Quarry Tile Cleaning

Small Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovation Purley

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”

 

Professional Renovation of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen in South London

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Quarry Tiled Floor Before and After Renovation Croydon

Rebuilding and Restoring a Damaged Quarry Tiled Floor in Croydon

There is perhaps nothing more irritating for a homeowner than to discover a leaking pipe. Even worse still is when that leak occurs underneath a natural stone floor!

This recent customer of mine, who lives in Croydon, had unfortunately discovered a leaking pipe underneath her Quarry tiled kitchen floor. The plumbers had dug a trench in the floor to replace the pipe and fix the problem. As you can see in the photos below, the original tiles were not replaced and the entire floor was generally left in a bit of a mess.

Quarry Tiled Floor Before Rebuild Croydon Quarry Tiled Floor Before Rebuild Croydon

The customer had been trying to find a professional company to restore the floor, but her insurance company would only agree to sending normal cleaning companies to the job. Given the reality of the situation, you won’t be surprised to know that these companies all politely refused!

The situation went unresolved for over six months before the customer finally decided to contact Tile Doctor to restore the floor.

Rebuilding and Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Floor

The restoration took place over the space of six days. Our first port of call was to replace the tiles that had been removed as part of the plumbing work. This wasn’t the easiest process as we had to level up the floor before the tiles could be replaced.

Making matters more complicated, the tiles were all hand-made, and it was a bit like completing a jigsaw to avoid lippage. Lippage – for those unfamiliar with the term – means when a floor is laid unevenly and it can make walking on it hazardous.

Quarry Tiled Floor During Rebuild Croydon Quarry Tiled Floor During Rebuild Croydon

Once the tiles were reinstalled, it was time to give the whole floor a deep clean. For this, we used Tile Doctor Oxy Gel, leaving it to dwell on the surface for around ten minutes, before scrubbing it into the stone in combination with hot water. Oxy Gel is a strong, alkaline-based cleaner which works effectively to break down dirt and grime, as well as old sealers and waxes.

The next stage of the restoration was to rinse the floor with fresh water, and then lay down Tile Doctor Acid Gel for 15 minutes. Acid Gel is a blend of phosphoric and hydrochloric acids in gel form which is used to neutralise any grout haze and efflorescence on the tiles.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Floor

After completing the deep cleaning process, we rinsed the floor again with fresh water and then left it to dry for three days. Giving the floor enough time to dry was important, since any excess moisture would not have allowed us to complete the restoration by sealing the tiles.

After a few days, however, the floor was indeed thoroughly dried and could receive a fresh seal. We sealed the floor using five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go, a topical sealer which eliminates traditional two-step sealing methods. What this means is that it provides both a robust surface seal and a high-quality low sheen finish – in one product.

After six months of difficulty and disruption, the customer was very happy to have her Quarry floor completely restored in just six days. Check out the photos below to see the outcome.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Rebuild Croydon Quarry Tiled Floor After Rebuild Croydon

 

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