Winsford Tile Cleaning

Winsford Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find examples of the cleaning and renovation of tiles carried out in Winsford.

Scratched Corian Worktop Renovation Cuddington Cheshire

Removing Scratches from Corian Worktops in Cuddington

We recently received an enquiry from the Cheshire village of Cuddington regarding a Corian worktop which was cracked and scratched in many places. Although well known for our floor restoration work the equipment, we use works equally well on stone worktops so we were happy to be of assistance.

Scratched Corian Worktop Before Renovation Cuddington Cheshire

Granite is probably the ultimate surface for a Kitchen worktop and although extremely durable it is expensive. Corian is manmade and has a lower cost but is more easily damaged by heat and scratching than natural stone. It is however a very solid material and we find it can be maintained in a similar way to natural stone.

Scratched Corian Worktop Before Renovation Cuddington Cheshire

Having discussed the size of the worktop and costs to repolish the surface a date was worked out for a visit.

Polishing Scratches out of a Corian Worktop

To renovate the Corian Countertop the first step was to run over the surface with a hand held polishing machine fitted with a 800-grit resin disc. Water is used to keep the worktop wet so as to absorb the fine dust that is generated. The pad needs to be applied to the point where the scratches are removed and then to avoid creating shallow areas its necessary to run the pad over the entire surface taking it down to the same level.

The worktop is rinsed with water to remove the fine slurry that is generated and then the process repeated with a 1200-grit disc followed by another rinse. At this point all the scratches and cracks in the Corian should have disappeared but the polished appearance will had dulled as a result.

Scratched Corian Worktop During Renovation Cuddington Cheshire

To put back the shine on the countertop it needs to be polished and for this we like to use Tile Doctor Diamond Burnishing pads which are available in a 6 inch diameter and a perfect size for use with the hand held buffer. It’s a similar process using water for lubrication and starting with an 800-grit pad and finishing with a 1500-grit pad.

Sealing a Corian Kitchen Worktop

Once the worktop was dry two coats of sealer were applied to protect it. On this occasion I used Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is undetectable natural look product that is recommend for use in food preparation and serving areas.

Scratched Corian Worktop After Renovation Cuddington Cheshire

To finish I buffed the worktop with a 6-inch white pad, the transformation was fantastic and my costumer was over the moon. For aftercare I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Stone Patina Spray which is a mild cleaner that will maintain the patina of the stone.

Scratched Corian Worktop After Renovation Cuddington Cheshire

 

Professional Corian Worktop Polishing in West Cheshire

Removing Scratches from Corian Worktops in Cuddington Read More »

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Before After Polishing Delamere

Polishing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Delamere

This Travertine Polishing enquiry came from a homeowner in the village of Delamere which is in the middle of the Cheshire countryside, West of Winsford. The customer had recently moved to the area and was unhappy with the dull appearance of their Travertine tiled kitchen floor, there were also small holes in the tiles which needed filling.

Travertine is a natural stone and holes or pitting can appear as thin layers of surface stone break down to reveal a cavity underneath. This is a common problem and can be made worse by the use of strong acidic cleaning products that eat away at the surface over time.

The solution was to fill the holes using a matching epoxy filler, deep clean the grout and then burnish the tiles to remove the dirt and bring up the polish. Happy with my quote we agreed a date for the work to commence.

Travertine Floor Tiles Before Polishing Delamere

Grout Cleaning and Filling Pitts in a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

The first job was to fill the holes/pitts in the Travertine using a purpose made product called Tenax which comes in a variety of colours and is described as an adhesive filler that sets hard.

Travertine Floor Tiles During Filling Delamere

Step two was to get the grout clean so I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline tile and grout cleaner. I left this to soak in and breakdown the dirt for roughly ten minutes before scrubbing it in by hand. Once done the floor was rinsed with water and the soil now released from the stone extracted using a wet vacuum.

