Thankfully I am finally able to catch up on some of the more recent projects we have had the privilege of working on.

This Saltillo floor was in very poor condition due to the prior owners neglect and general abuse.  The before photo makes my spine tingle and will give me another subject to talk about with all of you – The proper types of backing for your rugs!  The rolled rubber seems to be the easiest and most readily available, so it tends to make it under an awful lot of rugs.  Depending  the surface it is on, the damage can range from light to very severe without chance of repair.  I will make a separate post about this subject later this week so watch for it!

Ok ok, back to the saltillo restoration project – this floor offered quite a few different challenges.  Kind of like the stubborn child!  We stripped the floor multiple times and in the end had to razor the remaining rubber glue residues.  Not fun, but very necessary.  After stripping we focused on actually cleaning the grout lines as best we could.   This included a alkaline steam cleaning and even an acid treatment to try and minimize the staining that had occurred.  After the floor dried overnight, we applied many coats of sealer for the new homeowners to live on and protect the raw saltillo.  These type floors are best when maintenance is planned every few years at the least.

Worn Saltillo

Saltillo Restored to a high protective luster

Depending on the damage – is it acid etch damage or more scratch related?  When the marble is dull due to scratch damage the only proper way of restoration is through the use of diamond pads.  The height of the tiles in relation to one another can also affect the plan on restoration as well, but that is something that will need to be determined by a site visit.

This particular floor is a Fiore De Pesco marble and is quite popular with its gray and pink coloring.  Our plan was three different diamond grits to remove the scratch and acid etch damage followed with a powder polish.  After that we steam cleaned the grout and gave it a final buff.  Just another beautiful floor!!!

Marble Floor After Diamond Polishing

Marble Floor showing scratch damage

Yes a lot of times the sheen of the desired floor is very much different than the tiles that were picked out at the tile store.  I’m sure the salesman told the homeowner that “this sealer will fix it” or something along those lines.  The song certainly remains the same I am afraid.  Most honed travertine out of the box will appear dirty, add to that fact sometimes grout haze is left behind and you have the recipe for immediate action to bring the floor back and the resulting trip to the hardware supply store.  Well congratulations you have just given yourself a supermarket floor without even knowing!  The only difference is that they (the super market) has a staff that will maintain that sealer/wax every evening and get out the scratches and scuff marks.  All that you know when you show up the next day is that their floor looks pretty good.  Well it should!  Now back to your travertine floor – how does it look?  Starting to show heel marks, traffic patterns or scratches?  I bet it is.

Travertine sealed with a topical sealer (wrong!)

Well what to do?   The first step is to strip off that improper sealer and see the condition of the floor you are dealing with.  What is the proper sealer by the way?  An impregnating sealer is the only sealer that will let your travertine actually look and feel like travertine is supposed to.

This photo (left) is a picture after we have stripped the edges of the floor next to the cabinetry.  Notice how yellow the middle area is?  The sealer has darkened substantially because it is UV sensitive.  Sunlight will gradually change the color of many topical sealers.  Something to look forward to eh?

Was the sealer selected to make the floor shiny?  If so, then the wrong approach is being used.  The proper way to improve the luster is through diamond honing and polishing.  (Yes we offer that service!!!!)

Questions to ask yourself:

• Am I applying this sealer to change the appearance of my travertine?
• Do I want the floor nice and shiny?
• Do I ‘need’ a layer of protection?

If you are selecting a sealer for travertine, then you will want to avoid these words on the bottle:

Color enhancing, polish, satin, gloss, sheen.  Any of these words let you know that it is more than likely a topical sealer that you have grabbed.  Replace it with one that has only the words “impregnating sealer”.

Color Sealing / Grout Cleaning:

http://www.ajcfood.com/ Grout Color Sealing Atlanta

http://www.amli.com/apartments/atlanta/ Tile Cleaning Alpharetta

http://www.aarcherservices.com/ Grout Color Sealing John’s Creek

http://www.ceramictechnics.com/ Tile Stripping Decatur, GA

http://www.ccwa.us/ Tile Color Sealing Stockbridge, GA

http://www.newhorizonsbank.com/ Marble Cleaning Ellijay, GA

http://www.chattahoocheetech.edu/ Tile Color Sealing Acworth, GA

http://www.rosamexicano.com Tile Cleaning Atlanta, GA

Marble Cleaning – Marble Polishing – Limestone Cleaning

http://www.amtrak.com Marble Honing and Polishing Atlanta, GA

http://www.madison-pm.com/ Travertine Honing and Polishing Atlanta, GA

http://www.brookstonecc.com/ Marble Grinding, Honing, and Polishing Acworth, GA

http://www.crowneofficesuites.com Marble Polishing Smyrna, GA

http://dependableservices.com/ Travertine Repairs Roswell, GA

http://www.akzonobel.com/eka/ Travertine Cleaning Marietta, GA

http://www.paulding.gov/ Terrazzo Grinding, Honing, and Polishing Dallas, GA

http://www.tparealtyservices.com/ Marble Honing and Polishing Dunwoody, GA

http://www.uptownsportsbarandgrill.net/ Marble Stripping and Cleaning East Point, GA

