Marble is most popularly used for interior decor as it can be found in abundance across the world. Aside from marble, other natural stones such as granite, travertine, limestone, terrazzo, slate and porcelain are also choice picks.
The vibrancy, quality, and lustre of the stone is highly dependent on and where it comes from. Stones can vary in colour, hue, and the patterns or streaks known as veining also differs.
As sturdy as they might feel, it’s important to remember that stones are porous. With proper care, maintenance, and restoration – marble, granite, and other stones in your home can last generations!
Types of Natural Stones
Granite is a form of igneous rock. This means it was exposed to incredibly high heats during it formation. Due to this solidification of molten material, it is one of the most durable types of natural stone out there. This is why it is a common choice for high traffic areas such as kitchen countertops, flooring and outdoor use.
Quartz is a great option if you’re looking for a highly durable natural stone. Quartz can be an attractive choice for flooring and countertops because the manufacturing process can create a wide range of colours to choose from, in comparison to other natural stones like granite or marble.
Quartz is also slightly less on the hardness scale in comparison to granite, and so this flexibility in its composition is more resilient to chipping or cracking. Above all, quartz as is non-porous, which means you don’t have to worry about sealing the stone. This a great low-maintenance option for areas of high traffic use like your kitchen and bathroom.
Terrazzo has grown in popularity since the 20th century. It is a composition of stone chips. The composite is combined by utilizing a concrete or epoxy-resin. Terrazzo is popular because of its possibilities for customization. Since the process of binding stone chips such as marble or quartz (or both) is done so with epoxy-resin, the potential for colour mix and matching, along with being able to choose the colour of the resin, makes the construction material unique.
Slate is commonly used in bathrooms, backsplashes, walls and flooring. It is highly resilient as it is a very hard and durable stone. The types of stone walls that you might see used in interior decor or accent walls that are stone textured is probably slate!
Slate is one of the most common types of flooring, as it’s very hard and able to stand up to high traffic. Slate is favoured by pet owners because it’s not likely to be scratched or scraped, and it is excellent for foyers, hallways, and other high traffic areas. Plus, it looks beautiful!
Slate has a very long lifespan, so you likely won’t have to replace it, but the sealer finish will have to be stripped and re-applied based on wear and tear. Raw slate is absorbent and not water-resistant.
Marble has been used throughout history and was a symbol of wealth and prosperity. The stone itself is abundant, and is used across cultures. The marble extraction process is often done by slow carving out large quarries. Marble is often named after where they are mined, such as Italy’s famous Carrara marble – responsible for much of the marble carvings Italian art is known for.
While marble is a stunning option showing opulence for flooring and countertops, it is very high maintenance – it is easy to show wear and tear. Marble has to be cleaned and sealed regularly as it is a very porous stone. Additionally, as it is made of limestone, the stone is best cleaned with a pH-neutral cleaner.
Travertine is a natural stone formed in geothermic areas of the Earth. Like marble, it comes from the limestone family. As such, it is a very porous rock, and is considered a higher maintenance type of natural stone. Travertine is often used in outdoor settings and for tiling bathrooms.
In fact it was used historically in Rome for building structures, bath complexes and water ways. Travertine is characterized by tiny holes that are formed, so if you decide to use it, be aware that it needs to be sealed regularly to maintain its sheen and beauty in high traffic areas.
How we can help you with your natural stone
We restore and repair all marble and natural stone surfaces. This includes floors, walls, backsplash, steps, bathroom and bathroom vanities, lobbies, table and countertops and fireplaces.
Our team of experts will help you handle:
- Polishing stone surfaces
- Honing stone surfaces to eliminate small scratches and water marks
- Cleaning grout, replacing damaged or old grout
- Wax, paint, biological matter removal
- Reparation of cracks, chips and holes
- Cleaning and sealing of newly installed stones
Granite
Quartz
Terrazzo
Slate
Marble
Travertine
Restoration Services
Restoration of natural stones involves a wide array of techniques. It can be as simple as removal of scratches, filling in any erosion on the surface of the stone, using mechanical abrasion to smooth out any damages or simply the reapplication of grout. Grout is a highly viscous cement used as a filler to fill spaces between ceramic or natural stone tiles.
Our service can also involve using stone floor scrubbers, buffers, or super heated water to penetrate paint or any biological matter stuck inside the stone. Depending where your stone is located, there may be algae, fungi, moss, or spores growing in the stone!
In general, natural stone such as marble has an innate reflectivity to it, and does not need a coating or wax to achieve a renewed shine. Instead, natural stone master technicians will utilize a series of different gritted diamond polishing pads. This method of restoration through careful polishing is done until the desired finish is achieved.
Rugs are a good idea to catch dirt and grit. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. It is important to use rug holders designed to go under rugs to keep them in place. Sliding rugs are not only dangerous, they are a constant source of new scratches. Do not use rugs that are not backed with a grip. It may be a good idea to get one customized for your rug.
There is no dust created during the restoration process. The process will utilize water in order to keep the temperature of the grinding against the stone at a controlled rate.
The process of stone floor restoration undergoes a couple of different stages – all stages will take into consideration the control of dust and debris buildup. Too much stone dust affects the polishing process. It is very rare for dust to be kicked up into the air during this process, as water will keep the dust adhered to the ground.
Stone surfaces are very easy to maintain. Clean stone floors with warm water and a mild liquid soap. It is recommended to never use acid cleansers or abrasive chemicals on stone. Stones like marble are originally from limestone, and so it is definitely recommended to use pH neutral cleaners, so not to eat away or damage your stone. It is almost recommended with some natural stones, such as marble or travertine to be sealed. Sealing and resealing should happen every one to two years depending on level of usage and day to day maintenance.
Neutral cleaners are best when it comes to cleaning natural stone tiles. Acidic or alkaline cleaners should be avoided – as mentioned it is important to stick to pH-neutral cleaners as they work best with natural stones created from limestone. Limestone and the subsidiary rocks formed from it are very porous and as such, they can be affected by strong cleaners. These cleaners can affect the appearance of the stone, either through discoloration, or damaging it by eroding away at the stones pores.
Stones that are harder and denser are more difficult and expensive to quarry and process. Quarrying methods vary across the world. Places like Italy and Turkey where marble stones are most popularly quarried also come in different grades. Depending on the name that each quarry carries, you are paying for brand, legacy, as well as the manual labour involved. Some newer quarries are easier to get to – but when it comes to quarries that have been used for millennia, the quarries often run deep into below ground levels. This means the effort to move the mined rocks will be more work, and that factors into the prices of the stone that you are paying for.
