Treating an internal stone slab floor.

[cmillward]

Does anyone have any info on how to treat an internal stone slab floor, it is original in my 1820 cottage, but i need to clean it up and seal. I am aware the floor needs to breath but what is the best materials to use.

 

[Moo]

Just give it a good scrub and then walk on it a lot. Ours are the envy of our neighbours and, apart from the v. occasional pass with a broom, they've not been touched for the past ten years.

(Mind you, I seem to remember Evelyn recommending something like sour milk ...)

 

[Geoffrey]

And if that doesn't work HG make a good range of cleaners.
To polish and protect you can use Traffic Wax or make your own (boiled linseed oil with a little white spirit I believe).

Happy scrubbing.

 

[cmillward]

Thanks for the two replies. Due to the stone floors being in the two reception rooms i will try a good scrub first, and then try the boiled linseed oil as i want to stop it from staining if any thiong spills on it.
Due to the fact that the floors have no membrane beneath i have heard if you put a rug on it, it will get damp as it absorbs the moisture from beneath and with in the slabs, any experience of this regards Craig.

 

[Nemesis]

It all depends on the floor really - some are very dry, others not so.

 

[cmillward]

It appears to be dry, especially as there has never been any proper heating in the house, but i suppose time will only tell with the winter. Well hopefully the radiators are going in this weekend so this should help.

I am still a little concerned to make sure i look after the stone slabs as they are not the best, and small areas particularly on the edges have crumbled a little, i have read that the slabs need to breath, and some people ruin them by totally sealing them which doesn't allow them to breath. These were originally covered in a tarr like layer and then carpeted. The tar layer simply scraped off revealing the slabs.

 

[Geoffrey]

When did you scrape off the tar (bitumen?). My floor took the best part of a year to dry out after I removed dpc and concrete off it. Early on there was a bit of mould on the underside of a rug which we spotted in time. You also need to watch for mould on wooden chair/table legs. We spent 6 months keeping our dining chairs on the table when not in use, and pieces of tinfoil under the table legs.
Don't be put off by this - it will stabilise eventually and become less crumbly as well. If any slabs are really badly damaged you can always replace them at some point with new or reclaimed ones to blend. We have just done this and it looks great. It also gave us the opportunity to see just how damp the soil/sand underneath was - (quite damp, but by no means saturated which I confess I had feared at times).
If you suddenly get any damp after your radiators go in it is quite likely to be condensation. I gather from past threads that woodburning stoves are an effective way of heating rooms with a stone floor as they help prevent this.

 

[cmillward]

Thanks for that Geoffrey.
We scraped the bitumin substance off possibly in August, it was something that was done over a matter of time, as we originally pulled all the ceilings down and all the plaster off the walls, so most of it was scraped up as we cleared the rubbish off the floor. The slabs are quite strange as they seem to have a slight pattern in them, it looks as if they have be lightly scabbled to form a key, and they are quite light in colour. This is the main reason i want to treat them to try and darken them in colour to make the pattern less noticable.
Thanks
Craig