MIXED STONE INSTALLATIONS

Source:www.stonediamondtool.com Date:2019/9/4 Read:313

Do you have mixed stone usage in your residential, commercial or institutional location right now? If you do, then maintenance on those investments is paramount into keeping them sparking, beautiful, and clean. The next issue is understanding that we as natural stone installers and designers want to make sure your natural stone floors, walls, countertops, or other applications look great and are installed correctly if Keith Clay Floors was not the installer. Of course any repairs, or new installation of tile, or some other type of stone is usually due to use, accident or some desire to redesign or change to decor. Some may be preparing changes for beauty, most residential and commercial ventures must provide maintenance on the investment by keeping regular maintenance ongoing.

If you have a new home, used commercial setting or want a good cleaning, then now is the time to give thought to what the stone might look like after traffic and use have taken a toll. As natural stone restoration contractors, we sometimes get calls from home or business owners who want us to refinish their kitchens, baths, or other areas that have soft stones like marble or travertine with hard stone inlays, such as granite. These clients are frequently surprised at the cost difference between refinishing a single stone versus refinishing a design that incorporates several types of stone.

Along with maintenance and cleaning of your tile installation, or mixed stone locations, price differences and also provides some suggestions to people who are considering utilizing more than one type of stone or one type of finish in a new installation. The old addage is true, and that is Time = Money.

During an interview with Fred Hueston, Chief Technical Director for surpHaces, and a world-renowned natural stone expert and author of over 30 books, 10 instructional videos; his vast knowledge on writing over 100 articles on stone installations, care, and restoration in both the United States and foreign publications and journals, to explain why mixed stone surfaces require more time to restore than single stone surfaces. He said,

The reason for this can be a little confusing to the average client. There are diamonds made for honing and polishing marble and others specifically for granite. Some diamond pad manufactures now have combination diamonds that can be used on both. But the price difference has to do with time, not diamond cost.

The example he gave was about granite cleaning and it's associated costs. Granite is going to take four or five times as long to refinish and polish than marble. The contractor may opt to tape off the granite, refinish the marble with one set of diamonds, and then tape off the marble and refinish the granite with another set of diamonds. If the contractor uses a diamond pad that can restore both marble and granite to refinish the entire area all at once, the amount of time spent on the floor must be based on the granite, not the marble. In certain circumstances, only the marble is refinished, because the granite is in much better condition than the marble. Even so, the granite portions of the surface will need to be taped off.

As with most industry settings, care and maintenance with any type of stone will be solely dependant on the type of stone, the quality of the products used, and the previous care if any that installation has had in the past.

Combination Finishes for all mixed stone settings will expect to see a price difference to have combination finishes restored. A honed finish must be achieved first. Common sense says your client must understand that this takes extra time than just achieving a single finish for the entire surface and with the cleaning of the surface or grouts as well. The exception to this might beif you are having new stone installed, you must either go with a single finish or be willing to pay a little bit more to maintain the appearance of a combination finish.