Marble Tile Cleaning

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

Cleaning and Polishing Marble tiles

Marble is reputed in the international market for its premium quality, toughness and durability. It is often the preferred choice for interior and exterior in both commercial and domestic situations for flooring, wall cladding, paving, facades of buildings, pavements and landscaping.

One of the main issues with polished Marble is the polish starts to wear down with use and eventually becomes dull. Another issue we see is acid etching where strong unsuitable cleaning products used on the stone etch the surface and ruin its appearance. To resolve both these problems the stone needs to be re-polished with diamond encrusted burnishing pads of different grits to hone the stone and bring back that deep shine. If this sounds familiar you should talk to us about our annual maintenance program where we visit you once a year to clean, polish and seal your floor thus keeping it in top 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.

Marble Ledger Stones Renovation Wymondham Abbey

Renovating Sandstone Flags and Marble Ledger Stones at Wymondham Abbey

1 Comment / Attleborough Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning /

I am proud to have been asked to renovate the Sandstone floor at Wymondham Abbey which is one of the grandest religious buildings in East Anglia. The floor consisted of an entrance area of very dirty and dull honed sandstone flags leading to an aisle of sandstone and dull, scratched black inscribed Marble ledger stones totalling approx. 200m2.

Sandstone and Marble Floor Before Renovation Wymondham Abbey

The abbey is a magnificent Norman church, originally established in 1107 as part of a monastic foundation. It was later enlarged and embellished with a particularly fine angel roof and the unusual twin towers are a prominent local landmark.

Having been asked to quote for the renovation of the floor and given its age I decided it would be best to visit the property and survey the areas needing attention before quoting. The flooring was in good physical condition and everything was as described; I could see the stone would need a deep clean burnishing and detail work needed around the engravings. I worked out a plan for the renovation which was considerate of the abbey’s age and from that prepared a detailed quote which was accepted.

Stripping and Deep Cleaning an Indian Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

To start Tile Doctor Pro-Clean (diluted with three parts water) was applied to all surfaces and left to soak in for ten minutes before being scrubbed using a heavy 40kg Klindex rotary floor machine. For extra traction, an additional 10kg of weight was added and the machine was fitted with a 120-grit silicon carbide brush. This combination releases the soils from the stone to the surface where it was extracted using a Klindex triple-vac. It certainly helps having the right machinery for this type of work.

Sandstone and Marble During Deep Cleaning and Honing Wymondham Abbey

The deep engravings on the Marble ledger stones were hand cleaned with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel and a grout brush and then finished with 400 and 800-grit diamond pads fitted to the rotary. These pads work wonders on hard stone surfaces such as Marble. The soiling was extracted as work progressed and after a final rinse the floor was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing an Indian Sandstone Tiled Kitchen

Next day the Marble ledger stones were checked for moisture to confirm they were dry before applying a coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil. This works well on dark stone as the oil deepen the dark colours.

Marble Ledger Stones During Sealing with Stone Oil Wymondham Abbey

Once dry the whole floor was sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing impregnating sealer that brings the features in the stone alive. Once dry the Marble ledgers were given a buff using a hand-held rotary polisher fitted with a white buffing pad.

Sandstone Floor After Renovation Wymondham Abbey Marble Ledger Stones After Renovation Wymondham Abbey

The Committee members were exceptionally pleased with the results achieved and have asked us to return to work on the next section of floor as part of their ongoing renovation schedule.

For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a gentle yet effective cleaner that won’t impact the sealer. Strong bleach-based cleaners need to be avoided as they will strip the sealer off the stone prematurely.

 

Professional Cleaning of a Stone Flooring in Norfolk

Renovating Sandstone Flags and Marble Ledger Stones at Wymondham Abbey Read More »

Marble Bathroom Countertop Renovation Swardeston Norfolk

Renovating a Marble Handbasin Countertop in Swardeston

1 Comment / Marble Tile Cleaning, Norwich Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History /

My client in the village of Swardeston (just south of Norwich) had attempted to remove limescale deposits from a Marble bathroom countertop using a supermarket Limescale remover and ended up making the whole problem worse.

The water in Norfolk is exceptionally hard and can quickly leave a thick build-up of limescale in kettles and bathroom fittings. This isn’t a problem to keep on top of using an acidic cleaner like Viakal or Limelite however these products are acidic and not recommended for use on or near an acid-sensitive natural stone such as Marble or Limestone. In-fact the surface of Marble and Limestone is instantly etched when they come into contact with these products thereby ruining the appearance of the stone.

Marble Vanity Unit Worktop Before Renovation Swardeston

This is exactly what had happened to our client in Swardeston and, over time, the surface of her marble vanity unit became severely etched leaving the stone completely dull, pitted, and unattractive. She had assumed the dullness was due to limescale build-up so just kept applying the product which of course exacerbated the problem to the point where the replacement of the large and very expensive twin-basin Marble countertop seemed to be the only option.

Removing Limescale and Acid Etching from a Marble Countertop

Looking for a solution we were asked to visit the property and whilst there immediately realised what had happened to the stone.

Fortunately, we were able to offer a much cheaper option involving the application of a series of diamond burnishing pads that could cut back the surface of the Marble and repolish it back to its original appearance. We are able to do this due to our investment in a Rotex hand-held random orbit polisher which is ideal for working on relatively small areas or confined spaces.

First, using only water as a cutting medium, we removed the surface of the stone with a 90mm 400-grit diamond pad fitted to the Rotex machine. This cut the surface back, removing all the pitting and light scratching, leaving the stone perfectly smooth and ready for the repolishing process. The slurry produced by this process was thoroughly and carefully rinsed away and the next stage of repolishing begun.

Marble Vanity Unit Worktop During Renovation Swardeston

Polishing was done using the Rotex again, but this time fitted with an 800-grit diamond pad which cuts the stone more finely and start sto improve the dull surface left by the coarse 400-grit pad. Again, the slurry produced was rinsed away and a 1500-grit diamond pad was applied to the stone surface, cutting even more finely and beginning to restore the shine back to the marble top.

Once the slurry from this stage had been rinsed and extracted, we dried the work area using a heat gun before finishing the burnishing operation using the Rotex with a very fine 3000-grit diamond pad. For this last stage, a small amount of water is misted over the surface of the stone surface from a trigger bottle. This produced the shine we were after and really brought the stone’s natural colours and features back to life.

Sealing a Marble Countertop

In order to provide the Marble countertop with good fluid resistance two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal were applied to the stone. This is a premium grade penetrating sealer which soaks into the pores of the stone to seal it without leaving any kind of synthetic finish behind. This allows the natural beauty of the polished stone to shine through whilst protecting it from staining. A quick spray buff with a white maintenance pad to remove any smears from the sealing process and we were done.

Marble Vanity Unit Worktop After Renovation Swardeston

My client was staggered at the result we had achieved and was so relieved that replacement of the sizeable and very expensive Marble top had been avoided. For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Patina Spray which is spray-and-buff cleaner that is designed to enhance the natural beauty and lustre of polished stone as it cleans.

 

Stone Countertop Professional Renovated in Norfolk

Renovating a Marble Handbasin Countertop in Swardeston Read More »

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