Polishing and Honing Marble – Tiling Tips – Tips and Information About Tiling

19th Century Marble Entrance Hall Renovated in Tattenhall Cheshire

2nd June 2021 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Black and White, Entrance Hall, Floor Tiles, Grade II, Listed Building, marble floor, Scratched Marble, Stained Marble, Tattenhall, west cheshire

This Black and White Marble tiled hallway floor at a Grade II listed property in the village of Tattenhall has quite a history. The building was constructed in 1865 and at one time it has been the home to the high sheriff of Cheshire, and the family home of Edith Wignall the daughter of Sir Henry Tate the founder of the sugar company Tate and Lyle. In more recent years the property had been used as a council building and even a nursing home for the elderly. After a long history of decline it has now been restored to a lavish family mansion however the marble floor had suffered over the years and still need attention. The current owner had been in touch as they wanted it restoring and basically brought back to life. As it turns out I had already planned to go to Tattenhall the following week to work on another listed building which was formerly the village bank. After discussing the Marble floor over the phone, I agreed a date and time to pop over from the bank and inspect the floor in detail. I can provide a rough quote from photographs, which has been especially useful recently, but it’s far better for all concerned if I’m able to properly survey the floor first. The Marble floor consisted of Black and White Mable tiles laid in a diamond pattern, it wasn’t a very large

Achieving a Deep Shine on Polished Marble Flooring in Worcester

21st May 2021 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Callow End, Kitchen Floor Polishing, marble tile cleaning, Marble Tile Maintenance, Polishing Honed Marble, Stone Burnishing, Stone Polishing, worcester

The pictures below are of a Polished Marble floor installed at a property in the village of Callow End which is a few miles South of Worcester. The owner of the house had attempted to clean and seal the floor by themselves and as you can see from the photographs, they ended up dulling its appearance. The physical nature of Marble and natural stone floors in general make them a difficult project to attempt without expert knowledge and the right equipment. I arranged to survey the floor and explained to the client how I intended to restore the appearance of the Marble to how it should look. I demonstrated the process on a small test area so they could get an idea of the result and explained that the floor could look even better than the day it was installed. Tile Doctor has developed a system called burnishing for natural stone floors which involve the application of a set of diamond pads which are used in sequence to clean and restore the polish to the stone. My quote was accepted, and a date set for the work to begin which should take two days. Cleaning and Polishing a Marble Tiled Floor I arrived on the agreed date and started by sealing up the bases of the kitchen kickboards and skirting with silicone to protect against any damage from water ingress. I then vacuumed

Water Damaged Marble Floor Renovated near Wellingborough

19th May 2021 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Earls Barton, executive property, marble cleaning, marble flooring, northampton, Stone Polishing, Water Damage, Water Stains, Wellingborough

I was asked to look at a Polished Marble floor that had been installed in the hallway of an executive property in the Northamptonshire village of Earls Barton and had suffered severe water damage from a burst pipe. Water had penetrated through the ceiling and as the occupants were away at the time two inches of water had flooded the ground floor where it sat for several weeks causing extensive damage and efflorescence to appear in patches all over the floor. The homeowner was extremely worried as this was a very expensive and large Marble floor which was a key feature of the property and didn’t want the disruption of having the tiles lifted and replaced. As you can see from the pictures, there were white etching marks over the surface of the marble ruining the polished appearance and these could not be removed using normal domestic cleaning processes. I wasn’t surprised to find that the owners couldn’t restore the polished appearance of the Marble, as a hard stone like Marble needs to be burnished to build up a polish. I carried out a damp test and cleaned a test area using diamond encrusted burnishing pads, as the floors were still slightly damp I advised the customer to turn on the underfloor heating to assist in drying out the stone for a week, in that time a quote was

Deep Shine Achieved on Dull Marble Flooring in Cambridge

18th May 2021 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cambridge, floor maintenance, Great Shelford, Honing Marble, Marble Floor Cleaning, Polishing Marble, sealing marble tiles

