Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing Archives

Tired Limestone Patio Restoration Wargrave Reading

Tired Limestone Patio Renovated in Wargrave in Reading

Earlier this summer I received an enquiry from a homeowner in Wargrave near Twyford regarding their Limestone patio which was “looking tired”. The patio had been laid around five years prior and during that time the UK weather had degraded its appearance significantly resulting in ingrained dirt and algae.

Limestone Patio Before Cleaning Wargrave Reading

The client tried pressure washing themselves over the years however the stone needed more work to return its former glory. The client was on the High Street in Wargrave which is notoriously difficult to park especially if you have a large van like myself.

Limestone Patio Before Cleaning Wargrave Reading

A quote was provided, materials were ordered, and a date was booked in. The client had seen a recent work history of mine where I had restored a marble table, having one herself in similar condition she asked if anything could be done. Confident we could dramatically improve it that was also booked in to be restored on the same day. If you have been though my website you will see I have restored several stone tables in the past and I’ll detail the restoration of this one as well in a future article.

Deep Cleaning a Tired Limestone Patio

Usually, I use a van mounted high pressure cleaning system to help clean exterior stone, however due to the parking issue this wasn’t going to be an option. The alternative was to initially clean the stone using a combination of cleaning products and abrasive burnishing pads, similar to how I would tackle internal Limestone.

The outside elements had certainly taken its toll on this patio, fortunately Tile Doctor have a wide variety of products that help us resolve numerous issues with stone. In this case I decided to start with Tile Doctor Patio and Driveway Cleaner. This is a very strong product that I normally wouldn’t recommend for use on Limestone however its very effective at removing algae, lichens and black spot which was exactly what this patio needed.

I applied the patio cleaner diluted 50/50 with water to a small area, allowing dwell time before scrubbing with a mechanical scrubbing machine. The dirty slurry was rinsed down and vacuumed away. Once I was happy the contamination was eliminated, I ran a series of burnishing pads across the stone, starting with a coarse 400 grit burnishing pad, followed by 800, and finely a fine 1500 grit pad which gradually closed the pores, and restored the appearance of the stone. This is a messy process which generates a lot of slurry which is removed after each pad with the wet vacuum.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Patio

I offered the option to seal the stone, however on this occasion the client said she would rather me come back every one or two years to repeat the process. The drainage wasn’t particularly good on this patio installation and water tends to pool on the stone for long periods of time, so they were concerned the seal wouldn’t last over the upcoming autumn and winter.

Limestone Patio After Renovation Wargrave Reading

Should they have wished to go ahead and seal the stone I would have used either Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal for a natural look or Tile Doctor Colour Grow to enhance the colours of the stone.

Limestone Patio After Renovation Wargrave Reading

Completed in a day the patio now looks like it was only just installed and the owners are looking forward to showing it off to their guests of the rest of the summer.

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Tiled Patio in Berkshire

Tired Limestone Patio Renovated in Wargrave in Reading Read More »

Jerusalem limestone Floor Polishing Mortimer Common Reading

Pitted Jerusalem Limestone Floor Renovated in Mortimer Common

I was called out to a property in Mortimer Common, which is a few miles West of Reading to survey a Jerusalem Limestone floor that had been installed quite some time ago when an extension was added to the property.

Jerusalem Limestone Before Cleaning Polishing Mortimer Common Reading

Over time their once beautiful Jerusalem limestone floor had become dirty, dull and in areas chemically damaged. In an attempt to freshen up the stone floor the customer brought some sealer from a local trade store and applied it to the floor, however the product she purchased was actually a topical sealer (Polish) which left the floor looking worse, in her words made the natural stone looking “artificial”. On very rare occasions topical sealers can be used on honed/polished floors but can easily go wrong that’s why we recommended using impregnated sealers when working on this type of material.

Limestone is also acid sensitive so best to avoid the use of strong acidic cleaning products such as bleach which will etch into the stone with use and in some cases open naturally forming cavities in the stone itself, a problem we often refer to as pitting.

Cleaning a Jerusalem Limestone Tiled Floor

My first task was to remove the topical seal that was recently applied and deep clean the dirt filled pits and grout. To do this I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go left it to soak in for ten minutes and then agitating using a combination of a stiff nylon brush and a Black stripping pad fitted to a rotary machine. I made sure to go over any pits in the stone multiple times to release the trapped dirt. The resultant slurry was vacuumed up as I went along and the floor given a rinse with water afterwards.

Once clean I addresses the small pits in some of the tiles by backfilling them with a rapid setting filling compound that I colour matched with various shades of brown and cream.

Jerusalem limestone Before Filling Mortimer Common Reading

Jerusalem limestone After Filling Polishing Mortimer Common Reading

With the old sealer removed and the holes/pits taken care of I continued with the restoration of the floor by moving onto the burnishing process which cleans and polishes the stone. This involves honing the Limestone with a set of burnishing pads starting with a course 400-grit and finishing with a fine 3000-grit. The pads are applied to the floor with a heavy floor buffing machine using water to lubricate the process. The pad is run over each tile around five times and the chalky slurry this process generates is rinsed off afterwards with water and then extracted with a wet vacuum. You then move onto the 800-grit and then 1500-grit slowly building back the appearance of the stone.

