Floor Tiles Archives - Greater Manchester Tile Doctor

Porcelain Tiled Plank Floor Leigh Grout Colouring

Planked Effect Porcelain Floor Renovated after Water Damage in Leigh

I was originally called to this home in Leigh to deep clean approx. 100m2 of porcelain floor tiles in the living area after recent works, but plans changed somewhat when I arrived.

Porcelain Tiled Plank Floor Leigh Before Renovation

On my arrival the owners informed me that since my last visit to quote for cleaning the Porcelain floor a leak had come through the ceiling. This had left the previously dark grout in the textured ‘plank’ effect porcelain looking washed out and, leaving the floor in need of a refresh. I strongly suspect it wasn’t the leak that caused the problem, but the use of strong cleaning products used afterwards to clean up the mess, a lot of these cleaning products contain bleach, and this can wash the colour out of grout.

Out of interest the main issue we encounter with this type of flooring is grout haze, which occurs when the installer doesn’t manage to remove all the grout. This results in a thin film of grout on the surface which detracts from the final appearance. This probably happens with all installations but is certainly very evident on porcelain. The solution is to give the floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up, but most tilers don’t bother.

After discussion it was agreed to re-focus the time, we had available on the grout. However, after a deep clean it became clear the grout would need recolouring to look it’s best.

Grout Colouring Porcelain Floor Tiles with Chocolate Grout Colouring

Applying a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in Chocolate colour was the ideal solution and after an urgent call to Tile Doctor HQ I set up a delivery to ensure it would be with us the next morning.

In the meantime, I continued the preparation of the grout and cleaning of the tiles using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which not only removes the grout haze but will also etch the surface of the grout to ensure a superior bond with the colourant.

That afternoon we also discussed the high gloss porcelain floor in the hallway, the owners had spent a lot of time polishing it themselves since installation and were not completely happy with it. I setup a floor buffer fitted with a 3000-grit pad and dry burnished a small section in the hallway. The difference was obvious, and they could see an immediate improvement, as a result they decided to rebook me to do a day polishing as well once the living room was completed.

I returned on day two to find the colourant had arrived and so started the process of recolouring the grout with the chocolate colourant. This is a straightforward process but very time consuming as with these thin planks there were a lot of grout lines to cover.

Afterwards the tiles were gently buffed with a White pad before leaving to dry. The owners were very pleased with the result commenting we had done a “brilliant job in the front room.” Later he added the following feedback:

“Kevin was excellent and did a fantastic job at the house.”

Porcelain Tiled Plank Floor Leigh After Grout Colouring

They also booked us in to do the polish on the next available date, but I’ll discuss that in a separate post.

Professional Restoration of a Porcelain Planked Tiled Living Area in Greater Manchester

Planked Effect Porcelain Floor Renovated after Water Damage in Leigh Read More »

Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor Cleaning and Sealing Manchester

20m2 Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor Manchester

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Manchester City Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning / Kevin Parry

A lovely lady from Manchester contacted us early in the new year about her beautiful Indian Slate floor that had been laid in her Kitchen 18 years ago. It turns out over Christmas, a leak occurred under the kitchen units and although the kitchen itself wasn’t flooded, water had seeped under the tiles and has caused them to look quite ‘cloudy.’ In addition, she explained there was also some flaking of the tile which happened when she had a new integrated dishwasher fitted a few months ago. Keen to have the problem resolved we were asked if we could possibly restore her once lovely floor to its former glory.

Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Manchester

After further discussion I paid a visit to the property to take a closer look. It was clear a mixture of impregnating sealers and topical sealers had been used previously. These had degraded due to wear and tear and the flood had left the floor looking damaged and patchy. The floor was around 20m2 and the slate was multi-coloured.

I recommended carrying out a deep restorative clean of the slate tiles and grout to remove the old sealers and then re-seal to protect the floor going forward. I created a quote for the work which was accepted and a date set for the work to begin.

Cleaning an Indian Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I was wary the Slate tiles had been exposed to a lot of water previously, so I decided to do the initial clean with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which being in gel form is a low moisture cleaner. This was worked in with a silicon carbide brush fitted to a mechanical slow speed buffing machine and then extracted with a wet vacuum. This worked well but it was clear something stronger would be needed to remove all the sealer.

Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Manchester

I next applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a dedicated coatings remover and this was worked in using a coarse 100-grit pad. Except for the edges and grout lines which were hand cleaned, I used the buffer machine to work the product into the tile. All soils were then removed using a wet vacuum.

Next the area was neutralised by giving the floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was worked in using a 200-grit pad before rinsing with water, again all removed with a wet vacuum system. It was then left to fully dry overnight assisted by a couple of air blowers.

Sealing an Indian Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

After sampling a couple of different sealers, it was agreed that Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal worked best to bring out the colour and give a low sheen to the floor. Just one coat was needed and after wiping off the excess sealer a white pad was used to finish with a short burnish.

My client was very happy with the result and left the following feedback.

“From start to finish, contact and communication with Tile Doctor has been straightforward and easy. Kevin explained in detail what renovating my Indian slate floor would require and consulted me on each step of the process. The work has been carried out in an extremely efficient and thorough manner. Kevin obviously knows his stuff! His communication and timekeeping skills are excellent and yes, I am obviously delighted with the renovation of my now beautiful kitchen floor.”

Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Sealing Manchester

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective product that won’t affect the new sealer.

Professional Restoration of an Indian Slate Tiled Kitchen in Greater Manchester

20m2 Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor Manchester Read More »

Renovating Pitted Travertine Tiled Flooring in Stockport

1 Comment / Stockport Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning / Kevin Parry

This client was from Stockport and had a travertine tiled floor laid over twenty years ago through the kitchen and adjacent dining space. The floor had the usual issues for travertine with dirt collecting in the small pits in the stone and becoming ingrained in the pores due to the sealer wearing off. The owner was talking of ripping the whole floor up as they had given up trying to keep it clean.

Travertine Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning

I recommended deep cleaning the floor with a set of burnishing pads to remove the ingrained dirt, filling in the worst pits and then sealing the stone. My quote was a little more than they were expecting but they appreciated the fact there was a lot of work to do and that the diamond encrusted abrasive pads required are quite expensive. On balance obviously it was cheaper than replacing the floor. We also discussed the final appearance of the stone floor; they wanted the stone to look as natural as possible keeping the colour light with just a slight sheen.

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Floor

Work started on the agreed date with an application of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was diluted 1 part cleaner to 5 parts water and sprayed onto the floor. After letting it dwell for ten minutes it was worked in and followed up with an abrasive 120-grit silicon carbide pad attached to a floor buffer fitted with added weights to increase traction. The dirt released from the floor was then rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

The stone was then burnished using the coarser pads from the set of burnishing pads that I mentioned earlier. I started with the 400-grit on the weighted floor buffer and worked it into each of the travertine tiles using only water for lubrication. The pads get the ingrained dirt out of the stone, bringing it to the surface where it is rinsed off with water and then extracted again with the wet vacuum. This process was then repeated with the finer 800-grit pad which is the first step in polishing the surface of the stone.

The last step on day one was to review the travertine, identifying and filling the worst of the pits with a specialist filling compound that would harden overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Floor

On arrival the next day my clients said they loved the results so far and were relieved their problem floor was finally going to be resolved.

I started day two with the application of the third burnishing pad which is 1500-grit. This was applied using the same method, running it over each tile around three times using only water for lubrication. This third pad gave the stone the natural sheen they were after. For highly polished stone I would follow this up with a fourth pad which is 3000-grit however for this floor it wasn’t necessary.

Once the floor was dry it was then sealed with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which in an impregnating sealer that adds almost invisible protection to achieve that natural light appearance they wanted. Impregnators work by seeping into the stone, occupying the pores so dirt can’t become ingrained there.

My clients were very happy with the result saying how I had made a real difference and how well it looked, in fact they didn’t want anyone to walk on it just in case. I recommended they used Tile Doctor Stone Soap for everyday cleaning. It’s a mild but effective cleaner that will help maintain the appearance of the stone without impacting the sealer which can be harmed by stronger cleaning products.

Travertine Kitchen Floor After Cleaning

They also left the following comment on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

Amazing job. Our floor has never looked so good. Its better now than when first laid. Kevin was very professional and careful and meticulous in his restoration work.

Professional Renovation of a Travertine Tiled Floor in Greater Manchester

Renovating Pitted Travertine Tiled Flooring in Stockport Read More »