Colour Grow Archives - West Cheshire Tile Doctor

Green Limestone Floor Renovation Grappenhall

Green Limestone Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Grappenhall

Recently I visited a farmhouse in Grappenhall to look at a kitchen floor that was laid with beautiful Green Limestone tiles. Grappenhall is a lovely Cheshire village which is better known as a period TV and film location.

Green Limestone Floor Before Cleaning Grappenhall

The owner of the property had sent in a request to have the floor cleaned and sealed. This is quite normal for natural stone floors as the protective sealer will wear off with use and once this happens dirt become ingrained in the stone and grout making it difficult to clean.

Whilst at the property I ran a quick test clean with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is our go to Tile and Grout cleaner. The Limestone and Grout responded well to the cleaning and later that day I sent over a detailed quote for deep cleaning the whole floor and then sealing.

Green Limestone Floor Before Cleaning Grappenhall

Pleased with the test clean and happy with the quote we were given the go-ahead to clean and seal the whole floor.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Kitchen in Grappenhall

On the agreed date work started with clearing the room of furniture and adding protective film to the Kitchen units. Fortunately, the weather was favourable so the furniture was moved outside.

A strong dilution of Pro-Clean was sprayed onto Limestone tile and Grout and then left to soak in for ten minutes. This gives the Pro-Clean time to digest the dirt and breakdown what was left of the original sealer. All the grout lines and edges were then hand scrubbed before moving onto the main floor area. For this a buffing machine fitted with a Black scrubbing pad was run over the tiles with more water applied as required to improve lubrication. This process effectively lifted the ingrained stains and dirt from the tile and grout which was then removed using a wet vacuum.

Once done the floor was inspected and the process repeated were required to ensure the floor was as clean as possible. Finally, the floor was rinsed with more water to remove any traces of cleaning solution and then dried with the wet vacuum.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen

The floor was left to dry overnight and the following morning several moisture readings were taken with a damp meter to verify the floor had dried sufficiently for sealing. Once the readings were correct, the floor was sealed using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, an impregnating colour-enhancing sealer. Floor fans were used to help dry the floor between coats.

Impregnators work by soaking into the pores of the Limestone preventing dirt from residing there and ensuring dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away. The colour enhancing formula of the sealer always did a nice job of bringing out the natural green colour in the stone. The floor was then buffed with a white pad to remove any excess sealer and buff up the appearance of the stone.

Green Limestone Floor After Cleaning Sealing Grappenhall

The cleaning and sealing process successfully restored the appearance of the Limestone floor and the Grout looked much whiter and cleaner. We do take pride in our work and I’m please to say the customer was very happy with the result.

Green Limestone Floor After Cleaning Sealing Grappenhall

Before leaving I took time to provide some advice on how to maintain the tiles going forward and the importance of using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner for day-to-day cleaning.

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Tiled Kitchen in Cheshire

Green Limestone Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Grappenhall Read More »

Green Limestone Kitchen Floor Renovation Pickmere

Stained Green Limestone Kitchen Floor Renovated in Pickmere

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Wincham Tile Cleaning / Alastair Robb

We were contacted by a resident of the west Cheshire village of Pickmere about their 90m2 Green Limestone tiled kitchen floor which has been stained by washing up liquid. Although washing up liquid appears to be a harmless the product clearly contains some ingredients that upset the sealer and polish.

Stained Green Limestone before Cleaning Pickmere

Unfortunately patching up the floor up wasn’t really an option as the result would be equally patchy. The only option was to re-polish the tiles with a set of Tile Doctor burnishing pads and apply a fresh sealer. I worked out a quote which was agreed and a date set.

Burnishing and Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Floor

Before working on the Limestone, I set about cleaning the grout lines with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong Tile and Grout cleaner. The pads can struggle to reach into the grout lines so I find the best way to clean grout is by hand with stiff brush and extract the soiling with a wet vacuum.

Next step was to start cleaning the stone using the first of the burnishing pads. This first pad is a coarse 400-grit which cuts through and removes old sealers, scratches and dirt from the stone. The pad is attached to a weighted buffer machine and run over each tile using only water for lubrication. The water turns into a dark liquid which was rinsed with more water and removed using the wet vacuum.

This process was repeated with 800-grit pad and the floor was then inspected. Unfortunately, it showed several areas where the staining remained so I spot treated them using Tile Doctor Reduxa. This is a liquid that is sprayed on the stain and then warmed up with a heat gun which literally steams the stain out of the stone. This process has to be repeated several times for the stain to disappear

With the staining gone I finished off burnishing the Limestone with the remaining two pads which are a fine 1500-grit and then the extra fine 3500-grit which is applied using only a little water sprayed onto the stone. This last pad builds up a high-quality polish on the stone and really bring up the finish.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Floor

The floor was left to dry off fully overnight and I returned the next day to seal the Limestone first checking with a damp meter that the stone was dry. To get the finish the customer wanted a coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow was applied with is an impregnating colour enhancing sealer. Impregnating sealers works under the surface by occupying the pores in the stone thus preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. Any excess sealer was wiped off the tile before treating the stone to a gentle buff with a White pad to bring up the shine even further.

Green Limestone After Cleaning Stain Removal Pickmere

Once complete the staining was gone and the floor looked amazing much to the relief of the owner. For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a pH neutral cleaner for the maintenance of polished floor that contains a patina enhancer.

