Expert Answers in stone

ANSWER – First of all, if your marble tile floor was installed correctly then it should not have tented up (lifted up) or debonded.

When there is a failure it generally is not due to one…

ANSWER – Porcelain tile is considered one of the best tiles in terms of durability and resistance to moisture.  There are other types of ceramic tile that will perform well too, but you need to…

ANSWER – Your best bet is to visit a local tile and stone showroom or stone fabrication shop to see some of the various stone types and options.  Or call in one of your tile sales…

ANSWER – Not all sandstone has the same physical properties.  Some are very porous and others are very dense.  The porous stones would be more susceptible to staining if they aren’t sealed.

There is no standard…

ANSWER – Apparently when you cleaned the travertine stone after grouting you didn’t clean it well enough.  You should have changed your water and cleaned it again with a lightly damp sponge, and then within…

ANSWER – Deciding on whether to use sanded grout or non-sanded grout depends on the width of the grout joint and whether the tile surface is sensitive to abrasion.

Non-sanded grout is designed for grout joints…

ANSWER – The spots from the alcohol glasses are etching the polished surface of the stone caused by the acidic nature of the alcohol. Some polished stone is more sensitive to this than others. This…

ANSWER – Even though you sealed your granite counter top it doesn’t prevent staining if the coffee spill was left on for an excessive amount of time or if it wasn’t cleaned completely. The stain…

ANSWER – I have never heard of granite showing heat marks. The natural granite itself should not be affected by heat.

My guess is that there is some coating on the granite such as a…

ANSWER – True granite stone is normally very resistant to staining.  There are some stones sold as granite that are not true granites and they could be more susceptible to staining.  Some overburden stone (layers…