The problem
With heavy traffic and use, this travertine floor didn’t just look dirty — it really was filthy. Although the homeowner swept and mopped regularly, the floor would not come clean. The reason for this is that without professional cleaning, imperfections like pits, holes, and scratches appear on the stone surface. Then, food spills, dust, grime and other contaminants form a residue that gets trapped wherever there is texture and fills all the little micropores in the surface of the travertine. This really distorts the overall look of the floor and makes it impossible to clean adequately with regular cleaning methods.
The BEFORE image shows the condition of the floor before the restoration process. Notice how dull and murky the finish looks.
Our restoration process
Our first step was travertine floor honing. As we honed the stone, the texture and scratches were smoothed out, loosening the embedded dirt and grime. We extracted and cleaned the pollutants during the honing process, revealing the brand-new floor underneath. Next, we performed our travertine floating process, filling holes in the floor with tinted epoxy. Finally, we sealed the stone to protect against stains.
As you can see in the AFTER image, the floor looks smooth and inviting, with better clarity. The homeowner was pleased with the outcome and relieved that regular cleaning methods would once again suffice.
For more information about travertine restoration, such as etch removal, lippage removal (leveling uneven tiles), crack and chip repair, stain removal, sealing, filling naturally-occurring travertine holes, as well as honed, slightly polished, or high-gloss polished finish, watch one or more of these short videos: Floating Travertine, Travertine Strip, Hone, and Repolish, and Travertine Repair, Restoration, and Polishing or visit our Travertine Services page.
At Set In Stone Restoration, our technicians have the knowledge and experience to safely restore travertine and virtually any type of natural stone surface throughout the San Diego area. Contact us online or call 619-246-0240 today for a free estimate.