Floor Tiles Archives - North London Tile Doctor

Pitted Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovation East Finchley N2

Pitted and Dirty Travertine Kitchen Floor Renovated in East Finchley

Here we have a travertine floor that was installed in the kitchen of a property in East Finchley around 17 years prior. Over the years some of the grout had become loose and the sealer had worn off allowing dirt to get into the pits of the tiles. The stone and grout were now getting very dirty, and the client was struggling to keep it clean. The floor now needed renovation and I was asked to recommend a solution.

Travertine Tiled Floor Before Renovation East Finchley N2

I visited the property to survey the floor, assess the issues and come up with a plan for its renovation using a set of diamond burnishing pads. From the plan I was able to email a detailed quotation over to the client which was accepted and a date agreed for the work to being.

Cleaning and Repairing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen

On the first day work started with the application of a 400-grit burnishing pad which was worked into the travertine using a floor buffer and water for lubrication. The floor was then rinsed and the slurry extracted with a wet vacuum. This process was then repeated with an 800 and then 1500 grit pad again extracting the soiling with a wet vacuum after each pad.

Travertine Tiled Floor During Renovation East Finchley N2

After working through the pads, the grout was then cleaned using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean scrubbed in with a handheld brush. I find this is the best method to get the dirt out of the grout, I also used it to get into the recessed of the pitted stone to ensure the floor was as clean as it could be.

Travertine Tiled Floor During Cleaning East Finchley N2

Once happy the floor was rinsed with water and extracted several times to remove any trace of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and loose dirt.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen

Once the Travertine was dry, I set about refilling the loose grout and pitting in the tiles with jasmine grout (a colour that tends to be a good colour match for travertine tiles). I sponged off the excess grout and allowed the whole floor to dry overnight.

Travertine Tiled Floor During Renovation East Finchley N2

The following day the tiles were polished with a super fine 3500-grit burnishing pad that really brings up the sheen on polished stone floors. The pad is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the floor, a process we refer to as spray burnishing.

The last step was to apply a sealer to the floor in-order to protect it from dirt becoming ingrained in the pores of the stone. We used an impregnating sealer called Colour Grow for this, it soaks into the stone occupying the pores and thereby prevents dirt from residing there. This keeps dirt on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away. This sealer contains a colour enhancing formula which helps to bring out the natural colours in the stone, two coats were applied.

Travertine Tiled Floor During Sealing East Finchley N2

The client was delighted with the transformation before leaving I left them with a bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap and some advice on how to best maintain the floor. This will keep the floor in great condition over the coming months and years.

Travertine Tiled Floor After Renovation East Finchley N2

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen in East Finchley

Pitted and Dirty Travertine Kitchen Floor Renovated in East Finchley Read More »

Acid Etched Limestone Tiled Bath Panel Restoration The Angel

Limestone bathroom tiles in The Angel Islington

1 Comment / Islington Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing / Andrew Newstead

Here we have a luxury bathroom tiled in Limestone at an apartment in The Angel in Islington. I was contacted by the letting agent who discovered the damage when the tenant moved out, although they were unsure of the cause I immediately recognised it as acid damage from the use of acidic limescale removers. These products are simply too strong for use on limestone which is acid sensitive and results in etching as shown in the photos.

Limestone Tiled Bath Panel Before Renovation Angel N1

The agent had new tenant’s looking to move in, but they wanted to sort the acid damage out beforehand. The etching can be difficult to remove so to make sure a good result could be achieved I did a test clean on one tile of the bath panels. The result was great, so I gave a quote which was accepted.

Given the fast nature of the London rental market there was very limited time between the old tenants moving out and the new in. However, I was able to collect the keys from the agent allowing me to squeeze the job in around my other projects.

Removing Acid Etching from Limestone Tiling

To remove the etching I had to burnish and literally resurface the limestone tiles using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads. Naturally I can’t use large floor pads on wall tiling however Tile Doctor also do these pads in 6-inch which fit a handheld polishing machine.

Work started with the application of a coarse 400-grit pad using water for lubrication, the soiling is then wiped away and the process repeated with an 800 and 1500 grit pads using the same process. These pads remove the etching and build up the polish on the Limestone.

