Author name: Barry Woodward

Covering Oxfordshire, Barry Woodward is your local specialist for tile cleaning, stone cleaning, grout cleaning and tile, stone and grout sealing covering the restoration of all types of stone and tiled flooring including Ceramic, Limestone, Marble, Porcelain, Quarry, Sandstone, Slate, Terracotta, Terrazzo, Travertine and Victorian tile.

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor after Restoration in Oxford

Victorian Quarry Tiled Basement Floor Restored in Oxford

This old Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor was discovered in the basement of a large house in Oxford where they had been covered up for years. There were a couple of dead tiles that have had the tops taken of for some reason but the rest were in a reasonable condition given their age.

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor before Restoration in Oxford

Restoring Victorian Quarry Tiles

On the first day I used a mixture of Tile Doctor Remove and Go combined with Nanotech UltraClean which adds an abrasive element to a powerful coatings remover. I spread this on the Quarry tiled floor and left it for about an hour so it could soak into the tile and breakdown old sealers and soil etc.; I then used a commercial steamer on the floor to aid the cleaning process and bring the dirt and old sealant to the surface. When that was done I rinsed the floor with clean water which was then removed along with the soil using a wet vacuum. The next step was to give the floor a mild acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up to remove any mineral deposits from the surface of the tile and then rinse down again with clean water so all the chemicals were removed. The floor was quite damp at this stage and need to be dry so it could be sealed so I left a dehumidifier there and a damp meter so the customer could test the floor.

Sealing Victorian Quarry Tiles

After a couple of days I got the call from the customer that the floor was now dry so I went round to seal it with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a recommended sealer for Quarry tiles providing good stain protection whilst adding a nice sheen.

Victorian Quarry Tiled Floor after Restoration in Oxford
This floor was 120 years old and the customer had no expectation of any significant improvement and had even considered covering it with wood before giving us a call; I was pleased therefore that we managed to exceed their expectations and breathe new life into this old floor.

120 year old Quarry Tile Renovation in Oxford

Victorian Quarry Tiled Basement Floor Restored in Oxford Read More »

Tarmac Stains on Ceramic Tile in Long Hanborough After

Cleaning Tarmac Stained Ceramic Tiles in Long Hanborough

This was a rather unusual request we were asked to look at in the Oxfordshire village of Long Hanborough; they had recently laid a new Tarmac drive and unfortunately it had been walked into the Ceramic tiled kitchen floor leaving a lot of dark staining. After failing to clean the tiles with various supermarket floor cleaners she called in Tile Doctor. Tile Doctor cleaning products are industrial strength so when I arrived I gave her a demonstration on a couple of tiles to show I could clean them and she was amazed at how easy I made it look and booked the work with me.

Tarmac Stains on Ceramic Tile in Long Hanborough Before

Removing Tarmac Stains from Ceramic Tiles

To resolve the problem I scrubbed the floor with Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up which is an acid based product designed to remove grout smears and mineral deposits. Ceramic tiles are very durable however being acid based you can’t leave it on the surface too long so the process was to quickly work it into the stain with a stiff bristle brush, rinse with water and then remove using a wet vacuum.

Tarmac Stains on Ceramic Tile in Long Hanborough After
You can see the difference in the final photograph below where the dark staining has disappeared; the difference in tile colour was due to the lighting. The whole job was completed in one day and the customer was relieved that her floor was not ruined and left the comment below on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

He was thorough and excellent. Very grateful.
M. Rawlings, Long Hanborough

Tarmac Stained Ceramic Tiles Cleaned in Oxfordshire

Cleaning Tarmac Stained Ceramic Tiles in Long Hanborough Read More »

Indian Sandstone Pool Surround After Cleaning

Cleaning Indian Sandstone Tiles around an Indoor Swimming Pool

These Indian Sandstone floor tiles were installed around an indoor swimming pool at a magnificent residence in Oxford. As you can see from the photograph below the Sandstone was not looking its best and given its proximity to the pool care needed to be taken not to contaminate the pool with dirty water from the cleaning process or chemicals

Indian Sandstone Pool Surround Before Cleaning

Swimming Pool Tile Cleaning

We made a decision early on that we would not use any chemicals to clean or seal the tiles to ensure the water in the pool remained un-contaminated, we also setup a temporary barrier to stop any debris going in the pool and used a high pressure machine fitted with a flat surface head to prevent water flying everywhere.

Indian Sandstone Pool Surround After Cleaning
The process worked well and you can see the difference in the photographs above however the job did take taking longer than usual to complete but the main thing was the customer was happy with the result.

Sandstone Tiled Pool Surround Cleaned and Sealed in Oxford

Cleaning Indian Sandstone Tiles around an Indoor Swimming Pool Read More »

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Oxfordshire Tile Doctor

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