Flagstone Tile Cleaning Archives - South Lancashire 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 Kitchen Floor Resurfaced Blackburn Lancashire

200-Year-Old Flagstone Floor Resurfaces and Restored near Blackburn

This house in Blackburn used to be used as an Old Mill 200 years ago and given the poor condition of the flagstone floor I suspect it was the same age. You can see from the photos below the rough state the Flagstone was in and I could see even a deep clean and seal wouldn’t do them justice.

Flagstone Floor Before Restoration Blackburn

High pressure water cleaning on an old floor like this without a damp proof membrane in place would have caused damp issues especially in the winter months. The client has considered having the floor sand blasted but they had a young baby, and the dust would have got everywhere.

Clearly another option was required and fortunately we had the solution.

Resurfacing a 200-Year-Old Flagstone Kitchen Floor

Our plan was to resurface the stone by grinding away the top layer with very coarse pads to reveal an uncontaminated surface underneath. We call this process milling and it requires a special set of Diamond pads fitted to a weighted rotary machine using only water for lubrication. The water also captures the dust that is generated as the stone is resurfaced and makes cleaning much easier.

It is however hard work and starts with the application of a very coarse 50-grit DRB pad and then moving onto a 100 and 200-grit DRB pad slowly refining the stone’s appearance until you are left with a smooth fresh surface. The water turns into a slurry due to the dust and is vacuumed off the floor after the application of each pad. On this occasion I used applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go as the last pad was run over the floor to make sure the surface was free of any contaminates that may have soaked into the stone over the years.

Flagstone Floor During Restoration Blackburn

Following the milling process the old loose lime-based pointing was carefully knocked out and then replaced with a new breathable flexible pointing product which adheres well past standard grout and holds fast without cracking.

Sealing a 200-Year-Old Flagstone Kitchen Floor

The next day the floor was dry and ready to be sealed. For this we used two coats of a fully breathable sealer called Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which brings out the colour and transforms the stone, it adds a little bit of a sheen to the stone as well. X-Tra seal is a very modern oil-based sealer penetrates the pores of the stone and copes very well on floors that have no damp proof membrane, its even recommended for external applications.

Flagstone Floor After Restoration During Sealing Blackburn

You can see the results for yourself, the stone is a lot smoother to the touch and easier to clean and even if it was sandblasted it would still be a rough finish so milling the stone was the best option for an old flagstone floor like this one.

Flagstone Floor After Restoration Blackburn

Once finished the floor was transformed and our client was very happy with the work we had done.

One last point when caring for a sealed floor like this is it’s important not to clean the floor using strong bleach based cleaning products, even washing up liquid is too strong. It should be washed with a mild pH neutral cleaning product such as Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner only that way will the sealer last the duration.

Professional Restoration of a Flagstone Kitchen Floor in Lancashire

200-Year-Old Flagstone Floor Resurfaces and Restored near Blackburn Read More »

Old Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Refurbished in Haslingden Rossendale

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

This client had contacted us for help renovating their Flagstone hallway floor as nothing they did was helping to keep them clean. The problem with the tiles was due to the pores of the flagstone being ingrained with dirt and once this happens they are really difficult to clean effectively. This is why we always recommend stones floors are sealed after cleaning.

After a successful survey that included measuring background moisture levels and testing different products for stain removal I was able to work out the best process for cleaning the floor and a day to clean and seal the tiles was scheduled.

Flagstone Hallway Floor Before Cleaning Haslingden

Deep Cleaning Flagstone Hallway Tiles

I’d established during my earlier testing that I would need a very strong cleaning product to get the floor clean and deal with the stubborn staining that was present and with that in mind I applied Tile Doctor NanoTech HBU. HBU stands for Heavy Build-Up and is a problem solving tile cleaner and stain remover that adds nano-sized abrasive particles to the mix. This was left to dwell on the floor for a few hours and additionally was covered with a plastic sheet to prevent it from drying out. I then gave the floor a scrub using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor machine and a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean for good measure.