Once each of the three pads had been run over the floor it was given a final rinse and then dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum before leaving it to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Jerusalem Limestone Tiled Floor

We returned to the property the following day, by which time the floor had dried completely. I finished the burnishing process with the fine 3000-grit burnishing pad which is brings up the polish even further and is only applied using a little water sprayed onto the tiles.

Jerusalem Limestone After Cleaning Polishing Mortimer Common Reading

Once done I moved onto applying the sealer which for this floor, I chose Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone to provide durable protection whilst enhancing the natural colours in the stone. The customer was over the moon with the results and was stated the floor looked better than when it was installed all those years ago.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for maintaining the patina on polished stone floors.

Professional Restoration of a Jerusalem Limestone Tiled Floor in Berkshire

Pitted Jerusalem Limestone Floor Renovated in Mortimer Common Read More »

Limestone Kitchen Worktop Polishing Aldermaston

Removing a Large Scratch from Limestone Worktop in Aldermaston

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Reading Tile Cleaning / Dennis Buckland

Earlier this year I received a rather panicky call from a previous customer from Aldermaston for who I completed a floor tile refurbishment back in 2021. It seems that after hosting a New Year’s party with her family and friends she discovered a large scratch on her beautiful Limestone kitchen island worktop.

Limestone Worktop Before Scratch Removal Aldermaston

It was clear something heavy had been dragged across the worktop, and to make matters worse the unknown renegade had covered the affected area with a chopping board and tea towels. Fortunately, the methods and products we use to renovate stone floors can be used to restore stone worktops as well.

After surveying the damage, I could see other stains and marks from general use and so I recommend polishing the whole island worktop to ensure a uniform finish throughout. She was quite relieved to hear that it could be restored as the scratch was very noticeable. Happy with my suggestion and quote we agreed a date for my return.

Repairing a Limestone Scratched Worktop

I decided the best way to tackle the refurbishment would be to use a combination of hand resin blocks and diamond burnishing pads. The soft burnishing pads are particularly messy when working on islands, so my first task was to ensure the surrounding kitchen units and walls were protected with plastic sheeting.

Limestone Worktop During Renovation Aldermaston

To remove the large scratch, I opted to use a set of hand burnishing blocks starting with 60 grit and working up to 400 grit. The challenge was to be careful not to work too hard to avoid any dipping within the island. I could have used a set of 3-inch milling pads fitted to a hand machine but I find the hand block a lot more controlled even if it is a slower process.

Then the limestone was burnished with a set of six-inch burnishing pads fitted to a hand buffer. The pads come in different grades and are applied in sequence to the surface starting with coarse 400 grit and finishing with 1500 grit to leave a honed but not too shiny finish. Water is applied to help lubricate the burnishing process and I rinsed off residues with towels after each sequence. This was a slow process, but the end results were just what the customer was looking for.

Sealing a Limestone Island Worktop

I returned the next day to apply a sealer and although we were happy with the results, we noticed the island was slightly lighter shade than the surrounding kitchens worktops. So, after a brief discussion with the customer, we decided a colour enhancing impregnating sealer would be the best option when sealing.

Tile Doctor has a range of sealers including an impregnating Colour Enhancer called Colour Grow so that was chosen to seal the Limestone. Three coats of colour grow later and the island was finally restored back to what the client remembered.

Limestone Worktop After Renovation Aldermaston

For the aftercare of stone worktops, we recommend the use of Stone Patina Spray which is a spray-and-buff cleaner that is designed to enhance the natural beauty and lustre of polished stone as it cleans.

Professional Restoration of a Scratched Limestone Kitchen Worktop in Berkshire

Removing a Large Scratch from Limestone Worktop in Aldermaston Read More »

Limestone Bathroom Tiles Deep Cleaned Sealed Windsor Berkshire

Mouldy Antalya Limestone Wall Tiles in Windsor Bathroom

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Slough Tile Cleaning / Dennis Buckland

I recently had a call out to an apartment in the town of Windsor on the river Thames, just west of London. The enquiry was to see if I could do anything with Antalya Limestone bathroom tiles that were ingrained with mould.

Mouldy Stained Antalya Limestone Bathroom Wall Tiles Before Cleaning Windsor

Antalya Limestone is a Beige/Cream stone that is quarried in Turkey, its notorious for being a soft stone that is hard to maintain and probably not the best choice for a bathroom. Reluctant to replace the bathroom tiling the landlord was looking for another option as he knew something had to be done before putting it back on the market to find a new tenant.

The homeowner had rented the property out for several years and unfortunately the most recent tenant hadn’t looked after the property particularly well. One of the problems was that the tenant had forgotten to inform the landlord that both bathroom extraction fans hadn’t been working for some time.

The apartment was located in the basement of the apartment complex, the bathrooms had no windows so without an extraction fan to remove moisture bacterial growth thrived. Having surveyed the bathroom tile I provide a quote to completely refresh the bathroom tiling which included deep cleaning and the removal of the ingrained mould.