Green Limestone After Cleaning Stain Removal Pickmere

Professional Renovation of a Stained Green Limestone Floor in Cheshire

Stained Green Limestone Kitchen Floor Renovated in Pickmere Read More »

Sandstone Kitchen Floor Renovation Church Minshull

Incredibly Dirty Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovation in Church Minshull

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Nantwich Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning / Alastair Robb

We received an enquiry from a client in the sleepy village of Church Minshull, North of Nantwich, in the Cheshire countryside to ask if we could renovate a Sandstone tiled kitchen floor.

Availability was critical in this case as they were having a new kitchen fitted and they wanted someone who could work on the floor in between the old units being removed and the new ones being fitted. Happy to help if I could, I arranged a visit to survey the floor and discuss timings.

Sandstone Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Church Minshull

Whilst at the property I conducted a test clean on a small section of flooring which revealed just how incredibly dirty the stone had become. It was clear to me that the sandstone was heavily ingrained with dirt and that any sealer that may have been present was now long gone. Sealers prevent dirt from dirt becoming ingrained into the pores of the stone which keeps the dirt on the surface where it’s much easier to remove.

Sandstone Kitchen Floor During Test Cleaning Church Minshull

Impressed with the difference I had been able to achieve so quickly and happy with my quote for renovating the whole floor the only thing outstanding was to work out if I could get the floor clean before the new kitchen was installed. Fortunately, I was able to move a few things around so it would work.

Cleaning a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen

To get the floor clean, work started with an application of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline tile and grout cleaner. I used a very strong solution diluting four parts Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to only one part water. This was then left to soak into the sandstone for twenty minutes to give it time to break down the dirt.

The grout lines were then scrubbed using a stiff grout brush before turning attention to the Sandstone which was scrubbed using a rotary floor machine fitted with a Black scrubbing pad and more water. All this scrubbing released a lot of dirt from the floor turning the cleaning solution into a dark slurry. The dirty residue was then removed by wet vacuum.

The floor was then inspected, and the process repeated where needed. Once I was happy the Sandstone and Grout were clear of all the dirt, I gave it a final rinse and extracted as much moisture as possible with the wet vacuum.

Sealing a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen

The floor was left to dry overnight, and work resumed the next day to seal the floor. First the floor was checked with a damp meter to make sure it was dry and ready to take a seal.
The results were fine and so the floor was sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating colour enhancing sealer. Large fans were used to speed up the drying process between coats.

Sandstone Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Church Minshull

Once done the floor looked incredibly different, the patterns and colours in the stone were now visible and it looked so much cleaner. The grout had also responded well and the floor was completely transformed by the work.

Sandstone Kitchen Floor After Renovation Church Minshull

For aftercare cleaning I recommended they use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is an effective pH neutral tile and grout cleaner that won’t impact the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen in West Cheshire

Incredibly Dirty Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovation in Church Minshull Read More »

Minton Hollins Victorian Floor Renovation Chester

Historically Important Victorian Hallway Floor Restored in Handbridge Chester

1 Comment / Chester Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Alastair Robb

I was first asked to restore the large Victorian tiled hallway floor at this mansion type property in Handbridge, Cheshire two years ago. The floors had a lot of history and had been used as a template for the famous Minton Hollins encaustic tiled floor at St George’s Hall in Liverpool that was built in 1854. Unfortunately, however my work was put on hold as other restoration works including repairing dry rot took priority.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Renovation Handbridge Cheshire

I kept in touch with the owners whilst the other works progressed and kept a look out for 22 beige Octagon shaped tiles that were needed to replace some of the damaged tiles in the floor. In fact, it wasn’t until later in 2023 that I was called back to start the renovation work to the floor, by which time I had managed to source all the replacement tiles needed.

Handbridge is a district of Chester with a mixture of large Victorian mansion type properties on the South bank of the river Dee and workers cottages built to service the water powered factories that sprung up along the river.

Repairing and Cleaning a Victorian Hallway Tiles

Before starting the cleaning process my first task was to replace all the broken tiles. This needs to be done carefully so as not to dislodge any adjacent tiles and make more work for myself. Once removed the base is cleared of old cement and then the replacement tiles fitted using rapid set adhesive and cut to size where required.

Once the repairs were complete and the adhesive set, I began the cleaning process which is designed to remove and remaining protective sealer and flush out ingrained dirt from the pores of the tile. This is done by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean with a mop and then leaving it to soak into the tile for ten minutes. The floor was then scrubbed using a buffing machine fitted with a black pad and lubricated with water. The cleaning alkaline cleaning solution soon turns black with the dirt and then floor is then rinsed with water and the residue extracted with a wet vacuum.

Attention then turned to the decorative historical piece of flooring at the entrance to the hallway. This only needed to be cleaned with Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is used for regular cleaning and maintenance of tiled floors. this was applied with a two-minute dwell time before cleaning by hand using soft scrubbing brush then wiped down with damp microfiber cloths then left to dry.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The next day damp meter readings were taken from both floors to make sure they had dried and were ready to be sealed. The readings were within tolerance so work could begin on applying the first of what would be three coats of sealer.

Tile Doctor Colour Grow was chosen to seal the tiles, it’s an impregnating colour intensifier sealer which is fully breathable so it will allow for moisture to rise through tile, an important consideration for old floors that don’t have a damp proof membrane.

The sealer was applied using a paint pad and any excess is wiped off after five minutes with microfiber cloths before leaving it to dry for twenty minutes. I use air blowers around the floor to increase the drying speed.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Renovation Handbridge Cheshire

The owner of the property was over the moon with the work and pleased that the work to restore the property to its former condition was nearing completion after what had been four years of restoration.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Renovation Handbridge Cheshire

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in West Cheshire

Historically Important Victorian Hallway Floor Restored in Handbridge Chester Read More »