[aandgtservices]

can anyone offer me advice.  We have been asked to seal a lime stone floor which has been sealed with a mettalised polish.  All the flooring came from the same quary but 6-7 tiles react and feel different to the rest.  The floor is in an office complex and casters are constantly moving and creating dust.  Would a seal such as Lithifin stain stop get rid of the dusting problem? or are there any other suggestions Thank  Tony T

[Kev Martin]

OK!  Before I give you my opinion can you give me a little more info please?

What finish is it?

Riven (Bumpy, undulating)?
Honed smooth but matt?
Saw Cut can you see circular saw marks in it?
What size are the tiles and if possible how thick are they?
What colour?  Photos if possible?
Total M2 of floor?

I realise at the moment it has some sort of polish on it but try and examine it closely or ask if someone saw it before it was treated.

Once I have this info I will try to offer some advice

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

[Jamie Pearson]

They need to change the castors on the chairs.

I bet they have hard plastic wheels used on carpets. The default issue.

They need to order rubber tyre wheels from the chair manufacturer or from a company like scratchnomore.

All your efforts will be in vain if they dont make this investment.

I have historically had exactly the same problem. We ground and polished the same are 4 times and it was only when they swapped them out the problem ceased.

[aandgtservices]

Thanks for taking the time to send your advice guys.  The limestone is honed but a matt finish and I have been told they are 20mm thick, but they are not sure. I would desribe the colour as a pale honey hue but that may be down to the lighting.  Sorry can't give more info   The chairs all have the standard casters but it is only a few tiles that are causing the problem.

[Kev Martin]

I suspect from your description that Jamie from CSUK is right on the button with regards to what is causing the problem.

It appears the limestone is sealed with some sort of topical polish type sealant!

This in itself is probably not helping because the chances are the gunk that is on it probably isn't breathable therefore the stone cannot breathe naturally and consequently it is trying to force the sealant/polish off the surface.  This coupled with plastic/cheapo castors going across it is probably contributing to the surface breaking up.  When natural stone cannot breathe Mother Nature always wins and it is a common occurrence for the face of the stone to spall (Explode).  The spalling can come in all sorts of degrees from a tiny splinter chipping off to the whole face of the tile shearing.

My suggestion would be to clean the stuff off completely and replace the sealer with a water based MVT (Breathable) premium sealer.  Then as Jamie says advise them to change the castors on all their chairs for good quality rubber or Nylon wheels.

I am more than happy to advise you further on the removal of the current sealer/polish and the best way to go about it if you need me to.

Kind Regards

Kevin Martin
Marble Life Ltd

[aandgtservices]

Thanks Kevin, I will be in touch.  we are getting more and more enquiries for stone renovation which is not our normal business so may be able to pass work your way.

[Kev Martin]

Thanks Kevin, I will be in touch.  we are getting more and more enquiries for stone renovation which is not our normal business so may be able to pass work your way.

Thank you we will always try to help where we can!

Regards

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd