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Travertine Kitchen Floor Renovation Wilmslow

Dull Travertine Floor Cleaned, Polished and Sealed in Wilmslow

This client from Wilmslow contacted me regarding their Travertine floor tiles, requesting a deep clean and seal with particular focus on the grout which was very dirty. Sometimes it’s possible to give a quote over the phone with the pictures emailed over but in most cases I’m in the local area anyway so it’s not a problem to pop in, survey the floor and work out an accurate quote.

Travertine Floor Before Clean Polish and Seal in Wilmslow

They had explained on the phone the grout was the biggest problem and I could see it had darkened a lot. The top layer of cementous grout is will trap dirt unless sealed along with the tiles, in fact what tends to happen is the dirt from the tiles is washed into the grout lines during cleaning. The Travertine tiles had lost a lot of their character and generally looked flat and in need of a good clean and polish.

Travertine Floor Before Clean Polish and Seal in Wilmslow

Having taken a good look at the floor I was confident I could achieve a good finish, so I carried out a quick test clean on a small part of the floor to show what was possible. They were delighted with the test result and could now see the potential of the floor. Happy with the quote which included Grout cleaning and stone polishing a date was agreed for my return.

Cleaning and Polishing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

To start I focused on cleaning the grout lines using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean scrubbed into the grout recess by hand to ensure it was as clean as could be. I couldn’t guarantee the grout would come up as well as it did, especially in the kitchen where it can be exposed to deep seated staining, so I had given the client the additional option of using a Grout Colourant. Fortunately, this wasn’t needed and after rinsing off the soil I could see it had responded well to treatment.

To renovate the large Travertine floor, I used a set of Tile Doctor Diamond Encrusted Burnishing Pads. I used the same process on a marble floor I renovated previously in Prestbury. Basically, the pads are applied to the floor using a rotary buffer in sequence from coarse 400-grit through to a fine 1500-grit.

Travertine Floor During Clean Polish and Seal in Wilmslow

The pads are fitted to a rotary machine and run over the floor until each tile has been burnished using only water to help lubricate. The first pad cleans up the stone and removes old sealers, this is then followed with the finer 800-grit, 1500-grit and finally a 3000-grit pad. Apart from the 3000-grit, each pad is applied with water and the floor is rinsed and the soil extracted afterwards with a wet vacuum. By now the floors appearance was already looking so much cleaner.

Travertine Floor During Clean Polish and Seal in Wilmslow

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

The Travertine and grout need to be dry before the next stage of sealing so once I was done polishing, I left the floor to dry off overnight with assistance from a couple of floor fans.

Travertine Floor During Clean Polish and Seal in Wilmslow

I came back the next day to seal the floor using Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal but before starting the tiles were checked for moisture using a damp meter. The readings were fine, so I started applying the first of two coats of sealer leaving the first to dry before applying the next. Ultra-Seal is natural look impregnating sealant that protects the floor by soaking into the stone and grout occupying the pores and preventing dirt from residing there. The floor came up a treat, with a lovely sheen and really transformed the kitchen.

Travertine Floor After Clean Polish and Seal in Wilmslow

My client was equally happy with their now clean and polished Travertine floor and even commented that they thought it “looked like new floor”.

Travertine Floor After Clean Polish and Seal in Wilmslow

For aftercare cleaning I left them with a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which will help keep the floor clean whilst maintaining the polished patina. Maintenance is key to keeping the floor looking this good.

Travertine Floor After Clean Polish and Seal in Wilmslow

 

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Marble Tiled Floor Renovation Macclesfield

Polishing a Dull Marble Kitchen Floor in Prestbury near Macclesfield

The photographs below are of a Marble tiled floor at a property in the pretty East Cheshire village of Prestbury near Macclesfield. The Marble tiles ran through much of the ground floor including the hallway and kitchen. The Marble had lost its shine and the once cream grout was going black with dirt, additionally there were a couple of deep-seated stains which I suspect was from a spillage of some sort.

Marble Floor Before Polishing Prestbury Macclesfield Marble Floor Before Polishing Prestbury Macclesfield

Interestingly before contacting me my client hadn’t realised, it was expensive Marble tiled floor, and thought it would need replacing. Fortunately, I recognised it straight away and was able to advise that it just needed polishing and the grout cleaning.

I quoted for cleaning the Marble tiles, restoring the polished appearance using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads, cleaning the grout, spot treating the stains and sealing the floor to protect it. My client has happy with the quote which was considerably cheaper than replacement and a date scheduled for the work to begin.

Marble Floor Before Polishing Prestbury Macclesfield

Cleaning/Renovating a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor

To restore the polished appearance of the Marble I used a set of four burnishing pads which are applied to the floor in sequence from coarse 400-grit through to a fine 3000-grit. The pads are fitted to a rotary machine and run over the floor until each tile has been burnished using only water to help lubricate. The first pad cleans up the stone and removes old sealers. this is then followed with the finer 800-grit, 1500-grit and finally a 3000-grit pad. Except for the 3000-grit, each pad is applied with water and the floor is rinsed and the soil extracted afterwards with the wet vacuum.

Marble Floor During Polishing Prestbury Macclesfield

There was a lot of area to cover so I did this work in sections and during the rinsing and extraction process gave the Grout lines a good clean using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean tile and grout cleaner and a handheld scrubbing brush. Fortunately, the Marble tiles were large format so there were less grout lines to clean. The Pro-Clean really gets to into deep seated dirt and grease which tends to accumulate in the grout.

Marble Floor Before Polishing Prestbury Macclesfield Marble Floor Before Polishing Prestbury Macclesfield

To take out the deep staining I sprayed on a product called Tile Doctor Reduxa, it doesn’t dissolve the stain like most cleaning products it seems to attach itself to the contaminates which can then be lifted out by evaporating with heat from a heat gun. It takes a little time to do but it’s very effective and innovative.

After a final rinse with water and extraction with a wet vacuum, the floor was then left to dry off overnight assisted by the under-floor heating.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor

I returned on the second day and started by checking the floor was dry by taking several moisture readings with a damp meter. The readings were good, so I proceeded to seal the floor using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Ultra-Seal.

Marble Floor After Polishing Prestbury Macclesfield Marble Floor After Polishing Prestbury Macclesfield

Ultra-Seal is an ideal sealer for Marble as it seeps into the stone and occupies the tiny pores within thereby preventing dirt from accumulating there. Additionally Ultra-Seal is almost invisible and won’t change the natural colour of the stone which was perfect for my client who was happy with the colour of the beautiful Cream Marble as it was.

Marble Floor After Polishing Prestbury Macclesfield

Once done the floor looked transformed and for aftercare, I left a bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for the regular cleaning of polished stone and helps maintain the patina. I’ve also offered to pop back once a year to do a maintenance clean which involves giving the tiles a quick polish with a 3000-grit pad and top up the sealer.

 

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