sealing quarry tiles Archives - Wiltshire Tile Doctor

Quarry tiled floor Deep Cleaned in Brinkworth

This house in Brinkworth was once a pub so as you can imagine the quarry tiled floor has certainly seen some foot traffic and abuse over the years. The owner contacted us to see if they were able to keep it as a feature entrance hall so we carried out a test which went very well and they booked us to do the work straight away.

Cleaning and Sealing Quarry Tiles in Brinkworth Before

Cleaning Quarry Tiles

Due to the level of ingrained dirt we started by covering the floor in Tile Doctor Remove & Go which is a very strong product usually reserved for removing coatings such as sealers from tile. We let it dwell for 10-15 minutes before working it in with a black scrubbing pad attached to a rotary machine; we scrubbed the area making sure that we covered it thoroughly. At this point It became apparent that there were many pitted areas with ingrained dirt so the process was repeated using a nylon scrub brush attached to the rotary machine to help get into all the pitted tiles. We then went round scraping any adhesives, paint or existing seal with a Stanley scraper.

Once we were happy with the result we then removed the slurry with a wet vacuum and rinsed with cold clean water several times with the aid of a deck brush to make sure ALL trace of cleaning product was removed. This process took most of the day and made a significant improvement to the state of the floor which was still quite damp at this stage so we left for the evening agreeing to come back in three days’ time to give the floor sufficient time to dry.

Sealing Quarry Tiles

Upon our return we used a damp meter in several areas to check the floor had dried, most sealers won’t take to a damp floor and you can get unexpected results so it’s important to check first. The test results were fine so we started sealing the floor using Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water based sealer that doesn’t give off a smell whilst its drying, it also adds a subtle sheen to the tile and enhance the look of the floor as well as protecting the tile from future staining.

Old Quarry tiled floor deep cleaned in old Wiltshire

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Quarry tiled floor hidden under Ceramic tiles restored in Swindon

1 Comment / Work History / Paul Nash

The history of this Quarry Tiled floor at a house in Swindon is a little unusual in that the owner had discovered the Quarry tiles underneath cracked ceramic tiles which had been laid over the top for several years. The customer wanted to bring the Quarry tile back to life to match the existing hallway from the kitchen and so we got a call. Incidentally the practice of laying new tiles on top of old is not unusual as an existing tiled floor provides an ideal level on which to lay new tiles.

Cleaning Quarry Tiles

We started by using a floor scraper to scrape off as much tile adhesive as possible. Once this was done we mixed a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up and brushed it all over the remaining tile adhesive and used a black scrubbing pad attached to a rotary machine to remove the glue. This took several attempts using more Grout Clean-up, a floor scraper and a black scrubbing pad to remove all traces of the adhesive. Next we rinsed off any trace of product using clean water and then removed it using a wet vacuum.

The floor was free of glue at this point but we still needed to remove any existing sealer from the tiles and give them a deep clean to remove ingrained dirt so a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-clean mixed 50/50 with Nanotech Ultraclean was applied to the tiles and left to dwell for twenty minutes. (The Nanotech product adds tiny abrasive particles to the mix making a more effective cleaner). The solution was worked into the tile using a black pad attached to a rotary machine and the floor thoroughly scrubbed. Once satisfied the tiles were rinsed with clean water several times to remove any trace of cleaning product and the water removed using a wet vacuum. A lot of work had gone into the floor at this point and it needed time to dry before sealing so we left for the evening.

Sealing Quarry Tiles

We returned two days later and after testing the tiles were dry using a damp tester, which came back as OK, we processed to seal the Quarry tiles using six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is an ideal sealer for Quarry tiles as it adds a nice sheen to the floor as well as providing future surface protection. Seal and Go is also water based so there’s no smell as it dries.

Wiltshire Quarry tiled floor restoration

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Cleaning and Sealing Quarry Tiles in Sherston

1 Comment / Work History / Paul Nash

I recently paid a free home survey visit to a home owner in the village of Sherston near Malmesbury where the sealer on her Quarry Tiled Floor had started to fail in places and was becoming difficult to keep clean. Whilst I was there I did a sample clean and after reviewing the results she was happy to book us in for the job.

Quarry Tiles in Sherston Before Cleaining

Cleaning Quarry Tiles

To clean the Tiles and strip off the remaining sealer we used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-clean mixed 50/50 with Nanotech Ultraclean, the Nanotech product adds tiny abrasive particles to the mix making it a more effective cleaning product. This was left to dwell on the floor for twenty minutes before being worked into the tile using and black buffer pad fitted to a rotary buffing machine. The whole area was cleaned in this manner along with a stiff hand brush to get into the grout lines and a wet vacuum which was used to suck up the dirty residue before the floor was rinsed down with cold water.

Once the floor had started to dry it had become apparent that there was still some seal left behind. To resolve this problem I used Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a powerful coatings remover product. It was left to dwell on the Quarry tiles for ten minutes before being scrubbed in with both a deck brush and black pad. I was still having problems removing all the seal so I then used a steamer with Remove and Go and a stiff deck brush to remove the last of the evident seal. The floor was then thoroughly rinsed the floor several times with clean water to remove any product build up and the ware removed using the wet vacuum.

Sealing Quarry Tiles

The floor was left to dry for a couple of days and then I returned to seal the floor first testing it was dry with a damp meter. The floor was fully dry we applied multiple coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which will protect the floor from stains going forward making it easier to clean and also adds a nice shine to the tile.

Quarry Tiles in Sherston After Cleaining

Before leaving I advised the customer on the use of a Neutral tile cleaner to help prolong the life of the sealer, there are a number of acidic floor cleaning products available which should not be used with stone or sealed floors as the acid will eat into the sealer over time reducing its life.

Restoring the Seal on a Quarry tiled floor near Malmesbury

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