Removing Carpet Adhesive, Polishing and Re-Grouting a Large Marble Tiled Floor in Felixstowe, Suffolk

Earlier this year I was asked to restore a large 290m2 Marble tiled floor in a room known as Palm Court at the famous clifftop Grade II listed Felix Hotel in Felixstowe which has now been redeveloped into 61 retirement apartments with communal areas. The Felix Hotel was originally opened in Felixstowe in 1903 and was advertised as the Finest Hotel on the East Coast. It is said that Ms Simpson stayed at the Hotel during her divorce proceedings In Ipswich to allow her free to marry King Edward VIII. The building was taken over by Fisons in 1952 who used it as their HQ and it is believed that they covered the Marble floor with carpet so they could use it for office space. Our task was to remove all the carpet glue and restore the Marble tiles of Palm Court back to its original glory. The room is used for wedding ceremonies and the company that runs the property wanted to restore the floor as an original feature. There are some photos below of the room as it used to be when it was opened. With 290m2 of Marble flooring to restore it was clearly large project however having worked on numerous stone floor restorations previously I was confident we could restore it and was able to bring Dean who runs the North Essex Tile Doctor to assist. To provide an accurate price for the work

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Renovating Rust Stained Marble Shower tiles near Shrewsbury

We were contacted by a homeowner near Shrewsbury about the Marble wall tiles in their shower which were looking particularly grubby. They had tried to clean the area with a multitude of household products but were unable to improve their appearance and had decided to call in some professional help. I went over to do a site visit, run some tests and recommend a solution, I like to do this where possible as it ensures I can provide an accurate quote and it also gives me an opportunity to demonstrate a workable solution. The tiles were the small two inch square Marble Mosaics which from my point of view means there’s a log of grout to clean. More importantly whilst there I discovered their water is pumped up from a well and the water is rich in Iron deposits. You can see on the picture where the water has dried on the walls and then the Iron deposits have turned rusty resulting in a large rust stain. The property was in the old village of Church Preen which a small Hamlet in Shropshire which only has around 30 properties, it is approximately 12 miles from the county town of Shrewsbury. Cleaning Rust Stained Marble Shower Tiles Normally I would remove the iron and rust deposits with an acid-based product such as Acid Gel or Grout Clean-up but Marble is acid sensitive and

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Chequered Black and White Marble Tiles Renovated in Oldham Porch

Our client contacted us after they moved into a house built circa early 1900 with many Victorian era features. One of them was lovely tiled floor in their porch which consisted of a chequered pattern of Black and White Marble tiles. The white tiles were especially grubby and in need of a deep clean. Being a fan of period features they were keen to see if the tiles could be renovated back to their former glory. The property was in Oldham, which is approximately 7 miles to the north east of Manchester near to Rochdale and well known for its history in the textile industry. We conducted a test on the tiles which worked well, and we were confident the whole floor could be significantly improved. The client was satisfied, we agreed a price and the job was booked in. Cleaning/Repairing a Marble Tiled Hallway Floor Initially, to clean the floor we used Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was applied to the floor and left to soak into the tile and soften the dirt. This was followed up by scrubbing the product into the floor with a coarse black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The machine scrubbing really gets into the dirty areas and the grout lines. During the work we discovered that two of the tiles were loose, so they had to be removed, cleaned up and then re-secured using a flexible

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Transforming a Red and Brown Marble Floor in Weybridge, Surrey

If you have a Mable tiled floor which is not looking its best, then the transformation I achieved on this floor at a property in Weybridge will definitely be on interest. Having first spoken with the owner on the phone I went over to the house to take a better look at the floor and found that the deep red and brown Marble tiled kitchen floor was really dirty and totally lacking in colour or polish. The floor hadn’t been professionally cleaned for some time and was now dirty and suffering from the actions of a puppy which likes to charge up and down. The Marble was also full of holes which the client explained had been getting larger. This is not usual for natural stone as it can be very sensitive to acidic cleaning products which if used constantly over time will start to dissolve the stone. We discussed the remedies available, agreed a cost and arranged a mutually convenient time to carry the work out. I always like to do a site visit to survey the tiles and ideally run a test clean to determine the best methods for resolving the problems. This enabled me to give a more accurate quote and it also gives the customer confidence in my abilities. Deep Cleaning Red and Brown Marble Kitchen Tiles Firstly, I removed the existing sealer with a 400-grit diamond burnishing pad

