Stone Floor Cleaning

Indian Sandstone Floor Tile Renovation Bamber Bridge

Milling a Rough Sandstone Kitchen Floor Smooth in Bamber Bridge

This client at a property in Bamber Bridge was really fed up with his Indian sandstone kitchen floor. The sandstone suited the age of the property but due to its course rough texture he was having issues keeping the stone clean and maintaining it to a decent standard. Ideally, he wanted something long lasting that was easier to keep clean.

Indian Sandstone Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Bamber Bridge Indian Sandstone Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Bamber Bridge

Sealers can only help so much on a rough stone like this, in my opinion really rough stone is best sold for use outside in patio’s etc. My client didn’t want to rip it up as it ran underneath the kitchen units and it cost them a lot of money to have it laid, so having been on our website and checked out our previous work they realised we could mill the stone and smooth down the rough texture to a much smoother finish and yet still leave enough texture in the stone for it to look very natural.

Milling an Indian Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

We have developed a system at Tile Doctor called “Milling” which is very similar to sanding rough wood to reveal the inner patina. Once done we then we give it one more clean before adding a fresh sealer to add protection. Milling does change the look of the stone as you will see on the before and after pictures on this page, so it is not for everyone. It is however a one-off process so once done it will never need to be milled again. Like all stone floors it will still benefit from a deep clean and re-seal every five years (depending on use) just to keep it looking its best but after milling you will be able to walk on the stone in bare feet or socks and slippers as it really does make a big difference to the finish.

Indian Sandstone Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Bamber Bridge

By milling we mainly use coarse-grit burnishing pads that contain segments made from hard industrial diamonds. Working our way up the different grits the pads are applied using a weighted floor buffer which is run over each tile several times to cut the stone back. The process is so effective we often find that the pads are all you need to clean the stone so hardly ever use any chemicals with this process, apart from the sealer which is applied once fully dry.

I should mention that Milling is not something a customer should consider doing themselves as you need invest in a heavy-duty weighted buffing machine which are rarely available for hire.

Sealing an Indian Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

To seal internal Sandstone floors, I usually use Tile Doctor Colour Grow which brings out the natural colours in the stone. On this occasion however two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal were applied to the stone and grout which results in an invisible natural finish and better matched the clients’ requirements.

Indian Sandstone Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Bamber Bridge Indian Sandstone Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Bamber Bridge

My client was really pleased with the new floor and left the following feedback:

“Only finished today but looks so good now. Russell did a great job milling the flags to a much smoother finish. Two coats of sealant applied by Heidi on last day which hopefully will keep it looking that way. Mark F. Bamber Bridge”

For aftercare cleaning I left them with a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is specially designed for cleaning sealed floors. You need to be very careful when using supermarket cleaners as many are tool strong and will slowly strip the sealer off the floor, always read the label.

 

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Semi Riven Slate Floor Before After Renovation Bentham

Renovating Dull Semi Riven Black Slate Flooring in Bentham

This is a Semi Riven Black Slate floor which had been installed throughout much of the downstairs floor at a property in Bentham which is right on the Eastern edge of Lancashire. The Black slate and Grout had seen some wear and was now more Grey than black and having recently installed a new Kitchen the owner wanted the floor to look its best.

Rough stone can be especially hard to maintain if the wrong sealer has been applied. With rough or textured stone, it’s always best to use an Acrylic Sealer (aka ” Topical sealer”) where possible. Unlike a Matt finish impregnating sealer a Topical Sealer is designed to sit on the surface of the Stone preventing dirt from getting caught in the nooks and crevices making it much easier to clean.

Rough Black Slate Floor Before Cleaning Bentham

After surveying the floor, I recommend burnishing the stone with a coarse pad to deep clean the stone and remove any remaining sealer, then seal with Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a Topical sealer which we find always has provides good results on this type of floors. Happy with the price and keen to get the floor renovated we were given the go ahead and scheduled a date to return to do the work.

Rough Black Slate Floor Before Cleaning Bentham

Deep Cleaning a Semi Riven Black Slate floor in Bentham

The last thing we want to do is cause any damage to their beautiful new wooden kitchen. So before starting the cleaning process I applied clear silicone to the base of the new Kitchen units, this prevents water from the cleaning process seeping into the woodwork through capillary action.

Rough Black Slate Floor Applying Silicone Bentham

To get the tiles clean we burnished the stone floor with a coarse 200-grit Diamond pad fitted to a buffing machine running at slow speed and using water for lubrication. This gives a really deep clean and was followed up with the application of a black scrubbing pad to remove any excess resin released from the Slate which is quite common with Black stones due to the oil content. Once the Slate was clean, we turned our attention to the grout which was scrubbed with Tile Doctor Pro-clean. The floor was then rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum, once done the floor was left dry out.

Whilst at the property we managed to resolve a problem with a poorly laid slate tile in the hallway which the customer had often tripped over, so much so they had covered it with a rug, which was fine, but you couldn’t see the Slate. Rather than lift and relay the tile I managed to cut back the surface of the stone with a hand held flex machine using several different diamond grits. You can see from the pictures how this looks before, during and after the seal. A further advantage of treating the stone in this way is that the slate takes on a more polished finish as the rough texture is cut back. The results speak for themselves and the customer certainly won’t be tripping over the tile from now. With no further need for the rug they can get the full benefit of the slate floor.

Rough Black Slate Tile Before During After Surface Correction Bentham

Sealing a Riven Black Slate Tiled Floor

The floor was left to dry off overnight and we returned the following day to apply a sealer first checking the floor was dry using a moisture meter. All was well, so we started to apply the first of several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. It was a large area across multiple rooms, so it took some time before the job was complete.

Rough Black Slate Floor After Cleaning Bentham

The sealer added a lovely subtle sheen to the floor and restored the black colour in the Slate, the grout was also much cleaner and floor look transformed from the grey dull appearance we first experienced. As usual before leaving we talked about aftercare, using warm water (not hot or cold) with a mop and bucket and half a cap of Tile Doctor concentrated Neutral Tile Cleaner. Using the correct cleaning product will ensure they get maximum life out of the sealer.

Rough Black Slate Floor After Cleaning Bentham

 

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