and were overdue a professional deep clean. The floor was cleaned every day for the last eight years but this was done using a mop which isn’t the most effective method.

Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor Before Cleaning Richmond

I paid a visit to the property to work out the best product to remove the adhesive and measure up. From this I worked out a detailed quote for renovating the floor which included two days labour and all the products needed. This was accepted and a date scheduled.

Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor Before Cleaning Richmond

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The hallway was in use by the residents whilst I was there so I had to carry out the following work in sections. To remove the adhesive and give the floor a deep clean the tiles were cleaned with the application of Acid Gel. Being a gel it’s much easier to control and with less water being needed it results in quicker drying times.

The gel was applied and let to soak in for fifteen minutes to give it time to digest the dirt etc, then the floor was lightly moped and I got to work with a scraper to remove as much sticky residue as possible. More Acid Gel was applied and then scrubbed into the tiles using a Victor Trojan buffing machine fitted with a 400-grit burnishing pad and extra weights. The machine was moved slowly across the tiles ensuring all areas where covered.

Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor During Cleaning Richmond

After completing a small section, the soiling was rinsed and extracted using an industrial wet vacuum. Vacuuming this frequently ensures the fluids had less time to soak into the tile and results in a faster drying time.

Once I had worked my way to the end the floor was vacuumed again and more Acid Gel was applied, this was diluted with a small amount of water and the deep cleaning continued with an 800-grit burnishing pad. As before after each section the floor was rinsed and the soiling immediately extracted with the wet vacuum. Once I was satisfied the floor was in a good condition it was given a final burnishing using a finer 1500-grit pad applied with water and then vacuumed one last time.

Once complete the tiles were clear of the sticky residue and looking very clean indeed. It needed to be completely dry before the next step of sealing so work finished for the day and the tiles were left to dry off completely overnight. It’s important to do this and allow time for all the moisture to evaporate, this way any issues like efflorescent salts will become apparent and resolved.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned later the second day to seal the floor starting with several damp meter readings and a quick check of the tiles. Being a communal hallway I wanted to ensure they were still clean from the day before and any marks were spot cleaned.

The floor was then sealed with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing hard wearing impregnating sealer that leaves a matt finish and deepens the colour of the black tiles. Three coats were applied using a microfiber cloth and then any excess was buffed with a clean cloth after each application.

Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor After Cleaning Sealing Richmond

Once satisfied I called the managing agent to have a look and they reported that they were extremely happy with the result. In fact, they have since requested that I return every month to maintain the floor correctly and ensure it remains in top condition.

Professional Renovation of a Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor in Southwest London

Victorian Tiled Lobby Floor Renovated at Richmond Apartment Block Read More »

30-Year-Old Laminate Floor Removed to Reveal Heavily Stained Quarry Tiles

The photos below are of a Quarry tiled floor situated in a small kitchen at a house in Purley. The quarry tiles were previously covered in laminate for about 30 years which had recently been removed. This left the floor in quite a state as you can see from the photograph below. The floor was stained with numerous deposits including paint and adhesive and some sort of wax covering which was all over the surface.

Small Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Renovation Purley

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

Before cleaning I covered the entire kitchen in a drop cloth to protect the units from splashing, I normally remove the kick boards as part of this process however, in this case the bottom of the units were already siliconed to the tiles. This is good practice as otherwise the boards which are usually made of MDF can soak up the water used during cleaning and warp the boards.

Next, I tackled the staining, surface paint, adhesive and wax using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go combined with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to make a double strength stripper and cleaner. This was applied to the tiles and grout, and then left to soak in for ten minutes. I used a floor scraper to dislodge the glue which had been softened by the solution and then removed using a wet vacuum. The next step was to scrub the floor with a carbide brush and a coarse 200-grit diamond pad using only water to lubricate the process.

Once this was done, I rinsed the floor with water and extracted the slurry with the wet vacuum and allowed it to dry.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

Once the floor was dry, I returned to protect the tiles by applying Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer. This is an impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the pores of the quarry tiles occupying the spaces within and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained and making it much easier to clean. Tile Doctor Colour Grow also contains a colour enhancer that works well on Quarry tiles as it brings out the red colours in the tiles. Two coats of the sealer were applied allowing thirty minutes between coats.

I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner for ongoing maintenance. This is a pH neutral product which is mild enough to use every day, gentle on the floor and will ensure the newly applied sealer will stay in place and the floor will continue to look great.

Small Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor After Renovation Purley

The result was transformational, and it certainly impressed my customer who left the following 5 star feedback.

“Daniel and his team were amazing! Extremely professional, thorough, and undeniably delivered an excellent end result for my old and tired tiles. So impressed! I would most certainly use this service again. By Sarah, Purley, 12 June 2023”

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