Gil Schieber: Indian Limestone complemented with a Colorado desert sandstone walkway to the Puget Sound; artificial turf here as salt-spray hinders a fine natural lwan.

Door style: Pendleton Inset | Species: Red Oak | Finish: Vintage Sandstone Island: Rustic Alder | Finish: Vintage Natural This unique home has an unmistakably strong aesthetic. Elements like the bold iron range hood, exposed natural stone, rough-cut rafter beams and steel backsplash create a nineteenth-century industrial persona. Showplace Kitchens: http://www.showplacekitchens.com/ Showplace Wood Products: http://www.showplacewood.com/

Randall Perry Photography
Example of a transitional shed design in New York

Fred Rollison Photography
Kitchen - traditional u-shaped kitchen idea in Atlanta with white cabinets, beige backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Inspiration for a rustic landscaping in Santa Barbara.

Mastic Quest Signature clapboard vinyl siding in Sandstone.
Example of a classic beige one-story vinyl exterior home design in New York

Door style: Pendleton Inset | Species: Red Oak | Finish: Vintage Sandstone Island: Rustic Alder | Finish: Vintage Natural Did you notice the lack of visible electrical outlets? The door at left is a walk-in pantry, which has shelves and outlets for such modern necessities as the toaster and coffee makers. This preserves the period appeal of the room by keeping modern artifacts out of sight, yet still close at hand. Showplace Kitchens: http://www.showplacekitchens.com/ Showplace Wood Products: http://www.showplacewood.com/

Door style: Pendleton Inset | Species: Red Oak | Finish: Vintage Sandstone The interaction of materials is central to this home's personality, and the handcrafted Showplace Vintage finish is a big part of that. Note the unique design of the base cabinets. Two-drawer bases with flush toe kicks bring antique file cabinets to mind. Showplace Kitchens: http://www.showplacekitchens.com/ Showplace Wood Products: http://www.showplacewood.com/

Inspiration for a large rustic backyard stone landscaping with a fire pit.

Door style: Pendleton Inset | Species: Red Oak | Finish: Vintage Sandstone Island: Rustic Alder | Finish: Vintage Natural The large central island is in rustic alder Vintage Natural, and topped by an immense soapstone slab. The Vintage finishes take on subtly differing personalities in stains or paint, and on differing woods. Showplace Kitchens: http://www.showplacekitchens.com/ Showplace Wood Products: http://www.showplacewood.com/

Door style: Pendleton Inset | Species: Red Oak | Finish: Vintage Sandstone Island: Rustic Alder | Finish: Vintage Natural The interaction of materials is central to this home's personality, and the handcrafted Showplace Vintage finish is a big part of that. Showplace Kitchens: http://www.showplacekitchens.com/ Showplace Wood Products: http://www.showplacewood.com/

A view of the lower patio & firetable looks very inviting.
Inspiration for a transitional landscaping in Cleveland.

This is an example of a transitional landscaping in Cleveland.

Dan Rockafellow Photography Sandstone Quartzite Countertops Flagstone Flooring Real stone shower wall with slate side walls Wall-Mounted copper faucet and copper sink Dark green ceiling (not shown) Over-scale rustic pendant lighting Custom shower curtain Green stained vanity cabinet with dimming toe-kick lighting

Door style: Pendleton Inset | Species: Red Oak | Finish: Vintage Sandstone The Vintage finishes take on subtly differing personalities in stains or paint, and on differing woods. Showplace Kitchens: http://www.showplacekitchens.com/ Showplace Wood Products: http://www.showplacewood.com/

Design ideas for a large craftsman drought-tolerant and partial sun front yard mulch garden path in Boise.

I received an enquiry from a property in Crowthorne to come and survey an unknown Flagstone Floor in a converted barn that was ready to be rented out. The owners where concerned the stone was letting the rest of the property down due to it being dirty and heavily stained, particularly around the kitchen and entrance areas. If your selling or renting out a property it really needs to look its best if you want to achieve a good price. Having spoken over the phone we agreed a date for me to pop over to complete a survey. From further inspection I confirmed the stone was in fact a Sandstone, it was also clear that the sealer protecting the stone from ingrained dirt had worn away and was now allowing dirt and staining to ruin the appearance of the flagstones. It was a large floor so I measured up so I could work out the quantities of cleaning and sealing products needed and then walked the customer through the cleaning process. Later that day I sent over a detailed quotation which was accepted, and a date agreed for my return. I should mention this work took place during the Covid restrictions, fortunately being a rental property, I was able to work in the property alone. To deep clean the floor and remove the ingrained dirt and staining I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. It is sprayed onto the floor and left to soak in for five minutes before agitating with a Black scrubbing pad fitted to a weighted buffing machine. The resultant slurry was then wet extracted away using a powerful high-pressure van mounted extracting system. This action cleaned up most of the stone nicely however certain areas where heavily stained, particularly in the kitchen area where food and drink stains were more apparent. To tackle this, I applied a stronger cleaner/stripper product called Tile Doctor Remove and Go this time allowing ten minutes for it to soak in before scrubbing the surface with a very coarse 100-grit soft milling pad. This took quite a few attempts each time extracting the slurry away and then inspecting the floor to see if more work was needed. Happy the stains have been removed, I then focused on renovating the surface Sandstone after the application of the coarse pad. This involves the application of several finer grit burnishing pads which close the pores and adds a subtle polish to the Sandstone. As I started with 100-grit pad it was necessary to gradually refine the surface with an incremental series of pads that included 200, 400 and finally 800-grit pads. Then to ensure a uniform finish across the floor I continued the 400 and 800 grit pads throughout the property. Water is used to lubricate the process and this turns into a fine slurry that is rinse extracted as before. The cleaning process took up the whole of the first day and I am pleased to say the Sandstone floor looked very clean after I had finished. The stone was then allowed dry off overnight with the aid of an industrial air mover and I returned later the next day to apply a new protective seal. In the meantime, my customer had been over to check out the floor and were over the moon with how it looked and wanted to keep the finish as natural as possible. With this in mind, I applied Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal sealer to the Sandstone throughout, only two coats were needed. This is a premium sealer that is almost invisible and works by penetrating the stone thus preventing dirt from becoming ingrained. Once done the floor looked very clean and much brighter than before, it now had that wow factor which will help it attract a good yield in the rental market. The trouble with rental properties of course is making sure the tenant uses the right product to maintain the floor and not a typical supermarket tile cleaner that are only designed for use on Ceramic and Porcelain tiles. In fact, these types of cleaning product can slowly strip the sealer off the floor so it’s always worth checking the label before purchasing. Fortunately Tile Doctor sells a product called Neutral Cleaner that is ideal for maintaining sealed stone floors, so I left them with a complimentary bottle and recommended they get some more to leave under the sink for the new tenant. Dennis Buckland Berkshire Tile Doctor

