Patio Renovation Archives - Devon Tile Doctor

Travertine Tiled Patio Renovation Rousdon Devon

85m2 Travertine patio renovation in Rousdon, Devon

A client from the village of Rousdon in Devon asked me to take a look at a large Travertine patio which was laid approximately five years ago and was now in a bad state. I contacted her and arranged a time to pop over and conduct a free survey of the patio which was approximately 85m2.

Travertine Patio Before Cleaning Rousdon Devon

Upon arrival I could see that garden furniture had been left on the patio and not moved for a long-time, this had resulted in rust stains from the metal and wooden furniture which had leached into the travertine causing staining. Normal cleaners and just jet washing would not be able to clear the stains.

I performed a test with our Tile Doctor product – Patio and Driveway Cleaner which is a very strong cleaner designed to remove the toughest mildew, growth and staining on exterior stone and tiled patios and driveways. The test went well and the client was thrilled with the results and asked if I could achieve the same finish throughout the whole patio. I informed her I could, however, we would need to postpone the booking until spring at the earliest so that the weather and air has time to warm up so the products and sealer both do their jobs.
She was happy to take this advice and accepted my quotation.

Cleaning a Travertine Patio Tiled Floor

I returned in April on a warm, dry weekend to carry out the work as intended.

Work started with the generous application of around ten litres of Tile Doctor Patio and Driveway Cleaner which was left to dwell for approximately three hours, checking every 15 minutes on progress. After this time, I agitated the areas using a Viper rotary machine fitted with a stiff bristle brush to work the product into the stone and get into the pits and grout lines.

Immediately after the agitation process I used my pressurised water system to collect the slurry and remove any remaining moss and algae from the patio – this also neutralised the stone from any remaining products and removed much of the moisture from the stone so it could dry out quickly.

In the lasting afternoon sun, the patio dried out quickly with the assistance of floor fans to speed up the process.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Patio Floor

The following day I ran some moisture tests which confirmed the patio was dry and could accept a sealer. It’s not a good idea to apply a sealer to damp stone anyway but outside even more so as moisture can become trapped in the stone and then freeze over winter resulting in damage to the sealer.

All was well and I was able to complete the job with the application of three coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal. This kept to the brief from the client who had requested a completely natural stone finish.

Travertine Patio After Cleaning Rousdon Devon

Once completed the patio was transformed and my client was over the moon with its new appearance which is now ready for summer entertaining. To make sure the patio keeps it appearance they have requested I come back every year going forward to do a spring clean and top up the sealer. I offer an annual maintenance plan for customers with high maintenance floors/patios like this one so I’m more than happy to do that.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Patio in Devon

85m2 Travertine patio renovation in Rousdon, Devon Read More »

Renovating a New Limestone Patio Damaged by Brick Acid in Exminster

I was contacted by a very unhappy customer from the village of Exminster who had recently had a new Limestone Patio laid in the Garden of their house in near Exeter. After the builders had finished laying the patio, they must have used some sort of brick acid to clean the stone and remove excess mortar. With limestone being Acid Sensitive, it etched the stone leaving it in a mess. Also, you need to consider the effects of acid rain so leaving an acid sensitive stone un-protected in the UK is a big no no and will result in its degradation over time.

Acid Damaged Limestone Patio Before Renovation Exminster

Exminster is a village on the southern edge of the City of Exeter, and I often find myself working there, so it was no problem to pop down and visit the property to investigate the problem fully.

Whilst at the property and discussing the Patio with the owner I carried out a couple of tests using various products. The testing went well, and my customer could immediately see the potential of the Patio and how the problems could be rectified. The process I had worked out would involve treating the damaged white areas using a series of Tile Doctor Diamond pads to polish out the damage and then restore the colour and protect the Limestone with Tile Doctor X-Tra seal which is an ideal sealer for external stone. Happy to accept our quote a suitable weather window was chosen, and the date was set for the work to be done.

Renovating an Acid Damaged Limestone Patio

I started by adding weight to a Viper rotary floor buffer and then ran over each slab several times with a very coarse a 100-grit milling pad using water for lubrication. The process was repeated using a finer 200-grit milling pad and then a 400-grit burnishing pad again with water to lubricate the process. After each pad the patio was rinsed with water running at high-pressure using a cleaning and extraction system that is fitted into our van.

After the stones had been renovated, I gave them a full deep clean to remove any remaining dirt and staining using Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was worked into the Limestone with a black scrubbing pad. After a final rinse and extract with the van mounted cleaning system I left the Limestone patio to dry out overnight.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Patio

With the weather still in our favour I returned the next day to seal and protect the patio with two coats of Tile Doctor X-Tra seal. This is a truly remarkable product which is fully breathable and can be used both internally and externally. It’s an oil-based sealer so its puts back the essential oils that have been leached out of the stone by the use of brick acid, thereby restoring colour and structure to the stone.

Acid Damaged Limestone After Before Renovation Exminster

My customer was very happy with the transformation and with the summer just around the corner can now enjoy their freshly laid Limestone patio in all its glory. More importantly it is now sealed and protected against future elements.

PS… For aftercare of an acid sensitive and sealed patio like this one you need to be careful what you clean it with. In this case I recommend Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which has a neutral pH that won’t damage the stone or the sealer. Many of the cleaning products you will find in supermarkets etc. are simply too strong and will weaken the sealer over time.

Patio Renovation