Cleaning Antalya Limestone Bathroom Tiles

Tile Doctor has a range of products that can be used to clean and remove ingrained soils, old sealers, grout haze and other unwanted contaminations. For bathroom tiles I use Tile Doctor Duo Clean which is designed to remove mould from tile and grout. Before starting work though I carefully removed the glass shower screens and other fittings.

To ensure the product could penetrate deep into the tiles I first had to open the pores of the stone, I did this using a soft 200 grit milling pad fitted to a handheld buffing machine. After saturating the affected areas in Tile Doctor Duo Clean and allowing it to dwell for well over an hour, we could see it starting to work. Though effective it was clear this was going to take some time to completely remove the mould, so I saturated the stone again with Tile Doctor Duo Clean and left it to work overnight. Thankfully the property was empty.

Returning the next morning the results were incredible, about 80% of the mould had been removed but I knew if we repeated the process, we could achieve an even better result. I continued with the same method as before and left it to work overnight again. Happy with results I could continue with the next stage which was closing the pours of the stone by using a set of finer burnishing pads.

The pads I use have a 6-inch diameter and fit a handheld buffer machine, they are applied to the Limestone tiles in sequence and applied with water for lubrication. The sequence runs from coarse 400 to very fine 3000 and you rinse with water to remove the soiling in between each pad.

Sealing an Antalya Limestone Tiled Bathroom Wall

The stone was then left to dry out before returning to seal. The sealant chosen was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which as its name suggests enhances the natural colours in the stone allowing its beauty to stand out. Two generous coats of sealer were applied allowing an hour between coats.

Mouldy Stained Antalya Limestone Bathroom Wall Tiles After Cleaning Windsor

With the tile and grout renovated all that was left to do was to re-fit the shower controls and shower glass after giving both a clean. The client was over the moon with the result, and his concerns over having to invest in a new shower room before letting the property out were gone.

Professional Refresh of a Limestone Tiled Shower in Berkshire

Mouldy Antalya Limestone Wall Tiles in Windsor Bathroom Read More »

Limestone Shower Tiles Etched by Vikal Before After Renovation Farley Hill

Viakal Etched Limestone Shower Tiles Restored in Farley Hill

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Reading Tile Cleaning / Dennis Buckland

This enquiry about a Limestone tiled shower came from a customer in Farley Hill which is a village near Reading. Unfortunately, in an attempt to freshen up their Limestone shower tiles ready for family visit they ended up etching them with a Limescale remover called “Viakal” leaving it in quite a sorry state.

Limestone Shower Tiles Etched by Viakal Before Renovation Farley Hill

Limestone being calcium based reacted with the acid in the product resulting in the surface becoming etched and ruining its appearance. Viakal can be brought from just about every household cleaning aisle however it is acidic and should never be used on natural stone; in fact, if you read the label, you will find they do mention this.

Naturally the owner was horrified but fortunately this problem happens a lot and lot and Tile Doctor have worked out a solution, so after finding us on the Internet we were asked to pop round and work our magic.

Acid Etched Limestone Renovation

To remove acid etching the solution is to burnish the stone and repolish using a set of six-inch diamond pads of different grits from coarse to smooth. However, given the extent of the damage was quite small I decided to start using a set of smaller abrasive diamond hand blocks instead.

The process started by applying a 50-grit hand block to cut back the stone and remove the etching, water is used along the way to help lubricate and remove the soiling. This was then followed by applying a 100, 200 and finally 400-grit block.

Once the etching was removed, I moved onto the application of a set of burnishing pads to re close the pores in the stone and restore its final appearance and colour. The pads are applied to the Limestone tiles in sequence using a handheld buffer with water for lubrication. As with the blocks the sequence runs from a coarse 400-grit to very fine 3000-grit rinsing off the watery slurry with more water as I went.

Sealing Limestone Tiles in a Wet Room

The limestone tiles were then left to dry out and then after an early lunch l returned to apply a protective sealer. The sealer opted for in this case was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which as its name suggests restores colour and beauty to stone. Two generous coats were applied allowing an hour between coats.

Limestone Shower Tiles Etched by Viakal After Renovation Farley Hill

Once done my customer was so relieved the etching and limescale had been removed and ecstatic with the transformation. It’s a beautiful shower that has had its beauty restored. My customer has vowed never uses Viakal anywhere near her shower again and instead would use a natural cleaner like Tile Doctor stone soap.

Professional Limestone Tiled Shower Tile Renovation in Berkshire

Viakal Etched Limestone Shower Tiles Restored in Farley Hill Read More »

Jerusalem Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Before After Renovation Twyford

Pitted Jerusalem Limestone Floor Renovated in Twyford

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Twyford Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

The owner of this recently purchased property in the Berkshire village of Twyford had inherited a Jerusalem limestone floor that had been installed throughout the ground floor including the Kitchen. The previous owner hadn’t maintained the stone floor very well and as a result it had become dull, patchy and the new owner was finding it impossible to keep clean. The floor was becoming a problem for them and they had been considering ripping it all up and getting it replaced. However due to the size of the floor and potential cost of replacing it they searched for other solutions and contacted Tile Doctor to see if it could be renovated.

