Tesserae Stone Mosaic Floor Restored

I was recently contracted to renovate a Tesserae Stone Mosaic floor as part of a hotel refurbishment project in Taplow near Maidenhead. Taplow House Hotel underwent a large refurbishment project and originally, they planned on laying new Marble floor throughout the entrance/reception area however when they lifted the carpet the discovered the original floor and they were keen to see if the old floor could be restored to some former glory. 

 

Taplow house was originally built in 1568, however the Manor House was involved in a devastating fire in 1660, destroying almost all the original building. The Georgian building that stands today was erected in 1751. Home to aristocracy, Taplow house was a private residence before turning into a hotel in 1958 and this is when we believe the floor was covered up with carpet. 

The main issue raised was the floor was covered in old carpet glue and this would need to be removed before it could be deep cleaned and then protected with a sealer. A coating’s remover was initially applied to remove adhesive contamination and then covered with plastic sheeting so it could sweat the tile and not dry prematurely. The floor was left to dwell for about 15 – 30 minutes, so it could get to work breaking down the old carpet glue and adhesive. After this the plastic sheet was removed and the floor then scrubbed with a rotary floor buffer fitted with a black stripping pad using plenty of water. This quickly broke up the adhesive from the tile allowing it to be removed from the tiles with a wet vacuum. It was a large area so as I was cleaning one section there was another section sweating under a plastic sheet. 

 

Once the glue had been removed, I then treated the section to an acid rinse removing old grout smears and neutralising any salts in the old floor that could result in efflorescence later. Being an acid, it also neutralises the ph levels in the floor after the cleaning with the coating remover which is an Alkaline product. 

 

Once the floor was clean it needed time to dry out thoroughly before sealing, however being a busy construction site and the floor being the main walkway between rooms I agreed to do a quick ‘builders clean’ when I returned later. 

The travertine floor was surveyed and a test clean was carried out on a small inconspicuous area to demonstrate what would be involved and to verify which method and products would be the most efficient choice. From this an accurate quote was provided, which was accepted, and a date was soon booked to carry out the work. 

 

Due to the size of the area, 7 working days was agreed to complete the floor, working in sections at a time. This allowed a safe working environment to be maintained without impacting the residents too much. 

 

The cleaning process started with the an application of a strong dilution of an alkaline based tile cleaner that breaks down heavy soils and old sealers. It was important to ensure as much dirt was removed from the pores, pockets, and holes in the travertine as possible. It was left to soak in and get to work breaking down the dirt for roughly ten minutes before scrubbing it in with a rotary floor scrubbing machine. The soil released during this process was then rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. The section of flooring was then inspected, and the process repeated if needed, stubborn stains were be dealt with by spot treating. Once cleaned air driers where left in place to help speed up the drying process. 

After my return I gave the floor a quick clean using a mild solution of a Grout Clean-up scrubbed with a Nilon brush fitted to the rotary machine. Most of the contamination was plaster residues from ongoing work. After a light rinse and extraction with a wet vacuum the floor was left to dry off overnight ready for sealing the next day. 

 

Two coats of colour enhancing sealer were then applied that works by impregnating the pores of the tile protecting it from within and enriching the colours in the process. This gave a lovely contrast in colour whilst providing a matt finish producing a fully breathable sealer which won’t trap moisture under the tile which is an important for these old floors which don’t have a damp membrane.