Featuring “Fusion Quartzite” in our Slab Yard
Now Available at the Granite Division Showcase Slab Yard!
http://www.granitedivision.com
(903) 535-9000
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Marble: The Elegant Choice
Like any fine lady, car or home they all need their maintenance and count marble being right in line with the rest. This is probably one of the warmer or softer looking choices for a stone presence, but will require greater care and upkeep than a granite. Marble is primarily Calcium based and highly subject to etching by anything acidic.It is much softer than a granite and can scratch easily in comparison. During the fabrication process it can and often will break especially if you are cutting any narrow and long pieces such as a splash or trim. These areas are easily repaired & refinished and done quite often in the industry.
There are some materials called granite that can break just as easily and the same repair process is done. Unless the piece is just aesthetically non-pleasing and an obvious repair you can expect your fabricator to utilize it rather than cut a new piece. Often veining is matched specifically and even a new piece would throw of the entire flow of a project so it’s better to do a quality repair and use it.
BASIC MARBLE MAINTENANCE
Use warm soapy water to clean. No harsh chemicals should be used: so try Dove Dishwashing Soap. Scrub with a soft cloth, rinse and wipe then buff dry with another soft cloth.
ROCK DOCS RECOMMENDATION
There are several products out there such as Granite Division Inc. CPR that can be used weekly to clean as well as add a soft silky feel and light seal. These are not harsh and will not damage your stone’s sealer that was applied upon installation.
Holiday Party Spills: Avoid the Pain of Stains
You’ve spent hours making sure you’re home is spotless in time to throw the perfect holiday party! The house looks fabulous! Just remember no matter how careful your guests are: there’s always one whom WILL spill and it’s never water…
As your natural stone restoration and maintenance specialists: we’ve got expert tips today on what to do when Uncle Larry spills his red wine all over your new marble countertops… or Little Suzy dumps her (red) kool aid on the matching white tiled floors of your kitchen.
ANY cloth, sponge or paper towel is fine to wipe up a spill, the key is to clean it before it has a chance to soak in. The sealer applied to granite or marble allows time to do this but will not prevent something from penetrating if it is left on for long periods of time. Depending on the sealer applied and the type of spill it can be from 2 hours to overnight before the spill would break down or penetrate the sealer if at all. On an unprotected stone it can range from almost immediately to an hour before a spill would soak in depending on the porosity of that particular stone.
If the spill has had time to penetrate the surface and set then the methods of removal vary depending on the type of material and stain. A poultice of flour and hydrogen peroxide is good for most food stains, oil is best with dish washing detergent or a solvent such as MEK although this works quickly it is rather harsh and smelly.
For organic stains such as molds and mildews a poultice made from bleach is affective. In most cases it is good to leave the poultice on for 24 hr and may require more than one application based on how long the stain has set and what it is. There may also be a need to polish the surface after a stain is removed especially with marble, limestone and travertine. Anything calcium based that an acidic substance such as cola can etch.
There is no real difference in cleaning a porcelain or ceramic tile. The grout is what would stain not the tile itself as these are pretty much stain proof unless they have been heavily scarred and worn. Cleaning grout usually takes elbow grease and time.Vinegar and ammonia is one mixture, hydrogen peroxide and baking soda another. The easiest method is to buy an over the counter cleaner that already incorporates the proper chemicals and ratios. After that, scrub.
QUICK TIPS:
1)Make sure your natural stone surfaces and your grout are sealed. you can check this by dripping some water on the surface and seeing if it beads up like a waxed car. If so you have a sealer applied if not it will start to soak in rather quickly based on the stones porosity but will dry out in time.
2) If you have a spill wipe it up immediately: take no chances!
3) Coasters are always a good thing to use especially if you have one of the softer materials such as marble.
By the way… The Rock Docs highly recommend Dry Treat sealers. These are the best we’ve found to help protect our customer’s investment in their natural stonework and come with a 15-year or 25-year warranty.
HAVE A QUESTION FOR US? EMAIL US AT INFO@THEROCKDOCS.COM
Posted in Maintenance & Restoration, Uncategorized
High Fashion Finishes: Here Today Gone Tomorrow
Fashion goes in and out of style and what is a
vailable as finish on stone is different. Originally you would see stone finished in more of a rough cut or honed finish simply because it was just not possible to get a high polish on it with the available tools. Remember…..stone has been used for centuries and the first finishing machines were men with hand tools and rocks!
With the birth of the industrial age people learned how to polish stone, yet the equipment was very expensive and costly to operate so only the very wealthy or commercial projects used high polished materials. Just over the past two decades has the industrial diamond come into play and now it is very common to see highly polished granite and marble in all kinds of places and at reasonable costs.
