Flagstone Tile Cleaning Archives - Greater Manchester Tile Doctor

1850’s Flaking Flagstone Flooring Renovated in Saddleworth

A couple from Saddleworth contacted us about their flagstone flooring which was laid throughout the ground floor in their home which was built around 1850. Since buying their home they had decided to take up the carpets and floor coverings to most of the ground floor (approx. 60sqm) to allow the floor to breathe and help with some damp issues in the walls. In addition, it would be in keeping with the house to have its original floor back in use and make a great period feature.

Flagstone Floor Before Renovation Saddleworth

With the stone covered for such a long period the main issue was ingrained dirt and grime as well as the remnants of self-levelling compound and paint. The whole floor also had flaking issues on numerous stones and was very uneven in parts.

After some discussion over the phone around the options of cleaning, stone milling, repointing, and sealing I scheduled a survey. I recommended the floor needed the render removed, stone milled (and possibly repointing) before cleaning and finally sealing. An impregnating sealer which provided a matt, colour-enhancing finish was recommended in view of the damp and animals. In addition, we suggested the use of breathable pointing.

Flagstone Floor Before Renovation Saddleworth

Whilst the work was more involved than initially anticipated, they fully understood the scale of the problems and what was needed and so decided to go ahead.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started with the application of 50-Grit Extra Coarse Milling pads which were fitted to a weighted rotary floor machine. The pads were run over each of the rough Yorkshire flagstones to remove the top of the flaking stone and reveal new stone underneath. The process was lubricated with water and Tile Doctor Remove and Go, the water helps keep the dust down and the Tile Doctor Remove and Go helps clean up the stone. We used quite a lot of these pads to clean up the whole floor. The resultant slurry was rinsed away with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Flagstone Floor During Renovation Saddleworth

Once done, the process was then repeated using 100-grit and then 200-grit milling pads to improve the surface of the stone. I must give credit to Russell Taylor from Lancashire Tile Doctor for his experience and assistance on this job, an extra pair of hands were needed given the scale of the work and to speed up work given the owners were still living in the property.

We next used an acid wash Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up, this is to counter any efflorescence salts that can be generated with floors like this that have no damp proof course. After application it was rinsed off and extracted with the wet vacuum.

After this the pointing was then redone using a modern flexible product.

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Floor

The floor was then left to dry out for a few days before returning to seal the floor using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that contains a colour enhancer to bring out the natural colours in the stone. This product is also breathable which is an important consideration for old floors like this.

Flagstone Floor After Renovation Saddleworth

The project went well, and the floor was completely transformed. My clients were very happy with the work and left the following feedback for us.

“Kevin and Russell did a great job on our flagstone floor. They regularly checked in with us throughout the process and worked around us being in the house most of the time with no problems! Highly recommend.”

For aftercare cleaning I recommend they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild yet effective tile cleaner that won’t harm the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Flagstone Tiled Floor in Greater Manchester

1850’s Flaking Flagstone Flooring Renovated in Saddleworth Read More »

Flagstone Tiled Floor Before After Resurfacing Oldham

Resurfacing Dirty Flagstone Flooring in an Oldham Kitchen

1 Comment / Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Oldham Tile Cleaning, Work History / Kevin Parry

A customer from Oldham contacted us looking for a solution to their very dirty flagstone kitchen floor. They hadn’t lived in the property long and it seems the previous owner had neglected it completely. They had contacted several different stone restoration companies and had received varying advice and quotes that ranged from £500 to £3000. Some companies had said it was a lost cause and others recommended sandblasting. They hired one firm to do the work and were disappointed with the result, as I would have been given the photographs on this page. They had nearly given up but after finding us on-line decided to have one last attempt at having it renovated.

Flagstone Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Oldham

I went over to inspect the flagstones and recommended a process we call milling which has proved to be very effective in resurfacing stone floors in the past. It uses very coarse diamond encrusted floor pads which grind away the top layer of stone and unlike sand blasting doesn’t make a huge mess. I ran a small test whilst I was at the property and it was immediately obvious this solution would be effective. Another advantage of milling the floor in this way was that the stone would end up being smooth to the touch and not rough as before.

It was a large job so I asked my neighbouring Tile Doctor Russell Taylor from North Lancaster Tile Doctor to work with me on the floor for the first day, this would ensure my customer wouldn’t be overly inconvenienced and without the use of their kitchen for a long time.

Resurfacing a Flagstone Kitchen Floor in Oldham

On the first day the kitchen was prepped which included removing the kickboards underneath the units for better access. Once this was done the milling process began using a 50-grit DRB milling pad followed by 100-grit DRB and 200-grit DRB pads. The pads are fitted to a weighted floor buffer and run over the floor using water to lubricate the process. After each pad the floor is rinsed with water and the slurry removed with a wet vacuum.

