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christy2828

Travertine Restoration, estimate cost?

christy2828
11 years ago

I have tenants moving out and new ones moving in with a 2 week gap. I'd like to have the travertine filled and honed - I think is the word. It's about 1400 square feet, on the high approximation. There will be no furniture or rugs in the way. It is a standard 18 x 18 zero grout line. It's light beige in color - looks much like or identical to the one listed below. It has pitting throughout, mainly in the main walkways. No stains, no cracks. What should I ask for when hiring a contractor? Filling of the pits and honing? Should I ask for a sealer? Do I want to avoid polishing? I'd like to maintain the matte look. I'm asking for a VERY basic estimate. This is in Pembroke Pines, FL (So Fla). I'm asking basic, like a $500 to $1000 job or is it more like a $4k - 5k? Thanks, Christy

Here is a link that might be useful: Lowe's Travertine

Comments (5)

  • _sophiewheeler
    11 years ago

    Do you mean that this is an existing installation? That needs to be cleaned and restored? The tile should already be honed, as it comes from the factory that way. That's not to say that you can't have a polished finished stone honed on site, but that's a filthy difficult job that not many flooring care professionals can do. BTW, if it doesn't have grout lines, there's a problem with the installation. All stone needs grout to lock it together in a solid mass onto the substrate.

    The site conditions and your location will be the most determinate factor in having natural stone restored. Here, in a low cost labor market, I had a client that had a marble kitchen floor restored and it was $300 for maybe 150 feet, so $2 a square foot. And it was a relatively easy job. If yours is more damaged, or you want a sealer applied, it would probably be more. Maybe a lot more, depending on how damaged it is.

  • homebound
    11 years ago

    Call some marble and stone restoration places, particularly ones that do commercial/office work.

  • christy2828
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Yes, it is an existing installation. I bought the house with it, thanks for correcting my terms. I knew it came honed (not really even sure what that means), but I thought it would need to be honed again. It does have a very thin grout line, in a very few places the grout has all popped up, but only 2 - 4 tiles. There is a slight wiggle. So just ask to have the holes filled and the little bit of grout replaced? I will be calling, I just want to know what I'm asking for. My tenants will need to let them in, I want to be prepared for their answers. Thanks :) Christy

  • GreenDesigns
    11 years ago

    Honing is the process that gives a slightly matte finish to the surface of natural stone. It's not a dead matte, but it's NOT shiny. It involves using the proper equipment to basically sand the stone. You don't use the fine grits that you would need to in order to achieve a more polished look.

    In your case, it sounds as though the installation has issues and the stone wasn't properly installed. It will be difficult to remove the stone and reinstall it. The best methods would be if you had some spare material and then the old piece could come out and you wouldn't have to worry about any trying to scrape off the thinset from the stone without cracking it. The old thinset could be scraped from the subfloor, new applied, and then a new piece could be put down.

    Yes, travertine should be sealed if you want it to resist stains. It's more porous than even your average porous natural stone. That could easily be a DIY job if the house is vacant and could save you quite a bit of money.

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