Quarry Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Quarry tiles carried out in Swansea

Cleaning and Renovating Quarry Tiles

Quarry tiles are a classic hard wearing tile often utilised in high traffic areas such as reception areas, toilets and outdoor patio areas and porches. Although hard wearing Quarry tiles are often neglected and end up hidden under years of grime. If the tiles are structurally sound then often it’s just a question of deep cleaning to extract the dirt and then applying a sealer to enhance their appearance and protect them going forward.

For sealing we usually recommend Tile Doctor Seal and Go which works well on clay tiles such as Quarry and is also water based so doesn’t give off a smell as it dries. When applying a sealer always make sure the floors are dry first as applying a sealer to a damp floor can lead to inconsistent results. Because of this we usually clean and seal floors of this type over two days.

Other problems we face when restoring Quarry tiles usually relate to the removal of surface such as Tile Paint and Carpet Adhesive, for this we have a number of products and methods we can apply to remove coatings and restore the tile to its original appearance.

Below you will find detailed examples of work we have carried out in the past, it should give you some idea of what’s involved and what can be achieved with the right techniques and products.

Quarry Tile Hallway Floor Restoration Uplands Swansea

120-Year-Old Black and Red Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Uplands Swansea

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning /

Earlier this year I was contacted by a couple in the trendy Uplands suburb of Swansea about the Quarry tiled floors they had discovered at their home. The tiles had been covered with Lino and were now in a terrible state. They wanted to make the original floor a beautiful feature of their house, but at that moment it was covered in old glues, resins and cement. They had tried to get them clean but after trying their best to get everything off they had decided to call in the experts.

Quarry Tile Floor Before Restoration Uplands Swansea

I paid a visit to the property to survey the tiles and completed several cleaning tests to understand which products and methods would be most effective and to demonstrate the potential results that could be achieved. The black and red quarry floor was about one hundred twenty years old and had seen much better days. This wasn’t just a clean and seal, but it would need multiple chemical treatments and mechanical cleaning to get the floor looking marvellous again.

Quarry Tile Floor Before Restoration Uplands Swansea

Later that day I worked out a detailed quote for the client and emailed it across. Encouraged by with the results of the test I was asked to go ahead and a date scheduled.

Restoring a Black and Red Quarry Tiled Floor

The first job was to resolve surface issues so the floor could be mechanically cleaned. This included removing several extensive areas of self-levelling cement and nails that were embedded into the tiles that had to be ground back below the surface. A fair bit of manual work was needed with scrapers, scrubbing brushes and a handheld polishing machine to deal with the most problematic areas.

Once done a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go was mopped onto the floor and left to soak in. This gives the product time to breakdown the dirt and contaminates such as adhesives. After about ten minutes this solution was worked into the floor using a professional floor machine fitted with a 200-grit abrasive diamond pad. This process generates a lot of slurry as the dirt is pulled out of the tile and into the solution. This slurry is then extracted using a wet vacuum.

Next step was to give the floor an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel, this is applied in a similar fashion and being acidic it works well on cement and other mineral based contaminates that had build up in the tiles. The gel was worked in with a finer 400-grit diamond pad which further improves the floor and removes any patterns left by the vinyl tiles that had been applied previously.

The edges were particularly tricky and had to be done by hand to ensure the best result. This process required a lot of cleaning products and water to get the floor clean and although the weather was warm and the floor had been dried many times with a wet vacuum the floor was left for several days to give it plenty of drying time before sealing.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

It’s important to ensure the floor it dry before applying a sealer otherwise the result can be patchy. The first task before sealing was to check the floor was dry by taking several moisture readings around the floor.

The results confirmed the floor was dry so the floor was sealed using a combination of Tile Doctor Colour Grow and X-Tra seal. Both these sealers bring different benefits to the tiles and work well together to enhance the colours, depth and increased richness to the tiles. Bother products are impregnators which work by soaking into the tile occupying the pores and thereby preventing dirt from residing their resulting in hard wearing protection.

Quarry Tile Floor After Restoration Uplands Swansea

Although it wasn’t requested or included in the quote, I felt it would be a shame not to clean and seal the stone in the fireplace hearth whilst I was there. This had to be done by hand due to its small size but it was worth doing as it really helped to finish off the appearance of the room.

