Sealing Limestone Archives - Edinburgh Tile Doctor

Scratched Limestone Tiled Bathroom Refinished in New Town Edinburgh

I recently visited a property in the New Town area of Edinburgh recently to look at a Limestone bathroom floor that had been badly scratched when the client moved some furniture.

Limestone Floor Tile Deep Scratch Before Renovation Edinburgh

A sideboard unit had been dragged across the bathroom floor, and it had scratched almost the full length of the tiled floor. At first, they tried to use a company to repair it, but the scratch was still very visible. All they managed to do was fill and then paint over it. This looked poor and you could still see that the floor had a major scratch, drawing your eye to it immediately.

Limestone Floor Tile Deep Scratch Before Renovation Edinburgh

Luckily at Tile Doctor we regularly receive enquiries about damage like this on many different types of floor and wall tiles (marble, limestone, travertine and flagstones). With the correct equipment and trained specialists’ scratches like this one can be repaired to the point of it being invisible.

In this case I recommended milling the floor with very coarse diamond pads to remove the scratch and then polishing with finer pads to restore the finish and bring up the polish. It’s a lot of work but it will give the desired result. Happy with quote a date was set for the work to start.

Repairing a Limestone Tiled Bathroom Floor

To carry out the work I first prepped the room to protect the furniture and glass shower doors from being sprayed with residue from the milling that was about to start. Milling is a process of removing a fine layer of the limestone tiles using varying levels of coarse diamond milling pads with different levels of grit. It is an important part of the process and one that required a great deal of patience and skill to ensure the tiles are kept flat and no indents are left by working on the area in an uneven way. The milling pads generate residue which is rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum, it also allows you to see the scratch starting to disappear after each pad.

The next step was to bring up the polished appearance of the Limestone by applying a series of Burnishing pads from Coarse to Very Fine. This process hones the stone adding a lovely deep shine.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Bathroom Floor

Once the floor had been left to dry out for a couple of days, I returned to seal the floor with Tile Doctor Colour Grow, an impregnating, colour enhancing and tough sealer. This was applied using a white cotton cloth and was left on for ten minutes. The residue was then buffed off with a White Pad and left for thirty minutes. A second coat was applied and the same procedure followed. After two hours I performed a water test to confirm the floor was fully sealed.

Limestone Floor Tile Deep Scratch After Renovation Edinburgh

My client was delighted with the result. They were so happy that we had managed to remove the scratch as they had thought the damage would be irreparable. For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a ph neutral cleaner that helps maintain the patina.

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Tiled Bathroom in Edinburgh

Limestone Hallway Floor Polishing Edinburgh

Impressive Grey Limestone Hallway Renovated in Edinburgh New Town

Our client located in Edinburgh’s New Town area had a large, impressive entrance hallway with a well-used Grey Limestone floor. The tiles had seen many years of traffic and were dull and marked with events of family life. The request was to restore the floor back to how it looked when it was originally laid.

Limestone Hallway Floor Edinburgh Before Cleaning

I visited the property to survey the floor and understand the issues in detail. I could see that the original sealer had worn off with use and dirt was now becoming ingrained in the pores of the Limestone making it difficult to clean effectively. The wanted a slight sheen, but not too glossy, and to have it re-sealed but with a tough sealer that could take the punishment from a young family.

Having measured up the area I was able to provide a firm price, which was accepted and a date agreed for the work to start.

Cleaning a Ceramic Limestone Tiled Hallway

To start the area was cleared of all furniture. The coir matting at the front door was covered and the doorways leading off the hall had their floor entrances protected from any potential water ingress during cleaning.

Limestone Hallway Floor Edinburgh Before Cleaning Adding doorway protection

Work then started with the application of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was diluted and spread across the floor. The Pro-Clean was then left to soak into the pores of the Limestone for ten minutes in order for it to break down the ingrained dirt. The floor was then scrubbed with a coarse 200-grit pad fitted to a rotary floor machine. After this clean, the resultant residue was removed using a wet vacuum.

The pad does clean into the recessed of the grout line but I always find more hand-scrubbing with Pro-Clean helps so after the initial clean I started on the grout. The floor was then rinsed with clean water and removed with a wet vacuum as before.

Limestone Hallway Floor Edinburgh During Cleaning

The next stage was to start the 4-step burnishing process where the floor is burnished and honed using increasing grits of pads from 400 grit up to 3500 grits. The pads are applied using the rotary cleaner with water for lubrication and after each pad the floor is rinsed and the residue removed with the wet vacuum. Once this process has been completed, the floor is left to dry overnight. The last pad is a super fine 3500-grit that really brings up the polish and this is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the tile.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Hallway

On my return the next day the sealer we chose for the limestone was Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal. It penetrates into the pores adding protection it from within and enhanced the natural colours in the Limestone in the process. This sealer is oil based which helps to improve the structure of the stone giving it a rich finish with a slight sheen. Additionally, Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal allows for vapour transmission so any moisture building under the floor can pass through and evaporate at the surface.

After the work has been completed the client was advised about the care and upkeep of the floor. The floor needs cleaning with a neutral pH cleaner such as Tile Doctors Neutral Tile Cleaner. This lifts the soiling from the tiles without eroding the sealer and therefore extends the life of the sealer.

Limestone Hallway Floor Edinburgh After Cleaning Burnishing and Sealing

My client was very happy with the end result and felt confident it would stand up to the heavy family use and keep its appearance.

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Tiled Hallway in Edinburgh

Impressive Grey Limestone Hallway Renovated in Edinburgh New Town Read More »