How to remove cement type adhesive from overtiled floor

[lower]

The enrich and seal is expensive so i want to be sure that it will darken the tile significantly.

An ebay seller suggested putting olive oil on a tile as this will give a similar effect, albeit short lived.

Is that realistic or am i being given bad advice again.....

 

[enduro]

The enrich and seal is expensive so i want to be sure that it will darken the tile significantly.

An ebay seller suggested putting olive oil on a tile as this will give a similar effect, albeit short lived.

Is that realistic or am i being given bad advice again.....

Bad advice..oil will attract dirt, and you will never be able to remove the oil.

 

[Rob Z]

Lower, congrats on being able to bring your old floor back to life! It looks great and it's nice to see a 90 year old floor looking almost as good as new. I don't see any cracks in it, which is typical for an old "mud set" tile floor.

I second Enduro on the olive oil-save that for your salad. The Enrich and Seal is a great product and well worth the $$ if that's the look that you want.

 

[Richard Edwards]

Hi Dave

I have being trying to post a few comments on this thread as it a specialist subject and one we do a lot of and having typed up twice, the system wouldn't let me submit my reply

Its all to do with acid - the pros and cons etc and could be important to the orginator - ' Lower '

Any reason m8 :lol:

Richard

 

[lower]

Again, its poor powers of explanation letting me down.

The ebay seller suggest i test a tile by putting some olive oil on it as it will give the same effect as enrich and seal. If the olive oil darkens the tile sufficiently to disguise the bleaching then the enrich and seal will do the same and therefore be worth spending the money on.

He didn't suggest coating the whole floor in olive oil

Anyway, as the work continues (i'm cleaning a small area each night) i've come across an area of sinkage where the floor sounds quite hollow and the tiles are moving slightly.

I would really like to lift these tiles and bed them in properly at the correct height. However, the tiles are laid without grout and a tight fit.

Can anyone suggest how i can best lift the first tile without damaging it? Obviously once the first tile is up i can easily then lift the other affect tiles.

Based on some loose tiles at the edge of the floor, the tiles appear to have been laid on a crumbly bed of sand and cement. I'm guessing some sort of lime screed.

 

[lower]

Hi Dave

I have being trying to post a few comments on this thread as it a specialist subject and one we do a lot of and having typed up twice, the system wouldn't let me submit my reply

Its all to do with acid - the pros and cons etc and could be important to the orginator - ' Lower '

Any reason m8 :lol:

Richard

Richard,

I'm guessing the system is now letting you post. I'd be keen to recieve any and all advice you have to offer.

Its a shame all you professionals aren't closer. I have tried and failed to find anyone to come and do the repair and restoration for me in my area (leicestershire)

 

[Richard Edwards]

Ok Lower - I'll have another go at it

Firstly - Liecestershire is way out of my patch and I fear we we would be OTT on costs, although your type of job is standard to us - some one might be able to help you although from the details posted so far your well one the way so maybe you can complete it yourself.

Anyway - What I am about say will probably raise a few eyebrows and could even get me shot at dawn by a good many members of this forum, never being worried about such reactions, I'll stick my head up to see how many seconds it takes to start the onslaught.

We / I do a great number of restoration works on Victorian Floors - yours is not is Art-Deco period but the principle is the same, and we are often faced with cement residues, not as much as yours I admit. We use acid mixtures - normally hydrochloric but occasionally sulphuric in low solution strengths. It is safe on unglazed quarry tiles, victorian tiles etc, however you need be careful when using it on old glazed tiles as it can etch the glaze.

I apply it as a low strength solution - max 15% either as brick acid / brick cleaner etc using an old stiff paint brush, rotary action. It will foam and hiss a bit as the lime in the cement is broken down / dissolves and as the ph of the result residue reachs neutral it will cease to work. Clean this off and re-apply until the cement is all lifted off.

Now the critical bit - double rinse the areas and then after all acid operations has been completed, take another clean cold bucket of water, add a small - I mean small !! quanity of caustic soda to the rinse water and wash the floor really well. Rinse with clean water again ! and dry out.

If you have dissolved any grout - so what, simiply regrout - bearing in mind that any repairs etc will need regrouting anyway.

We would use either LTP / HG impregnator - min 2 coats to protect the floor and restore the colour and then either LTP Satin Ironwax or our preferred choice HG Golvpolish satin - 5 OR 6 Coats and bob is your uncle.

I forgot to mention that we are helped by having some pretty effective machinery to aid our cleaning processes - too expensive for DIY guys but it our investment with a whole range of pads , brushes and diamond cutting gear too. You will not have this available to you, but you will be able to achieve comparable results - it will just take you a lot longer and more effort.

Just to show what can be done - Here's a typical example of our restoration work

 

[DHTiling]

Rich will agree that you have to careful of over wetting if you are not sure of the substrate.. you could de-bond the whole lot if lime mortar fixed.

HG golv is good but does need regular removal and re-application...

A colour intensifier like Aqua mix Enrich & seal or LTP colour intensifier doesn't.. but they leave a matt finish where as golv will be a semi gloss to full gloss depending on coats.

My issue with acid is.. not really advisable just to say to the DIY'ers to use it.. Please be very careful and where correct masks etc.

 

[Richard Edwards]

Dave - Sorry I forgot to mention the PPE aspect - I did in my original post but had to re-type it as system problem and tried to hurry the post the second time around.

Yes your absolutely spot on

Do not use more acid solution than you need ie do not over wet and definately do not over wet if the grout joints are wide / cracked / missing

Second and most importantly - always use industrial chemical gloves, either full face mask or at min glogges / polycarb glasses and we use acid fume respirator as well - 3M type with a cartridge. We have a bucket of clean water handy and also an eye wash bottle on the door step just in case.

Thanks Dave for picking me up - don't want to get the DIY folk in hot water.

 

[DHTiling]

We don't want them keeling over.:lol:

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

Congrats on that restoration job Richard, exellent piece of work

 

[Rob Z]

Hi Richard, nice restoration job. Do you have an approximate date for the original installation?

 

[lower]

Very interesting info on the acid.

Where i used it i found it to be very effective but i did rinse well a number of times and then washed the tiles with an alkaline propietry floor cleaner with the intention of neutralising any remaining acid.

I'm glad i've not caused any irreparable damage, and yes i did wear suitable PPE.

My tiles appear to have no grout between them at all. They are just butted together.

Is that normal? Any further advice as to how i can lift a tile in the sunk area?

I'm making steady progress cleaning the floor of the adhesive at the rate of approx 6-10 tiles per night. But i'm concerned that the sunk areas might be more than i can take on. I'm pretty handy on the diy front and have done plenty of amateur tiling that i've made a decent job of but i really don't want to end up ruining the floor and having to lift and re-lay the whole thing!

 

[lower]

Anyone? All advice to this point has been very much appreciated.

 

[Richard Edwards]

Hi Richard, nice restoration job. Do you have an approximate date for the original installation?

Hello Rob

It will be 1890/1905 ish - They are a lot of late Victorian property in our area and this is fairly typical

Richard