Stone Fireplace Hearth Before Cleaning Uplands Swansea Stone Fireplace Hearth After Cleaning Sealing Uplands Swansea

The clients were extremely happy and constantly sharing their appreciation, even with a lovely card and gifts. They loved how their floor had been transformed and their joy and emotion was a delight to experience.

Quarry Tile Floor After Restoration Uplands Swansea

Before leaving we discussed aftercare and I recommend Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to maintain the tiles going forward. This is a pH neutral product that is safe to use on sealed surfaces and won’t prematurely erode the sealer like many stronger tile cleaners you will find in supermarkets.

 

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Floor in Swansea

120-Year-Old Black and Red Quarry Tiled Floor Restored in Uplands Swansea Read More »

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Restoration Morriston Swansea

Quarry Tiled Floor Fully Rebuilt and Restored in Morriston Swansea

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Morriston Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning /

This customer from the Morriston suburb Swansea contacted us about their Quarry tiled floor which needed a deep clean and seal; also, they had a section of flooring which had been back filled with cement that they wanted digging out and retiled with matching tiles. I suspect an old heavy range cooker once occupied this space and the floor had been concreted to cope with the weight.

Quarry Tiled Floor Before Renovation Morriston Swansea

I’m an experienced tiler so was more than happy to remove the old concrete and replace with Quarry tiles however it can be an issue finding suitable tiles that were a close match to the rest of the floor. I worked out a quote for doing the work which was accepted and a date set of the work to start.

Repairing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

We began the first day by carefully digging out all of the cement that had been backfilled into the floor. The rubble was removed and the section levelled by pouring in a quick setting self-levelling latex compound.

Quarry Tiled Floor During Renovation Morriston Swansea

Whilst this was drying, I worked out a tiling plan using the quarry tiles I had managed to source that were a close match to the original. I knew that once the floor was cleaned and then sealed, they would blend in well. Once the latex was dry the floor was rebuilt using the new tiles and then grouted in. My customer was thrilled to see the transformation that was happening.

Deep Cleaning a Quarry Tile and Grout

The next day with the replacement tiles set work began on deep cleaning both sections of flooring using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was allowed to soak into the tile and grout for a while so it could break down and loosen the dirt, existing sealer, and stains.

Whilst applying the Pro-Clean I noticed there were paint spots specifically next to the skirting boards so to ensure they would also get treated Tile Doctor Remove & Go was applied, again leaving for 15 minutes. The products were then agitated into the Quarry tiles using a stiff brush and water making sure to scrub along the grout lines to clean them up as well. This action lifted the soils out of the tile to the surface where they were extracted using a wet vacuum.

After this step a coarse 400-grit burnishing pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer was run over the tiles using water for lubrication. These pads are made from industrial diamonds and grind away at the clay tile to release more dirt and soiling. Once done the floor was rinsed with water and vacuumed again to remove as much moisture as possible.

Last step was to inspect the floor and spot treat any sections where the machine may have struggled to clean and needed further work. Once satisfied with the results the floor was left to dry off overnight so it would be ready for sealing the following day.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

The following day we arrived and conducted a moisture test on the floor which concluded the floor was dry enough to be sealed. The customer wanted a matt finish sealer that also enhanced the colours of the tiles so Tile Doctor Colour Grow was selected.

Three coats of Colour Grow were applied allowing each coat to dry for thirty minutes before proceeding with the next. The floor was the dry buffed using a White pad to remove any residue off the surface of the Quarry tile. The customer was delighted with the outcome and so were we.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Renovation Morriston Swansea

The deep clean and new sealer really helped blend in the replacement tiles with the original and once complete my customer was very happy with the transformation. Before leaving we discussed aftercare and recommend Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to maintain the tiles going forward. This is a pH neutral product that is safe to use on sealed surfaces and won’t prematurely erode the sealer like many stronger tile cleaners you will find in supermarkets.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Renovation Morriston Swansea

 

Professional Restoration of a Quarry Tiled Floor in Swansea

Quarry Tiled Floor Fully Rebuilt and Restored in Morriston Swansea Read More »

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