A GP practice was relocating from Harley Street to Sevenoaks. As part of the renovations, the carpet was pulled up in the hallway to reveal a beautiful Victorian floor. Only problem was that it was under a thick layer of carpet adhesive.
We were contacted and a survey arranged and from the tests it was discovered that only an industrial strength paint stripper could shift the adhesive.
In addition to this, all work had to be performed outside of working hours as upstairs was a solicitor's office.
A quote was put together and accepted and at 5pm on a Friday evening, we commenced.
The paint stripper had to be applied liberally. It was highly caustic stuff and we could feel it melting the bottom of our footwear as we worked.
We called it a day at midnight. By then, all the adhesive had been removed, two different grades of diamond pad had been used with strong alkaline cleaner to remove the ground in dirt.
And finally, 45bbroken tiles had been replaced.
It was a long night!
The next day I returned, ran a moisture test on the tiles and performed final bits of snagging.
I decided to use an oil-based sealer. This is a one-coat sealer with a colour intensifier.
As it is thicker than the solvent sealers, it works well to help mask some imperfections in the worn 100 year old tiles. It also gives the floor a satin sheen.
I was quite happy with the results and the before and after pictures really tell the story!