Flooring Tile - Slate floor re-hab

My family has a lake cottage in Vermont with natural slate tiles over a large portion of the floor (20x30? I haven't measured...). In the thirty years we've owned the place, the only maintenance to the floor has been an occasional/rare mopping with some sort of detergent. The floor may or may not have seen Mop'n'Glow at times, it's hard to say. These days, the 3/4" -wide grout (!) is crumbling in places, is stained in others, and is generally an eyesore. The slate itself is grimy, but is not cracked or spalled anywhere. It is a multi-colored design pattern of dark grey, blue and sporadic red tiles of various sizes. The blue tiles show the grime the most because they are so pale.

I understand that slate has specific needs. I am looking for advice on how to refurbish this floor and bring the beauty of the slate back. My goal is to strip the tiles of their surface build-up, and remove and replace the grout (maybe with a tint this time as opposed to the original white... shudder!). I would then finish the job with the appropriate sealant(s).

What sequence of work should I follow and what products should I use? Finally, the project might be more than my brother and I could accomplish in a single weekend. How could we phase/increment the job?

Any advice is appreciated!


-Dave

I typically recommend AquaMix seeing that is the product I have used with good success.

They have he cleaners/strippers to remove stains, etc.

http://www.aquamix.com/products/

After it's cleaned, you can apply a enhancer and/or reseal the stone.

Would it be smarter to treat the tiles and then remove the grout, or vice versa?

I would probably be prudent to remove the grout. They make grout removal saws, and also rotozip type tools that can make quick work of it. Well, maybe not quick, but faster then a manual saw.

Make sure you seal the tile good before regrouting to make it easier to clean.