Natural Stone
Repairs to Granite Countertop
The granite apron cut tiles fell off and I was called out to replace them. There are many possible reasons why these tiles fell off. The mortar underneath the skirt cuts was soft and degraded easily by just pushing on it with a chisel. This was either defective mortar or mortar that had too much…
Read MoreTricky Kitchen Backsplash Installation
It’s quite common for me to get calls from people with 6” granite backsplashes in their kitchens who want them removed. They find a tile that they prefer as a backsplash. Typically when I remove the granite there can be damage underneath; I charge by the hour to fix these areas because I’m not sure…
Read MoreNetted Carrara Marble Kitchen Backsplash
This Turkish Carrara marble tile was purchased by the homeowner from a big box store. Keep in mind that when you purchase tile from a big box store, expect many imperfections and purchase extra, especially when the tiles are mounted on a net. The other reason to purchase more tile is because of the wide…
Read MoreBasketweave Kitchen Backsplash
The homeowner selected a long subway-style tile. The first thing I did when I arrived on the job was to check the wall with a long straight-edge. With larger format tiles it’s very important to make sure the wall is flat. When you stagger a tile, you’re then taking the 10″ length and doubling it…
Read MoreI Can’t Believe It’s Not Travertine!
These ceramic tiles were actually finished with a digitalized printed glaze; they look just like real travertine stone. No two tiles were alike due to the offset printing of the pattern. Real travertine stone is a poor choice in a wet environment. It is soft and porous, allowing water to penetrate and remain trapped in the stone, which causes mildew, stains,…
Read MoreSandstone mosaic kitchen backsplash
These interlocking sandstone mosaic tiles were installed in a kitchen backsplash. They have not yet been grouted. The customer pre-treated these tiles with one coat of Stone Tech Enhancer Pro before installation. This was meant to make grouting easier and protect the tile from staining. However, grouting was difficult because the surface was still very…
Read MoreStaggered Mosaic Kitchen Backsplash
This kitchen backsplash has been set with travertine and Emperador dark and light marble staggered mosaic. It is trimmed at the edges by using two rows of tiles set in the opposite direction.e.
Read MoreSealing a slate floor
Here you see a slate floor which was cleaned with an alkali product and then the darker half was sealed with an enhancing solvent based sealer.se.
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