Jerusalem Limestone Kitchen Floor Before Polishing in Twyford

I scheduled an appointment with the owners to survey the floor and it wasn’t long before I realised that we could achieve a great result by polishing the Limestone using a set of diamond burnishing pads. To prove how well I thought the floor would clean up I offered to complete a demo within the small utility room. This was arranged and completed a week later, as I expected once I had finished the demo the floor looked fantastic, more importantly the client was ecstatic with the results and couldn’t wait to book us in to complete the rest of the house.

Jerusalem Limestone Floor Before Polishing in Twyford

It was a large floor so I estimated the process would take 4-5 days to complete and would need to work in sections starting with the kitchen then progressing into the study and cloakroom, dining room and finishing off with the entrance hall. Thankfully I had an empty house to work in which helped as I could start sealing the area I worked on the prior day.

Cleaning a Jerusalem Limestone Tiled Floor

The limestone had become quite pitted in the high traffic area, these pits had filled up with soil and become unsightly. My first task was to deep clean the dirt filled pits and grout, to do this I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean and a stiff nylon brush making sure I could get into the pits releasing the dirt, then vacuuming up all the chemical slurry as I went along.

The next task was to fill these pits I used a two-part epoxy filler that matched the colour of the stone. Once the filler had dried, I worked through the hand burnishing blocks from 100 grit to 400 and I smoothed out the areas that had been filled.

Now the holes/pits had been filled I continued with the restoration of the floor by moving onto the burnishing process using diamond encrusted floor burnishing pads. This involves honing the Limestone with a set of burnishing pads starting at 400-grit. The pads are applied to the floor with a heavy floor buffing machine using water to lubricate the process. The pad is run over each tile around three times and the fine slurry this process generates is rinsed off afterwards with water and then extracted with a wet vacuum. You then move onto the 800-grit and then 1500-grit slowly building back the appearance of the stone.

Sealing a Jerusalem Limestone Tiled Floor

As I had worked in sections/rooms at a time I was able to allow a full day drying time before sealing. Happy with the depth of colour from the pad system I opted to seal the floor with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal. I had a range of sealers to choose from an in this case I felt Ultra-Seal would be most suited as it doesn’t change the natural appearance of the Limestone yet will provide years of protection and make it much easier to keep clean.

Jerusalem Limestone Floor After Polishing in Twyford

The owners were over the moon with how the limestone now looked and relieved that their problem floor had been restored. For aftercare cleaning I recommended Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for maintaining the patina on polished stone floors.

Jerusalem Limestone Kitchen Floor After Polishing in Twyford

Professional Restoration of a Jerusalem Limestone Tiled Floor in Berkshire

Pitted Jerusalem Limestone Floor Renovated in Twyford Read More »

Black Limestone Patio Before After Renovation Highclere

Black Limestone Patio Ruined with Brick Acid in Highclere Village

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Newbury Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

Black Limestone has become very popular in recent years, unfortunately however we find installers ruin its appearance with the use of unsuitable cleaning products. This was the case with this relatively new property in Highclere Village near Newbury in Berkshire.

Black Limestone had been installed throughout the exterior by a landscaping company, but the owner wasn’t satisfied with they had left the stone. It turns out they used brick acid to wash away the remaining residue that had been left from a messy installation. Limestone is acid sensitive, and this resulted in the stone being stripped of its natural oils that give it the rich black colour. The stone now looked very grey, bland and was extremely porous. It certainly wasn’t how the client expected the patio to look.

Black Limestone Paved Steps Before Renovation Highclere Village

I visited the house and conducted a test in a small inconspicuous area. Luckily the Limestone hadn’t been sealed which was fortunate as stripping back exterior stone sealers can be a very time-consuming process. After the demo was completed the client was very satisfied and a provisional date was booked in. The client was eager to have the Black Limestone patio looking lovely ready for the summer weather, but we would need a dry day to be able to complete the work.

Black Limestone Paving Before Renovation Highclere Village

Highclere is a village situated in the North Wessex Downs, an area of natural outstanding beauty. It is also home to Highclere Castle, which has been used in many films and TV series, including Downton Abbey.

Renovating Black Limestone Patio Tiles

The first job was to remove all the surface dirt that had built up on the surface of the stone since it had been laid. I did this using a cleaning and extraction system that’s run from my vehicle. It’s a high-pressure cleaner with long hoses that can clean and extract dirt keeping things as mess free as possible. Once the area was cleaned the stone was left to bake and dry out in the hot sun.

Later that afternoon I conducted several moisture tests with a damp meter. The readings were good so I was happy the stone was dry, and I could move onto the next stage of re-oiling the stone. I used Tile Doctor Stone Oil for this purpose, it’s a conditioning product that penetrates the stone and revives the colour. Two coats were applied throughout and any excess oil that hadn’t penetrated the stone was buffed off. The oil was then left to cure overnight.

