I was recently asked to work some Tile Doctor magic on a Black Limestone patio at a property in Horsforth, Leeds. The gentleman had just had the patio and steps paved with Black Limestone in time for the summer, however it had lost its rich dark colour due to the use of the wrong cleaning products and methods. The installer had literally bleached the colour out of the stone as well as etching it. The client had attempted to rectify this himself and made matters worse, so he called us in to see if we could put this right.
This is in fact a common problem with Black Limestone and Slate patios; builders typically use brick acid after laying a patio to remove excess grout or mortar, but this washes out the oils in the stone which give it that desirable Black colour. Also, many types of stone are sensitive to harsh chemicals such as acids and they can etch the stone.
I reassured my client that there was no need to worry and that I would be able to renovate the patio and restore the colour. We agreed a price, which he said he would pass onto the builder, and we arranged a time for the work to be carried out. We selected a couple of options, subject to the weather.
Cleaning and Restoring a Faded Black Limestone Tiled Patio Floor
Due to the etching the stone surface had experienced, my first job was to renovate the surface using a series of Tile Doctor Milling pads. These are fitted to a rotary buffer machine that has had extra weights added to increase traction. This was tricky on the steps but with a bit of persistence I endeavoured and successfully completed the first stage. The slurry generated by the pads was then rinsed off with water and this was then extracted with a wet vacuum.
Sealing a Black Limestone Tiled Patio Floor
The patio was then left to dry, luckily, we had picked a good weather window, and the temperature was quite mild for this time of year. Once the moisture readings of the stone had dropped within the correct tolerance, I was able to start the second stage of the restoration which involved applying a sealer.
I chose Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal to seal this stone, applying two coats. This is an oil-based product that restores the beautiful Black colour to the limestone resulting in a nice finish. This product is also rated for external as well as internal use so ideal for this application.
My client was very happy with the result and relieved that we had managed to achieve the finish he had originally hoped for. They were delighted they could now use the new patio to its full potential throughout the summer.
Before leaving I recommended avoiding acidic cleaning products going forward and suggested they make use of our annual maintenance offering, we would then return every spring to get the patio ready for the summer.
Source: Limestone Patio Cleaning and Restoration Service in North Yorkshire