I was contacted by “The Church of the Resurrection” in the Ely suburb of Cardiff to ask if we would improve the appearance of their Marble floor. We are always up for a challenge at Tile Doctor, so I arranged an appointment to visit the church, survey the floor and recommend a solution.

The church itself is relatively new and dates to 1934, the black and white Marble floor tiles were original however at some point in the past it had been covered in a carpet which had been glued down. The church committee now wanted to restore the Marble tiles back to its original beauty. I carried out a test sample which proved very successful and they were delighted with the results. I was very optimistic that this floor could be saved and would look pretty good at the end. We agreed a price and arranged the most convenient time to carry the work out when the church wasn’t in use.

Cleaning a Marble Tiled Church Floor

On my return I started the cleaning process by working in sections using a solution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go worked in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine to breakdown the glue. Next, I worked thorough a range of burnishing pads, first changing the pad to a coarse 100-grit diamond pad which was run over the floor using the Remove and Go as a lubricant. The soil was then rinsed off the floor with more water and extracted using a wet vacuum. The pad was then changed to a 200-grit pad and the process repeated. The combination of the Remove and Go and the pads cut into the surface of the tile and remove the adhesive staining.

Then I continued with a 400-grit diamond burnishing pad this time applied with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. After rinsing and extracting the soil I moved onto an 800-grit, 1500 grit and finally the 3000-grit pad to achieve a finish that they desired. These 17-inch diamond burnishing pads are available in set of four and really restore the deep polish of stone.

Around the Altar there were two concrete areas which looked unsightly now that the floor was uncovered so I suggested that I carry on with the pattern of the floor using concrete paint. This proved very successful as it blended in well improving the general appearance of the area.

Last step in the cleaning process was to improve the appearance of the Black Stone steps in front of the altar which were dull and marked from years of use. It was confined working space, so I polished these with a handheld machine fitted with 6-inch diamond burnishing pads. to restore the polished appearance of the stone.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Church Floor

After cleaning and polishing the areas I proceeded to seal the Marble with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within. Additionally, this sealer doesn’t change the colour of the stone, so it preserves its natural appearance. The black steps were sealed with Tile Doctor Stone Oil which really did enhance the jet-black lustre it was so in need of.

The work was carried out in April 2019 and was completed over the coarse of a few days. The floor now looks stunning and gives the whole church a lift. Certainly, the project management team were delighted with the results as they had thought the floor was unsalvageable. They said they would highly recommend Tile Doctor again for future church projects, which is always very pleasing to hear.

Source: Marble Tile Cleaning, Restoration and Sealing Service in Cardiff, Wales