Sealing a Black Limestone Patio

I returned the next day and was very pleased how the Limestone looked, the rich colour was now showing. The oil had cured, and the stone was ready to seal. Two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal were applied to seal the stone. Rated for external use Ultra-Seal works by occupying the pores in the stone thereby preventing dirt from become ingrained there. This product doesn’t change the appearance of the stone, resulting in a completely natural look.

Black Limestone Paving After Renovation Highclere Village

My client was over the moon with how her Black Limestone now looked and left the following feedback: “Dennis oiled and sealed our newly laid black limestone paving. He transformed it from grey and stained looking into a beautiful black even colour. He takes great pride in his work and I would recommend him highly.”

Black Limestone Paved Steps After Renovation Highclere Village

Professional Restoration of a Black Limestone Patio in Berkshire

Black Limestone Patio Ruined with Brick Acid in Highclere Village Read More »

Limestone Tiled Wet Room Before After Renovation Sonning Eye Reading

Stained Limestone Tiled Wet Room Renovated in Sonning Eye

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Reading Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

This enquiry came from a theatre buff at a house in Sonning Eye near Reading who regularly hosted cast members playing at the local Mill Theatre. Five years prior he had a Limestone tiled wet room installed and unfortunately the floor tiles were laid unevenly and the fall on the tiles didn’t allow the water to drain off efficiently. The water would therefore tend to pool in the centre and overtime heavy limescale built-up and mould had also started to appear.

Limestone Shower Before Renovation Sonning Eye

Cast members staying at his house although grateful of the hospitality had often mention the state of the unsightly shower and so we were asked to pop round and see what could be done to renovate it and restore its appearance.

Shower Tile and Grout Cleaning

The first task was to remove the mould that had ingrained the Limestone, to do this I used Tile Doctor Duo Clean and scrubbed it into the tile with assistance from a steamer. I repeated this action three times, after each time I could see a visible improvement in the affected area and once it had lightened to a very faint grey, I knew that the next cleaning process to burnish the stone would see it disappear completely so left it at that.

Limestone Shower During Renovation Sonning Eye

Limestone Shower During Steam Cleaning Sonning Eye

Next job was to remove the limescale build-up and re polish the Limestone tiles. I found the best way to do this was with a small hand-held machine, this allowed me to get into all the edges and groves that would have been impossible with a larger machine which would have struggled to cope with the uneven tiles.

Limestone Shower During Polishing Sonning Eye

I started with a 400-grit burnishing pad, but this struggled to cut into the years limescale build-up, so I switched this for 100-grit soft milling pad which did the trick. Once all the limescale had been removed it was time to rebuild the polish on the surface of the stone, so the process was repeated working through finer and finer burnishing pads 200, 400, 800,1500 and finally 3000-grit until the appearance of the Limestone was restored. This is quite a time-consuming process as the pad are quite small, additionally each pad is applied with water to provide lubrication which turns into a slurry that has to be rinsed off before applying the next pad. The result however is worth at as it really restores the polished appearance of the Limestone.
The last part of the cleaning process was to give the grout a quick clean I did this by scrubbing in Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines with a grout brush, again rinsing off the slurry afterwards. Pro-Clean is a strong alkaline tile and grout cleaner that’s safe to use on natural stone.

Sealing Limestone Tiles in a Wet Room

The final task was to seal the Limestone and replace the worn mastic/silicon sealant around the edges. Usually I would leave the stone to dry out overnight but as it was a small area, I was able to thoroughly dry it out using a heat gun. Once dry two good coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal were applied to provide on-going protection. Ultra-Seal is an impregnating sealer that works by occupying the small pores in the stone thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained, also it doesn’t change the colour of the stone in any way leaving a very natural appearance.

Last step before finishing was to apply a fresh application of white mastic sealant along the edges of the tiling to ensure a good seal and no leaks.

Limestone Shower After Renovation Sonning Eye

My customer was over the moon with the result as initially he thought he might have to have it replaced. He was so pleased in fact that he left the following feedback on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“Excellent prompt and courteous service from Dennis who I cannot recommend too highly. After completion of the work a previously very tired looking wet-room looked better than it did when new.”

Limestone Shower After Renovation Sonning Eye

Professional Stone Tiled Wet Room Renovation in Berkshire

Stained Limestone Tiled Wet Room Renovated in Sonning Eye Read More »

Limestone tiled floor Damaged by Citric Acid Restored in a Wokingham

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Wokingham Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

The photographs on this page show the spot restoration of an acid damaged newly installed Limestone tiled floor at a medieval cottage in the historic town on Wokingham, Berkshire. It seems the customer accidentally spilled lime cordial on honed surface leaving dull stain spots on about six to eight tiles.

Acid Damaged Polished Limestone Floor Wokingham Before Restoration

After attempting to remove the damage themselves using a variation of different sealers the customer accepted defeat and contacted Tile Doctor to see if the issue could be resolved. If not, they were considering replacing the floor.

Acid Damaged Polished Limestone Floor Before Restoration Wokingham

Being the local Tile Doctor for the area I was asked to take a look and advise the customer. I explained that the dull spots had appeared because the surface tension of the limestone had been damaged from the citric acidic in the cordial. The affected tiles would essentially need to be re-polished; the customer was eager to see if I could resolve the issue and get all the tiles to be as uniform as possible.

