Black Galaxy tiles have gone patchy after sealing

[shirleyali1]

This problem has been going on for months now and is driving us crazy. We had a conservatory floor laid with black galaxy tiles. The tiler did an excellent job in laying the tiles. He grouted them the same day and cleaned them off to a degree. Several days later another man turned up to seal the tiles. It was a red hot day and he sealed the tiles in about 20 minutes. We asked if it needed cleaning off before it was sealed,he said no it was ok. We were told to leave the sealer till the next day and then wash the floor. The floor looked awful with loads of patches, some running in places through several tiles and it looks mottled now, nothing like the tile we chose.
We complained to the company who were very aggressive, but eventually said they would return and seal the floor again, when it was cooler. This they did 3 days ago, telling us to leave the floor till the next day again and then clean it. It looks worse.
Please can anybody suggest what to do. We paid a fortune for the job.

[Dave]

Hi shirley...sorry to hear of your dilemma........do you know which sealer they used..?....

[shirleyali1]

Thanks Dave, but we don't know which sealer he used, it was just in a plain plastic bottle. Do you think that the floor not being cleaned before it was a sealed, caused the problem, plus could we have the sealer removed?
Many thanks

[garythetiler]

unless you know what sealer they used this is difficult question to answer some sealers are whats known as impregnators which go into the pores of the stone others sit on the surface floor tiles that need sealing should be clean and dry before sealing most good tilers give the tiles one coat of sealer before laying one coat after laying and a third after grouting but it all depends on the type of tile type of sealer etc

[Dave]

Thanks Dave, but we don't know which sealer he used, it was just in a plain plastic bottle. Do you think that the floor not being cleaned before it was a sealed, caused the problem, plus could we have the sealer removed?
Many thanks

Yes!! shirley if the tiles were not clean then the sealer will lock the dirt in....and could have caused the patchy drying.....

Is it possible to find out the type of sealer used..?

This could be a case of the wrong sealer used as well.....but we would just be guessing till we know what we are dealing with.....

[shirleyali1]

Will try to find out what sealer was used, but the company are not the best to deal with. I'm almost sure he said that the sealer soaks in to the tile. Do you think anything can be done, if it has had dirt/grout soaked in as well.
Thanks

[Dave]

It can be sorted.. no probs shirley..don't worry about that.....would be good if we knew what it was sealed with......can you also post pics of how bad the tiles are...then we can give direct advice as the best way to handle it....
sorry for this but we want to get it right for you.......

[shirleyali1]

Thanks Dave
Will post some pics tomorrow, and will also find out from Tile Company about the sealer
Cheers
Shirley

[Fekin]

Sounds a right mess.

Was it a national tile shop that fit them for you ?

[wetdec]

As I would see this there are 3 possible issues :

It is unusual for granite to be sealed 3 times as over 80% of granite needs no sealing because the absorbtion of granite is very low in deed. Keepin this in mind it could be that maybe too much sealer has been left on the surface and dried there giving a shading effect.

Granite as you know is natural and it is not uncommon for differing areas of a slab(that the tiles are cut from) to be denser than others. If this is the case then possibly you have areas of tiles which have and areas of tiles which havnt absorbed sealer so giving shading.

If the granite was laid and grouted relatively quickly the adhesive below could b still be disspersing moisture in some areas. This moisture can effect the tile in that you would get a shading effect untill it dries fully. If this is the case then the sealer is not helping.

Every natural install is different and with granite being sourced just about everywhere quality varies and so its near impossible to pinpoint exact problems. As the guys have said if a start can be made with the type of sealer then it would be easier to advise.


tiler

[shirleyali1]

A tile company in Walsall fitted the tiles, who work with Easyfit Conservatories, so we thought they would be ok.

[wetdec]

I think its important that you dont lay any blame with yourselves over this. Fixing stone is quite specialist the fault should lay with those who have sold you their services without being compitent it would seem.

tiler

[TilingLogistics]

I have to say I seal a floor at least once a week sometimes more. It is impossible in my opinion to seal any floor in 20 minutes with a penetrating sealer if you observe the dwell times. How many metres are we talking about here?

