marble restoration – Tiling Tips – Tips and Information About Tiling

Polishing and Honing Marble Restoring the Appearance of Marble

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

Removing Etching from a Marble Bathroom Countertop in Oxford

16th May 2021 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Bathroom Stone, Etched Stone, marble cleaning, marble countertop, marble restoration, oxford, oxfordshire, Vanity Top

Earlier this year I was working on the restoration of a floor in Oxford and the client asked if I would look at the Marble Countertop in the bathroom. I often get asked to look at additional items whilst on site and always happy to see if I can help. Unfortunately, the stone had been cleaned with an unsuitable cleaning product (probably bleach based) and this had etched the surface leaving what appeared to be an unsightly splash mark ruining its appearance. You do have to be careful with household cleaning products around Marble, always read the label first and check to see if it is safe to use on natural stone before application. Many products are acidic and will etch into Marble as was the case here. I explained to the client what I could do, and she agreed to add the cost onto the quote for the floor I was already doing. I took photos but it is quite hard to see the damage on the images. My base in Chalgrove is only 11 miles outside of Oxford so it’s not a problem to pop back and pick up some extra materials if I need them. In this case I was able to bring them along on day two of cleaning and sealing the floor. Polishing an Etched Marble Vanity Countertop The only way to restore a polished Marble surface like this is to use a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads

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

Marble Posts

Restoring an Acid Etched Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in Winchester, Hampshire

8th February 2019 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Black Marble Tiles. Acid Damage, Corrosive Agent, Mable Floor Cleaning, marble restoration, Marble Tile Polishing, winchester

Marble is a natural material which although hard wearing can easily be ruined by a strong chemical such as acid. In this case my client’s kitchen floor which was laid with black Marble square tiles was etched due to the accidental spill of a corrosive agent and the subsequent attempt to clean it up. The property was in the historic city of Winchester and as you can image my client was horrified by the state of their Marble floor which was now ruined. Desperate for a solution that didn’t involve the expensive tiles being replaced we were asked to take a look. After surveying the floor, I recommended resurfacing the stone with a set of diamond encrusted floor burnishing pads which would remove the etching and hone the stone back to its original appearance. Happy to discover there was a solution to the problem we were given instructions to go ahead with the restoration. Honing Acid Etched Marble Floor Tiles Our first task was to remove the kickboards from underneath the kitchen units, this ensures they are not scratched during the cleaning process and it also allows our buffer machine to get right to the edge of the floor. I then started the burnishing process by applying a 400-grit coarse burnishing pad lubricated with a little water to the floor. This coarse pad will remove

Marble Posts

Restoring the Appearance of Polished Marble in a Cambridgeshire Bathroom

22nd November 2018 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Bathroom Tile, Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, Damaged Stone, marble restoration, Marble Surround, marble tile, Polishing Marble

We were asked to visit a property in Cambourne to look at restoring the appearance of the stone in an opulent marble tiled bathroom. Cambourne is a new area of Cambridge which has been developed over recent years with the creation of many new homes. The gorgeous bathroom design and layout of this home was was a key feature of the property. The owner had employed a general cleaner to give their house a spring clean. Unfortunately, they had used inappropriate products whilst under taking the clean of the marble tiles in the bathroom which ruined its appearance. This is an easy mistake to make, people are often unaware that polished stone such as this should only be treated with specialist products. Many household cleaning products are too strong to be used on natural stone and can cause damage, so always read the label. As you can see from the pictures, the products the cleaner used etched the surface of the marble ruining the polished appearance and they were at a loss to restore it. Restoring Polish to a Marble Tiled Bathroom I wasn’t surprised to find that they couldn’t restore the polished appearance of the Marble, as a hard stone needs to be burnished to build up a polish. I suspected that the product the cleaner used on the stone much of been acid based as only an

Marble Posts

Removing Limescale from a Marble Bathroom Counter-top

20th October 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Marble Burnishing, Marble Countertop Cleaning, Marble Countertop Sealing, Marble Limescale Removal, marble restoration, Marble Sealing, Northampton Marble Burnishing, Northampton Marble Cleaning, Northampton Marble Restoration, Northampton Marble Sealing

Marble is known for its premium quality, toughness and aesthetic, making it a very popular choice for bathroom countertops, such as this one at a house in Northampton. However just because it’s tough doesn’t mean that Marble can be cleaned with the usual household cleaners. Like all natural stone, Marble is acid sensitive and unsuitable products can have a very damaging effect on its appearance. In this situation, the property owner had used a limescale remover to remove some unsightly marks from the countertop. Unfortunately, the product was acid-based and instead of making an improvement it just made it worse and caused severe etching. The first photo above shows the limescale marks from where toiletries have been placed on the side whilst wet. Since Northampton is a hard water area, the limescale deposits over time caused these marks to appear. Burnishing a Damaged Marble Bathroom Countertop The only way to effectively remove the Limestone deposits – while at the same time rectifying the damaged caused by the botched cleaning attempt – was to use a system of hand-held diamond encrusted pads and hand help blocks of various grits to cut back the stone and re-polish it, a process we call burnishing. Before officially beginning the burnishing process, I ran a few tests to

Marble Posts

Marble Tile Replacement and Sealing

3rd April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments marble restoration, suffolk tile cleaner, Tile Cleaning, tile replacement

Polished Marble Care in Felixstowe This large 52m2 marble tiled floor located in the Entrance Hall of a property in Felixstowe had been laid when the property was renovated in 2002. Unfortunately 15 of the tiles were cracked and so our first job was to carefully remove and replace them. Polished Marble Tiled Floor Care and Restoration The floor was then burnished using a set of Burnishing Pads and then sealed using two litres of Ultra-Seal which is a no-sheen, natural-look penetrating sealer that offers maximum stain protection. All in this Marble Floor Care job took 3 days and should now keep on looking good for some time to come. Source: Polished Marble Care, Felixstowe

Marble Posts

Marble Tiled Bathroom Cleaning and Grout Colouring

2nd April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, marble restoration, marble tile cleaner, Tile Cleaning, west surrey tile cleaning

These Marble Tiles were installed in the bathroom at a residence in Earls Court, west London; the Marble certainly gave a luxurious effect but had dulled over time, on top of that the grout had stained in places and both were in need of really good deep clean. Cleaning Marble Tiles We set about cleaning the Marble Tiled floor using a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in with Deck Brushes. Once we were happy the floor was rinsed with clean water to remove and chemical residue and we then began polishing the floor using a buffing machine fitted with a green burnishing pad, the green pads are encrusted with very fine diamonds and used with a small amount of water to produce a high shine finish. Applying Grout Colourant The last step was to colour the grout which is easily done using a bottle of Grout Colourant. This is applied into the grout lines using a tooth brush; as well as changing the colour the product provides an epoxy coating on top of the grout protecting it against future discoloration. The customer was certainly pleased with difference and said the “the results are amazing” when she returned home from work that evening. Source: Cleaning and Polishing Marble Bathroom Tiles

Marble Posts

Cleaning and Polishing Marble Mosaic Tiles

31st March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments balcony tiles, cleaning services, marble restoration, Polishing, Tile Cleaning

Installed on an external balcony these black and white Marble Mosaic tiles had been exposed to the elements resulting in an accumulated of dirt. Cleaning Marble Mosaic Balcony Tiles Marble is a very tough product so for best results we recommend using a set of burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine that can cut through the grime and re-polish the stone. There are four pads in the set and you start with the Red pad together with a little water, this removes any remaining sealer; next you move on to the White pad again with a little water and this will remove any ingrained dirt. The next two pads, Yellow then Green complete the polishing process and produce a high shine finish. Between pads you need to rinse the floor with clean water to remove loose dirt and grime, I can recommend the use of a Wet Vacuum for this they are excellent at removing surface water quickly. Sealing Marble Mosaic Tiled Floor We left the floor to dry overnight and came back the next day to seal the floor. Luckily the weather held out, being external we wouldn’t have been able to seal the Marble if it was wet and it was forecast to rain that day. We sealed the Marble Mosaic tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which really does bring out the colour of natural stone, it’s also rated for