Spot Polishing a Limestone tiled floor

My first task was to identify which tiles needed re-polishing with burnishing pads as once I got going it would be tricky to spot them; I did this by simply leaving post it notes on the affected areas.

To restore the appearance of the Limestone tiles I started with a 400 grit 3-inch pad fitted to a handheld flex machine. You can’t actually buy these 3 inch pads, they are found in the centre of the large 17 inch floor pads. The 400-grit pad is quite abrasive and needs to be applied with water to lubricate. I then followed the 4-stage burnishing process increasing the surface tension with each pad used this to leave the tile with a good sheen and most importantly a uniform appearance with the surrounding tiles.

Acid Damaged Polished Limestone Floor Wokingham During Restoration

The Burnishing pads are actually loaded with industrial diamonds and you apply them in sequence starting with the coarse 400 grit pad before moving onto the medium 800 grit pad, fine 1,500 grit pad and then finally the super fine 3,000 grit pad which really brings up the shine. You have to rinse with water between each pad to remove the slurry that is generated. The final 3,000 grit pad is applied with very little water and so the floor is dry when completed.

Spot Sealing a Limestone Tiled Floor

The last step was to carefully re-seal the tiles that had been burnished so they would blend in with the rest of the floor. I decided on Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal for this, it’s an impregnating sealer that doesn’t alter the colour of the stone leaving them with a natural look.

The process went well and was completed in around four hours, my customer was very happy with the result and left the following testimonial on the Tile Doctor feedback system

“We felt very comfortable with the recommended course of action and Mr Buckland inspired confidence so we were happy to let him get on with the remedy.”

Acid Damaged Polished Limestone Floor During Restoration Wokingham

Spot Treating Acid Damaged Limestone Floor Tiles in Berkshire

Limestone tiled floor Damaged by Citric Acid Restored in a Wokingham Read More »

Filthy Limestone Tiled Floor Restored in a Maidenhead Kitchen

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Maidenhead Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

Recently I visited a client in the town of Maidenhead, Berkshire who needed assistance restoring a very dirty pitted Limestone tiled floor which had suffered over the years due to poor maintenance choices. The pressures of a busy family life had, understandably, prevented my client from undertaking regular cleaning and the products and methods used for cleaning were by and large unsuitable for this type of natural stone. In addition, the pits in the tiles had been filled with grout; however, they were not flush to the tile and therefore a large amount of soil had collected in the pockets. The result was a Limestone tiled floor in considerably poor condition that was increasingly difficult to keep clean.

Limestone Floor Before Cleaning Maidenhead

My client had tried and tried to get the floor clean, using methods such as scrubbing with toothbrushes, steam cleaners, and mopping – but they weren’t getting anywhere! I explained to my client that steaming is, in fact, one of the worst cleaning systems to use on natural stone floors. Steam not only damages sealers, it also thins out greasy soils. Some of these soils are absorbed onto the domestic microfiber pads, however a lot of the soil becomes thinner allowing it to penetrate deeper into the pours of the stone and grout. This in itself starts the vicious circle to rapidly soiled and dirty tiles and grout. This happens because the grease soils magnetise dirt!

Solution: cleaning a Limestone tiled floor

My first task in the cleaning process was to mix a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a high alkaline cleaner. This solution was applied liberally across the entire Limestone tiled floor and grout. It was allowed to dwell for 30-40 minutes, giving it time to seep into the stone to get underneath and lift the ingrained dirt to the surface. During this time, I scrubbed the grout lines using a specialist stiff grout brush. The Limestone tiles were then scrubbed with heavy mechanical rotary agitation machine.

Limestone Floor During Cleaning Maidenhead

I then gave the floor a thorough rinse using the latest in cleaning and capture technology, which involves firing hot water at high pressure in a spinning motion across the floor, in effect blasting away the ingrained soils from the grout and pitting in the limestone. The high pressure is delivered from a system mounted inside my van which also contains waste tanks to capture the extracted soiled water.

Solution: sealing a Limestone tiled floor

After being allowed to dry thoroughly for 24 hours, I returned to seal the floor with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which would have brought out the deep colours in the stone, however after discussing the options with the client it became clear that they wanted to keep the floor looking as light as possible so Tile Doctor Ultra Seal was applied. Ultra Seal is a natural look impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone and protects it from within.

Limestone Floor After Cleaning Maidenhead

The floor now looks fantastic and the sealer should ensure it remains looking that way for some time to come and before leaving I made sure to provide my client with some professional maintenance advice.

Restoring the appearance of a pitted Limestone tiled Kitchen in Berkshire

Filthy Limestone Tiled Floor Restored in a Maidenhead Kitchen Read More »

Soiled Limestone kitchen floor deep cleaned and sealed in Crookham

1 Comment / Cookham Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Dennis Buckland

Recently, Berkshire tile doctor was asked to restore a pitted and heavily soiled limestone floor in the village of Crookham by a previous customer. I always like it when that happens as there’s no better testimonial that than being asked by a previous customer to do more work. This floor ran throughout the kitchen, utility and downstairs toilet and had a range of soils on the floor, especially in the kitchen. The floor had also lost its sheen and although the customer did not want a deep shine they did want the floor to have some reflection to it.

