These Floors Were Rescued from Loosening Tiles and Cracking Grout by Our Tile and Grout Cleaners Experts in Hawthorne, NY

June 16, 2017

If you have ever stayed up late in an old home, maybe you have heard distinct creaking sounds… ones that would make anyone feel like they're inside a horror movie. Fear not! This sound is probably just the plywood beneath the floors, contracting or expanding due to changing temperatures. This is something that happens often in old homes. What many people don't know is that this is a sign of loosening plywood. However, hard evidence is revealed once you step on a loose tile or see your grout crack.


Our clients, a couple of residents of the Hawthorne community, had this problem for a while. A few years back, they had taken notice of the cracked grout and loose tile that signaled the problem. To restore their floor, they had hired a company that, ultimately, didn't do an adequate job in choosing the right type of grout, which wasn't strong enough to withstand the movement of the floor. Flash forward a few years and they were back to square one, so they decided to again Google some reputable Hawthorne tile and grout cleaners that would do better than before.


Their painstaking search paid off when they stumbled upon some outstanding reviews on a hard surface restoration company that serviced their area: Sir Grout Westchester. They made sure to check the testimonials and gallery, and after seeing how much experience we had in the business, they filled out a "Request a Quote" form to easily set up a free evaluation and get a quote.

When the day came, our experts arrived at our clients' residence to assess the state of the floor and offer up the best plan to restore it to its original appearance. Our clients immediately showed them the floor; the grout was broken and cracked in pieces, and some tiles had already separated from the mortar bed. Sadly, the thing with loosening plywood is that the only way to permanently solve this problem is to rip out the plywood and install a new subfloor. However, this is neither a practical solution for many clients, or is it cheap. The best alternative, as our experts let the clients know, is to extend the useful life of the floor by attempting to secure the loose tiles, remove and replace the brittle grout, and then ColorSeal the entire floor to mask the repaired areas, and make everything look as new as possible. Trusting Sir Grout Westchester's impeccable reputation, our clients agreed to the service.

"Deteriorating tiled floors due to plywood subfloor issues are extremely problematic for many homeowners. We give our clients an honest assessment of the condition of their floors and often times this means we sometimes decline the opportunity to work on a floor if it's condition is so poor that we believe any attempt at repair will fail" said Tim O'Leary, Sir Grout Westchester's owner. "There is no quick fix. My reputation is worth more than making money on a job that I know will fail. This is a chronic condition that can be terminal. I cannot do anything to reverse a loosening subfloor. What I hopefully can accomplish, however, is stabilize the floor's present condition, make it look new again, and extend its useful life. Using the proper methods and materials we can often times accomplish this. That's why so many people choose to use us."

On the scheduled days, our crew returned to carry out the necessary repairs. They started by applying Fix-A-Floor adhesive under the loose tiles to stabilize them again. They also removed all the damaged grout. Regular grout is not malleable enough to hold up to the plywood's movement without cracking, which is why the Sir Grout Westchester's team re-grouted the floor using a special grout that has a lot more elasticity than standard sanded grout and can withstand better the push and pulls of the subfloor. Once this was done, a few days were required for these repairs to set before the restoration could continue.

Our crew returned on the second appointed day, once the floor lay firm and ready, to clean and give it an appropriate finish. They started by spraying our proprietary cleaner and letting it sit for a few minutes to stir up the dirt; then our techs used scrubbing machines to wash and rinse the grime away, and wet vacuumed to not leave any residue behind. With the cleaning done, our team then proceeded to ColorSeal all grout. ColorSeal is Sir Grout's flagship sealing product—a water-based, non-toxic sealer that makes your grout impervious to water and spills, protects it from stains, makes it mold and mildew resistant, and recolors it in any hue you desire.

It took a lot of work, but once the cleaning and sealing were done, our crew was able to show our clients the final results. The job was perfect, they said, as the floor appeared like they were just installed. There wasn't any evidence that the floor had been repaired in the first place. The couple thanked our team profusely and even left a review to tell us how they felt about their new floor:


If you are having trouble with cracking grout and tiles caused by any type of subfloor problems and need the assistance of hard surface restoration experts that can help you erase the damage without having to go through the hassle of a full renovation, then Sir Grout Westchester is your ideal choice. We have ample experience repairing, re-grouting, and making floors look great again. Contact us and get your quote by calling (914) 592-5902 or by filling out our "Request a Quote" form; our team of experts will be happy to assist you. To know more about discounts and other promotions, subscribe to our newsletter.

If you found this article helpful then let us know in the comments section below. Likewise, feel free to share it using the share options below. Want us to cover another topic of your interest pertaining to Hard Surface Restoration? If so, then like us and follow us on social media, and post to any of our social media profiles the topic you'd like us to discuss: Facebook Sir Grout Westchester, Instagram @sirgrout, and Twitter @SirGrout.