grout cleaning Archives - Central London Tile Doctor

Quarry Tiled Balcony Patio Renovated for Notting Hill Landlord

The Quarry tiles in the photographs below were actually installed on the balcony of a flat in London’s famous Notting Hill W11. The property had been rented out and not surprisingly never maintained properly by the tenants.

Quarry Tiled Balcony Patio Before Cleaning Notting Hill W11

There was a lot of grime and algae on the tiles which made the patio look very uninviting. The landlord was keen to rent out the flat as soon as possible and the balcony needed a end of tenancy clean to sort it out before potential tenants were shown round.

Deep Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Balcony Patio Floor

Having been entrusted with the keys and having negotiated appropriate parking I went round on a warm day to renovate the tiles and get them in the best condition possible in advance of the viewing. Fortunately, the lift was working so after a couple of trips up and down with various items of equipment I was soon setup and ready to get going.

To get the quarry tiles clean I used a strong treatment of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was sprayed onto the tiles and left to soak in for fifteen minutes to allow time for the solution to get to work breaking down the dirt and old sealers. Then, I ran over each tile multiple times with a floor buffer fitted with a Black scrubbing pad. I also used a stiff brush along the grout lines to get them clean, however, the staining was bad so short of grout colouring or re-grouting I was only able to make a modest improvement. The landlord just wanted the balcony to be presentable, so I stuck to getting them as clean as possible.

Once finished cleaning the now dirty cleaning solution was rinsed off with water and extracted using a wet vacuum. I was then able to inspect the floor and carry out spot cleaning where I felt more work was needed. One of the problems I found was the presence of limescale and to remove that I realised I needed to use an acidic product that would dissolve it.

To treat the limescale I gave the floor a second clean using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was scrubbed in with handheld brushes and another fresh black pad. Once done, the tiles were rinsed again, and a wet vacuum was employed to get the tiles as dry as possible. Fortunately, the sun came around that side of the building towards the afternoon and the patio was bathed in sunlight allowing it to dry faster.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Balcony Patio Floor

The quarry tiles needed to be completely dry before I could seal them and with the weather forecast looking good overnight and into the next day so I left them to dry off completely overnight.

The next day I returned and started by checking the tiles were dry using a damp meter. The readings were good, so I was able to start with the application of a protective sealer which for these tiles I used Tile Doctor Colour Grow.

Only a couple of coats were required however it is quite time consuming, and you have to wait 30 minutes between coats. This sealer has a breathable formula which is well suited for use on this patio, and it contains a colour enhancer which helps to bring out the colours in the Quarry tile.

Quarry Tiled Balcony Patio After Cleaning Sealing Notting Hill W11

For the regular cleaning of sealed Quarry tiles, I recommend Tile Doctor Neutral Clean which is supplied in a concentrate so a 1 litre bottle goes a long way. You can’t use strong cleaning products on sealed tiles as they will prematurely erode the sealer so Neutral Cleaner is an ideal choice.

Professional Renovation of Balcony Quarry Tiles in Central London

Large Limestone Floor Before After Polishing Hammersmith

Limestone Floor Cleaned and Polished in Hammersmith

2 Comments / Grout Cleaning, Hammersmith and Fulham Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Jackson Davis

Recently I paid a visit to a customer in Hammersmith whose whole ground floor was covered in Limestone tiles. It was a nicely situated Victorian house, but the Limestone floor was a big concern for the owner. The floor had been installed during a house renovation approximately seven years earlier and hadn’t been treated since. The Limestone was now looking dull and in need of a renovation to bring back the polished appearance.

Limestone Floor Before Polishing in Hammersmith

Limestone was used throughout the property including the Hallway and Kitchen which are typically the busiest area’s and so not surprisingly they had seen the biggest build-up of soiling. This is not an unusual situation for stone floors which will trap dirt in the pores of the stone once the sealer wears off. Sealer wear is inevitable and will usually last between three to five years depending on use and what is used to clean the floor.

I explained the process of renovating and honing the Limestone and bringing back its appearance, after agreeing on details we chose the dates. The job was scheduled for 3 days to be completed.

Cleaning Limestone Floor Tile and Grout

When we arrived on the first day, we set about covering the skirting boards and furniture, to protect from any splashes. Then starting in the Kitchen and Dining area the first phase involved giving the floor an initial clean using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The primary focus was on the grout lines which were hand scrubbed using a stiff grout brush.

Then the solution was spread all over the tiles and left for approximately ten minutes to allow it to soak into the pores of the stone and break down the dirt and what was left of the old sealer. I used a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine to work the solution into the floor. Then the floor was then carefully rinsed, and the soil extracted with a vacuum.

The floor was already showing improvement when I moved onto phase two which reconditions the stone using a set of diamond encrusted Burnishing Pads. There are four pads in the set, each one with a different grit from coarse 400-grit through to extra fine 3000-grit. I started with the 400 grit, followed by 800, 1500, 3000 grit to bring back the shine. Water is used to lubricate the process and the floor is rinsed well after each step to remove the fine slurry generated. At the end of the first day the Kitching and Dining section looked really good in comparison to the untouched areas and I hadn’t applied the sealer yet.

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

On the second day we started on the Limestone floor in the Hallway using the same technique as before. Being a smaller area, it didn’t take as long to complete, and we were able to make a start on applying a fresh sealer to the floor we cleaned the day before.
Underfloor heating was installed, and this is useful for helping to dry a wet floor however I don’t like to use it when sealing and I asked the owner to switch it off. In my experience you get a better result if the sealer is allowed to dry and cure naturally.

For this floor I used Tile Doctor Colour Grow, Limestone is a light stone and Colour Grow really brings out the brown shades in the stone. It actually works by penetrating into the pores of the stone thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. As well as protecting the stone it will also make regular cleaning much easier and for polished Limestone you should use Stone Soap which is designed for cleaning sealed stone floors and will help maintain the patina.

Limestone Floor After Polishing in Hammersmith

The job took 3 days to complete but to do it properly and to a high standard there is no place for a rush or cutting corners. The final result was transformational, and our customer was more than happy.

Professional Restoration of a Polished Limestone Floor in West London

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