Flagstone Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Flagstone pavers carried out in Oxfordshire

Cleaning and Renovating Flagstone Pavers

Flagstone pavers (typically Sandstone) are often used for Kitchen and Hallway flooring, however as with any natural stone it needs to be sealed to protect it and bring out its beauty and earthy colouring. One of the biggest problems we find with stone flooring is with the sealer becoming stripped away prematurely by the continuous use of cleaning agents not designed for this type of surface. Without its protective sealer porous stone quickly becomes ingrained with dirt making it increasingly difficult to clean effectively.

Our method for renovating Flagstones usually involves stripping the floor of the existing sealer, deep cleaning to extract the dirt and then applying a fresh sealer for which I recommend Tile Doctor Colour Grow as it enhances the natural colours in the stone. If the floor is particularly bad its best to resurface it with coarse milling pads which can remove a thin layer from the surface of the stone.

Below you will find detailed examples of work we have carried out in the past, it should give you some idea of what’s involved and what can be achieved with the right techniques and products.


Old-Slate-Flagstone-Floor-Restored-in-Banbury

Old Slate Flagstone Tiled Floor Brought Back to Life in Banbury

Every so often we come across exceptionally old tiles that are in desperate need of restoration. These Slate flagstones at a property in Banbury, Oxfordshire had to be a couple of hundred years old, the grout had come loose and I wagered that it’d been covered by bitumen (also known as asphalt), plaster, and concrete for a significant portion of its life.

The property owner was keen to try and restore them and had tried to clean them, only to realise that it was a bigger task than initially thought. Flagstones are known to be hard wearing and durable, but no floor can be easily restored when subject to this kind of treatment. However, at Tile Doctor we are experienced with cleaning tiles in this kind of condition – and I was more than happy to help this customer get these fantastic Slate flagstones back to looking their best.

Old Slate Flagstone floor before cleaning Banbury

Cleaning Old Slate Flagstones

Upon arrival at the property, the first thing I did was to cover the walls to protect them from splashes of cleaning products I would be using. I then started the process by mixing two products – Tile Doctor NanoTech HBU and Tile Doctor Remove & Go – in a bucket and spread it over the entire floor. These two products are both very powerful cleaners on their own and work even better together: NanoTech HBU utilises nano-sized particles to penetrate areas that normal cleaners simply can’t reach, while Remove & Go is specifically designed for the removal of coatings such as old sealers.

For added impact and so the blend of cleaning products would not dry out, I covered the floor with a plastic sheeting, leaving the solution to dwell and work to break down the bitumen, plaster and concrete overnight.

The following day, after removing the plastic sheeting I used my rotary floor machine fitted with a silicone carbon brush to slowly scrub the floor, beginning to loosen the soil. After this, I thoroughly rinsed the floor with water. I then used Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up, which is a concentrated phosphoric acid cleaner to remove the plaster and thin layers of concrete, before again rinsing the floor with water.
Next, I had to remove the particularly thick chunks of concrete carefully using a chisel, before scrubbing the floor with Grout Clean Up once more. To complete the cleaning process, I then mixed a solution of our strong alkaline cleaner, Tile Doctor Pro Clean, with water and scrubbed and rinsed the flagstones with water.

Sealing Old Slate Flagstones

The next day I returned to the property to grout the floor, before leaving it again for another day to fully cure. On the final day, I sealed the floor using Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which is a topical water-based blend of acrylic polymers that provides a stain resistant surface seal combined with a long-lasting low-sheen finish. This eliminates traditional two-step sealing methods. I applied eight coats of this to give the floor the strong sheen (seen in the below photo), that the customer requested.

Old Slate Flagstone floor after cleaning Banbury
The floor had been in awful condition, for decades or perhaps even hundreds of years, yet using the right methods and products I successfully completed the full restoration within a single week. The customer was absolutely over the moon with the result.

Old Slate Flagstone Floor Restoration in Oxfordshire

Old Slate Flagstone Tiled Floor Brought Back to Life in Banbury Read More »

Old Flagstone floor Bicester After Burnishing

300-year old Flagstone floor restored in Bicester

Here’s another interesting job I was privileged to work on in the town of Bicester, Oxfordshire. Bicester has a long, rich history – dating back to the Saxon age – but it is also one of the fastest growing in Oxfordshire. In fact, I had an opportunity to experience part of this history when I was called to a house to work on a old Flagstone floor which is believed to be 300-years old. The use of flagstones for both interior and exterior flooring is believed to have been popularised in Europe around the 13th century AD, and flagstone is still commonly used for these purposes today. As one of the few surviving of its kind, this Old-Flagstone-floor- has a preservation order on it – this means that it can’t be covered by wood or other tiles.

Old Flagstone floor Bicester Before Cleaning Old Flagstone floor Bicester Before Cleaning

Unfortunately, the rooms in this building were previously used as a sort of ‘dumping ground’ for builders working on the property, covering the floor with cement, plaster, sealant and glue, while also inflicting significant surface damage. As a result, it would take me three days to restore the Flagstone tiles back to their best possible condition.

