tile repair Archives - Greater Manchester Tile Doctor

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Restoration Urmston

Victorian Tiled Hallway restoration in Urmston

I was contacted by a couple from London who were relocating to a 1850’s Victorian property in Urmston, Manchester which they were renovating before the move. During the renovation they uncovered a Victorian tiled floor in the hallway and having decided to retain as many original features in the property as possible they made a decision to renovate the floor.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Cleaning Urmston

With our clients wanting to move in early Feb 2024 I quickly arranged to survey the floor and work out what could be done. Whilst there I was able to re-assure them that the tiles could indeed be restored however, we would need to minimise the use of water in case it leaked through into the cellar below.

To work around the cellar issue, I recommended using Tile Doctor low moisture products to strip and clean the floor of old sealer, dirt and grime and then to apply a sealer to protect it going forward. As part of the work, I agreed to complete several minor repairs which included re-sitting some loose tiles and replacing the worst of the missing/broken tiles.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Cleaning Urmston

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Before starting work, I took a moisture reading from the floor so I could establish a base level. This followed with the application of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel cleaner, which because it’s a gel it is very easy to control and won’t cause any issues with the cellar below. The gel is applied to the tile and grout, brushed in and then left for ten to fifteen minutes so it can get to work breaking down old sealers and dirt. The gel is then scrubbed into the tiles using a rotary machine and the soiling generated is removed with wet vacuum.

The floor was then inspected, and I used more Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel with handheld diamond burnishing pads along the edges. Further work was also needed to remove stubborn marks so for this I used a scraper and small amounts of Tile Doctor Remove and Go and Nanotech HBU cleaner which are stronger products. The floor was then given a quick rinse with minimal water and then extracted quickly with the wet vacuum.

Finally, I gave the floor an acid rinse with Tile Doctor Acid Gel which can remove old grout smears that can detract from the tile’s appearance. This product also neutralises the ph level of the floor following the use of the alkaline cleaners used earlier.

Work then started on the repairs which involved lifting the loose and broken tiles, cleaning out the subfloor of old adhesive and then re-fitting with fresh adhesive. The broken tiles were replaced with tiles I had managed to source before starting the job.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Cleaning Urmston

With the bulk of the work done the floor was left to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Before beginning the work the next day, I took several moisture readings to ensure the floor was as dry as it was the previous morning. All was well and I was able to apply the first coat of sealer for which I used Tile Doctor Colour Grow which as its name suggests contains a colour enhancer that really brings out the colours in Victorian tiles. This product is also an impregnator which works by soaking into the pores of the tile adding protection from within.

Once the base layer of sealer had dried, I added a coat of Tile Doctor X-Tra seal to add further protection and add a satin sheen to the floor. I left this to dry and then gave the floor a quick buff with a white pad to remove any excess sealer and bring up the appearance of the tiles even further.

The results where exactly what our customers wanted with them commenting “Wow what a difference the tiles look beautiful ?? thank you so much for your work”.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Sealing Urmston

For aftercare cleaning I made a point to recommend they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s especially formulated for cleaning sealed floors and won’t impact the sealer which can be an issue with the products you find in supermarkets.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Sealing Urmston

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Greater Manchester

Victorian Tiled Hallway restoration in Urmston Read More »

Victorian Minton Tiled Floor Restoration Wigan

Old Minton Tiled Victorian Hallway Floor Repaired and Renovated in Wigan

Earlier this year I was contacted by a homeowner from Wigan who could not believe it when they took up the old hallway carpet to reveal a lovely, but neglected, Victorian Minton tiled floor. Although the carpet had offered some protection It was covered with paint splashes and marks and there were some loose, cracked, and missing tiles.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Renovation Wigan

Whilst the clients had removed as much paint of as possible, lots of splashes remained. They wanted it cleaned, made sound, and missing tiles replaced before sealing also, if possible, have the cemented door threshold replaced with matching tiles. Basically, they wanted to retain the character of the floor and only replace where necessary.

