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Stone Floor Options and Polishing

Wednesday , 23, October 2019 Comments Off on Stone Floor Options and Polishing

Stone Flooring

Marble stone floor

There are a variety of flooring types that are stone based which can be chosen. However, when selecting flooring options, it is important to understand more than how the flooring solution will look once it has been laid. One needs to understand the details around how the flooring is to be cared for. 

Types of Stone Flooring

  • The various types of stone flooring are: 
  • Limestone flooring; 
  • Marble flooring; 
  • Porcelain flooring; 
  • Wood effect Porcelain flooring; 
  • Travertine stone flooring; 
  • Terrazzo; 
  • Natural Stone; and 
  • Decorative tiles. 

Of these options, only some of them are natural stone. These are: 

  • Limestone; 
  • Marble; 
  • Sandstone; 
  • Onyx;
  • Slate;
  • Granite; 
  • Travertine; and
  • Terrazzo.

Stone Floor Polishing

marble polishing

Stone flooring has certain characteristics in common which need to be considered during maintenance processes. Natural stone is generally porous and can react with chemicals, particularly those that are harsh, acidic, and usually kept in the home as a cleaning product. Therefore, before polishing natural stone flooring commences, it is important to understand not only what type of flooring surface you have, but also what it reacts to, and doesn’t. 

Chemicals

In general natural stone flooring, as described above, is porous and reacts to most chemicals of an acidic nature, which generally includes those commonly found in the house. Those products are favoured for their fragrances, colour, intensity, or the proclamation of bacterial elimination. When it comes to selecting the right substance for cleaning natural stone flooring, the word “natural” should be the biggest indicator of what to select. Something as natural as possible. In selecting a cleaning substance that is natural, polishing is less likely to cause further damage to the natural stone. Therefore, if opting to do it yourself in the polishing department, consider something as simple as warm soapy water as your preferred cleaning method. 

Process

After the consideration of the nature of natural stone flooring and whether or not they will react, the next phase of the process is actually completing the polishing. Regardless of the type of flooring, they all use the similar process of a buffing machine that has a rotating pad (think grinder, or hand/held sanding machine with rotating disc). This pad normally has one of two aspects: Polishing compound; or polishing pad. Polishing compound is used instead of a polishing pad and provides the grit required to create that lovely shiny look that natural stone surfaces are often desired for. This tends to be a more cost-effective method of polishing as the cost of the consumable material (polishing compound) is lower. When a polishing pad is used, the process involves using pads of varying grit intensity, one after the other. The aim of this is to restore the shiny and smooth appearance of natural stone flooring as if it had never even been seen before. 

As with all types of natural stone flooring, it is important to understand the natural properties of the surface before selecting the appropriate method of polishing. This will not only ensure you select the best method but also substance. Ultimately, this will help in making sure your natural stone flooring has the best sparkle possible.