Slate Tile Sealing Archives - West Surrey Tile Doctor

Slate Floor Tile and Grout Renovation Farnham Utility

Neglected Slate Tiled Utility Room Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Farnham

The Slate floor in this room at a property in Farnham was in quite a state. “Heavily soiled” is a polite description. The floor was situated in the utility room and hadn’t been cleaned properly since the house was constructed ten years ago.

The room was mainly used as a dumping ground for walking boots and was also where the dog slept. Being out of sight it was therefore out of mind but eventually they decided it was time to do something about it and reached out to Tile Doctor for help.

Slate Floor Before Cleaning Farnham Kitchen

I visited the property, surveyed the tiles and was confident the floor could be restored! From my survey I was also able to provide a quote for a deep clean and seal of the Slate tiles which was accepted and a date set for my return.

Cleaning a Slate Tiled Utility Room Floor

I cleaned the grout first with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, this was done using the usual method of applying it directly to the grout and leaving it to soak in for ten minutes before using an abrasive wire brush to scrub the grout clean. The floor was then rinsed then the waste extracted with a wet vacuum. This was repeated until I was happy the grout was as clean as possible.

Slate Floor During Cleaning Farnham Kitchen

Next up, I sprayed a strong dilution of more Tile Doctor Pro Clean over the tiles and left it to dwell this time for twenty minutes. The surface gradually turned yellow indicating that the product was working. Then using a tough carbide brush attached to a handheld polisher I slowly cleaned the tiles. Slate has a riven surface with lots of nooks and crannies that the brush can get into. All the waste soil was removed again with a wet vacuum and I then neutralised the floor rinsing it twice with hot water.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Utility Room Floor

For the next hour or so I dried the floor with a heater and while waiting I cleaned the small brick patio by the front door which made the entrance look a lot more inviting!

Once the floor looked dry, I tested with the damp meter to make sure it was ready to seal. Satisfied the levels were good, I applied three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra. This is a moder tough sealer that’s ideal for busy floors that leaves an attractive sheen finish.

Once dry the floor looked so much clear and appealing, much to the relief of my client who was very happy with the work we carried out- and so was the dog!

Slate Floor During Sealing Farnham Kitchen

For aftercare I recommended using Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is a Neutral pH tile and grout cleaner and will help ensure the floor stays in great condition for many years to come. It always worth readying the label of a Tile Cleaning product to check its suitable for use on a sealed floor as most household products are usually acidic and can trip a sealant off a floor with repeated use.

Professional Restoration of a Slate Tiled Utility Room in West Surrey

Neglected Slate Tiled Utility Room Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Farnham Read More »

Builders Clean Large Slate Floor Before and After Restoration in Farnham

Slate Tiled Floor Rejuvenated at New Barn Conversion in Farnham

1 Comment / Farnham Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History / Rupert Mcloud

Converting a barn into a property can be an exciting project, but it certainly doesn’t come without a range of challenges. If done correctly, they can look amazing and are well worth the effort.

A recent customer of mine had spent the last six months converting a barn into a residential property in the West Surrey town of Farnham. While the project had been a big success, the house had been subjected to high traffic from dozens of carpenters, electricians and builders. This had taken its toll on the newly installed Slate tiled floor – so the property owner asked me to restore it to its peak condition to complete the conversion once and for all.

Slate Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Farnham

Before accepting the job, I strongly advised the customer that I should be the last workman out of the door. In my experience few tradesmen are known to take care of other peoples work and any further work being done in the property could potentially spoil the appearance of the Slate tiles.

Cleaning a Slate Tiled Floor

The customer was happy for me to proceed, so on the agreed date I returned and started the work by laying down a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean across the floor. Pro-Clean is an alkaline-based cleaner which breaks down all manner of dirt and grime.

This was a large area of tiles, so I worked on individual sections of 3m2, first soaking the Slate in Pro-Clean and then waiting ten minutes for it to soak in and then following with a nylon black scrubbing pad fitted to a 17-inch rotary buffing machine to work the cleaning product into the stone. The tiles immediately came up looking much cleaner. Any excess water and chemical slurry was vacuumed up promptly with a wet vacuum.

The tiler had done a good job of laying the floor and removing any excess grout as normally my next step at this point would be to give the floor an acid wash, but it wasn’t necessary.

Once the tiles had been cleaned to the best of my abilities and given a thorough rinse, I left the property for 48 hours to allow any water that had seeped into the tiles to evaporate. This is important as excess moisture problems can prevent the tiles from being sealed correctly.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Floor

On returning to the property a couple of days later, I swept away any bits of dust and debris and then proceeded to seal the tiles with Tile Doctor Colour Grow.

Slate Tiled Floor After Cleaning Farnham

This impregnating, colour-intensifying sealer enhanced the stunning natural brown, gold and orange shades in the stone. Two coats of the sealer were applied to achieve a brilliant natural-look finish and robust protection against future wear and tear.
Restoring the appearance of these Slate tiles put the finishing touches on this fantastic barn conversion. Needless to say, the customer was very pleased with the results.

Recently Laid Slate Tiled Floor Given Builders Clean to Restore Appearance in Surrey

Slate Tiled Floor Rejuvenated at New Barn Conversion in Farnham Read More »

Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Before and After Restoration in Weybridge

Repairing a Scratched Slate Tiled Kitchen floor in Weybridge

1 Comment / Slate Tile Cleaning, Weybridge Tile Cleaning, Work History / Rupert Mcloud

This property owner in Weybridge recently had a new fridge delivered by a well-known electrical retailer that has an unusual policy of not protecting its customers’ floors when installing heavy appliances. Predictably, the lack of care and consideration resulted in multiple unsightly scratches being left on the fantastic Slate tiled floor, mostly notably in front of the dishwasher, which was also newly installed.

Understandably, the property owner was not best pleased. He was keen to have the situation remedied as soon as possible. At Tile Doctor, we not only provide tile cleaning services but we also have the experience and equipment to hand all sorts of related issues including the restoration of scratched tiles. Happy to help. I travelled over to Weybridge to address the problem.

Scratched Slate Floor Tiles Before Cleaning Weybridge

Repairing and Sealing a Damaged Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

The surface of the stone was damaged and the only way to repair it without the repair standing out was to strip and polish the whole floor. I therefore began the restoration by stripping the whole floor of its old sealer. The customer had marked all the deep scratches he wanted to have removed with sticky notes. I explained to him that burnishing, a type of polishing carried out using diamond encrusted handheld blocks in combination with a little water, would be perfect for this job.

The process of burnishing essentially grinds away the damaged layer and then re-polishes the stone, the process would remove the scratches and rebuild the shine. It involves the application of different grades of pads from coarse to extra fine and a little water to lubricate the process followed by a rinse with more water in-between each pad to remove the slurry generated by the process. After burnishing the floor is left polished but damp, however to save time I able to speed dry the whole floor using a powerful industrial air mover.

Once the floor was dry the final task was to re-seal the tiles. I did this using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, a colour intensifying, impregnating sealer which soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within against ingrained dirt and stains for many years to come.

Scratched Slate Floor Tiles After Cleaning Weybridge

The customer was very satisfied with the service provided and left the following comment on the Tile Doctor feedback system:

“Great advice, open, honest and helpful. Turned up on time, explained the job well and it looks great. Very happy with the process and the finished results.”

Professional Repair of a Scratched Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in Surrey

Repairing a Scratched Slate Tiled Kitchen floor in Weybridge Read More »