Expert Answers in stone

ANSWER – Yes there are standards for the installation of onyx slabs, which are the same as the standards for marble. All geological classifications of stone have minimum/maximum values for their physical properties, and onyx…

ANSWER – This suggests that the tile was not bonded well to its substrate for some reason. So when they started grinding the floor it caused the tiles to debond. There are many potential reasons why…

ANSWER – Cleaning natural stone after normal use should normally be done with a neutral base cleaner, assuming the stone was originally properly cleaned prior to being put into service.  Assuming you don’t have any cement…

ANSWER – If you know the brand of the coating then call them to find out what to use to strip it without harming your stone.  If you don’t know what the coating is that is…

ANSWER – Chances are that when the water pipe break occurred your travertine tile had voids under it so water was allowed to collect in those voids. This could have caused and perpetuated the development…

ANSWER – The Marble Institute of America Dimension Stone Manual says Travertine stone should have a minimum abrasive hardness of 12 for commercial floors subject to heavy foot traffic. It must also meet the ASTM…

ANSWER – To clean a cementitious grout off of a natural slate stone, you need to carefully chisel off any large chunks of grout.  To remove the grout haze you should use a diluted sulphamic or phosphoric…

ANSWER – Using a ceramic tile (which includes porcelain ceramic tiles) around heat is not a problem because most ceramic tiles are fired well above 1200 °F and more like 2000 °F.

What is important…

ANSWER – No problem using a stone tile on a kitchen counter top. Marble is normally avoided on kitchen counter tops because although marble is dense it is very chemical sensitive and can easily stain…

ANSWER – Many types of limestone tile have veins that can appear to look like cracks, but are really natural veins of a different composition in the stone.

If it goes completely through one tile…