This customer from village of Great Shelford south of Cambridge was unhappy with their Marble tiled floor which lost its lustre relatively quickly quickly after being laid. Fortunately, she was given our contact details from a neighbour who we completed a Marble re-polish for a couple years ago and the floor still looks amazing. Polished Marble will loose its appearance over time, especially in a Kitchen due to abrasion it receives from foot traffic and the use of the wrong cleaning product. Because of this problem Tile Doctor now offer a maintenance program where we make an annual visit to the property to re-polish the floor and top up the sealer. After discussing the floor, I recommended we hone the Marble tiles with a set of burnishing pads which will bring back the polished appearance and then work in a crystallising powder to achieve a deep shine before applying a sealer to protect the stone going forward. This is the procedure we followed for her neighbour and she was happy to have the same. Honing Marble Floor Tiles Firstly, I removed the existing sealer and dirt with a 400-grit diamond burnishing pad which is applied with water to provide lubrication. Although this initially appears to make the floor look worse, this is only temporary and is the first step in

Removing Carpet Adhesive, Polishing and Re-Grouting a Large Marble Tiled Floor in Felixstowe, Suffolk

17th May 2021 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Adhesive Removal, Felix Hote, Felixstowe, Fisons, Harvest House, Honing, marble restoration, marble tiles, Palm Court, Stone Burnishing, Suffolk, wedding ceremonies

Earlier this year I was asked to restore a large 290m2 Marble tiled floor in a room known as Palm Court at the famous clifftop Grade II listed Felix Hotel in Felixstowe which has now been redeveloped into 61 retirement apartments with communal areas. The Felix Hotel was originally opened in Felixstowe in 1903 and was advertised as the Finest Hotel on the East Coast. It is said that Ms Simpson stayed at the Hotel during her divorce proceedings In Ipswich to allow her free to marry King Edward VIII. The building was taken over by Fisons in 1952 who used it as their HQ and it is believed that they covered the Marble floor with carpet so they could use it for office space. Our task was to remove all the carpet glue and restore the Marble tiles of Palm Court back to its original glory. The room is used for wedding ceremonies and the company that runs the property wanted to restore the floor as an original feature. There are some photos below of the room as it used to be when it was opened. With 290m2 of Marble flooring to restore it was clearly large project however having worked on numerous stone floor restorations previously I was confident we could restore it and was able to bring Dean who runs the North Essex Tile Doctor to assist. To provide an accurate price for the work

Italian Marble Kitchen Marble Renovated in Bamber Bridge

15th May 2021 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Bamber Bridge, Classic Floor, Floor Tiles, Kitchen Tile Renovation, lancashire, Marble Floor Renovation, marble tile cleaning, Preston, regrouting, Sealing Marble

The tiles shown in the photographs below are classic distressed Black and White Italian Marble installed in the kitchen of a property in Bamber Bridge which is South of Preston. Some of the tiles had an issue with loose grout which I suspect was due to the suspended wooden floor and a small amount of movement had resulted in the grout cracking. Ideally more support would be needed under the floor to prevent this, in the meantime however I recommended removing the grout and replacing with a flexible grout product that could cope with the movement. The tiles also needed a clean, polish and reseal so it made sense to address the issue with the grout as part of the work. Cleaning and Re-grouting a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor Working as a two-man team we started by cleaning the floor with a set of diamond burnishing pads starting with a coarse 400-grit, followed by 800 and 1500 grit. Water was used to lubricate the process and the floor was rinsed with water between pads with the fine slurry generated by the process extracted using a wet vacuum. These pads remove ingrained dirt and then slowly refine the appearance of the Marble building up its polished appearance in the process. The next step was to rake out all the grout which as discussed was compromised and needed