Limestone Kitchen Floor in Crookham before cleaning

Deep Cleaning the Limestone Tiled Floor

We used Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to get the floor clean again by applying a medium dilution which was spread liberally over the floor using a bucket and soft brush. The cleaning solution was allowed to dwell on the stone before being scrubbed into the tile and grout using a stiff brush and pad.

Limestone Kitchen Floor in Crookham during cleaning

A coarse diamond burnishing pad was then used to remove some surface soils and any remaining sealer from the surface of the limestone before giving the floor a rinse using our unique clean and capture system. This system combines, water, heat, pressure and powerful vacuum extraction and is highly effective at blasting away soils from the pits in the limestone. Once we were happy the floor was clean we set about restoring the finish to the stone with the medium, fine and very fine burnishing pads.

The floor was given another rinse and the limestone left for 48 hours so it could thoroughly dry out before sealing.

Sealing the Limestone Floor

To seal the stone we applied a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a durable sealer that impregnates the stone and enhances the deep natural colours in the stone.

Limestone Kitchen Floor in Crookham after cleaning

We believe it’s important to seal stone after deep cleaning and restoration as it helps prevent future soils and staining. There are many sealers available on the market for stealing stone, however, it’s important to recognise the importance of using a quality sealer and having used Tile Doctor products for some time now can confidently say they offer long term protection for your floor. We do however recommend an annual deep clean and touch up to ensure your floors stay looking as great as the day we leave and we offer a regular maintenance service to enable you achieve that.

Restoration of Solid Limestone Floor in Crookham

Soiled Limestone kitchen floor deep cleaned and sealed in Crookham Read More »

Limestone Kitchen Floor refinished near Staines

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Windsor Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

This wonderful Limestone tiled floor was installed in the kitchen of a house near the town Staines where it had become dirty and tired, helped I might add by the customers dog who loved to swim in rivers and get muddy at every opportunity. The customer was struggling to clean the floor, the grout lines wouldn’t come clean and after spending hours scrubbing with a tooth brush and getting nowhere she called Tile Doctor.

Deep Cleaning the Limestone Tiled Floor

The floor was clearly in need of a deep clean and re-seal a very mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean applied liberally across the floor and allowed to dwell and penetrate through the soils engrained into the grout. The grout lines were scrubbed with a specialist grout brush to release the soil and a rotary machine with a nylon deck scrubbing brush was used to release the soils from the Limestone tiles.

Limestone Kitchen Floor Stains Before Cleaning

After approximately half an hour of scrubbing, the Limestone floor was extraction cleaned using our truck mounted clean and capture system. This system combines heat, pressure, and vacuum extraction to gently blast engrained soils away from the limestone and the grout lines.

Limestone Kitchen Floor Stains During Cleaning

Limestone Kitchen Floor Stains High Pressure Machine

To get the Limestone really clean a two pad diamond burnishing process was used; normally we use four pads however the customer did not want the stone to be too shiny and reflection was already starting to happen after the second pad had been applied. Using diamonds to refinish calcium stone such as marble, travertine and limestone is the modern chemical free solution to restoring the surface of sedimentary stones.

Sealing the Limestone Floor

After deep clean and refinishing the surface of the limestone, it was allowed to dry for a period of 36 hours, after this a liberal coat of Colour Grow which is a solvent based impregnator was applied to the stone. The sealer was allowed to sit on the surface of the stone for approximately 5 minutes before the excess was buffed away. Buffing the excess away is important to ensure a great, smear free finish.

Limestone Kitchen Floor Stains During Sealing

Limestone Kitchen Floor Stains After Sealing

Before leaving we recommended a system to care for the floor to ensure is continues to look as good as the day we left. Also we recently contact the client to check everything was ok and I’m proud to confirm they are still really pleased with the floor and after professional cleaning and sealing is now finding the floor is much easier to clean and maintain herself.

Deep Cleaning Limestone Floor Near Stains

Limestone Kitchen Floor refinished near Staines Read More »

Limestone Sign Wall Cleaning at Reading Business Park

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Reading Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

This was an unusual request to clean a large Limestone wall used to mount a sign at a Reading Business Park that had been installed approximately 8 to 10 years prior and never cleaned. The old sign had been removed from the stone which had exposed the unprotected areas of stone leaving a shadow. Pollutants, carbon soils, road dirt and weathering had discoloured the Limestone and the client was unable to get it satisfactorily clean. You can see from the photo below how obviously dirty the stone had become.

Deep Cleaning a Limestone Wall

To get the Limestone cleaned I applied a liberal 50:50 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean with a roller brush and allowed it to dwell for on the stone for around twenty minutes.

