"1928 tile bathroom floor," in the Ceramic and Stone Q&A forum, begins: "We are restoring the original bath in our home. The house dates back to the 1890's. We found a date ..."
We are restoring the original bath in our home. The house dates back to the 1890's. We found a date of 1928 on the sink so I'm thinking this is when the bath was added. The flooring is a small white 6 sided tile about the size of a half dollars and is still in pretty good shape. The problem is that it is very dull and needs new grout. Is it supposed to be dull? If not what do we need to do it return it back to it's former glory? Thanks!!
We are restoring the original bath in our home. The house dates back to the 1890's. We found a date of 1928 on the sink so I'm thinking this is when the bath was added. The flooring is a small white 6 sided tile about the size of a half dollars and is still in pretty good shape. The problem is that it is very dull and needs new grout. Is it supposed to be dull? If not what do we need to do it return it back to it's former glory? Thanks!!
How about about a photo?
One of my first jobs after I graduated high school was to regrout an Olympic size swimming pool. Me and my buddy, who's Dad owned the store scrubbed the whole pool on our hands and knees with a solution of diluted muriatic acid. As we completed a section rinsed thoroughly and allowed to dry the journeyman came and spread new grout. If I recall correctly it was Cheshire, Connecticut roundabout 1978.
I don't know too much about how to get the tiles back to their original luster. I know we worked our little tails off to get that old grout in the swimming pool clean and it sure looked good when the grout was done.
I got a similar one they want me to recondition. It is a hex 1x1 and is an off wht stone but not sure what kind of stone it is. There is no veinin just solid color....any thoughts
Not sure exactly what tools or materials are used, but I know they can be ground down and polished. A light polishing may be all that's needed. How big of an area is it?
The floor measures about 3 X 6 near tub/toilet area and another 4 X 6 in the sink/door area. Not sure what kind of tile guessing ceramic??? It is a solid tile of white. Don't think its marble but have not seen worn down marble. No veining of any kind in it.
We would need to know what the floor is, ceramic, marble, etc. I wouldn't be pouring any type of caustic liquid onto a natural stone floor.
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I should have mentioned that. From her description though it sounded like a pretty standard old ceramic tile. So if it is a stone of some sort then I suppose the only way to get the grout clean would be by scraping or grinding it out manually?
We're having our carpets cleaned next week and I asked the guy about cleaning up the porcelain tile and grout in my kitchen. When I laid the living room you can really tell how dingy we've allowed the kitchen tile to get in only 3 years. It's the same tile and grout only a smaller tile. He says he can clean the grout and tile with a high pressure water system. I didn't get a price on that but while he's here he'll give me a price and I'm pretty sure I'll have it done if his price seems reasonable.
I wonder if that might be a solution that would work on her 1928 tile floor.
I thought of the steam cleaning systems, but in a high pressure system, I'm wondering how they keep from flooding the room.
Suz, is it possible the you might be able to post a couple of pics of your floor, one wide and one close-up?
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I'm going to guess that it's very similar to the steam cleaning machines you can rent from the local rental yard or supermarket for $20 a half day. As you're spraying out the hot water and cleaning solution the vacuum is immediately sucking it back through the machine so there's no soaking of the carpet or pad.
I'm hoping the truck mounted machinery is better than the one's I've been renting once or twice a year. Last time we made an effort to clean those tiles I put the boys in there with scrub brushes and a mild vinegar/boiling water solution. It came out nice but they were there for hours and hours. I'd like to get it done in 1/10 the time and put the boys to work elsewhere in the house. So far they're not finding any summer jobs before they go back to school.
The guys at grout-getter are very helpful and will give you step-by-step instructions over the phone or email. They have a pretty good website as well.
That is the same stone I have to work with. Any ideas what stone that is. It almost appears to be soapstone but doesn't feel like it. It feels more like marble but has no visual characteristics of marble....
I thought is was ceramic. I didn't see any of the characteristics of a natural stone there. Grout dye may not be the solution to the problem if it's a natural stone. Most likely the dye would leach into the stone.
