Resurfacing Old Flagstone Flooring with Tile Doctor Flexi Pads in Dorchester
This client lived on a farm on the outskirts of Dorchester and had a rustic kitchen with very old flagstones. The flags had been down a very long time and were uneven and some were in a very bad state due to the top layer of stone flaking away. They had found it very difficult to keep the rough stone clean and this was proving increasingly irritating.
I recommended that the best course of action would be to mill the stone to remove the rough areas and resurface the stone, this would also reduce the lippage between the flagstones. Milling is a process championed by Tile Doctor which utilises very coarse diamond pads to remove a thin layer of stone from the surface and then finer grit pads to refine the appearance of the new surface making it smooth and easier to maintain in the process.
Keen to go ahead with my recommendation I measured up and put together a quotation that included all the products and labour needed to mill the floor. With the quotation accepted we agreed a date to begin then work.
Cleaning and Milling a Flagstone Tiled Kitchen
The milling started with the application of a very coarse 50-grit diamond Flexi-Pads fitted to a heavy-duty floor buffer with added weight to ensure maximum traction with the stone. Using only water for lubrication these pads do the bulk of the work and remove a fine and often contaminated layer from the surface of the stone to reveal new stone underneath.
This is the slowest part of the job with each flagstone requiring five to ten minutes of milling before moving onto the next. A lot of water was used in this process which mixes with the cut stone to form a slurry which is then vacuumed away. It took a full day to cover all the floors, and I got through three of the 50-grit pads in the process.
The process from here ran significantly quicker. A finer 100-grit flexi pad was applied next, followed by a 200-grit flexi pad, a 200-grit soft diamond pad then 400 and finally 800-grit pads. Less and less slurry was produced as I worked through each of the finer grit pads. Again, using water for lubrication and removing the slurry with a wet vacuum as work progressed.
The floor was then rinsed and allowed to dry thoroughly overnight.
Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Kitchen
The following day I returned to start the sealing process. I tested the floor with the damp meter, satisfied the result was within the correct parameters, I was ready to start. To seal two coats of Tile Doctor Colour-Grow were applied to bring out the colour and make the floor easier to clean going forward. Colour Grow is also a fully breathable sealer which is an important feature when choosing a sealer for an old floor like this one.
Once complete the floor looked so much healthier and my client was thrilled with results. For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to maintain the floor, this is pH neutral and so won’t harm the newly applied sealer.
Source: Professional Flagstone Floor Restoration Solutions and Services near Dorchester Dorset