The chemicals got to work on the dirt whilst I set up our truck mounted medium pressure hot water clean and capture system which uses a twin rotary jet system to fire hot water at 90 degrees at 1200psi onto the stone in a circular spinning motion. It’s a great tool that immediately vacuums the waste water away to a separate tank in the van. This mess free clean and capture system is self-contained and doesn’t require the disposal of hot water or dirty water on site either. Using the tool I was able to blast away the soils and pollutants from the stone and then left it to dry.

Sealing the Limestone Wall

When I returned I checked the stone was dry, fortunately it hadn’t rained and the sun and wind had dried it out well. To seal the Limestone I used Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that occupies the pores in the stone to prevent contaminates discolouring it, additionally it’s suitable for internal and external applications and has the added effect of enhancing the natural colour in the stone. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to take a final photograph once it was sealed due to a rather irritating traffic warden.

Cleaning and Sealing Limestone Sign Wall in Reading

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Stained Limestone Tiled Floor Stripped and Sealed in Slough

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Slough Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

This 50 m2 Limestone tiled floor at an old thatched cottage in Slough had unfortunately been stained following a radiator system leak which covered the tiles in dirty radiator water and sludge. The limestone tiles had been laid on a floor without a screed damp proofing membrane which resulted in the release of efflorescent mineral salts rising up through the stone from the soil beneath. This left a constant layer of reforming fine salt on the surface of the stone which looked like fine dust. The water had also damaged the surface of the stone leaving patches of dull etched stone next to clean polished areas.

Waterleak Stains on Limestone Tiles Slough Before Cleaning

Stripping the Limestone Tiled Floor

To encourage the stone to dry out thoroughly we left a number of dehumidifiers in the room for a week and increased the room temperature. Once the stone was dry, it stopped releasing effloresce salts and we were able to restore the surface polish by burnishing the floor.

Waterleak Stains on Limestone Tiles Slough During Cleaning

Burnishing involves stripping back the Limestone surface using a set of burnishing pads, these diamond encrusted pads come in a number of grades and each one does a different job. I started with the coarse pad together with water removed the slurry with a wet vacuum, rinsed the floor and then carried on with the medium, fine and super fine pads using the same processes until the surface was polished again. Finally when I had dried the floor I used a green buffing pad to buff the floor up.

Sealing the Limestone Floor

The next step was to seal the Limestone with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which will provide a durable protective sealer against future staining. The result was an even, polished limestone tiled floor with a durable sealing to protect against future soiling and staining.

Waterleak Stains on Limestone Tiles Slough After Cleaning

Water damaged Limestone floor restored in Berkshire

Stained Limestone Tiled Floor Stripped and Sealed in Slough Read More »

Cleaning Antalya Limestone Tiles in Reading

Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Reading Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

I don’t mind a few stairs but these Antalya Limestone tiles were installed in a flat at the top of a three storey residential block in Reading with no lift. The sealer had worn down over time which was making the floor hard to clean and always looking dirty.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Floor

To clean the floor we applied a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a heavy duty alkaline cleaning product specially designed for cleaning stone floors. This was left to dwell for a while and then agitated using a rotary machine fitted with a Black Scrubbing pad. The soiled solution was then removed using a wet vacuum and the floor was then rinsed down with fresh clean water.

Limestone Tiled Floor Polishing

We used a set of diamond encrusted Twister Burnishing Pads fitted to a rotary buffing machine to polish the Limestone floor. These pads are ideal for restoring the shine on hard stone surfaces such as Limestone and Marble, the come in a set of four and you start with the Red pad together with plain water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through one by one until you get to the final Green pad which provides a high polish.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

Once the floor was dry I sealed it using two coats of Tile Doctor Pro-Seal which is a penetrating sealer that provides a natural look and will help protect the floor going forward.

Restoring Antalya Limestone Tile in Berkshire

Cleaning Antalya Limestone Tiles in Reading Read More »

Moroccan Leather Limestone WC After Cleaning

Restoring Moroccan Leather Limestone Tiles in Salisbury

Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Newbury Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

We were asked to sort out these beautiful “Moroccan Leather” Limestone floor tiles in the kitchen and WC of a house in Salisbury which had had been badly installed by the contractor. If you look closely at the photographs you can see grout residue (also known as Grout Haze) had been left on the surface of the tile ruining its appearance.

Removing Grout Haze

The most effective way to remove grout from the tile surface is with an acidic product such as Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up, you have to be careful not to leave it on the surface too long and wash the floor down with water afterwards as acids can eat through natural stone.

Moroccan Leather Limestone Kitchen Before Cleaning

Moroccan Leather Limestone WC Before Cleaning

Cleaning and Sealing Limestone Tiles

Once the grout haze was removed we set about giving the tiles a good clean using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean washing it down again with clean water before giving it a polish using a Green polishing pad to get a high shine finish.

There are a numbers of sealers you can use on Limestone each one can give a different effect, in this case we used two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which really enhances the natural colours in the stone.

Moroccan Leather Limestone Kitchen After Cleaning

The floor was completely transformed and think you will agree now looks amazing

Grout Haze removed from Limestone Tiles restored in Salisbury

Restoring Moroccan Leather Limestone Tiles in Salisbury Read More »

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Berkshire Tile Doctor

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