Wimbledon

Black Limestone Before and After in Wimbledon

Black Limestone Floor installation problems resolved in Wimbledon

I was recently asked to this property in Wimbledon in to see if there was anything we could do to resolve the problem with a recently laid Black Limestone tiled floor. The builders that had laid the Limestone did not cover or clean the tiles prior to sealing with an impregnating seal thereby trapping in all the dirt from the building works. They then grouted the tiles but didn’t clean the grout off the surface before putting on another two coats of sealer all of which resulted in a very poor finish.

Black Limestone Tile Showing Trapped Dirt in Wimbledon
Naturally the customer was not happy so called them back to rectify the problem and so they came back and tried to strip the sealer off with cloths and a chemical stripper. Then without rinsing the stone to remove the chemicals they added another two coats of sealer; in desperation the lady gave up with them and called me in.

Black Limestone Tile Showing Trapped Dirt in Wimbledon

Stripping the Limestone Tiled Floor

To resolve I tried all the sealant strippers available to me but couldn’t budge the mess effectively. The only other option available was to diamond grind the surface so I discussed this with the customer and she agreed to this and left me to carry on.

Initially I started with a coarse 400 grit diamond pad but even that wasn’t having much effect so in the end I had to cut back the surface using a 100 grit pad moving up to 200 grit, then 400 before finally stopping at 800. To lubricate the process you need to use a little water and then rinse away the resultant soil after each pad. If this was a polished stone surface I would have continued with finer and finer grits to restore the surface polish however these tiles were rough limestone and I needed to leave it as near to how it should be.

Black Limestone Tile Grinded with Diamond Pads in Wimbledon
Once all the Limestone had been stripped back the stone turned an uninviting grey colour, so to bring it back to black I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Stone Oil which enhanced the colour.

Black Limestone Tile Adding Stone Oil in Wimbledon

Sealing Black Limestone Tiles

I left the floor overnight to allow the Stone Oil to dry out and then returned to seal the Limestone using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that enhances the colour in the stone and will protect it from staining going forward.

Black Limestone Grinded and sealed in Wimbledon
When the customer saw the final result she was overwhelmed and said she felt like crying with relief, because the floor now looked how she had imagined it to be. It was a great feeling for me to know that I had solved the problems for her.

Black Limestone Before and After in Wimbledon
 

Restoring Black Limestone Tiled Floor in Wimbledon

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Limestone Tile After Strip and Seal

Limestone Tiled Floor Strip and Seal in Wimbledon

Details below of a Limestone tiled floor strip and seal job we did recently for a lady in Wimbledon, South West London. It was a fairly common Limestone problem which had lost its polished appearance and was looking dull.

Stripping the Limestone Tiled Floor

To resolve we had to stripped back the Limestone surface using a set of burnishing pads, these diamond encrusted pads come in a number of different colours each one does a different job from scrubbing to polishing. I started with the red pad together with water and then carried on with the white, then yellow pads using water. Finally when I had dried the floor I used a green pad to buff the floor up. This activity took most of the day so left the floor to dry overnight.

Limestone Tiled Floor in Wimbledon Limestone Tiles in Wimbledon

Sealing the Limestone Floor

The next morning I arrived to find the floor had dried out enough for me to seal it which was done using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a great sealer for lifting the natural colours in the Limestone floor as well as providing stain protection. Once the sealer had dried I then finished it all off with a quick buff using a white buffing pad.

Limestone Tile After Strip and Seal Limestone Tile After Strip and Seal

I’m not sure the photographs really show the difference in the floor however I can tell you that when the lady returned home from work that day she was over the moon with the transformation and wrote the following testimonial:

So pleased with the service and advice received. Prompt and Professional, My floor looks like new again. Would highly recommend and use again. Thank you.

 

Limestone Floor Restoration in Wimbledon

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