Concrete Polishing -  Concrete Overlays

http://www.condominiumconcepts.com Concrete Polishing Buckhead

http://www.harrisoncontracting.com/ Concrete Cleaning and Sealing Atlanta, GA

http://www.jcatgcm.com/ Acid Stain repairs Atlanta, GA

http://www.memberclicks.com/ Concrete overlay Atlanta, GA

http://www.rclflooring.com/ Elite Crete Overlay Atlanta, GA

http://www.sherwoodassocs.com/ Decorative Concrete Atlanta, GA

If you have travertine most likely what we talk about in this post will be relevant for you.  Maybe you have travertine holes that seemingly appear out of nowhere?  Often heavy objects are pulled across a floor without regard or a heavy object has been dropped on the travertine.  Cleaning travertine holes can present a challenge as well, but why are they there to begin with?

The fact is that the holes are there – in many places they just have not been brought to your attention – yet.    Here are two pictures for you to consider.  The picture on the left is the travertine bought new from the store.  The picture on the right is the same tile flipped over showing us the back.  Notice anything different?

The travertine holes that you are seeing are the result of being exposed due to the very thin layer above them being damaged.  Where there are no holes on this tile we will not have any problems from the topside, but on the other hand if there is a void just below the surface then it has the possibility of being exposed.

What causes most of the travertine holes being exposed?  Generally it is weight that happens to be concentrated on a single point at the wrong or vulnerable spot.  No one did anything wrong it was merely a circumstance of the travertine stone. Here is an explanation from a physics perspective from School for Science:

Example with shoes

A good example of how a force on small area can result in a very high pressure is seen in women’s shoes with high spiked heels. These types of shoes can cause damage to some floors due to the very high pressure on the floor at the heel.

An average shoe distributes the weight of the person over 20 square inches. Thus, a 100-pound person applies 100/20 = 5 pounds per square inch on the floor.

Since a spike-heel is only 0.25 square inches, the 100-pound person would be applying 100/0.25 = 400 pounds per square inch on the floor at the heel! In some cases, that is sufficient to damage the floor.

Now what can you do about it?

When your travertine is a very low hone (very little to no reflection) then you can generally install matching sanded grout to fill the void.  With travertine that has a higher reflection then the difficulty in repairing them should be left to a professional.   Matching tile sheen and colors can be tricky.

When cleaning travertine holes it is important to vacuum out the holes very thoroughly.  Be careful as the hole can spread as the edges get crushed by further impacts making repairs that much more difficult!

Granite, Marble, Concrete, Tile, Quartz, and many other man-made options are what most select.

Why am I writing about Marble Counter-tops you ask?  Because of the high number of phone calls that I get from someone who had them installed months, weeks, or even days ago.  And they are having problems already.

Note:  Not all marbles are acid sensitive, most are however.  The calls I get are obviously from the latter.

Sadly it seems that most installers are not giving the right care instructions or none at all.  Taking care of granite counters are 100 percent different than marble counters.  Assuming that our clients know the difference is a severe lack of communication.  Ok, now that I got that off my chest, lets move on.

Your new Marble Counter-tops need special care or awareness from the very beginning in their new home.  No longer can you clean them with just anything.  Now you have to watch what you clean the mirrors over the counters with as well!  Most glass cleaners will dull the marble over time, some instantly.  Can you picture the spray that drops onto the counters as you mist the glass?  That is going to harm the marble.

Drink glasses that get set on top of the counters typically have acidic beverages in them -  yes these are going to etch the counters as well.  Now your typical cleaners sold in stores come to rest on the surface, some harm it and some do not.  If they are tile and grout cleaners than most likely they are going to harm the surface.  We cannot cover everything that will harm your marble counters in just one article, but let me just say that anything acidic in nature  will.  Make-up products and After Shaves are the biggest culprits.

What can you do then to have your beautiful tops with their wonderful veining?  Here are a couple of ideas for you to consider:

• Only use safe for marble neutral pH products on your marble counters
• We recommend MB-1 from MBStone.com
• For your glass cleaner, use the same diluted neutral based cleaner or water
• Consider purchasing a 12″x12″ (or the best size for your counters) beveled piece of glass with felt feet and using that to set your drink glasses on.

These few ideas should go a long way toward keeping your new marble counters in great shape.  Good Luck!

Travertine is one of the natural stones that we are called on the most.  Many times the wrong cleaners are used and in the end etch the travertine.  When acidic drinks or products come into contact with travertine, the result is the inevitable “dull dot”. Care should always be given when anything of an acidic nature is used above this floor surface.
Peak Floor Solutions has the training and ability to transform this damage back to the original sheen and color!

Be sure to look at the Tile and Stone Cleaning Guide we have provided in the Client Resources Section of the website.  The recommendations and tips will help keep your stone looking great for many years to come.

Remember to look at the Tile and Stone Cleaning Guide that is under Client Resources in the above menu or from the button on the right hand side of every page.