Polishing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

To bring back the polished appearance of the Travertine I applied a set of four diamond burnishing pads of different grades in sequence from coarse to extra fine. The first two pads take off any remaining sealer and dirt, the floor is then washed down and the residue removed by wet vacuum. We then go onto the third pad which is a 1500 grit which starts to put a shine back on the stone. The floor is then washed down again with clean water and the slurry removed with the wet vacuum.

The floor is then forced dried by large fans and once dry the last pad is applied which is a 3000-grit pad that puts a high shine on the floor. A small amount of water is sprayed onto the tiles during this process which we refer to as a spray burnish.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

Spray burnishing also leaves the floor dry and ready to be sealed. The owner wanted the Travertine to look as natural as possible so two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal were applied. This is an impregnating sealer which is recommended for use on polished stone and for use in kitchens. To finish and to remove excess sealer the floor was then buffed with a White pad.

Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles After Polishing Delamere

I mentioned at the beginning of this post not to use strong cleaning products on Travertine and this advice is especially relevant if the stone is sealed as strong products including bleach can also erode the sealer. For the regular cleaning of sealed Travertine, I would recommend using Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a gentle but effective cleaner that also helps maintain the patina.

 

Professional Renovation of a Dull Travertine Kitchen Floor in Cheshire

Polishing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Delamere Read More »

Old Brick Floor Renovation in Church Preen

Old Brick Floor Renovated in Church Minshull Wash House

We were contacted by an existing client who lives in the lovely Cheshire village of Church Minshull regarding a Brick tiled floor. We had already worked on restoring floors at their property before and on this occasion, they wanted us to improve the appearance of the bricks that comprised the floor in their old wash house.

Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Church Minshull

Like the village in which it’s situated the property was pretty old, and they were not sure when the floor had been laid. You can see from the photographs however it was stained, dull and now well overdue a facelift. Having used our services previously, they knew how we worked and were happy with the quote which would take two days to complete. Although it wasn’t a particularly large floor it was an awkward shape, tight to work in and would result a lot of manual work.

The village of Church Minshull is approximately 5 miles north west of Crewe, just West of the River Weaver and Shropshire Union Canal. The modern village centre is a designated conservation area which contains many houses of Tudor style architecture so it really is a lovely place to visit and to work in.

Cleaning a Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor

The first task was to give the floor a good sweep to remove any debris. After this I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a high alkaline cleaner/coatings striper and left it to soak in. This product gets to work on ingrained dirt and grime as well as removing any existing sealers.

The solution was left to dwell on the brick floor for about twenty minutes before being scrubbed in with a Black pad fitted to a slow speed rotary machine and by hand. This process lifted the dirt out of the brick nicely and the resultant slurry was then removed with assistance of a wet vacuum.

After rinsing the remaining residue off the floor, it was given a thorough inspection. I noticed there were a few stubborn areas so the process was repeated until I was satisfied the floor could be as clean as it possible could be. After a final rinse with water the floor was dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum and left to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor

The next morning, I was on site early and the first job was to test the floor with a damp meter to make sure it was dry enough to start sealing. The results were good, so I set about sealing the brick floor starting with a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that enhances colour. Once this had dried, I applied four further coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which adds a subtle sheen that enhances the appearance of the old bricks even further.

Old floors like this don’t have a damp-proof membrane under the floor so it’s important to use breathable sealers that allow the moisture to rise through the brick and evaporate. Using a non-breathable sealer could lead to damp building up below the floor where it can spread to the walls and cause rising damp.

Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Church Minshull

The floor looked much healthier after I had finished, and the new sealer will make it so much easier to keep clean going forward. For aftercare I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to maintain the floor. It’s a pH neutral product which won’t prematurely erode the sealer like some of the stronger tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets which are only for use on Ceramic tiles and Vinyl flooring. It comes in a concentrate, so you only need to dilute a small amount in a bucket of warm water.

 

Professional Restoration of a Brick Tiled Floor in Cheshire

Old Brick Floor Renovated in Church Minshull Wash House Read More »

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West Cheshire Tile Doctor

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