External stone cleaning

At Tile & Stone Medic we don’t just service hard floors in kitchens and bathrooms, our expertise also covers outdoor hard floor repair and refurbishment, too. From worn and faded driveways and loose patios, to tiled pathways disappearing under moss and lichen, we are able to provide remarkable cleaning solutions that will restore your outdoor surfaces to the highest of standards. Our powerful yet efficient jet wash systems easily separate accumulated dirt and plant life from stone tiling, bringing new life to the appearance of any home or business.

Common problems with external stone

When natural stone is used outdoors in the UK it faces an assault on many fronts:

  • Heavy wind and rain, temperature changes and freezing conditions can degrade the appearance of stone dramatically, and at worst can lead to cracks and chipping.
  • Moss, lichen and other undesirable plants can also thrive on damp or cold stone.
  • Depending on the particular type of stone we’re dealing with, however, care must be taken to ensure that any work undertaken does not cause damage to the underlying stone.

This is where our unique expertise is most valuable!

  • External Stone Cleaning

    Before

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  • External Stone Cleaning

    After

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Benefits of our external cleaning services

Refurbishing external stonework such as a driveway can actually increase the value of your home. When your tarmac driveway is serviced or restored it is bound to leave a great impression on all visitors to your home. Many customers don’t realise how much of a difference our refurbishment service can make, in some cases it can even save the cost of a new driveway. Where customers have considered new installations our solutions have provided outstanding results at a fraction of the price.

When properly sealed, outdoor stone and tile surfaces will benefit from a protective barrier against dirt and detritus. You benefit from greater value for money from your clean and results that you can enjoy longer. Your outdoor surfaces will also be potentially safer, achieving greater grip under tyre and foot and being less prone to pooling rainfall.

Our process

Depending on the specifics of your driveway or stonework, we will select the best approach.

  • Normally, we will wash and remove dirt from your surfaces with high quality solutions and equipment before we service the underlying stone.
  • Once the external area is clean and dry, where necessary our technicians will re-sand your block paving or even re-point your patio.
  • Finally we can seal external areas with a range of different sealers upon request. We can achieve matt, satin or gloss finishes depending on your preference and type of stone.

Some of the sealer that we use can provide protection for 12-15 years and not only protect areas from becoming stained, but also prevent any further growth of moss and lichen, lowering your maintenance costs significantly.

Call now to chat with our friendly team about the most effective outdoor tile and stone maintenance programmes to suit you. We are also happy to advise on specialist products to enhance and maximise the lifespan of external hard flooring.

Examples of our work

Block paved driveway after cleaning in Allostock Near Knutsford, Cheshire
Mosaic tiled swimming pool cleaning in Knutsford, Cheshire - after
Swimming pool limestone tile cleaning in Cheshire - After
Indian stone patio in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire after cleaning
Brick garden wall cleaning in Knutsford, Cheshire after cleaning
Exterior stone window sills deep cleaning and sealing in Dorridge, Solihull, West Midlands, after
Deep clean and seal of Indian Stone external eating area of public house in Congleton, Cheshire after

FAQs

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Can you clean my sandstone patio?

Yes – our cleaning solutions and equipment works wonders on outdoor sandstone, we’d be happy to clean your sandstone patio, driveway or ornaments.

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Can you clean outdoor flagstone floor?

Yes, we can provide the same high level stone cleaning service on outdoor stone floors including flagstone patios.

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Why do you seal a floor?

We apply a sealer to a floor in order to protect it. Different types of floor, both manmade and natural stone, are vulnerable to different sorts of damage. They can all be harmed by chemicals to a certain degree, even by the acid in food and drink spillages, as they will be very slightly porous. As well as this, they can be worn away by physical damage. Even foot traffic can have a big impact if dust or grit has built up on the floor, since it increases abrasions. A sealant will reduce the chance of a spill becoming a stain by reducing the floor’s ability to absorb liquids. It can also help protect the appearance of the floor by forming a protective barrier. A sealant won’t prevent all damage and it will still wear away over time, but it will help your floors last longer, helping protect your investment. Sealants will even help protect your floor from UV radiation which can lead to fading over the lifespan of a high value stone or tiled floor. We can consult with you to find the best sealant for your floor and the type of use it gets to make sure it receives the best form of protection.

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Can you protect against moss and lichen?

Yes, our sealers and treatments are formulated to minimise the growth of moss and lichen and other intruders to keep your outdoor stonework looking great for longer

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Are your jet washers noisy?

The jet washers we use aren’t much louder than a running car engine. We’ll always be as considerate as possible to you and your neighbours and we can even schedule our works around your timetable and neighbourhood requirements, such as weekend, weekday out of hours etc.

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Will my external cleaning hold up against the elements?

Winter can be especially hard on external surfaces, so we generally recommend a maintenance clean once a year or so. That said, we use the most advanced sealers to protect against moisture, frost and whatever else the weather can throw at your surfaces. Rest assured your results will be of the highest quality.

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Will weather conditions affect your work?

Our external floor cleaning services do require driveways and patios to dry out before the service can be completed. For larger areas that are impossible to shield from the weather we may need to plan our work according the weather forecast.

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Are the chemicals and solutions you use safe around me/my customers/children/pets?

Whilst we may use specialist chemicals in the course of our work, we can assure you that by the time we leave all residues will be gone and your tile or stone flooring will be perfectly safe for everyone to use. We work to extremely high standards of health and safety, conducting proper risk assessments where appropriate and never putting you or anyone else in danger.

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Will Tile & Stone Medic’s cleaning services cause noise, disruption, dirt or debris in my home/business?

We always work in the most considerate way possible. Work will be tailored to your needs and will fit around your schedule where possible. We avoid bringing loud or bulky machinery into your home and when a job is complete we thoroughly clean up after ourselves to leave your space looking as tidy as it did when we arrived.

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Do we have to move all the furniture?

Yes, ideally if you want the job done to the best of our ability, then all furniture, kick plates in kitchens etc should be removed. However, don’t worry we will help you manage this.
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Is your work all insured?

Absolutely! we are always happy to show you our insurance certificates or down load them to you if so required.
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How long does the work take to carry out?

Once we have spoken to you in more detail we will be able to give you an idea of the time allocation required to restore your floors to a high level.
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How much will it cost to have my floor cleaned and sealed?

Because all floors require their own individual needs, perhaps different cleaning solutions, strippers and sealers it is impossible to give an average cost. Some areas of floor are very large and again this will have an impact on the costings as they may take longer to restore. Tile & Stone Medic will either arrrange an onsite visit to assess the floor in question, or, if we do not have local cover in that area, we will talk to you in more detail over the phone and perhaps request that you down load some pictures of the floor to us.