So much so that I find myself often taking the high polish off ofmaterial to provide finishes ranging from honed to leathered which are not readily available in the market because everyone has geared up to provide highly polished materials. And so,fashion yet again has come full circle as I stand here looking at 25 slabs of marble my customer wants me to remove all of the polish from.
Choosing Outdoor Granite
It’s no tall tale that if you don’t like the weather in Texas: just blink because it’ll change – and most likely at the most inopportune time. Over the last ten years – the range has included Easter snow; Spending the Thanksgiving holiday outdoors grilling turkey and wearing shorts to the mall in December to do last-minute Christmas shopping. However, one thing you can always expect in Texas during the summer are scorching temps to arrive in July and stick around through August. The sun CAN take a toll on your outdoor custom stonework so choose well and here are some tips to help you do just that:
- Don’t use dark colors because they get HOT!
- Modern stone production utilizes a resin enhancement technique that can cause stone color to fade some in outdoor applications so ask for non resin enhanced material.
- Protect your investment from the outdoor elements by making sure you have a seal applied to your finished product.The Rock Docs recommend one that we use exclusively called “DRY-TREAT” that now comes with a 25-year warranty.
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Matchmaker, Matchmaker… Find Me A Match!
For two decades now researchers have been looking into the laws of attraction and symmetry. In humans, some studies say it comes down to survival of the fittest as balanced facial features are linked to good health and fertility. Now… new research indicates the link is simply the visual brain finding patterns easier to interpret.
While we can’t disprove one hypothesis over the other; as fabricators we do see this primitive need for things to ‘match just right’ on a daily basis. In fact, one of the most stunning design options for stone is using material that has been what we call ‘book-matched.’
The process is a finishing method in which two slabs of material look as though paint were dropped between the pages of a book, pressed together and then pulled apart that results in a mirrored image. Here’s how it works: we match the two slabs mirrored flow working from the center out. This creates the look of no break in pattern and includes attaching veins along the seam of the slab which creates balance… the more expansive an area like a kitchen island – the more impact you will see. Ask your fabricator for pictures of their work including closeups because there’s usually an additional cost.
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FREEEEEEEEEE!!
I was just sitting here writing a bit and as usual I drift a little and think of various issues that seem to be constant at our shops. Today it is waste! I don’t mean anything nasty or trashy but waste nonetheless. And I have tons of it! For FREEEEEE!!! There are a few opportunities to use the left over material too small for surfaces but non that makes sense to us so a lot of it we give away to anyone who wants some broke up stone. It costs us nothing, creates good will with folks and increases word of mouth exposure all for waste some companies even pay to get rid of. I bet if you check with fabricators in your area you can find the same and let your creative self have some fun with free granite or at least fill in a couple of potholes in the driveway 🙂
Posted in Free Granite, Uncategorized
Marble Repair: Do I Dare…Try?
Marble is one of the most popular building materials throughout history for advanced civilizations; it boasts construction of such famous buildings as the Taj Mahal, the Parthenon, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Washington Monument to name just a very few. It is durable, easier worked than granite and in most cases has a very warm and soft appearance. Due to such famous origins and modern methods of processing – this material has become very common to use in today’s residences. This being said marble has some down sides as well, it scratches easier than a granite, it’s more likely to etch with an acidic substance and more likely to chip from impact. There are repair kits available for the do it yourself homeowner to remove scratches and surface etching as well as glues available to fill chips. With a visit to your local fabricator the hearty DIY’er can usually obtain the resin to do a chip fill and probably even get them to tint it to a color for you. This will not always provide the best match unless you have a piece of your material they can use as a reference for the color. With a chip your best bet is to have a pro come out and do the repair on-site. Sometimes the chip can be smoothed out and give a better result than a glue fill and would be more permanent.
A polish repair in marble can be achieved by a homeowner as long as it is light scratching or etching, these are things you can barely feel rubbing your hand across if at all, but it’s a process requiring some elbow grease and patience: somewhat similar to compounding a car. Your kit should come with a few grits of polishing pads (some are diamond, some are sandpaper), polishing compound and a felt buffing pad. Unless you are willing to spend a considerable sum and buy an electric buffer this can be a very time consuming experience for more than just a few small places.
Do It Yourself is near and dear to my heart, but polishing and repairing stone is not for the faint of heart. I have seen several different kits for DIY repair through the years but can’t think of one that is strong in the market for the homeowner. In my opinion this type of work would require a homeowner with some good skills to attempt much polishing.
Posted in Before you Buy, DIY, Maintenance & Restoration, Uncategorized
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