Brixham Tile Cleaning Archives

Victorian Tiled Path Restoration Kingsbridge Devon

Damaged Victorian Path Restored in Kingsbridge Devon

I received an enquiry from a client in Kingsbridge who wanted to have their Victorian tiled path surveyed to see if it was beyond repair or not. The water board had previously been out to fix a water leak and subsequently removed part of this path in a rudimentary manor leaving it in a state afterwards. This combined with years of wear and dirt build-up meant the path was in a bit of a state to say the least.

Victorian Tiled Path Before Restoration Kingsbridge Devon

I visited the property to survey the path, advise on its restoration and provide a quote for completing the work. I was able to confirm that path could indeed be restored and provided a quote which they accepted and a date booked in for the work to start.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Path in Kingsbridge

I began the repair work by carefully removing all the concrete which had been used to fill the void back in after the water board had fixed the leak. This all went well with the exception that in doing so part of the front step came away as well which added to the repair list but all was fine.

After building up the replacement sub-floor foundation, a self-levelling screed was added on top to provide a level surface on which to tile onto. Luckily a section of the original path was still available so I decided to use a good section of that to puzzle it back together. Spaces were left that would be tiled afterwards with reproduction tiles individually cut to size. Luckily these are quite readily available.

Victorian Tiled Path During Restoration Kingsbridge Devon

After the tiling and step re-build was complete, I moved onto to deep cleaning the rest of the path.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Path in Kingsbridge

To clean the path, I began with the application of a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Patio Cleaner which I continued to top up and let soak in for about half a day. The longer you leave this product the better it works. It’s a strong product containing Sodium Hypochlorite which kills bacteria and mould so you have to be careful.

After this I ran a set of Tile Doctor Diamond Pads fitted to a weighted rotary machine over the tiles. I worked through different grits from 50 up to 1500 grit to ensure the pores were sufficiently closed and ready for sealing.

Prior to sealing, this patio had now seen a lot of moisture and although it was summer and drying off nicely with no signs of efflorescence, I gave it a generous acid wash nonetheless – using Tile Doctor Acid Gel, this is also good for pre-sealing.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Path in Kingsbridge

Once the path had dried sufficiently two coats of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal were applied to seal the tiles and protect them from ingrained dirt. This product is a fully breathable, colour intensifying sealer which really brought the colours in the tile back to life. It’s rated for external as well as internal use and so was a perfect choice for this situation.

Victorian Tiled Path After Restoration Kingsbridge Devon

The client was thrilled with the results and has since had me back to complete further works.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Path in Devon

Damaged Victorian Path Restored in Kingsbridge Devon Read More »

Centuries Old Limestone Flagstones Resurfaced and Restored in South Milton

South Milton is a small, but very old town of about 400 inhabitants in South Devon. The village has been there for at least 1,000 years and is known for the nearby National Trust beach area of South Milton Sands.

I recently visited the area to visited a customer who had discovered a Limestone tiled floor that had been hidden under carpet for around twenty years. The floor was several centuries old – as is the property itself – and it was suffering from a problem known as flaking or shaling, which is when the top layer of the stone starts to flake off.

The customer had already made the decision to remove the carpet and underlay because they wanted to reinstate some character and original features to their dining room! The floor was very dry and dusty and had the imprint of the underlay firmly embedded in some areas. As a result, the floor appeared cracked and damaged (see the photo below) and was in dire need of restoration.

A test was conducted using both chemicals and diamond-enhanced abrasive pads to ascertain the most appropriate restoration method; although the diamond pads are the only real option to address the shaling the chemicals could have also been used in the cleaning of the floor. The test showed that the diamond pads were the most effective solution for the floor and a quote was produced which as accepted.

Limestone Flagstone South Molton before cleaning

Milling a Damaged Limestone Tiled Floor

With the state the floor was in, I needed to use a process called milling, which involves using Very Coarse diamond encrusted pads fitted to a heavy rotary scrubbing machine to cut back the damaged layer of stone to unveil a fresh surface. The floor was suffering from mild lippage and undulation problems, and the milling would be able to resolve these problems too.

Lippage occurs when the surface of the floor becomes uneven and the tiles are not level with one another, and this can be quite hazardous. Undulation is when the floor gets a wave-like appearance.

After cutting the floor back with a 50 and 100 grit coarse milling pads to expose the new surface, I gradually smoothed the surface with finer pads up to 400 grit to close the pores in the stone.

The floor was then given a thorough rinse which ensured it was clear of all dirt and soil that had been generated, even the imprint from the underlay had been effectively removed.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Floor

After cleaning the floor was left to dry for two days to ensure it would be fully dry before our return to seal the floor. To seal I used a colour-enhancing sealer called Colour Grow which impregnates into the pores of the stone, lifting the colours and protecting the stone from within. Colour Grow is suitable for use on a variety of natural stone, including Flagstones, Flamed Granite, Limestone, Marble, Quarry Tile, Sandstone, Slate, Travertine as well as Victorian tiles.

You can see the complete transformation of the Limestone tiled floor in the photo below.

Limestone Flagstone South Molton after cleaning

The difference made is quite remarkable! The customer had believed the tiles to be unsalvageable, and so she was over the moon with the outcome.

Professional Restoration of a Damaged Limestone Flagstone Floor in Devon

Centuries Old Limestone Flagstones Resurfaced and Restored in South Milton Read More »

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Barnstaple Tile Cleaning, Bideford Tile Cleaning, Brixham Tile Cleaning, Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Dawlish Tile Cleaning, Encaustic Cement Tile Cleaning, Exeter Tile Cleaning Service, Exmouth Tile Cleaning, Fireplace Cleaning, Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Marble Tile Cleaning, Newton Abbot Tile Cleaning, Paignton Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Sidmouth Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Teignmouth Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Tiverton Tile Cleaning, Torquay Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Vinyl Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Harry Payne

Devon Tile Doctor

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