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Marble Shower Tiles Ruined by Viakal Restored in Ealing

We were recently received an enquiry from a customer in Ealing, East London who was concerned about their Marble Tiled Shower which had been damaged from the use of Viakal Limescale Remover. Unfortunately, this is a very common problem and we often receive calls from customers with similar issues. Limescale removal products such as Viakal and Cillit Bang are very effective but like any acidic product, they are very harmful to natural stone such as Limestone and Marble. With any cleaning product you should really read the label before use and in this case you will find they state the product should not be used on natural stone. The Viakal had etched the surface of the Marble in several places where it had been applied and although the damage looked really bad I was happy to inform my customer there is a solution and that I could indeed restore the appearance of the stone. Polishing Damaged Marble Shower Tiles My first task was to give the Marble tile and grout a good clean and remove any sealer and soap scum etc; to do this I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean scrubbed in with a small black scrubbing pad fitted to a hand-held machine. The Marble tiles were then rinsed with water to remove the soil generated by the cleaning process. To fully restore the appearance

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Marble Tile Restoration at a Neoclassical Palladian Mansion

This Marble tiled floor is located in the pantry of the historical Kinross House which is a late 17th-century country house overlooking Loch Leven that was built by the architect Sir William Bruce as his own home in 1686. You can see from the photograph the floor was in quite a state and given the history it was an honour to be asked to work on the floor. Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing We brushed out the floor to remove all the loose debris and then proceeded to restore the floor using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads which fit a rotary buffing machine. The burnishing process is designed to grind out dirt in the stone and smooth /polish the floor, you start with a course pad and work your way through the four pad set until you get to the finer polishing pad. This may sounds simple but it does take time to complete. Sealing Marble Tiles Once the floor was polished we applied a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Pro-Seal which is a non-sheen premium sealer recommended for natural stone that provided the natural matte look the client was after and will protect the Marble and keep the floor looking good. Source: Marble restoration in Perth and Kinross, Scotland

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Dealing with Scratched Marble Floor Tiles

This Marble Tiled floor was installed in the conservatory of a house in Woodhall Spa who had asked if we could remove the scratches from their inherited marble tiles around the door area and where furniture had been dragged across the tile as shown in the photos. Interestingly our customer is a chief engineer on cruise ships all over the world and knew what this floor could look like if restored professionally. Burnishing Mable Tiles Other than the scratches the majority of the floor had been well maintained so the solution was to burnishing the marble back to its original condition using a set of diamond encrusted pads fitted to a slow speed machine and lubricated with a little water. The burnishing pads come in a set of four and applied to the floor with a little water one by one using a rotary machine running at slow speed. The process starts with the coarse pad which strips back the top layer and removes sealers and dirt from the surface of the stone. The pads then become finer and finer with the last pad being a final polish that takes the tile back to near it’s originally intended shine. You can see from the photographs that we actually managed to resurface the marble, remove the scratches and we also filled in some small holes and then allowed the floor to dry

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300m2 Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Polished

Following on from a referral from a Property Management company I paid a visit it to this palatial property in Oxshott which had approximately 300m2 of Marble tiled flooring that they wanted cleaning and re-polishing, my initial quotation to do this mechanically was too high so I offered an alternative using diamond encrusted burnishing pads which reduced the cost significantly. I didn’t receive an answer so I thought that was the end of it however five months later I got an email asking me to carry out the works. Marble Tiled Floor Polishing This was a very large area so we had two men working with burnishing pads in 10 metre sections. The pads come in a set of four; you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the final polishing pad which provides a high polish. Fortunately there were not many stains and the ones that were there came out quite easily. When we had completed a room using this system we then applied Tile doctor Shine powder which is a crystallising power worked into the floor using a white buffing pad and a little water; it adds an extra level of deep shine to the marble floor giving it that extra wow

