berkshire – Tiling Tips – Tips and Information About Tiling

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

Polishing and Sealing a Large Red Marble Patio in Newbury Berkshire

1st November 2019 Reese Mackie 0 Comments berkshire, Marble Patio, Newbury, Patio Cleaning, Patio Stone Cleaning, Red Marble Tiles, restoration, Sealing Marble Patio, Spanish Villa

I recently had a call out to an unusual property in Newbury to renovate a large Red Marble Patio. The design of the house was clearly inspired by the Mediterranean and resembled a Spanish Villa. The UK winter had not been very kind to the large Red Marble patio and now looked faded and lifeless. I inspected the patio and could see that it had been previously sealed with a topical product that had deteriorated in parts over time leaving the stone looking patchy and dull. After having the same stone installed throughout the interior of the property she wanted to know if the exterior stone could be renovated to match. To get a better idea of what it would take to complete the work and produce an accurate quote I ran some cleaning tests on a spare tile. The demonstration went very well, and it gave the client a good idea of the outcome they could expect. Happy with the potential result and my quote I was booked to return and complete the renovation. Cleaning a Red Marble Tiled Patio in Newbury This was a large Patio to clean so I worked in sections and starting with brushing and vacuuming to remove all the surface dirt and debris that could impact the stone burnishing process. Then using water for lubrication, I started refinishing the Marble with a very coarse 100-grit diamond

Stained Marble Tiled Floor Renovated in Berkshire

24th February 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments berkshire, marble tiles, Streatley, Tile Cleaning, tile sealing

Never judge a tiled floor by its appearance! On this particular occasion, I visited a client at a house in the village of Streatley which is a small village that sits alongside the River Thames as it runs through the county of Berkshire. The requirement was to take a look at a very old Marble floor which was initially believed to consist of Victorian, rather than Marble, tiles due to the pattern. My client simply could not get the white Marble tiles looking their best; many were a displeasing off-cream colour and naturally wanted them looking new again. Before beginning the restoration, we confirmed that the stone was actually Marble. We did this by testing the tile with acid, which the tiles responded to since Marble is naturally acid-sensitive. Additionally, we could also see the veins running through the tiles, which you simply would not get with a Victorian tiles. Burnishing a Marble tiled floor Chemical cleaning had no effect on this floor, so it’s understandable that my client’s attempts at cleaning with everyday household products were unsuccessful. With this type of stone the only method would be to burnish the floor with a set of diamond encrusted pads. I started off by using a Medium 800 Grit burnishing pad to no avail, followed by a Coarse 400 Grit burnishing pad,