How to repair and maintain slate flooring?

[Thierry]

Hi team

I have grout coming out from the slate flooring. See photo

 

1. Can you please suggest which grout to buy? Grey colour.

2. I never maintain the slate floor. Is it really necessary  to seal the slate?

Any suggestions appreciated

Thanks

Thierry

[MitchellMc]

I'd suggest taking one of the loose pieces into your nearest store and matching it to the closest grout colour @Thierry. There are a few different brands and several colours in grey tones. I'm sure you'll find a suitable match. Make sure to remove any loose grout before applying the new.

How long have you been in the house? When your slate coating shows signs of wearing through, loses its gloss or begins to flake off, you'd be wise to address the issue. However, if it doesn't show any of those signs and you're happy with the appearance, it's unnecessary to seal it again.

Mitchell

[Thierry]

Hi Mitchell

Thanks for your help.

Been in the house over 5 years now. The slate doesn't look shinny.. should it be shinny? 

I have slates in kitchen, corridor, laundry, bathroom..

If sealing, what do i need, thanks

[MitchellMc]

Your slate looks reasonably shiny from your picture as the light is reflecting from them @Thierry.  

Place a few droplets of water on the slate and wait 30 minutes before wiping the water away. If the slate did not darken from the moisture, your sealer is acceptable and does not need to be re-applied. If the slate darkens, the water has penetrated, and a re-coat is required.

To re-coat a slate floor, you need to work out what type of sealer was used originally so you can apply a compatible product. It will either be a water or solvent-based product. If it was a water-based sealer, you can safely reseal using either a solvent-based or water-based sealer. If a solvent-based sealer was originally used, you'd want to reseal using a solvent-based sealer. A water-based sealer cannot be applied on top of a solvent-based sealer.

Select an inconspicuous area and pour a little bit of Xylene onto a tile to test your coating. Wait about 15 seconds, wipe off the Xylene, and touch the area. If it feels tacky, it means a solvent-based sealer was used. If it's not tacky, a water-based sealer was used.

Here's our range of slate sealers to choose from.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[jilly54]

We have slate, that looks like these. We need to either clean or remove cement grouting, prior to sealing it. It was like this, when we bought it. I want to keep the stone flooring, as we live in the Bush. We bought Slate cleaner from Bunnings, but it won't clean the cement grout. Can't afford a trades person, as, we are Pensioners.

Can you please advise us, as to how we can make our very long hallway, looking New and impressive?

Many thanks for your valuable time.

Cheers

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @jilly54. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about restoring a slate floor.

You might like to start by uploading some images of your floor, so our members can better understand the condition and offer helpful suggestions. Some close-ups of the grout would also help. Also, please photograph any areas where the existing coating is peeling.

Any grout that is compromised and falling out needs to be removed and the areas repaired. There might be some options for cleaning the grout, but those are limited as any harsh chemicals will discolour the natural stone. Once we see those photos, we'll have a better idea of what might work.

I'll be looking forward to seeing those photos and assisting further.

Mitchell

[Jason]

Hi @jilly54,

Let me also extend a very warm welcome to the community. Please let me know if you need a hand uploading images so we can see what you are working with. 

We're here to help.

Jason

[jilly54]

 

 

  

 

[jilly54]

I havw attached, several.pics of the slate floor. Also one of where we took some up, to replace the shower,  so you can get an idea of the underneath.

The Deep Clean, did nothing for the cement grout.

Many thanks, 

Jill

[EricL]

Hello @jilly54

Thank you very much for posting photos of your slate flooring. You'll notice that in photo number one and number two there are parts of your grout that are lighter and seem to look like it has been chipped. This is because your entire floor has been sealed including the grout. Now through time and attrition, the sealer has slowly been worn away and is starting to fail.

At the top of this discussion in the third entry, @MitchellMc has given very specific instructions on how to test your sealer and how to determine what type of sealer you should use. Please keep in mind that before you start sealing your floor make sure that you've taken care of all the repairs that need doing on your floor.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric