Chatham Tile Cleaning Archives - North Kent Tile Doctor

Flagstone Basement Pub Floor After Renovation Chatham

Renovating a Flagstone Floor at an 18th Century Public House in Chatham

I received a request to quote for renovating a large flagstone floor in the basement of Command House pub in Chatham. The company that engaged us had been performing a major refit of the Grade II listed building and the basement was next in line for renovation.

The building dates to the 18th century and being part of the famous Chatham Dockyard had a long military history and was no doubt visited by Lord Nelson. At some point in the 20th century, it was converted into a public house. The 70sqm basement was to be a feature of the pub but the flagstone floor had been neglected for seemingly most of its life and we were tasked with getting the best out of it that it could offer.

Flagstone Basement Pub Floor Before Cleaning Chatham

Having inspected the floor I conducted a few cleaning tests and provided a quotation for its renovation which would include a deep cleaning of the flagstones and mortar and sealing with a hard-wearing sealer. Happy with my quote I was asked to go ahead with the work and a date set to start the renovation.

Cleaning a Neglected Flagstone Basement Floor in Chatham

Work started with the application of a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is our go to alkaline Tile and Grout cleaner. This was left to soak in for ten minutes before being worked in using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads fitted to a weighed floor buffer.

Flagstone Basement Pub Floor During Cleaning Chatham

You start with a coarse 400-grit pad lubricating with water as the pad is passed over each part of the stone floor three to four times, the soiling is then rinsed off the floor and extracted with a wet vacuum and you move onto the next pad in the sequence i.e., 800, then 1500 grit. Due to the rough nature of the flagstone and the sheer size of the basement meant that 4 sets of pads were needed to loosen and remove the years of dirt.

Last step of the cleaning phase was to give the stone an acid wash using a weak dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. This was done to neutralise the pH level of the floor after the use of the alkaline cleaner, it will also counter any efflorescent salts lurking in the stone which can be a problem with old floors like this that were laid without a damp proof membrane.

It took two of us working together a full day to complete the cleaning but by the end of the day the whole floor was cleaned and prepped for the next step which would involve applying a sealer to the stone. Happy with our progress, we left for the day for the floor to settle and dry for the sealing process.

Sealing a Flagstone Basement Floor in Chatham

Upon our return, we performed multiple point moisture tests around the basement. A lot of water had been used in the cleaning process and we were conscious that we were below ground and very near the Medway River.

Happy that all was in order, work proceeded to seal the floor with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is a hard-wearing oil-based sealer that puts the life back in the stone. This sealer is known as an impregnator which works by soaking into the pores of the stone occupying the space and preventing dirt from residing there in future. This product it is also a breathable sealer that can be used externally and so more than capable of dealing with any damp issues which may occur later.

It was a very satisfying job as the colours that came through from the once very grey and lifeless floor really gave the room a new perspective. It will be interesting to see what they do next with it.

Professional Renovation of an Old Flagstone Basement Floor in Kent

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Damaged Victorian Tiled Path Restored in Chatham Kent

Tile Doctor was contacted by a couple in Chatham, Kent wishing to explore the options for repairing the badly damaged and worn Victorian pathway that led up to their property. I arranged a time to take a look at the path, conduct a survey of its condition and produce a quotation for restoring it; this is something we are happy to do free of charge.

I could see immediately that many of the tiles in the path were damaged so I started by closely inspecting each tile and cataloguing the missing and badly damaged tiles that I would need to find replacements for. Whilst there I discussed in detail the process, timescales and results they could expect from a 100-year-old pathway. As is so often the case with very old floors and paths, perfection is not sought after – time and again it is all about preserving the character.

Victorian Pathway Before Cleaning Chatham

Once all questions had been answered, I went away and put together a quote. I calculated that the work would take a week to complete, given that there were 194 tiles to replace. Happy with the submitted quote, we booked the dates, prayed for dry weather and the replacement tiles were ordered.

Repairing and Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Pathway

The first two days were spent removing the broken tiles and preparing the path for the replacement tiles. This is tricky work as removing a tile can upset the tiles adjacent thereby making the job bigger and best avoided. Work progressed steadily until the middle of the week when work was interrupted with rain showers but I managed to progress nevertheless. The tiles were replaced and left to set overnight and the next day the deep clean started.

Victorian Pathway During Restoration Chatham

To remove what looked like a 100-years of dirt I applied a coarse Flexi-Segment Diamond pad fitted to a weighted floor buffer and lubricated with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a powerful alkaline tile cleaner. This shifted the worst of the ingrained dirt turning the cleaning solution into a dark slurry as I went. The slurry was then rinsed off with water and extracted from the path using a wet vacuum.

This process was then repeated using a medium 800-Grit burnishing pad with just water, to perform a second and final clean. Again, the wet vacuum was used at this point to get the path as dry as possible and then left overnight to fully dry out.

Victorian Pathway After Cleaning Chatham

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Pathway

The following morning, happy that the tiles were dry enough, I started applying a sealer to protect them staining going forward. The sealer chosen for Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an oil-based impregnator that’s rated for external use and contains a UV protector to provide greater resilience to the weather.

The pathway then needed 12 hours to be left alone for the sealer to fully dry and cure before allowing any foot traffic. Once the sealer had cured the inbuilt colour enhancer had worked well on the Victorian tiles giving them more depth and vibrancy. I was really pleased with the finish, as were both the customers.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Path in Kent

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North Kent Tile Doctor

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