With the holiday season out of the way I though it would be a good time to post my top 10 tips on keeping a floor looking good. So, here it is, nice and simple, most of the tips are equally relevant to ceramics floors also. (Oh, and all the best for 2009 from Tile and Stone Blog): Read the rest

Question - “Hi, I am a cleaning contractor and have a customer who has a limestone floor in a reception of a hotel which has been maintained by some one else. It is only 6 months old and has gone streaky. I have dealt with marble and other stone before but not limestone. What would you recommend?”

Our Answer - “Limestone is a calcium based stone, just like marble (in fact, marble was once a limestone, before nature subjected it to many years of heat and pressure). Limestone is typically much Read the rest

Back in the 1980’s there was a bit of a craze for using terracotta. It was everywhere, in magazines, on TV, and it was soon being used extensively in homes and also in commercial properties like pubs and wine bars. After a few years it seemed to disappear almost as fast. This is due in part to the over-exposure and the ever changing fashions for interior design, but I also suspect that more than a few people experienced a number of headaches in terms of sealing, cleaning and maintaining it.However, all things work in circles right? Well not exactly, but I do see that Terracotta is making a little bit of a come back, not like the last time, but people are it seems one again being swayed by the rustic charms and warm tones and using it in selected areas.

So, I though it timely to do a little article on the methods for sealing terracotta. There are basically two systems (and lots of variations for both) : Read the rest

Visitor’s Question: “I have a problem with a newly laid Limestone floor. The tiler left it with a very thick haze of grout on it.I have tried a Fila Residue Remover cleaner, and another Grime remover (which seemed to work only a little better). I have used non-scratch pads and an emulsifier pad - on my hands and knees and it is still there. Please help?”

Our Answer: Read the rest