Flagstone Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Oldham

After the first day it was clear the floor was rapidly improving, the customer emailed me that evening thanking me for the improvement, and we weren’t even finished yet.

“Ahh fabulous. Honestly, we can’t thank you enough for the work you’ve done. We are completely over the moon with it – thank you so much 🙂 “

I returned the following day to further improve and smooth the flagstone surface with softer pads of 200 and 400-grit. Again, the floor was rinsed with water and then the soil extracted with a wet vacuum.

On day three an area of damaged grout was cut out using an angle grinder and then repointed with a matching flexible grout. Using a light grey grout complemented the renovation of the floor.

Flagstone Kitchen Floor During Grout Removal Oldham

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

For the sealer to cure effectively the stone floor needs to be bone dry so before sealing we always take several moisture readings with a damp meter before applying a sealer. In most cases we can seal the next day however when dealing with old floors that don’t have a damp-proof membrane under the floor you can never be sure.

Unfortunately, there was too much moisture in some of the floor when I returned the following day, so I left it for another day. Fortunately, by day five the moisture readings had settled and so I proceeded to seal the whole floor with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is a penetrating sealer that works by occupying the pores in the stone so dirt cannot become ingrained there. Ultra-Seal doesn’t change the look of the stone leaving it with a very natural appearance.

Flagstone Kitchen Floor After Sealing Oldham

The pictures speak for themselves and the customer who finally has the floor they wanted was over the moon with the result!

Professional Restoration of a Flagstone Tiled Kitchen in Greater Manchester

Resurfacing Dirty Flagstone Flooring in an Oldham Kitchen Read More »

Old Flagstone Kitchen Floor Before After Restoration Broadbottom

Flagstone Kitchen Floor Resurfaced in Broadbottom

1 Comment / Ashton-under-Lyne Tile Cleaning, Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Work History / TileProf

The new owners of this lovely terraced house in the village of Broadbottom that was built circa 1900, inherited with it a lovely old flagstone floor in the Kitchen which was now in a rather bad state with ingrained dirt and stains.

Old Flagstone Floor Before Cleaning Broadbottom

I suspected that the White staining was due to alkaline salts, a problem more commonly known as efflorescence. However, I took a moisture reading of the floor with a damp meter and the readings were normal, so it may have been a historic damp problem that cause it. We are always wary of efflorescence issues when it comes to older properties as damp proof membranes which resolve this problem are a relatively modern invention.

After explaining the process, I worked out a quote which was accepted and booked a date in the diary for the work to commence, which would take place over two days.

Cleaning and Grouting a Flagstone Kitchen Floor

First the floor was in a terrible state and needed to be resurfaced if it was going to live up to its potential. To do this I used a 100 followed by a 200-grit coarse Diamond milling pads to grind off the top layer of ground in dirt, resurface the stone and reveal the beautiful stone beneath. These abrasive pads are run over the floor with a weighted floor buffer running on a nice slow speed and lubricated with water. The floor is rinsed with more water after each pad and then the soil extracted using a wet vacuum.

As the floor had quite a few areas where the grout had cracked and crumbled, I decided to rake this out and replaced it with a flexible grout using a colour sympathetic to the original. This and the milling made an immediate improvement to the overall appearance of the floor. The floor was then left to dry off overnight and I came back the next day to apply a sealer.

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

The next day I checked the floors moisture level before sealing, all was well, so I applied a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is an impregnating sealer that has a matt finish. Tile Doctor Colour Grow is also fully breathable so should cope well with any damp issues and allow moisture to rise through the stone and evaporate. This is important as otherwise moisture could become trapped under the floor where it could eventually cause problems in the walls.

Old Flagstone Floor After Sealing Broadbottom

The customers were delighted with the outcome, the colour of the stone had really improved also Milling the surface of the floor makes it smoother so it would now be much easier for them to keep clean in future.

For aftercare I left them with a bottle of concentrated Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which once diluted is a pH neutral product that will not erode the newly applied sealer. Many household cleaners are too strong for sealed floor and will prematurely erode the sealer over time.

Professional Restoration of a Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor in Greater Manchester

Flagstone Kitchen Floor Resurfaced in Broadbottom Read More »

=================================

Ashton-under-Lyne Tile Cleaning, Atherton Tile Cleaning, Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Denton Tile Cleaning, Eccles Tile Cleaning, Encaustic Cement Tile Cleaning, Fireplace Cleaning, Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Leigh Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Manchester City Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Middleton Tile Cleaning, Oldham Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Romiley Tile Cleaning, Sale Tile Cleaning, Salford Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Stockport Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Urmston Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Vinyl Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Kevin Parry

Greater Manchester Tile Doctor

================================= Read More »