What Type Of Floor Have You Got ???
The information that follows is given to help you quickly and accurately select required sealing and maintenance products for your floor.
Follow the following three steps:
- From the illustrations and the annotations provided,identify your floor type
- Decide which type of sealing finish you require.
- Read off the required quantities of sealing and maintenance products
Step No. 1 - Identify your floor type
Stone
There are many varieties of stone and certainly too numerous to adequately cover in this literatu
re. Most examples are porous, absorbent and need sealing to resist staining (limestone is particularly absorbent). We list a selection of stone types, which in our opinion require some form of sealing.
Limestone a highly absorbent pale coloured stone.
French Limestone is a smooth, grey or pale sandy coloured stone. It finish may be natural, honed or polished.
Cotswold Limestone is slightly rougher, clotted cream coloured stone.
Yorkstone, Hamstone, Purbeck Stone, Bathstone.
Travertine, Sansdstone, Fossil Stone.
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Polished Marble, Porcelain & Granite
Is normally very smooth and although
mechanically polished to create a highly
polished surface it is extremely susceptible to
staining and which reacts detrimentally to
acid. It is found in a variety of
colours and is particularly recognisable for
its shiney appearance.
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High Porosity Terracotta 
Rough texture pitted surface, maybe friable, imprecise shape, edges distorted or frayed. Will readily scratch and stain when un sealed. Highly absorbent
Quick Test – up to about 15 seconds*
e.g Teatree, Saltillo tiles
*Reclaimed and old terracotta which may appear similar to high porosity terracotta will sometimes not properly absorb sealer. This is due, in most cases, to accumulated matter such as natural waxes, grease and grime which have been worn into the tile over a period of time. Use the quick test to establish absorbency
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Medium Porosity Terracotta
Falls somewhere between the two previously described groups.
Either hand or machine made. Generally has a fairly smooth, regular appearance. Relatively difficult to scratch
Quick Test – approx 15 – 60 seconds*
e.g Jose Sempre, St Genis, St James.
In some cases, especially fine terracotta such as ‘des Launes’, when the absorbency factor is under 10%, a considerably longer period may be required for the water to be absorbed.
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Low Porosity Terracotta 
(Including semi-gres)
Invariably machine made. Relatively thin, dense and rigid material. Hard surface which will not readily scratch, highly vitrified, often extruded. Slightly absorbent
Quick Test – up to about 15 minutes or more.
e.g Lionheart, Red Terracotta
Please note – boiled linseed oil is to viscous to be properly
absorbed by low porosity terracotta and LTP
Cleartone should be used
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Clay or dust-pressed tiles of minimal absorbency
e.g Quarry Tiles and Unglazed Porcelain
Minimal absorbency, machine made, highly vitrified material, resilient hard surface, difficult to scratch. Available in a variety of colours which range from browns to blacks and reds to creams, quarry tiles should not be confused with ‘Encaustic’ tiles which are extremely absorbent
Quick Test – over 30 minutes
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Slate
Low Absorbency Slate
Is very dense, compact material and
tends to have a fairly smooth, regular surface.
Quick Test – Over one hour
Higher Absorbency Slate
Is far less dense, a softer friable and more absorbent
material. The surface of higher absorbency slate tends to be more
laminated and irregular
Quick Test – Under one hour
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Flagstones
Old flagstones show great variation in porosity
(such porosity sometimes varies within a single tile)
Flags generally large, thick, irregular.
It is advised to establish the general
absorbency of the floor before sealing.
Quick Test – May vary between
one minute and one hour
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Encaustic Tiles 
Encaustic, made from natural stone and strengthened
with crushed marble, are generally brightly coloured,
plain or patterned tiles. The pigments, natural oxides,
are applied whilst the clay mixture is still in a semi-liquid
state and harden in to the tile surface.
Liquids are quickly absorbed in to unsealed encaustic
tiles and without protection will easily stain.
Quick Test – About 15 Seconds
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Terrazzo
Like marble, is extremely porous,
readily stains and reacts detrimentally to
acids. It is made from pulverised and
chipped marble which are bound together
and finished by polishing. It is distinguished
from marble by its more crystalline
and granular structure, but should still be
sealed in the same manner as marble.
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QUICK TEST
A level teaspoon of water, applied at room temperature, will quickly show how absorbent your floor is. Gently apply the water to the middle of the tile and time how long it takes for the water to be absorbed. Absorption has been reached when no further water remains on the surface of the tile even if there is still evidence of a water mark
