Pro-Clean Archives - North Cumbria Tile Doctor

Multi-Coloured Chinese Slate Kitchen Floor Renovation Dalston Cumbria

Multi-Coloured Slate Kitchen Floor Cleaning Dalston Cumbria

A homeowner from Dalston near Carlisle got in touch earlier this year for help with a Chinese Multi-Coloured Slate tiled floor in their kitchen/diner. The sealer had long since worn down and now dirt was getting into the pores of the stone leaving it dull and difficult to clean.

Slate is naturally porous and uneven due to its riven surface leaving it vulnerable when unsealed. Additionally, sealers wear down on the busiest parts of the floor first resulting in an uneven and unattractive appearance over time.

Multi-Coloured Chinese Slate Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Dalston Cumbria

I conducted an initial inspection to survey the floor, discuss its renovation and work out an outline plan for its renovation. Basically, the floor needed a deep clean to strip off what remained of the old sealer, flush out the ingrained dirt from the tile and grout and then apply a fresh sealer to protect it going forward.

Later that day I emailed over a detailed quote that included all the products needed to do the work. This was accepted and a date agreed for the work to start which would take two days.

Deep Cleaning a Multi-Coloured Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

To get the floor clean and free of any remaining sealer a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go was spread onto the floor and left to soak in for ten minutes. This gives the product time to work its way into the pores of the stone to digest the soiling and breakdown old sealers. The floor was then scrubbed using a rotary machine fitted with a coarse 200-grit pad that opens the pores in the stone allowing for dirt and embedded grime to be flushed out.

The soiling was rinsed away and extracted with a wet vacuum before moving on to the next step which was to scrub the grout using a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. As before this was left to soak in first before being scrubbed in with a stiff brush.

Multi-Coloured Chinese Slate Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Dalston Cumbria

Before finishing for day one the floor was then given an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which further cleans the stone and neutralises the ph level of the floor after the use of the other products where are alkaline. Being acidic this product will also remove any old grout smears and other mineral deposits such as salts leaving the slate in a completely uncontaminated state. Once done the floor was given a thorough rinse and wet extraction to remove all cleaning residues.

Sealing a Multi-Coloured Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

After leaving the floors to dry out fully overnight I returned the next day to apply a sealer which would add colour and an appealing finish to the slate. We had discussed the desired finish when I popped over to survey the floor and from this, I recommend using Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is a hard-wearing impregnating sealer that is rated for external use so ideal for kitchen floors. Being oil based it’s quite thick so to make it more workable and to enhance the colours further I mix it 50:50 with Colour Grow which is another impregnating sealer in the Tile Doctor range.

The first coat was worked into the Slate to enhance the natural tones and then additional coats were applied as required for full coverage. The excess sealer was then buffed off with a white pad to avoid surface residue.

Multi-Coloured Chinese Slate Kitchen Floor During Sealing Dalston Cumbria

Once done the colours in the stone really popped making the floor came alive again and the customer very happy. The new sealer will keep dirt on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away for which I recommended using a sealer safe cleaning product such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner applied with a two-chamber mop.

Professional Renovation of a Multi-Coloured Slate Tiled Kitchen in North Cumbria

Multi-Coloured Slate Kitchen Floor Cleaning Dalston Cumbria Read More »

Aldous Red Sandstone Floor Milled Back to Health in Greystoke

The customer at this 200-year-old property near Greystoke asked if we could do anything for their old Stone floor as a new Kitchen was to be fitted and a decision had to be made to either rip up the old floor or have it restored.

Aldous Red Sandstone Floor Before Renovation Greystoke

The stone was Aldous Red Sandstone which if you have read our website is something we are quite familiar with. One thing we have learned from restoring these floors over the years is that they are very forgiving and the best way to renovate them is to grind off the old and often badly stained surface. We call this process Milling and it involves applying different grades of coarse diamond pads, the result is a fresh new surface that smoother and much easier to maintain. We can also re-point the mortar which is often past its best on these old stone floors.

Having discussed my recommendation, they agreed to go ahead, and we set a date in the diary for the work to start.

Milling Aldous Red Sandstone

Milling involves the application of several coarse grades of hard diamond pads to the stone using water to lubricate the process, the water also helps make the removal of the soil easier and reduces dust. I followed our usual method of starting with a very coarse 50-grit pad and then moved up to 100 and then 200-grit milling pads rinsing and extracting the soiling in-between each pad with a wet vacuum. These 17-inch pads fit a rotary floor buffer that has weight added to ensure maximum traction between the pad and the stone floor.

Once done the next step was to rake out the loose mortar between the slabs, cleanup the area and then repoint with a breathable pointing mix in Light Grey. That was left to set and the floor was given a light clean with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to remove any dust and get it ready for sealing.

Sealing a Red Sandstone Tiled Floor

We returned the following day and checked the floor was dry using the moisture meter, we don’t recommend applying a sealer to a damp floor as the sealer will not cure properly. All was well, so we then applied Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an oil based Breathable Colour enhancing sealer.

Using a breathable sealer on old stone floors like this is highly recommend as these floors rarely have a damp proof membrane installed and so it’s important to give moisture a way of rising through the floor naturally and evaporating rather than being trapped under the floor where it can eventually build up in the walls.

You can see from the photos that the work was transformational and have added new life to a 200-year-old floor which I’m sure will look even more stunning once the new kitchen has been fitted.

Aldous Red Sandstone Floor After Renovation Greystoke

For aftercare cleaning of a sealed floor, we recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s a mild but effective cleaning product that won’t impact the sealer.

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