Hastings Archives - East Sussex Tile Doctor

Green Slate Tiled Flooring Renovated in Hastings

Cleaning and Sealing Green Slate tiles in Hastings

I worked on this beautiful Green Slate tiled floor just before Christmas but I’ve been so busy with other jobs I’ve only just go around to writing about it. The slate floor was installed in the hallway and kitchen of a property in the seaside town of Hastings and the owner was keen to have the work done before the holidays.

Green Slate Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Hastings

I had been to the property previously to survey the floor and quote for doing the work. It was clear that much of the sealer that had previously protected the slate from ingrained dirt had worn off and much of the floor had now lost is appearance. The solution would be to strip off what was left of the sealer, deep clean the stone to remove ingrained dirt and then apply a fresh sealer. The work should take two days to complete and fortunately for the client I was able to fit them in, December is after all one of our busiest periods.

Cleaning a Green Slate Tiled Floor in Hastings

After taping up the skirting boards to protect them during the cleaning process I sprayed the floor with Tile Doctor Remove and Go. Remove and Go is a cleaner and coatings remover that’s safe to use on Tile and Stone and is ideal for removing sealers. It’s important to remove all the old sealer from the floor as it may not be compatible with the new sealer and can result in an uneven appearance later.

Green Slate Tiled Floor During Cleaning Hastings

The Remove and Go was left to soak into the Slate for about ten minutes before being worked into the floor using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. I also like to use stiff hand brush along the grout lines and to get into those hard to reach areas. The soil generated was extracted using a van mounted high pressure cleaning system that simultaneously rinses the floor and vacuum’s the soil away to a recovery tank.

The Green Slate was installed in several different areas on the ground floor of the property, so it made sense to do the work one section at a time and then inspect all the floors at the end. Any stubborn stains were spot cleaned by hand using more Remove and Go until I was satisfied.

Sealing Green Slate Floor Tiles in Hastings

I left the floor to dry off overnight and came back the next day to seal it, unfortunately moisture readings indicated more drying time was required. I was working on another stone floor the following week, so I agreed with the owner to come back on Saturday and seal the floor then.

Green Slate Tiled Floor After Cleaning Hastings

The sealer I used was Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is highly recommended for Slate and will provide good stain protection whilst improving the appearance of the stone to give a low sheen finish. Slate is quite a porous stone, so it took five coats before it was fully sealed. I think you will agree the Green Slate floor looks transformed and I’m sure was appreciated by their guests over Christmas.

Green Slate Tiled Floor After Cleaning Sealing Hastings

Professional Renovation of a Green Slate Floor in Hastings, East Sussex

Cleaning and Sealing Green Slate tiles in Hastings Read More »

Limestone Tiles after cleaning in Hastings

Maintaining a Limestone Kitchen floor in Hastings

1 Comment / Hastings Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Mick Conlon

The photographs below are of a Limestone tiled floor installed in the kitchen and dining area of a house in the historic town off Hastings. The house was being put on the market for sale and with two dogs, a cat and four adults having left their marks on this floor it was looking rather grubby and the owner had decided to get the tiles deep cleaned before any viewings took place. I ran a test clean on a small patch of tile to demonstrate I could achieve a good result which came out well and so we agreed a date.

Limestone Tiles before cleaning in Hastings

Deep Cleaning Limestone Tiles

To get the Limestone clean and strip off any remaining sealer a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was poured onto the stone then left to soak in for around ten minutes. The solution was then worked into the tile using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary buffing machine. After a couple hours work and more Pro-Clean the floor looked much cleaner but very washed out which is to be expected as the remaining sealer was is no longer protecting the tile and left it to look exposed. Before leaving for the day I gave the floor a good rinse to remove any trace of cleaning product and then left the floor to dry out for three days. Usually 48hrs will suffice but Limestone is particularly porous so it does take time for the moisture to evaporate and the floor to fully dry out.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

On my return I check the floor was dry and then proceeded to sealed the Limestone with Tile Doctor Seal and Go. Six coats were applied to give it a deep shine and a long lasting seal. The new sealer gave the floor the glossy appearance that the customer desired. She was over the moon with the transformation and hopefully this helped her sell the property.

Kitchen Limestone Cleaning in Hastings

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Limestone Tiled floor cleaned and polished in Hastings

Hastings Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Rupert Mcloud

Photographs below of a job we did restoring the shine on a Limestone tiled floor at a house in the town of Hastings which is down on the south coast of England and well known as the location for that famous battle in 1066. The homeowner wanted an easy to maintain low sheen Limestone floor; we advised that Limestone is a soft sedimentary Stone and is not usually classed as a low maintenance surface however with the right treatment and equipment they should be able to maintain it which is a bit like buying a carpet without having a vacuum to keep it clean.

Cleaning and Polishing Limestone Tiles

To get the Limestone Tiled floor back to its original condition we used a set of diamond encrusted 17” Burnishing Pads fitted to a heavy rotary buffing machine. It’s important to give the floor a clean first to ensure there’s no dirt that could get picked up by the machine and cause deep scratches on the surface. You start off with the coarse red pad together with a little water which can remove sealers and then move onto the White pad which grinds off ingrained dirt again used with a little water. Next step is the Yellow Polishing pad which smooth’s the surface prior to the final Green pad which gives that high shine finish.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

The floor was washed down to remove any particles left over from the polishing and left to dry before we set about sealing using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. Colour Grow is recommended for a number of stone surfaces and does well to lift the natural colours in the stone as well as providing on-going surface protection.

I think you will agree the process has really transformed this tired looking Limestone tiled floor; for maintenance we left the customer with a Green polishing pads and recommended that he purchase a rotary machine to use with it, A3 machines do a low cost reconditioned polishing machine for about £100.

Limestone Tiled Floor Restored in East Sussex

Limestone Tiled floor cleaned and polished in Hastings Read More »