Whiteware Ceramics - Stoneware

The Secrets of Good Looking Stone   by Jeremy Taylor  

The tile market has come a long way in the last 20 years, gone are the days when choice was restricted to a range of 6 by 6 inch ceramic tiles with limited styles and colours. The market has grown very quickly in this time and become much more divergent, today ceramics are being outpaced by natural products such as Granite, Limestone, Slate, Travertine etc. and this has been fuelled by a wealth of television makeover shows and magazines.

Natural materials are very durable, however to protect the stone and bring out the natural beauty it's advisable to have it sealed. Some stones are more porous than others and this will affect the choice and quantity of sealer required so always make sure you select one especially recommended for the stone. You will tend to find sealers will either be solvent based or water based; here at Tile Doctor we always recommend water based. The molecules in water based sealers are smaller and so are able to penetrate deeper into the stone also you don't need to wait for the floor to be completely dry before applying them, more importantly they are far more pleasant to work with.

If your floor is already sealed but has worn off in high traffic areas and become patchy then it will be necessary to strip all the sealer off the floor first. There are a number of products on the market that are available for this purpose.

Last but not least your floor will require cleaning so to maximise the life of your sealer be careful which cleaning product you use. A lot of cleaning products sold on the market today are designed for cleaning ceramic surfaces and can etch away at sealed surface of your floor thus reducing its life.

About the Author

Jeremy Taylor is a Director of UK Tile, Stone and Grout specialists Tile Doctor Ltd, for further information, products and free advice on how to maintain your Tile, Stone and Grout please visit the TileDoctor.co.uk web site.