Floor Tiles Archives - Suffolk Tile Doctor

Sandstone Kitchen Floor Renovation Ipswich

Sandstone Floor Renovated in Ipswich Kitchen and Sunroom

This Sandstone tiled floor was in the Kitchen and Sunroom of a house in Ipswich. The protective sealer had clearly worn off and now the floor was really grubby due to the owner being in a wheelchair and the tyres tracked dirt in from the garden.

Sandstone Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Ipswich

It had been some time since the floor was last sealed and it was clear to me now that the sealer had failed thereby allowing years of dirt and grime to lodge in the pores of the stone leaving it looking permanently dirty. Cleaning with a mop simply won’t make any difference to a floor once it gets in this state which is where Tile Doctor comes in. Also, we often find owners of sealed stone floors don’t realise that most of the tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets are simply too strong for use on a sealed floor and will strip the sealer from the tiles thereby leaving it vulnerable to ingrained dirt.

The solution I quoted for including deep cleaning the sandstone tiles and grout and then resealing the whole floor over two days. Unhappy with the floor and keen to have it renovated I was asked to do do the work and so we scheduled a date.

Cleaning/Repairing a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen and Sunroom Floor

To get the Sandstone clean I sprayed the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and allowed it to soak in for about ten minutes. The floor was then scrubbed using a 120-grit carborundum silicon carbide brush fitted to a rotary machine. This is a special pad that works really well on riven stone. The resultant slurry was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

I then turned my attention to the grout which often needs extra attention as the pads can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout lines. For these I used more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and hand scrubbed where required with a stiff brush. I also used this time to inspect the floor and spot clean any stubborn areas of dirt on the sandstone that needed more attention.

Sandstone Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Ipswich

After a final rinse and extraction, the stone and grout were looking much cleaner however I needed it to be completely dry before applying the sealer so after extracting as much moisture as possible I left it to dry off overnight. The cleaning has taken the whole of the first day and had used two litres of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean.

Sealing a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen and Sunroom Floor

On day two I started by checking the floor was dry using a damp meter; the moisture readings were fine, and this confirmed the floor was ready to accept a sealer. The sealer chosen for this floor was Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra, I applied four coats allowing each coat to dry before applying the next consuming three litres of sealer in the process.

Sandstone Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Ipswich

The floor is now clean and has a nice, easy to maintain sheen. The new sealer will prevent dirt becoming lodged in the pores of the tiles allowing the floor to keep its looks for many years to come. For cleaning I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is a gentle but effective product recommended for use on sealed stone.

Professional Restoration of a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen and Sunroom in Suffolk

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Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Edwardstone

I was recently asked to renovate this Brick tiled floor installed in the kitchen of an older property in the small hamlet of Edwardstone near Sudbury. It had been some time since the floor was professionally cleaned and the brick tiles were deeply ingrained with dirt and looking very dirty and dull. The owner of the property was finding it difficult to keep the floor clean and had decided it was time to call in some help.

Brick Kitchen Floor Before Renovation Edwardstone

I visited the property to survey the floor and it was clear to me that any sealer that once protected the floor was no longer working and dirt was being trapped in the pores of the brick. Whilst there, I also noticed there was no evidence of a damp proof course being installed and given the age of the property it was unlikely the floor had a damp proof membrane either and had probably been laid directly onto the soil.

Without a barrier between the bricks and the soil, efflorescence issues would be a distinct possibility. This is where alkaline salts from the soil rise through the floor and as the moisture evaporates the floor is left with white deposits on the tile, it would also mean I would need to use a fully breathable sealer to allow this to happen, anything else would results in moisture being trapped under the floor where it would reach out to the walls resulting in rising damp.

Cleaning a Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor

I didn’t want to increase the moisture levels in the floor by using lots of water during the cleaning process, so I opted to use a low moisture method that involved Tile Doctor Acid Gel. Being a gel cleaner, it is easier to manage the acid in the product and will also neutralise any alkaline salt issues.

The gel was worked into the tiles and grout using a special carborundum pad, fitted to our new Hyper Grinder rotary machine. This process removed any remnants of the original sealer and the dirt from the floor, four litres of Tile Doctor Acid Gel was used during the process. The floor was given a minimal rinse with fresh water to assist in the removal of the now soiled Tile Doctor Acid Gel and a wet vacuum was used to extract the soiling and dry the floor.

Sealing a Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor

The now clean floor was then left to dry overnight and on the 2nd day we tested it was dry using a damp meter. All was well so the Brick floor was sealed with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra, 2 litres were used in total. It is worth pointing out that Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra is a breathable sealer that will allow moisture to rise through the brick.

Brick Kitchen Floor After Renovation Edwardstone

The process went very well, and the floor is now cleaner and has a nice, easy to maintain sheen. For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild, neutral ph cleaner. We recommend this as many of the products you find in supermarkets are simply too strong and bleach based which will slowly strip off the sealer and allow dirt back into the floor.