Renovating Heavily Soiled Reclaimed Pamment Tiled Flooring in Gissing

I was contacted by clients with a Pamment Tiled Flooring who were living in Gissing, a small village in the centre of South Norfolk which has a long history dating back to Saxon times. The Pamments were reclaimed suffering from heavy soiling and in need of considerable expert attention. All the old protective coatings had pretty much worn completely off the surface of the tiles which had then allowed many years of dirt to become ingrained in the pores of the clay, making it almost impossible to clean for the homeowner using ordinary methods.

Pamment tiles were very popular in older Norfolk homes; they are made from locally sourced clay and, like terracotta, are extremely porous and therefore need to be thoroughly sealed against fluids and general soiling. When correctly cleaned and sealed, they are quite versatile and can be used for internal floors as well as external areas such as patios and pathways.

Cleaning a Pamment tiled floor

To remove all traces of the old sealers and clean the tiles I decided to apply Tile Doctor Remove & Go, which was diluted with water to form a medium strength solution. I applied a generous coat of this solution to the floor, leaving it to soak into the pores of the tiles for approximately ten minutes. The solution was then worked into the Pamments using a Black nylon scrubbing pad fitted to a 17″ rotary machine. Remove & Go is a powerful and versatile cleaner which is safe to use on natural stone floors, kiln-fired tiles and all types of grout.

I rinsed the solution off the floor with clean water once it had worked its magic and extracted the resulting dirty residue with a wet-vacuum machine. In order to tackle some particularly stubborn stains, I repeated this process until I was satisfied that the floor had been cleaned to the highest standard possible.

The whole area was then given an acid wash using a dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. This further cleans the tiles to remove old grout stains and neutralises the pH level of the floor following the use of alkaline cleaning products, lastly it also ensures optimal adhesion of the new sealer.

The floor was then left to dry overnight before returning the next day to complete the seal. I left a dehumidifier running overnight to assist the drying process and ensure that the floor would be completely dry on the following day. It’s imperative that a tiled floor is completely dry before sealing as any excess moisture left in the floor can potentially adversely affect the overall performance of the sealer as it evaporates.

Sealing a Pamment tiled floor

To seal and protect the Pamment tiles I applied a total of five coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which provided a robust, durable surface seal along with an aesthetically pleasing, mid-sheen finish (as you can see from the photos). Seal & Go is the go-to sealer for internal, unsealed porous surfaces such as Terracotta, Sandstone or Slate.

The clients had left us to work our magic over the two days, returning at the end of the sealing day and were absolutely staggered at the results we had achieved with a floor they had thought beyond help.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s a gentle yet effective product that won’t upset the sealer which can be the problem with many of the stronger products you find in supermarkets.

 

Deep Cleaning and Restoration of Reclaimed Pamment Tiles in Norfolk