The pictures below are of a multi coloured sandstone floor installed at a property in East Keswick which is a village approximately halfway between Harrogate and Leeds. (Not to be confused with the more famous Keswick in the Lake District) The stone floor had not been cleaned professionally for ten years and although the grout looked clean It was clear that any sealer that was once present had long since worn off leaving the stone unprotected. The result was dirt had become deeply ingrained in the Sandstone leading causing the stone to darken and hide its true beauty and rich colouring. The client had tried lots of different products to clean the floor but had not had any luck. I visited the property and carried out a few successful patch tests resulting in the floor becoming much cleaner. They were happy to go ahead with my quote and we arranged a time to return and complete the work. I prepared the area before starting, taping up the skirting boards and doors to protect them from the splashing that can happen during the intensive cleaning process. To get the sandstone clean I applied a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to the floor and allowed it to soak in for ten minutes. The solution was then worked into the Sandstone using a rotary floor machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. More Pro-Clean was applied with a hand-held scrubbing brush to get deep into the grout lines and to reach into the corners. Once done the floor was rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was inspected, and the process repeated until I was satisfied that the stone and grout had released all the trapped dirt. After a final rinse, the wet vacuum was used to get as much moisture out of the stone as possible and then the floor left to dry out fully overnight. Returning the following morning, I first checked that the floor was dry using a damp meter. The sealer won’t cure if there is any moisture in the stone and I’ve been known to reschedule sealing a floor if the readings are too high. On this occasion I was satisfied that the floor was within acceptable levels, so I was ready to seal the floor. I used three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow to seal the floor, this is an impregnating sealer which intensifies natural colours whilst providing durable protection against stains, an essential feature in an area such as a hallway which is subject to constant foot traffic. As you can see from the photos the transformation was quite impressive, the floor became much lighter and almost unrecognisable, the natural colours of the stone were now visible, and the floor looked beautiful. The client was very happy with the end result and has said they would not hesitate to recommend me to others. Nigel Stoker North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor

Sandstone is a particularly popular choice for kitchen and hallway floors amongst home owners in the UK. It not only possesses beautiful natural shades and features, but it is also typically hard wearing, making it an ideal stone for tiled flooring in high traffic areas of a house and can often be found laid as large riven flagstones in pubs and other commercial premises. Naturally, just like any other type of tiled floor, Sandstone needs to be maintained using appropriate products and methods. A lack of adequate surface sealer in particular leaves Sandstone susceptible to ingrained dirt, and can leave distinct, unsightly patches such as those in the photograph below. In this instance, I visited a client in the old Essex town of Thaxted, who believed that her four square meter Sandstone tiled floor might be suffering from damp issues after lifting up the mats covering the area. However, when I arrived at the property and ran damp tests, I found the issue to be superficial. The Sandstone floor however did require attention in the form of a deep clean and a fresh seal to tackle the white patches and prevent further discolouration. To begin the cleaning process I spread Tile Doctor Remove & Go evenly across the floor. It was left to dwell for approximately 15 minutes, during which time it worked to break down the old sealer remaining on the tiles. I then agitated the area twice over with both a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotation machine lift away any dirt. The resultant slurry was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor was then rinsed with water and then mixed a strong solution of one part Tile Doctor Pro Clean to three parts water which was used to give the floor a final clean and scrub the grout clean before using the wet vacuum again and giving the floor a final rinse with water. After completing the cleaning process I left the floor to dry over the weekend. Upon my return to the house I proceeded to seal the tiles with three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone and provide durable surface protection going forward. Colour Grow is also specially designed to let the floor breathe and enhance the natural colours in the stone and, in this case, really helped to intensify the natural sand-coloured shades in the tiles. The difference made to these Sandstone tiles was really noticeable, with the white patches completely removed and the surface more generally back to looking like new, needless to say, my client was very happy with the results. Nick Murphy South Essex Tile Doctor