Polishing a Damaged Marble Bathroom Countertop in Norfolk

14th May 2021 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Acid Etching, Limelite, marble countertop, Marble Handbasin, Norwich, Polishing Marble, Removing Limescale, Resurfacing Marble, Stone Polishing, Swardeston, Viakal

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. 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

Marble Show House Floor Renovated in Wokingham

13th May 2021 Reese Mackie 0 Comments berkshire, Burnishing Marble, grout cleaning, kitchen floor, Marble Floor Tiles, Polishing Marble, Sealing Marble, Wokingham

I had a call out late last year to a property in the market town of Wokingham to survey a dull Marble floor which was installed throughout most of the ground floor. It turns out that the house was only built two years prior and had been the show home for a new development. The owner explained to me that to show off the potential of the new homes the developer had installed quality materials throughout, particularly the marble flooring, however the property had seen more than its fair share of foot traffic because of it. Two years of wear later and the owner was concerned with how dull the Marble floor was and the appearance of small circular stains which had appeared throughout. I explained that Marble which is made from calcium is easily etched by the use of acidic cleaning products and that most tile cleaners you purchase in supermarkets are really only for use on Ceramic or Vinyl floor tiles. I suspect any sealer used on the floor to protect the stone had also been worn away for the same reason resulting in the now dull appearance. After explaining the process, I would use for burnishing the Marble to deep clean and restore the shine I measured up and worked out a quotation. I received a message later that evening comforting they would like to go ahead, and a date was

Giving Marble Flooring a Deep Polish in Cardiff

12th May 2021 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Cardiff Tile Cleaning, Kitchen and Dining Area, marble floor, marble tile cleaning, Polishing Marble. Grout Cleaning, South East Wales, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work HistoryTagged Cardiff

I took the pictures below during the renovation of a beautiful Marble floor that was installed in the kitchen and adjacent dinning area of a property in Cardiff. Busy family life had taken its toll on the floor and it had now lost most of its shine and the grout had darkened to an almost black colour due to ingrained dirt. Marble however is an amazing stone that responds well to polishing so I knew I could restore its appearance. Covering Cardiff and the surrounding area I’m your local tile and stone restoration specialist covering the renovation of all types of Tile and Stone. My background is tiling, and I have been a member of the Tile Doctor restoration network for over ten years so if you need help do get in touch. Deep Cleaning a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in Cardiff First, I deep cleaned the grout lines using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, leaving it to soak into the grout for ten minutes before scrubbing it in by hand. I then rinsed off the solution with water and extracted the slurry with a wet vacuum to lift the deep staining. With the grout now clean I turned my attention to the Marble tiles, I needed to remove any previous sealer and the ingrained marks. This was done using a 400-grit red burnishing pad applied to the rotary buffing machine. The

Communal White Marble Tiled Hallway Cleaned and Polished in Cardiff Bay

11th May 2021 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Cardiff Apartments, Cardiff Bay, Listed Building, Marble Floor Renovation, Marble Hallway, marble restoration, South East Wales, Stone Polishing, White Marble

This beautiful Marble Tiled Hallway can be found in a listed building in the heart of Cardiff Bay. Situated on a very grand corner plot the property was previously occupied by various banks which served the financial markets of shipping and coal import/export businesses for over 200 years. The building has now been converted into fourteen very desirable apartments one being the penthouse on the top floor with panoramic views of the bay and even a private lift accessed from the main hallway directly to the lounge! Very impressive. The Marble floor was mostly original and has been added to with similar Marble tiles during previous renovation works. The stone was an off-white marble with various colour veins running through the body. The area of the restoration was the main entrance and hallway to access the staircase and lift to the apartments. Deep Cleaning a White Marble Hallway Floor The main method I used to restore the floor was to apply a set of Tile Doctor diamond encrusted burnishing pads of various grits to rebuild the polish on the floor. Before starting that process however I gave the tiles a general clean with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean scrubbed in with a coarse black pad fitted to a rotary floor machine (also supplied by Tile Doctor). Afterwards the floor