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Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaning

These Marble Floor tiles were installed in the kitchen of a house in Didsbury where a lot of building work had recently completed. You can see from the photograph that the tiles were stained and the grout had darkened. Marble Tiled Floor Polishing To improve the look of Marble it’s necessary to strip it right back and then polish which we are able to do with a rotary machine and burnishing pads. The pads come in a set of four; you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the final polishing pad which provides a high polish. Once this was done I got to work on the grout with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was worked into the grout lines by hand using a stiff grout brush. The tile and grout was then rinsed down three times with clean water to remove any dirt. To give the floor the final finish Tile Doctor Shine powder was applied using a white buffing pad and a little water; the crystallising powder adds an extra level of shine to the Marble floor giving it that extra wow factor together and also gives it a tough durable finish. I can recommend this last step and certainly the customer was very pleased with

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Commerical Marble Tiled Floor Restoration

Photographs below of a classic black and white Marble floor tile installation at premises in the city of Winchester. As you can see these Marble tiles had seen some traffic and were not in the best of condition following on from some building work that had been going on; fortunately we are quite used to dealing with these problem and have just the right products and equipment to restore them. Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing For best results on hard stone surfaces such as Marble we burnish the floor using a set of diamond encrusted polishing pads. You start with a coarse pad which applied with a little water to remove surface dirt and sealers etc. before moving through a set of finer polishing pads until you reach a high shine glossy finish. Half way through the burnishing process we stopped to apply a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines and give them a scrub with stiff hand brushes repeating the process in stubborn areas. After the treatment the floor was washed do to remove any soiled solution before being buffed with a white buffing pad. Any trace of its previous condition was now gone and the floor was uniform in appearance, it took much of the day to do the polishing and a set of four burnishing pads to acquire the right lustre. Source: Mabrle

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Polishing Tumbled Marble

This 50m2 Tumbled Marble tiled floor in Dewlish, near Dorchester had not been deep cleaned and re-sealed for at least five years and showed signs of the normal wear and tear associated with a busy kitchen/dining room and a dog that enjoyed muddy walks. The old sealer was now breaking down allowing dirt to become ingrained in the Marble making it difficult to clean. Stripping a Tumbled Marble Floor To restore the surface finish it needed to be burnished using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The pads come in a number of different grades from coarse (used to strip off sealers and dirt from the Marble) too very fine (used for final polishing) and are applied one after another starting with the coarse pad and moving through to the very fine pad towards the end. Each stage requires a little water which captures the soil and is rinsed away and removed with a wet vacuum. This process completely removed the old sealer and surfaces scratches with a new shine. The floor was given a thorough wash down at this point again using a wet vacuum to remove as much water as possible from the surface before leaving it to dry for the evening. Sealing Tumbled-Marble Tiles The next day the Marble had dried and I started to seal the tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer

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Repolishing Marble tiles in a Hallway

The owner of this polished Marble Tiled hallway at a house in Trowbridge was unhappy with the look of their floor which had become dull and scratched and wanted the floor re-polishing. Apologies in advance for the pictures below on reflection I should have taken some close-up shots so you could see the problem better. Cleaning Marble Tile and Grout The first step first was to give the floor a general clean focusing on the grout lines so I started by mixing a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline based product that is safe to use on Marble. The solution was brushed around the floor concentrating on getting the product into the grout lines. I left this to dwell for 5-10 minutes before scrubbing with stiff grout brush. Once the grout lines were cleaned the dirty solution was removed with a wet vacuum and the tiles rinsed thoroughly with clean water. Polishing Marble Tiles The next step was to burnish the floor using a coarse diamond encrusted pad fitted to a rotary machine. This is used with clean water to remove surface scratches and any sealer that may be present. Once the water has turned to slurry after 4 passes of each tile I would remove with a wet vacuum and rinsed thoroughly. One that step was completed the process is repeated using the Medium,

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Repolishing Marble tiles in a Hallway in Marlborough

