Flagstone Flooring

[rowanberry]

Hi,

Forgive me if this is a repeat of a topic but I have searched and can't find what I am looking for.

We have been rennovating a terraced cottage for 4 years now and are begining to get to a stage of 'putting rooms together'. We have replaced broken flags and have put flags in where there was concrete all through the ground floor. I am noticing now that there is a lot of dust and dirt, is this normal for flagstones? Is there any form of sealant that I could use that would still allow breathing? We have quite a substantial damp problem which we are just begining to get on top of and I would hate to make things worse.

Does anyone know the best way to remove bitumin from flagstones? I have found the best way is to walk on it and grind the dirt in but this is a very slow process and as we need to concentrate on completing the room with the bitumin I need to find a quicker way of dealing with the problem!

Thank You

PS if anyone needs Bristol Blue Pennant Flagstones we have a load spare

 

[benmc]

For sealant have a look at Lithofin products

http://www.extensive.co.uk/section.php/48/1/yorkstone-and-sandstone-flooring

I know they are highly regarded.

I will be honest I am not sure their suitability in conjunction with your damp issues.

As for the bitumen. Have you tried something on an angle grinder?

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Power+Tool+Accessories/Wire+Abrasives/d80/sd1920

The other option would be White Spirit, but that is going to be messy

Ben

 

[Penners]

My wife used to work for a company that laid Cotswold limestone floors. They're sealing treatment was as follows:

Apply a fairly generous first coat of 50/50 boiled linseed oil and white spirit. Wipe off any surplus and allow to dry.

Apply a sparing second coat of 100% boiled linseed oil. Wipe off any surplus and allow to dry thoroughly. Buff with cotton cloths - not too much if you don't want to raise a shine.

Be sure to use the best quality linseed oil.

Blue pennant is, I believe, a sandstone, but I don't see any reason why the above shouldn't work just as well. However, I suggest you try the treatment on a spare piece to ensure that you're happy with it, before treating the floor.

 

[simon_v]

Linseed oil works as a sealant for sandstone but in my case the stone density and therefore the porosity varied greatly resulting in areas where the oil was absorbed readily and areas where it remained on the surface. I used a mix of boiled linseed and turpentine in the ratio 3:1. As said previously remove any residue left after an hour or less, if you leave it longer it'll start to solidify into a sticky glossy coat which takes weeks to dry fully. OK for fly paper but bad for floors. See previous thread & picture here - http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11494

 

[rowanberry]

Thank you

I'm glad I have found you all I have spent most of my day reading various threads and I am now inspired to get back into the rennovation.
2 years after my husbands '2 year rennovation' plan ran out of time, a broken back, near bankruptcy and an unplanned child later I had lost the will to live in my building site - I want all my books back from storage!! I want the cement mixer out of my living room!
You have inspired me to get the enthusiasm back

Thanks - I will post more random questions soon

 

[Wren]

People seem very keen to seal flagstones, but I am not so sure. Has always seemed to me that by sealing them then you would loose breathability. This was to some extent backed up by the "Ask an Agony Uncle" section of this website (see the question called "How should we finish flags on limecrete floor?"). We have flagstones in the room next to our kitchen that I want to use as a dining room (temporarily doubling as a living room as well). Given that this room will not get as much spillage and traffic as the kitchen then not sealing them strikes me as perfectly manageable. So I am learning to love the unsealed look, and now find that sealed flagstones look too dark to me and rather odd. Makes me wonder what people would have done when they were originally laid. (Am now even thinking about whether I would eventually replace our concrete kitchen floor with limecrete and unsealed flags.)

In terms of the bitumen we had a covering of something similar. Many hours on my hands and knees scrubbing it off (with as little water as possible, tried not to soak the place, and a tiny dash of ecover washing up liquid), and did get some friends to help. End result was worth it.

(Good luck with getting your books out of storage.)