Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Limestone tiles carried out in North London

Cleaning and Renovating Limestone tiles

Limestone is a sedimentary stone, as such it’s generally very porous and acid sensitive and can be damaged through the use of even mildly acidic soaps, shampoos and body washes. Because of this we do not recommend it for use in wet rooms, shower cubicles or near swimming pools.

Like any stone Limestone needs to be sealed to prevent dirt becoming ingrained in its pores and many varieties including Blue Lias, Blue Moleanos, Jerusalem and White Moleanos to name a few can be polished to a high shine using a series of burnishing pads.

We have found that Black Limestone has become very popular in gardens where it contrasts well against green planting and looks fantastic when wet. One issue we find however is it easily upset by the use of acidic patio cleaners that leave the stone looking dull and lifeless. If this has affected you then not to worry we do have a way of restoring the beauty of the stone back to its original condition.

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.

Acid Etched Limestone Tiled Bath Panel Restoration The Angel

Limestone bathroom tiles in The Angel Islington

1 Comment / Islington Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing /

Here we have a luxury bathroom tiled in Limestone at an apartment in The Angel in Islington. I was contacted by the letting agent who discovered the damage when the tenant moved out, although they were unsure of the cause I immediately recognised it as acid damage from the use of acidic limescale removers. These products are simply too strong for use on limestone which is acid sensitive and results in etching as shown in the photos.

Limestone Tiled Bath Panel Before Renovation Angel N1

The agent had new tenant’s looking to move in, but they wanted to sort the acid damage out beforehand. The etching can be difficult to remove so to make sure a good result could be achieved I did a test clean on one tile of the bath panels. The result was great, so I gave a quote which was accepted.

Given the fast nature of the London rental market there was very limited time between the old tenants moving out and the new in. However, I was able to collect the keys from the agent allowing me to squeeze the job in around my other projects.

Removing Acid Etching from Limestone Tiling

To remove the etching I had to burnish and literally resurface the limestone tiles using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads. Naturally I can’t use large floor pads on wall tiling however Tile Doctor also do these pads in 6-inch which fit a handheld polishing machine.

Work started with the application of a coarse 400-grit pad using water for lubrication, the soiling is then wiped away and the process repeated with an 800 and 1500 grit pads using the same process. These pads remove the etching and build up the polish on the Limestone.

Limestone Tiled Bath Panel During Renovation Angel N1

Some of the staining was very deep and so to get a good result I had to use coarser 120 and 200 grit diamond blocks first. These are small hand-held blocks available in different grits that can get into awkward spaces. Once all of this was done, I rinsed the tiles down and dried them.

The last step in the burnishing process was to apply a final polish with an extra fine 3000-grit pad which adds a nice subtle polish to the stone.

Sealing Limestone Bathroom Tiling

To finish, the Limestone was sealed using Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is a modern oil-based impregnating sealer that enhances the colour of dark limestone and will make cleaning easier going forward.

Limestone Tiled Bath Panel After Renovation Angel N1

For aftercare cleaning I recommended supplying any future tenant with Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro which is a day-to-day spray cleaner which can be used in the shower to prevent the build-up of limescale.

 

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Tiled Bathroom in North London

Limestone bathroom tiles in The Angel Islington Read More »

Limestone Floor Before After Renovation Highgate

Grubby Honed Limestone Floor restored in Highgate

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Haringey Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History /

This client from Highgate in North London, N6 contacted us about their large honed Limestone tiled floor that was installed throughout the ground floor. It had been laid seven years prior and was now grubby and in need of a deep clean and seal including the grout which had turned black with dirt.

I visited the property to survey and assess what was required and provided the owner with a quotation for the renovation. The hallway pictured was in the worst condition, it was a busy house with young children and dogs and over the years the sealer had worn down leaving it vulnerable to ingrained dirt. Without a sealer to protect the stone it had become heavily soiled and lost its original polished appearance.

Honed Limestone Floor Before Cleaning Highgate

Happy with the quote we scheduled a date for the work to go ahead. The quote included deep cleaning and burnishing the stone to bring back the polish, grout cleaning and re-sealing the Limestone to protect it.

Cleaning a Honed Limestone Tiled Floor

We arrived on the first day and prepared the area by taping up the skirting and woodwork to protect them from potential splashing. Next step was to burnish the floor using a set of Tile Doctor Diamond Burnishing Pads, specifically the 400, 800 and 1500 grit pads fitted to a rotary machine, these were used in sequence running each pad over the tiles several times with water to lubricate the process. The water turns into a fine slurry as pores in the stone are opened and the dirt is released, the slurry is rinsed off with more water and extracted using an industrial wet vacuum after each pad. The finer 800 and 1500-grit pads slowly close the pores and refine the appearance of the stone building up the polish in the process.

A strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was then applied to the grout lines, leaving it for a short while to soak in and then hand scrubbing with a grout brush. The dirty cleaning solution and were then removed from the floor with the wet vacuum.

This process was repeated across the different sections of the Limestone floor until I was satisfied with its appearance. Before leaving for the day, I rinsed the floor again using a buffing machine fitted with a brush fitted to give it a final clean. The floor was dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum and then allowed it to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Honed Limestone Tiled Ground Floor

The following day the final 3000-grit pad in the four-pad set was applied to the floor to bring up the polish even further. The pad is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the tile. We call this process a “Spray Burnish” and as well as leaving the floor nice and dry ready for sealing it adds a nice subtle shine to the stone.

The floor was then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer. This is a colour intensifying impregnating sealer that works by occupying the pores in the stone so dirt cannot become ingrained there. It will provide durable protection and make the floor much easier to keep clean. It worked well on the pale Limestone and beautifully enhanced the colour and features in stone. Once complete the floor looked brand new again.

Honed Limestone Floor After Renovation Highgate

I left a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap with the client and gave them some information about how best to maintain the floor. This product is pH neutral and cleans whilst maintaining the patina on the stone helping to keep the floor in great condition.

The client was delighted with the result and left us a great review.

“Andrew is excellent and gets on with the job and we got a fantastic result. Highly recommend. By Aaron S, Highgate, 15 March 2021”

 

Professional Restoration of a Honed Limestone Tiled Ground Floor in North London

Grubby Honed Limestone Floor restored in Highgate Read More »

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