The Brew Cabin

We have just uncovered stone flags in the hall of our 350 year old cottage. They are very dusty and dirty, We used soda crystals and water to try and clean them up but that does not seem to have made much of a difference, please can you give advise on the best way to clean them and what to use make them shiny?

A power washer is ideal, if you can protect your internal fittings and furnishings, otherwise, it's hot, soapy water, a wire brush and plenty of elbow grease. There are so-called "Patio Cleaners" but many of these are acid-based and less than ideal for indoor use, or use on stone of an unknown nature - if you want to "risk it", then make sure all the windows are flung wide open, anything valuable is well out of the way, and test a small, discreet, out-of-the-way corner first, as the acid can adversely affect some types of stone.

Once you've got them clean, then I'd suggest using an internal stone polish to make them "shiny" - Golvpolish from HG Hagesan seems to be the most popular choice.

We have polished Yorkstone flags in our hallway, but they are badly worn in places (like where everyone turns at the foot of the stairs). This wear has caused the flags to start to delaminate, and there are now holes up to two inches deep in places. The previous owners appear to have tried filling these with somethings that I suspect has caused further damage. Is there some sort of filler that will match the existing stone, and not damage it further, or am I line for a very expensive replacement (the flags are around three foot square)?

You could use a high-strength repair concrete, something like Ultracrete from Instarmac or Monoset from me good friend Simeon at Ronacrete. These are fast-setting, extremely tough, fine aggregate concretes that are used in highway applications, so have a proven pedigree. However, their colouring probably won't match that of your stone flooring, and you'll have to decide whether you want a 'patch' or whether it would be a better job to replace the damged stone completely. Remember, if the stone is delaminating now, it will probably continue to do so.