This was an unusual problem; a customer contacted us regarding their Marble shower room at a house in Marlborough where the customer had sprayed Viakal Limescale remover onto the Marble tiles to clean them which unfortunately etched the surface. I’ve downloaded the MSDS sheet from the Inernet for this product and can verify it contains a combination of Etidronic, Formic and Phosphoric acids so not a very safe product to use on Marble or any sealed stone surface. Cleaning Marble Wall Tiles To remove the etching the Marble tiles were burnished using a 6inch coarse diamond encrusted burnishing pad fixed to a hand held rotary machine and lubricated with a spray bottle of water to help keep tiles wet. Burnishing pads come in a set of four from Coarse, Medium, Fine and Super Fine so once we had removed the etching using the coarse pad we then applied the next pads in turn which re-polish the area back to its original shine. Between pads we rinsed the tiles down to remove any soiled water away; after the final super fine pad was applied the shower tiles were given a thorough rinse down ready for sealing. Sealing the Marble Wall Tiles The wall was wiped down and left to dry overnight and we returned the next day to seal the Marble tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow

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Dull Marble Tiles Re-polished

Details below of a Marble Tiled floor installed in the hallway and kitchen of a house in Edinburgh. The tiles were in good physical shape but had lost their polished appearance over time resulting in a dull un-appealing finish. This is not unusual for polished stone especially in high traffic areas such as hallways and kitchens. Cleaning Marble Floor Tile and Grout Our first job was to give the floor a general clean to remove grime and dirt especially along the grout lines. This was done by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is left to dwell on the floor before being scrubbed in, Pro-Clean is an alkaline cleaner so it’s safe to use on tile and stone unlike acidic cleaners which can damage the surface of the stone over time. The now dirty cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor given a rinse using water. Marble Tiled Floor Polishing The next step was to burnish the Marble which is a process that removes ingrained dirt and brings up the polish on the tile. The process involves the application of four diamond pads in sequence; you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the

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Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed

This polished Marble tiled floor was installed in a house in the old market town of Petersfield. The tile and grout was in good condition but like all polished stone floors they will go dull after a period of time and require burnishing and polishing to restore shine. Cleaning Marble Floor Tiles We gave the floor a quick sweep and wash down with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean partly to ensure any surface grit etc. was removed but also so we could get a stiff grout brush in along the grout lines and give them a clean. Once done the floor was rinsed down with water which was removed with a wet vacuum, once done we moved straight onto burnishing the floor to restore the polish. Burnishing requires the application of a little water so there was no need to wait for it to dry. Burnishing requires the application of four different diamond encrusted graded pads in sequence working from coarse which removed old sealers and dirt through to medium, fine and super fine pads which build up the polish on the floor. The floor requires a rinse in-between each pad to remove any slurry and water is extracted from the floor using the wet vacuum, after the super fine pad we removed as much water from the floor as possible and left it to dry overnight ready for sealing the next day.

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Cleaning and Sealing Marble Hallway Tiles

These Noche Marble tiles installed in the hallway of this house in Oundle are a premium product with a warm antique look however like any natural stone tile it needs to be sealed in order to prevent dirt becoming ingrained in the pores of the stone. In this case the sealer had worn off and was the floor was now difficult to keep clean so we were called into the deep clean the tile and grout and then re-seal. Sealers can last a few years depending on wear. Cleaning Noche Marble Tiles To deep clean the tile and grout and remove any remaining sealer I combined a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean 50/50 with NanoTech UltraClean. The UltraClean adds tiny abrasive particles which make a more effective cleaning product, both products are safe to use on natural stone floors. It’s best to let the solution soak into the tile for ten to twenty minutes before being scrubbed in with a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing brush or black scrubbing pad. The rotary pads can struggle to get into the grout lines so it’s best to use a stiff brush along those. To remove the soiled cleaning solution and rinse the tiles I use a high pressure spinner tool which is a brilliant machine for tile cleaning as it deploys water under high pressure water whilst extracting the dirty water back to a

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Restoring the Finish in an Opulent Marble Bathroom

