The importance of research when restoring property
The ordinary person in the street seems happy nowadays to just accept what's available and doesn't seem to question the lack of choice. It's only when an expert in a particular field highlights the options available along with the facts that one realises the lack of choice or options in the first place. All so often choice is dictated by price. This is always highlighted to me when I walk into a supermarket to buy carrots, if you do the same in the garden centre you will find many varieties!
The internet has in some ways returned choice to us but often we are reluctant to search too far as it not only can be time consuming but it then presents us with another dilemma a decision to make.
When renovating or restoring a property it is no different. Walk into your local DIY store and you will find something to fix everything but your choice will be restricted to their suppliers of best selling products.
Sometimes whatever is available will be a reasonable solution, at other times, particularly on older properties this may not be the case. Before jumping in the car to find the solution did you look at the cause of the problem? No! Well how do you know how to fix it?
Don't get me wrong, modern solutions can often save a lot of time and effort but there is a place for them and knowing when they can and can't work and why, could save much time and expense both short and long term a typical example of this is modern masonry paints vs limewash. (Try buying breathable paints in Homebase.) A further example is my client's floor.
The cleaning and long term protection of a Horsham slab stone floor
Horsham Slab is a hard sandstone from the Weald Clay beds with a tendency to split making it an ideal material for tile making. It is used for roofing and sometimes for field walls and capping chimneys. In the past it has also been used for flooring.
My Client's kitchen floor had been laid in the mid 1800's. When it was put down the vision of todays living could not even have been imagined. (The potato chip had just been invented by George Crum in 1853 but Henry J Heinz didn't begin making tomato ketchup until around 1876. In fact at some point, in the not too distant past, it had been tiled over leaving bitumen on it too.
The tasks in hand
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Solve the concern about the breath ability of the floor. Damp must escape. Every article read stated this as a major issue. Get it wrong and risk the whole building!
To clean the floor and then protect and seal it, so that it can be used in a modern kitchen. The floor needs to be mop-able and if spillages of grease, wine, etc. occur along with the odd muddy shoe, that the culprit can be cleaned up with no long term impact. A tall order for a stone that just loves to soak things up.
The options available
Methodology
Impact
A good scrub with an old fashioned scrubbing brush and lots of detergent
The dirt had ground in for too long for this to have much impact
Chemical processes Each process selected would favour one or two of the many types of dirt embedded in the stone.
Sand blast the stone and take off the top layer The depth of the stone was unknown and taking the top layer away would not guarantee that the next layer was cleaner
Jet wash This would leave the room very wet. It would remove dirt but not necessarily ingrained grease and grime
Steam clean using the Doff system This seems to be the answer as it penetrates the stone and then evaporates out with the dirt. The downside is that this is a system that is usually used commercially outside and can be very messy. May be inappropriate for use in a home in certain circumstances.
After some research it was decided to employ the services of a stone consultant and two contractors who were able to give advice on the floor and the cleaning systems available. This was imperative, as some modern solvents and detergents could have a detrimental effect and if damp had been sealed in it would bring on some long term building problems.
As for the sealing solutions, we've found a spirit based silicone impregnator that penetrates into the surface of stone and forms an invisible film. It prevents staining from water, dirt and oil, but still allows the stone to breathe. We are also looking at various wax based solutions.
This is one of those areas where the short term cost will give you long term savings, peace of mind and an easy to keep clean floor.
For more information visit www.tsarine.co.uk
