Tile and Stone Maintenance
The BBC have reported on a bid by the Welsh Slate industry to obtain World Heritage Status. Having lived and grown up in North Wales I have been surrounded by this wonderful gift of nature, but it’s reach is far greater than that. Welsh slate can be found all over the world, you can read the article here:
And for those who want more information, watch this short video, also from the BBC
Copyright Ian Taylor and The Tile and Stone Blog.co.uk, 2013. See copyright notice above.
I have received so many comments on the subject of cleaning slate that I have invited a stone cleaning professional and friend of mine, Andrew Titmuss of Posh Stone Floors to take us through one of his jobs.
Below you can see the job he was faced with, a nice multi-coloured, riven (naturally textured) slate floor which, over time has accumulated a lot of general dirt. The customer brought Andrew in to advise with a view to cleaning and sealing the floor.
Slate is a natural stone becoming increasingly popular. So, what is it exactly? Well, in geological terms it is fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock. How is it derived? Well, in short from original shale type sedimentary rocks made up of volcanic ash or clay through low grade regional metamorphism. Most people know it as grey in colour from the many thousands of roofs it is used on across the world. However, slate can come in varieties of colour even that derived from the same source location. For example, slate coming from North Wales can come in numerous shades of grey from very rich, deep and dark to that a lot paler in colour. It can also come in shades of cyan or green.
So, what is slate used for? Well, commonly it is used in roofing as roofing slates or something commonly called shingles in North America. One of the advantages of slate as a natural stone is that it has 2 lines of breakability – grain and cleavage – and this makes it very easy to split into thin roofing slates.
Very fine slate can also be used as whetstone to sharpen and hone knives. Historically, and especially during the 18th and 19th centuries it was also used as a material for blackboards in schools and also as individual writing slates. Slate is also a good electrical insulator and is fireproof and so was used in early part of the 20th century as a component in large electrical motors. Slate also possesses thermal stability and is still used as the base in snooker and billiard tables.
Today, slate is becoming increasingly popular for both interior and exterior flooring. Generally, slate tiles are fitted and set on mortar and then the tiles are grouted along the edges. A variety of sealers should be used on the slate tiles to improve durability, appearance, enhance stain resistance, reduce efflorescence, and increase or lessen surface smoothness of the tiles. We will talk more about this soon.
Copyright Ian Taylor and The Tile and Stone Blog.co.uk, 2013. See copyright notice above.Well the answer is if you want to protect your stone floor from staining then you really should seal it. One key thing you should do is to test your stone for porosity. To do this, add a few drops of clean water to your stone floor and if they are absorbed, the stone is porous.Sealing a stone floor gives you something called “reaction time” in that you have an opportunity to react and wipe up any spillages and any stain producing contaminants before they seep deeper into the stone. Anything that is water-based will be kept at the surface where they can be cleaned up a lot easier also. You typically have spent a lot of money on a stone floor so using a relatively inexpensive (in comparison to the cost of the stone) sealer will help ensure you get the most our of this significant investment and help keep your floor looking fabulous for many years.
If you have a polished stone floor like marble, honed limestone or granite then we would recommend using something like Sealers Choice 15 Gold.
If you have a textured stone floor such as sandstone or rustic slate for example then we would recommend using something like Seal and Finish Low Sheen.
Copyright Ian Taylor and The Tile and Stone Blog.co.uk, 2013. See copyright notice above.
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