Kev

[shirleyali1]

Hi Kev
The conservatory is approx 15 x 10, so quite a lot of tiles. I have just phoned the company and the man who sealed it is on holiday, but his assistant said they use Glenstone sealer, which they buy in big drums.
Thanks to all for advice

[wetdec]

Hi

If its Glenstone then it will prob be from Glenstone granite in Ireland who I would then assume is supplying them the granite.

I would sugest that you give these guys a call and explain gently the situation and see what they have to say ?

CompanyGlenstone Granite Ltd.

AddressUnit 17, Centrepoint Business Pk
Dundalk
Co. Louth
Carrickarnon
Ireland
Telephone+353 (0) 42 938 0450Mobile+353 (0) 87 679 3456Fax+353 (0) 42 938 0451

tiler

[shirleyali1]

thanks for the info, will call them now.

[shirleyali1]

Could not get through to Glenstone, Ireland, wrong number on website I think, but have spoken to a company who mend mistakes etc and he said that the polished black galaxy should not be sealed and that it will cost approx £460 to take off the sealer and repolish. He has advised me to instruct a solicitor to claim the money from the Tile company. Could anybody please confirm that this is my best plan of action.

[wetdec]

Personally I would be heading for the conservatory supplier who recomended them and threatening them with solicitors before you get anyone in get them to pay ??

Its not generally good for someone to quote for such a job without having seen it.

tiler

[TilingLogistics]

Could not get through to Glenstone, Ireland, wrong number on website I think, but have spoken to a company who mend mistakes etc and he said that the polished black galaxy should not be sealed and that it will cost approx £460 to take off the sealer and repolish. He has advised me to instruct a solicitor to claim the money from the Tile company. Could anybody please confirm that this is my best plan of action.

Thats interesting. I have sealed polished black galaxy successfully I might add. It will take sealer. What interests me is unless it was a topical sealer (i.e. a sealer that stays on the surface) how are they going to remove it? Unless they mean they are going to try and strip what sealer is left on the surface which if it was correctly applied should be virtually nothing! Furthermore they are a brave company to quote over the phone without seeing the job and doing a test area IMO

Kev

[grumpygrouter]

Thats interesting. I have sealed polished black galaxy successfully I might add. It will take sealer. What interests me is unless it was a topical sealer (i.e. a sealer that stays on the surface) how are they going to remove it? Unless they mean they are going to try and strip what sealer is left on the surface which if it was correctly applied should be virtually nothing! Furthermore they are a brave company to quote over the phone without seeing the job and doing a test area IMO

Kev

I too have successfully sealed black galaxy, used Lithofin Stainstop MN.

[MrSpoon]

hmm could it be that the tiles weren't back skimmed and the adhesive is causing the patchyness?

[grumpygrouter]

hmm could it be that the tiles weren't back skimmed and the adhesive is causing the patchyness?

Unlikely, granite is not translucent so addy would not show through.

[MrSpoon]

ah fair enough, i heard that back skimming on certain tiles is quite important or it will show once laid, tho im not too sure which type these are

[Dave]

light to translucent tiles ..i.e lime stones etc etc.............but most benefit from backskimming to fill holes etc and also aid in the adhesion of the tile ...

[shirleyali1]

Hi to all
Hope some of you remember me, just to say we are still having a problem with the black galaxy tiles laid in the conservatory.
They were laid and sealed in one day. A few days later another guy came and sealed the tiles on a red hot day. He sealed about 18 sq metres in less than 20 mins. told us to shut the door and leave them till the next day and then wipe off the surplus.
He also asked for the payment in full, which we stupidly did without cleaning off the sealer.
Anyway after cleaning the floor the tiles were all streaky. We phoned up, and he reluctantly came up to look at them a week later, on another hot day and sealed them again. Telling us again not to walk on the floor till the next day and then clean the floor.
Floor even worse.
Man was very abusive, said he wouldn't do anything else.
So we got another firm in who were recommended to us. They said the sealer should not have been applied in hot temperatures and had baked on the granite tiles. They recommended stripping back the tiles to remove the excess sealer.
When they did this a lot of black mess came out, and now the tiles are a lot lighter. It seems the tiles were probably dyed.
Could somebody tell me what the best course of action is now. The tiles are a complete disaster. Can you dye them back? the stains are still there as well and run through severall tiles.
Just wished we had not paid up so quick, learned a hard lesson.