Limestone Tiled Bath Panel During Renovation Angel N1

Some of the staining was very deep and so to get a good result I had to use coarser 120 and 200 grit diamond blocks first. These are small hand-held blocks available in different grits that can get into awkward spaces. Once all of this was done, I rinsed the tiles down and dried them.

The last step in the burnishing process was to apply a final polish with an extra fine 3000-grit pad which adds a nice subtle polish to the stone.

Sealing Limestone Bathroom Tiling

To finish, the Limestone was sealed using Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is a modern oil-based impregnating sealer that enhances the colour of dark limestone and will make cleaning easier going forward.

Limestone Tiled Bath Panel After Renovation Angel N1

For aftercare cleaning I recommended supplying any future tenant with Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro which is a day-to-day spray cleaner which can be used in the shower to prevent the build-up of limescale.

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Tiled Bathroom in North London

Limestone bathroom tiles in The Angel Islington Read More »

Limestone Floor Before After Renovation Highgate

Grubby Honed Limestone Floor restored in Highgate

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Haringey Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Andrew Newstead

This client from Highgate in North London, N6 contacted us about their large honed Limestone tiled floor that was installed throughout the ground floor. It had been laid seven years prior and was now grubby and in need of a deep clean and seal including the grout which had turned black with dirt.

I visited the property to survey and assess what was required and provided the owner with a quotation for the renovation. The hallway pictured was in the worst condition, it was a busy house with young children and dogs and over the years the sealer had worn down leaving it vulnerable to ingrained dirt. Without a sealer to protect the stone it had become heavily soiled and lost its original polished appearance.

Honed Limestone Floor Before Cleaning Highgate

Happy with the quote we scheduled a date for the work to go ahead. The quote included deep cleaning and burnishing the stone to bring back the polish, grout cleaning and re-sealing the Limestone to protect it.

Cleaning a Honed Limestone Tiled Floor

We arrived on the first day and prepared the area by taping up the skirting and woodwork to protect them from potential splashing. Next step was to burnish the floor using a set of Tile Doctor Diamond Burnishing Pads, specifically the 400, 800 and 1500 grit pads fitted to a rotary machine, these were used in sequence running each pad over the tiles several times with water to lubricate the process. The water turns into a fine slurry as pores in the stone are opened and the dirt is released, the slurry is rinsed off with more water and extracted using an industrial wet vacuum after each pad. The finer 800 and 1500-grit pads slowly close the pores and refine the appearance of the stone building up the polish in the process.

A strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was then applied to the grout lines, leaving it for a short while to soak in and then hand scrubbing with a grout brush. The dirty cleaning solution and were then removed from the floor with the wet vacuum.

This process was repeated across the different sections of the Limestone floor until I was satisfied with its appearance. Before leaving for the day, I rinsed the floor again using a buffing machine fitted with a brush fitted to give it a final clean. The floor was dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum and then allowed it to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Honed Limestone Tiled Ground Floor

The following day the final 3000-grit pad in the four-pad set was applied to the floor to bring up the polish even further. The pad is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the tile. We call this process a “Spray Burnish” and as well as leaving the floor nice and dry ready for sealing it adds a nice subtle shine to the stone.

The floor was then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer. This is a colour intensifying impregnating sealer that works by occupying the pores in the stone so dirt cannot become ingrained there. It will provide durable protection and make the floor much easier to keep clean. It worked well on the pale Limestone and beautifully enhanced the colour and features in stone. Once complete the floor looked brand new again.

Honed Limestone Floor After Renovation Highgate

I left a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap with the client and gave them some information about how best to maintain the floor. This product is pH neutral and cleans whilst maintaining the patina on the stone helping to keep the floor in great condition.

The client was delighted with the result and left us a great review.

“Andrew is excellent and gets on with the job and we got a fantastic result. Highly recommend. By Aaron S, Highgate, 15 March 2021”

Professional Restoration of a Honed Limestone Tiled Ground Floor in North London

Grubby Honed Limestone Floor restored in Highgate Read More »