Softening Up Old Tile Adhesive with Remove and Go on Quarry Tiles in Gloucester

This customer had purchased an older property in Gloucester and while fitting a new kitchen had the Ceramic tiled floor removed only to discover an original Quarry tiled floor underneath. Realising the value an original floor can add to a property as a period feature, they contacted Tile Doctor to see if it could be restored.

I made a visit to the property to survey the Quarry tiles and ascertain if it could be restored after being hidden for so long. I could see the tiles were in reasonable condition and it looked like they had tile adhesive on most of the tiles which I had experienced before. I was therefore confident that it would be possible to remove this and clean them up and they were reassured that I should be able to restore them to a good standard.

Happy with my quote and confident in my ability to get the job done I was booked in to complete the work.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Red Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

With a date set to commence work I arrived on the agreed date to do the work and made a start on cleaning up the tiles. I soon realised at this point I had made a mistake by not completing a test clean when I came round to do the survey. As it turns out it wasn’t just tile adhesive on the quarry tiles but there was also a large section of concrete that I can only assume had been used to level the floor and fix the tiles.

I had no choice but to dig out the concrete and following that it would need replacing with self-levelling screed and replacement tiles. It took four painful days to remove the adhesive and rebuild the concreted section of flooring with replacement tiles.

Once done I was able to move on and deep clean the tiles with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary floor machine. The soiling was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum and the whole process was then repeated until I was satisfied with that the quarry tiles were clean.

Sealing a Victorian Red Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

I then left the floor to dry for 3 days and then return to seal with to a low satin finish using Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which works well on old Quarry tiles. Additionally it’s has a breathable formula which is important feature for an old floor like this one which won’t have a damp proof membrane fitted. Being breathable allows moisture to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface.

The customer was pleased with results despite the job taking 7 days, having only allowed 4 but the results were worth my hard work. Sometimes jobs do not go quite to plan, but as a Tile Doctor we are experienced at getting over any challenges we face.

For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a pH neutral cleaner that will keep the floor in tip top condition for the future and will ensure maintenance of this lovely feature is easy for them.

Source: Quarry Tile Cleaning Service and Products in Gloucestershire