Once happy with the result the soiled cleaning solution was extracted using a wet vacuum and the floor given a thorough rinse with water to remove any trace of cleaning products. Again the wet vacuum was used to remove the fluids and extract as much moisture from the stone as possible. The floor was then left to dry out fully overnight assisted with a floor dryer to help accelerate the process.

Flagstone Hallway Floor After Cleaning Drying Out Haslingden

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

We came back the next day and tested the floor with a damp meter in a few different locations to make sure no dampness remained in the stone. The air mover had done its job and the Flagstones were dry so we proceeded to seal the floor with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which penetrates into the pores of the stone protecting it from within and enhancing the natural colours of the stone.

Flagstone Hallway Floor After Cleaning and Sealing Haslingden

It’s difficult to appreciate from the photographs but the customer was amazed at how much of a difference our process had made and at how much dirt we were able to remove. The flagstones were probably more then 100 years old and more aggressive machinery and cleaning products were the only things that would shift the old dirt. The fresh sealer will also ensure the floor is much easier to clean in future.

Old Flagstone Hallway Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Rossendale

Old Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Refurbished in Haslingden Rossendale Read More »

Old Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated at a Stacksteads Cottage near Backup

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

The pictures below were taken in the Kitchen of a charming cottage situated in the village of Stacksteads near the town of Backup, North of Manchester in the district of Rossendale. The flagstone floor was over 100 years old and the customer was unhappy with their appearance. They had tried to clean/mill and seal themselves a few years ago and had found the process hard work and very time consuming. This time round they decided to ask professional applicator at Tile Doctor for help.

Old Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Renovation in Stacksteads Backup

We had conducted a small patch test so we could show possible results to the customer. They had also advised us that they felt the stained areas of grout was beyond cleaning and would probably need replacing. However replacing the grout would have been quite an expensive option so instead of replacing we suggested deep cleaning the grout lines during the renovation process.

The customers were happy with the results of the patch test so the job was booked in.

Deep Cleaning Old Flagstone Flooring

On our return visit we set about deep cleaning the flagstones using a strong dilution Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in using a Black Scrubbing pad fitter to a rotary cleaning machine. This action certainly gave the floor a good clean and removed the old sealer but some stains were proving stubborn to shift so we tried a stronger product called Remove and Go combined 50/50 with NanoTech HBU which add nano-sized abrasive particles to the mix.

We left the resulting formula to soak into the stone for a while and then scrubbed it into the floor with a stiff brush paying particular attention to the grout lines. This did the trick and so we then removed the now soiled and dirty cleaning products with a wet vacuum and washed down the floor with clean water to remove any trace of product and neutralise the floor before sealing. We then left for the evening so the floor could dry out fully overnight.

Old Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor During Renovation in Stacksteads Backup

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

We came back the next day and tested the floor with a damp meter in a few different locations to make sure no dampness remained in the stone. The Flagstone was dry so we proceeded to seal the floor with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which penetrates into the pores of the stone protecting it from within and enhancing the natural colours of the stone.

Old Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor After Renovation in Stacksteads Backup

The beautiful colours of blue and dark sand were showing after sealing with Colour Grow which is the best sealer for stone floors. Certainly the customer was very happy with the results and left the following 5 star review!

We could not praise Kamila enough. Our flagstone floor was in desperate need of some TLC. She was punctual, thorough and completely professional. Throughout the whole process she invited me to see the progress and to keep me informed of what she was doing. She also gave us good advice on how to clean and care for our stone floor. The end result is fabulous and we are absolutely delighted. We would definitely recommend Kamila to anyone.
Jo H, Bacup

Old Flagstone Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Sealed in South Lancashire

Old Flagstone Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated at a Stacksteads Cottage near Backup Read More »

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South Lancashire Tile Doctor

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