Old Flagstone floor Bicester Before Cleaning

Day one: Cleaning Old Flagstones

My first task was removing the medley of muck and dirt left over from the building works from the Flagstone tiles. I did this using a weak solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and clean water (the concentration is adjusted according to the level of soil build-up). Pro Clean mixed with water is my go-to cleaning solution for most natural stone floors as it works well to lift out ingrained dirt and stains. I spread the solution evenly onto the floor and worked it into the stone using a scrubbing brush attached to a floor machine. I then rinsed off the excess cleaner, before sucking up the residue with a wet-vac machine.

The second stage of the cleaning process was to strip the floor of any old sealers. This was achieved, working in sections, using Tile Doctor Remove & Go, which can be used on unpolished natural stone floors, along with ceramic tiles, grout, and more. After leaving it to dwell for a short period, I scrubbed a layer of Remove & Go into the tiles using my floor machine and carbon brush. Following this, the floor was once again rinsed and any remaining moisture was removed with the wet-vac machine.

Old Flagstone floor Bicester Before Burnishing

Day two: Burnishing Old Flagstones

After completing the cleaning, I moved on to the burnishing process. To give unpolished surfaces a nice polished look, the best method is to use a series of four diamond encrusted burnishing pads. This is exactly what I did, first using a coarse pad, before gradually moving up through medium and fine, to eventually using a very fine pad to achieve the desired polished effect. This is done without causing any further damage to the surface of the Flagstone tiles.

Old Flagstone floor Bicester After Burnishing

Day three: Sealing Old Flagstones

On the final day, I completed the job by sealing the floor. I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, an impregnating sealer which works to provide durable surface protection from within. At the same time, Colour Grow is specially formulated to intensify the natural colours in a majority of different stones including Flagstone, Limestone, Marble, Quarry and Slate, bringing character and life back to otherwise dull surfaces.

Old Flagstone floor Bicester After Sealing
I’m pleased to say that the finished result exceeded my client’s expectations, especially considering the extent of surface damage and neglect the floor had suffered during construction work. It is highly rewarding to work on unique, historic floors like this and to contribute to its preservation for many more years to come.

Restoring Historic Flagstones in Oxfordshire

300-year old Flagstone floor restored in Bicester Read More »

Banbury Slate Flagstone Tiles After Cleaning

Cleaning Old Slate Flagstones Tiles in Banbury

These photographs from the hallway of a house in Banbury where old thick slate tiled floor had been laid and the customer was unable to get them clean or restore any colour back into the stone.

Banbury Slate Flagstone Tiles Before Cleaning

Cleaning Slate Flagstone Tiles

I prepped the skirting boards with masking tape to protect them and then cleaned the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell on the floor for a while before being worked into the flagstones by hand using a stiff bristle brush. Normally I use a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad for this but given it was a small area it made sense to get on my hands and knees and apply some elbow grease. This process soon saw the dirt coming out of the tile and the dirty solution was removed using a wet vacuum before rinsing the floor down with clean water. This allowed me to see the stubborn areas where more Pro-Clean and elbow grease were applied, again this was removed and the floor given a thorough rinse using a wet vacuum to remove the liquids and get the floor dry.

Sealing Slate Flagstone Tiles

The floor soon dried so it wasn’t long before I could seal it for which I used two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow Sealer which as its name suggest enhances the natural colours in the stone. Once this was dry I continued with a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds a nice low sheen to the stone as well as adding to the protection provided by the sealer. As you can see it brought all the dark slate colour back and the sealer should ensure the floor is easy to clean in future.

Banbury Slate Flagstone Tiles After Cleaning
 

Large Slate Flagstones Cleaned and Sealed in Banbury

Cleaning Old Slate Flagstones Tiles in Banbury Read More »

Indian Sandstone Pool Surround After Cleaning

Cleaning Indian Sandstone Tiles around an Indoor Swimming Pool

These Indian Sandstone floor tiles were installed around an indoor swimming pool at a magnificent residence in Oxford. As you can see from the photograph below the Sandstone was not looking its best and given its proximity to the pool care needed to be taken not to contaminate the pool with dirty water from the cleaning process or chemicals

Indian Sandstone Pool Surround Before Cleaning

Swimming Pool Tile Cleaning

We made a decision early on that we would not use any chemicals to clean or seal the tiles to ensure the water in the pool remained un-contaminated, we also setup a temporary barrier to stop any debris going in the pool and used a high pressure machine fitted with a flat surface head to prevent water flying everywhere.

Indian Sandstone Pool Surround After Cleaning
The process worked well and you can see the difference in the photographs above however the job did take taking longer than usual to complete but the main thing was the customer was happy with the result.

Sandstone Tiled Pool Surround Cleaned and Sealed in Oxford

Cleaning Indian Sandstone Tiles around an Indoor Swimming Pool Read More »

Sandstone Swimming Pool Tile After Cleaning

Bicester Indian Sandstone Swimming Pool Surround

The large outdoor pool was situated in the garden of a large house in Bicester, as you can see it was surrounded by large Indian Sandstone flagstones which had become soiled with dirt.

Indian Sandstone Swimming Pool Surround Before
Indian Sandstone Swimming Pool Surround Before

I was not allowed to use any chemicals as the client had dogs and so it was cleaned with Diesel powered high pressure washer.

Indian Sandstone Swimming Pool Surround after cleaning
Indian Sandstone Swimming Pool Surround after cleaning

Bicester Indian Sandstone Swimming Pool Surround Read More »

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