You may recall a job I wrote about earlier in the year concerning a Limestone tiled floor in Westminster well I’m please to say the owner of that property was so pleased with my workmanship that I was asked back to maintain the Marble tiled bathroom which included a sink unit. Maintaining Marble Tiles Normally with polished stone it’s necessary to burnish the floor however in this case the tiles were in good condition with no scratches in the polish, there were a few spots and marks on the tile that needed to come off and they had lost some shine however a full burnish would not be necessary. To remove the spots and marks I treated them first with a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean diluted 4:1 with hot water. I then scrubbed them using a red buffing pad on my rotary floor machine, which took the marks away from the stone. Next I used a medium burnishing pad with a little water and followed with the fine pad and finally the ultra-fine burnishing pad to restore the shine and polish. I offered to build-up a durable polish with Tile Doctor Shine Powder however the owner was happy with the finish that had been achieved. Sealing Marble Tiles Once the tiles were dry I sealed them using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer which occupies the pores of the stone

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Dealing with stained Marble Shower Tiles

The picture below really tells the story but basically this is bathroom from a house in Kidlington that has been tiled with Marble mosaic wall tiles which has become stained around the bath. Additionally the silicone strip between the bath and the wall had become badly stained with mould and needed replacing. Refreshing Marble Wall Tiles To get the tile and grout clean I decanted a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean into a spray bottle and began to apply it in sections to the Marble mosaic wall tiles. Mixing the cleaning solution with air makes it lighter and less likely to run off the wall giving it chance to dwell on the tile and get to work. I left it to soak in for a few minutes before scrubbing into the tile and grout with a stiff brush finishing with a rinse with water; this process was then repeated on stubborn stains and the rest of the area until the wall was clean. Then the mouldy silicone was removed from around the bath, dried and replaced with new. Sealing Marble Mosaic Tile The wall was dried and then the mosaic tiles sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that penetrates into the pores of the Marble to make an effective barrier. Colour Grow also enhances the colour of natural stone so when finished the colour

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Maintaining a Marble Kitchen Worktop

This beautiful Marble kitchen worktop has been installed in a house in the village of Prestbury some years earlier and was now looking rather dull and spoiled by wine glass marks. The polish can be restored on these worktops in a similar way to that of a Marble floor the only difference being you have to use smaller more manageable burnishing pads. Polishing a Marble Table Top After protecting the floor with sheets I proceeded to re-polish the Marble worktop with a set of six inch burnishing pads fitted to a hand held machine. Similar to floor burnishing you start with a coarse pad to remove scratches and ingrained dirt lubricated with a little water and then move onto the polishing pads from Medium, Fine through to Super Fine. You need to wash down the Marble in-between each pad as the water does become soiled from the burnishing process. For the regular maintenance of Marble and Granite worktops we recommend the use of Tile Doctor Stone Patina spray which helps build up lustre on the stone as well as cleaning it. Source: Professional Tile, Stone and Grout maintenance service in North Cheshire

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Polishing Marble Wall and Floor Tiles in Suffolk

Not too long ago I was called down to a house in the small village of Elmswell, Suffolk. I was asked to take a look at a Marble floor and wall tiles which had become dull and lifeless over time, especially in high traffic areas and now need to be burnished to bring the polish back. In addition, my client was unhappy with the beige colour of the grout lines, requesting that I change the colour to white following the clean and polish. Cleaning and Polishing a Marble tiles To get the floor clean and bring back the polish I used a set of four diamond encrusted burnishing pads which have different levels of grit, applied to the Marble tiles with a small amount of water. I started with a Coarse pad, before moving on to a Medium pad, a Fine pad, and finally a Very Fine pad to achieve the desired polished look. The floor was given a thorough rinse between each pad in order to remove any excess residue that had resulted from the burnishing process. Once I had finished the floors I moved onto the Marble wall tiles in the bathroom where the same process was repeated, for wall tiles however you need to use the smaller six inch burnishing pads fitted to a hand held buffer. Sealing Marble Floor Tiles I left the floor to dry for a few days before returning to seal it for which I used Tile

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