Deep Cleaning Old Victorian Floor Tiles

To begin, I took moisture readings over all areas due to be worked on; an old floor like this will have been laid before Damp Proof Membranes (DPM) were made standard so its useful to get a baseline moisture reading. Next the floor was cleaned using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which was scrubbed into the tiles using 50 and 100-grit pads fitted to a rotary floor buffer running at slow speed. Gel cleaners are ideal for use on floors without a DPM as they use less water which keeps the moisture levels lower. The resultant soiling was then extracted using a wet vacuum and the floor inspected. Stubborn marks and inaccessible areas were spot treated by hand with more Oxy-Gel and Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU Remover.

The next step was to give the tiles an acid wash using another gel product by Tile Doctor called Acid Gel. A 200-grit pad was used to work this into the floor and then it was removed using the wet vacuum as before. This product serves two purposes, first it will counter any efflorescent salts in the tile and second it neutralises the pH level of the floor following the use of the alkaline cleaning products used earlier.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Floor

The floor was Left to dry overnight, and I returned the next day to make the tile repairs discussed earlier. Victorian floors are still popular to this day so finding replacement tiles that match the originals isn’t a problem although they do need to be cut to fit the original size and pattern.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Renovation Wigan

Using the replacements and unbroken original tiles I was able to re-sit the loose tiles and replace the missing and damaged tiles whilst maintaining the character of the original floor.

Sealing Old Victorian Hallway Tiles

The floor needed to be dry before applying the sealer and so before getting to work I checked the floor with the damp meter and compared it with my previous readings. The use of gel cleaners had worked a treat, and the readings were all within range.

The sealer applied was Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an impregnating oil-based sealer designed to occupy the pores in the tile so dirt can’t become ingrained there. This keeps the dirt on the surface where it can be easily removed. X-Tra seal is fully breathable and rated for indoor and outdoor used so will cope easily with any dampness rising through the floor.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Renovation Wigan

The job took three days in total and on returning home on the last day and seeing the results the customer immediately commented “I love it, great job thank-you”. They also left the following review the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“Kevin was very responsive and talked us through exactly what the job entailed. We’re extremely pleased with the end result, just how I wanted my 130 year old minton tiles to look.”

For aftercare cleaning of sealed Victorian tiles, I recommended using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective tile cleaner that’s safe to use on sealed tiles. Its important to use a cleaning product like this as stronger product can erode the sealer.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Care Wigan

Victorian Floor Restoration in Greater Manchester

Old Minton Tiled Victorian Hallway Floor Repaired and Renovated in Wigan Read More »

Damaged Travertine Tiles Oldam Conservatory After

Damaged Travertine Tiled Floor Repaired in Oldham Conservatory

1 Comment / Oldham Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work History / Kevin Parry

The photographs below probably don’t do this job justice but in summary recent high winds had dislodged tiles from the roof adjacent this conservatory at a house in Oldham causing them to smash through the glass roof and damage the Travertine Tiles on the floor below.

Damaged Travertine Tiles Oldam Conservatory Before

Cleaning, Filling and Polishing Travertine Tiles

The first job was to wash the floor down with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to give it a general clean and remove any surface dirt and grit from the floor. Travertine is a very hard stone so to restore the finish it needs to be cut back and polished using of a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine. You start with a coarse pad with a little water, then a medium pad, fine pad and finish with a very fine polishing pad, this takes some time but the effect it quite transforming, it does build up slurry on the floor so it all needs to be washed down again at the end. I use a wet vacuum to remove the liquids from the floor and this also gets the floor quite dry. I then filled the holes in the damaged tiles using resin cement that matched the colour of the Travertine.

Sealing and Buffing Travertine Tile

I let the floor dry fully overnight and came back the next day to seal the tiles checking first with a damp meter that the floor has dried. A sealer is highly recommended for natural stone as it protects the stone from staining and keeps it looking good for longer. For this floor I used coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that brings out the colours in natural stone, it’s also an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone and preventing dirt becoming ingrained there. Once the sealer was dry it was buffed using a white buffing pad to make sure that I hadn’t left any residues from the seal.

The job took two days to complete and the customer was very happy with the final finish and the fact that you could not tell where the damage had been.

Travertine tiled floor maintained by Greater Manchester Tile Doctor

Damaged Travertine Tiled Floor Repaired in Oldham Conservatory Read More »