Headington Archives - Oxfordshire Tile Doctor

Large Indian Sandstone Patio Renovated in Headington

This Indian Sandstone Patio was laid three years ago at a property in the leafy residential Oxford suburb of Headington. The stone patio has not been properly cleaned since it was laid and I was contacted to see if it could be improved and to fill in the missing grout. You can see from the photograph it was in a shocking state and had completely discoloured after being exposed to the ravages of the UK weather and was now turning green with staining from the trees.

Indian Sandstone Patio Before Deep Cleaning Headington Oxford

Except for the grouting the patio was physically solid and I assured owner that with the right treatment we could renovate the stone to bring back the colour and character of the Sandstone.

Renovating an Indian Sandstone Patio in Headington

On arrival I sprayed the patio with Tile Doctor Patio & Brick Driveway Cleaner and left it to soak in and get to work for about half an hour. The patio was then scrubbed with a rotary machine fitted with a carbide brush. I then rinsed the whole patio with water to remove the soiling. Being a very hot day, it dried very quickly and I was able to inspect the patio and repeat the process focusing on the stubborn staining and to make sure the black spots were removed.

With the patio clean I was able to get a better view of the cement grouting which was cracking and crumbling in places. Rather than patching it up I discussed the problem with the customer we decided that the cement grout had to go completely. To do this I used a mortar rake and an angle grinder, it was laborious work but, in most places it came out easily. With the old cement grouting cleared away a new resin-based grouting compound designed for external use for installed.

Indian Sandstone Patio After Deep Cleaning Grouting Headington Oxford

The whole job took 1 1/2 days to complete and was unrecognisable from the original.
I did recommend sealing the stone with a product such as Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is designed for external use however the owners were so pleased with the new look of their patio they decided to leave it as is.

Professional Restoration of an Indian Sandstone Paved Patio in Oxfordshire

Damaged Victorian Hallway Floor Fully Restored in Headington

Restoration of Damaged Victorian Hallway in Headington, Oxford

This is a Victorian hallway floor laid in a classic Black and White diamond pattern at a property in the Oxford suburb of Headington. I suspect the floor is original and dates to 1890 when the house was built. Unfortunately, at some point in its recent past it was damaged during the installation of heating pipes and then backfilled with cement.

Here at Tile Doctor, we see this happen time and time again and have been brough into to restore many period floors such as this example. Gas and heating pipes are the most common reasons for digging up a floor but often the homeowner doesn’t know what to do to restore it so they either live with the defaced floor or more usually cover it with carpet or vinyl.

Victorian Hallway Floor During Restoration Headington Oxford

In this case the property had recently changed hands and the new owner was keen to have the floor restored to its original condition. Fortunately, here at Tile Doctor we are in contact with various companies that make reproduction tiles, so it is not a problem finding matching replacements. In this case I managed to find suitable replacements with a company called Original Features who specialise in reproductions. We visited site to have a look at the job and gave the owners a quote for the work which they were happy to accept.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first day was spent restoring the damaged floor by carefully cutting out the old cement backfill and replacing to a level that was just deep enough for the replacement tiles to fit. I then made up a concrete adhesive mix and smoothed this in the hole and laid the tiles making sure they were level with the original floor. This was then left to set overnight.

Day two’s focus was cleaning the floor, however given the age of the property I knew it would not have a damp proof membrane, so I was concerned about the use of too much water. Not wishing to exacerbate any damp issues I decided to go with a low moisture cleaning approach.

To do this a gel cleaner known as Tile Doctor Acid Gel was applied to half the floor and then scrubbed into the tiles using a rotary floor machine fitted with a coarse 100-grit diamond pad. Once done this was repeated on the other half of the floor. The tiles were then rinsed with minimal water and the soil extracted with the wet vacuum.

A 200-grit diamond pad was then fitted to the rotary machine, and this was used to further refine the appearance of the tiles using some water for lubrication. This was then followed by a series of Tile Doctor burnishing diamond pads with just water to rinse, clean and force a natural sheen on the floor, again a wet vacuum was employed to vacuum up the slurry. Last step before leaving for the day was to mop the floor with Tile Doctor Neutral Floor Cleaner and left the floor to dry.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning on the final day, I set about sealing the Victorian tiles with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an oil-based sealer that enhances the Black and White colours in the tile. This sealer can also be used externally so it will cope happily with any damp issues that can occur on old floors.

Victorian Hallway Floor After Restoration Headington Oxford

Two coasts were applied allowing each one to dry before applying the next. When the seal was dry, I buffed the floor with a 3000-grit diamond pad to leave a hard-wearing natural sheen. The floor looked great, fully restored, and gave the homeowners a traditional welcoming hallway.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Oxfordshire

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