Horsforth Archives - North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor

Colour Restored to a Newly Installed Black Limestone Patio in Horsforth

I was recently asked to work some Tile Doctor magic on a Black Limestone patio at a property in Horsforth, Leeds. The gentleman had just had the patio and steps paved with Black Limestone in time for the summer, however it had lost its rich dark colour due to the use of the wrong cleaning products and methods. The installer had literally bleached the colour out of the stone as well as etching it. The client had attempted to rectify this himself and made matters worse, so he called us in to see if we could put this right.

Faded Black Limestone Patio Before Renovation Horsforth Leeds

This is in fact a common problem with Black Limestone and Slate patios; builders typically use brick acid after laying a patio to remove excess grout or mortar, but this washes out the oils in the stone which give it that desirable Black colour. Also, many types of stone are sensitive to harsh chemicals such as acids and they can etch the stone.

Faded Black Limestone Patio Before Renovation Horsforth Leeds

I reassured my client that there was no need to worry and that I would be able to renovate the patio and restore the colour. We agreed a price, which he said he would pass onto the builder, and we arranged a time for the work to be carried out. We selected a couple of options, subject to the weather.

Cleaning and Restoring a Faded Black Limestone Tiled Patio Floor

Due to the etching the stone surface had experienced, my first job was to renovate the surface using a series of Tile Doctor Milling pads. These are fitted to a rotary buffer machine that has had extra weights added to increase traction. This was tricky on the steps but with a bit of persistence I endeavoured and successfully completed the first stage. The slurry generated by the pads was then rinsed off with water and this was then extracted with a wet vacuum.

Faded Black Limestone Patio During Renovation Horsforth Leeds

Sealing a Black Limestone Tiled Patio Floor

The patio was then left to dry, luckily, we had picked a good weather window, and the temperature was quite mild for this time of year. Once the moisture readings of the stone had dropped within the correct tolerance, I was able to start the second stage of the restoration which involved applying a sealer.

I chose Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal to seal this stone, applying two coats. This is an oil-based product that restores the beautiful Black colour to the limestone resulting in a nice finish. This product is also rated for external as well as internal use so ideal for this application.

My client was very happy with the result and relieved that we had managed to achieve the finish he had originally hoped for. They were delighted they could now use the new patio to its full potential throughout the summer.

Before leaving I recommended avoiding acidic cleaning products going forward and suggested they make use of our annual maintenance offering, we would then return every spring to get the patio ready for the summer.

Professional Restoration of a Black Limestone Tiled Patio in North Yorkshire

Riven Slate Tiled Floor Renovation Horsforth

Cleaning and Sealing Riven Slate Floor Tiles in Horsforth

1 Comment / Leeds Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History / Nigel Stoker

The pictures below are of a Riven Slate floor at a house in in the Leeds suburb of Horsforth which had been laid ten years prior. It’s probably difficult to appreciate from the images but the sealer on this floor was well worn through in the high traffic areas making it patchy in places. Without the protection of the sealer dirt was now ingrained in the pores of the stone leaving it looking dull. Riven slate is always tricky to clean thoroughly due to the rough surface and that combined with the ingrained dirt was making it very difficult to keep clean.

The floor now needed to be stripped of old sealer and then resealed and although I can provide a price for this over the phone my preference is to visit the property and survey the floor. In the case the owner had sent me some photographs via email however they were not too clear and so I felt it would be best if I paid the customer a visit to ensure I could give them an accurate price.

Slate Floor Before Cleaning Horsforth Leeds

The floor was indeed overdue a clean and seal, as suspected dirt was ingrained into the areas where the seal had worn off. The house was home to a very busy family, so the area was subject to the significant traffic. I carried out a test clean on a small area and they were surprised by the results, when you live with a floor for so long you don’t notice the very slow decline in its appearance. They agreed to my quote and we arranged a time to return and carry the deep clean out.

Cleaning a Riven Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

When I arrived, I started off by protecting the skirting and surrounding woodwork. Given the rough surface of the floor I first applied Tile Doctor Wax Away which is a very effective coatings remover that is designed for removing wax but works very well in these situations. The product was left to dwell for a round ten minutes so it could get to work breaking down the old sealer and then scrubbed in using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine.

This process removed most of the dirt and old sealer, but some stubborn patches remained. To treat these, I replaced the black pad with a coarse 200-grit burnishing pad and finally some handheld diamond burnishing blocks for the edges and corners where more intricate work was required, and the circular pads struggle to reach.

I gave the floor a rinse, and extracted the soil with a wet vacuum, the floor was then left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Riven Slate Tiled Floor

The next day I returned, first the slate floor was checked for moisture using the moisture meter. Once I was happy it was within the correct parameters, I then sealed with four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. This is a modern water-based blend of acrylic polymers that provides both a stain resistant surface seal and a durable low-sheen finish also being water based there’s no smell as it dries.

Slate Floor After Cleaning Horsforth Leeds

The sealer really brought the stone to back to life and the lovely colours in the natural stones were now evident. The patchy appearance of the floor was gone, and the customer was happy.

I discussed with them how they should maintain the floor and advised them to use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This is pH neutral cleaner that won’t prematurely erode the new sealer like the stronger products you find in Supermarkets which are only for use on Vinyl and Ceramic floors.

Professional Renovation of a Riven Slate Tiled Kitchen in North West Yorkshire

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