Outstanding Transformation: How a Stone Honing in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Rescued This Travertine Floor

November 23, 2017

This homeowner and his wife bought their two-story building a few months ago in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL knowing that they had to make some improvements to turn it into a beautiful home. The house needed some repairs, so they have done some remodeling work on the kitchen, buying new appliances and furniture. In the process, they realized that the travertine floor became scratched and dull, so they needed professional help urgently. The man knew he would have to hire a stone honing service in Ponte Vedra Beach to restore the travertine floor.


Just weeks after moving in and finishing minor details like changing the locks, installing new closets, repainting, and decorating, the Ponte Vedra Beach resident called Sir Grout of NE Florida to schedule a free consultation. He already knew of Sir Grout because of some work that Sir Grout Southwest Florida had done for him before the couple have moved to Ponte Vedra Beach. At the time, the marble tiles in one of his bathrooms needed to be restored. He looked for a company online, discovered Sir Grout, and hired us. He was so pleased with the results that he made us his number one choice for hard surface repairs. After taking a look at the state of the travertine floor, the homeowner knew that we were the perfect company to repair the tiles. He was so eager when he found out that we were also in the northeast area of the state.

A team from Sir Grout of NE Florida visited the residence on the day that the client requested. We examined the travertine and learned more about the client. He told us that it wasn't the first time he had hired Sir Grout and that he had just moved to Ponte Vedra Beach. He showed us his kitchen so we could take a look at the floor. The kitchen had vein cut travertine tiles arranged in a brick bond pattern. The room was small, but nicely designed. With the new kitchenware the homeowner had bought and the repainting that was done upon his arrival, the place looked pretty good. However, the travertine tiles were dulled and full of scratches, especially the tiles near the back entrance of the house, as you can see in the pictures above.

From the homeowner's point of view, the only thing left to fix in the kitchen was the floor. Certainly, the stone needed honing and polishing to recover its shine and bring back its natural colors. Our proposal was to clean and hone the floor to remove the scratches and make the tiles look brand new. The client trusted our skills, said yes to the plan, and asked us to start as soon as possible since he was having a housewarming party soon.

A team from Sir Grout of NE Florida came back a few days later to begin with the restoration project. First of all, we moved and secured all household items and protected the adjacent surfaces that could get damaged during the procedure. Before honing and stoning, it is essential to always deeply clean any surface to ensure that dirt won't interfere with the other procedures. We used Sir Grout's stone cleaner to remove the grime from the tiles and clean the stains and stubborn marks that domestic cleaning products cannot eliminate.

Once the floor was clean and dry, we continued with the next step—honing and polishing. Our experts used special polishing powders with a low-speed buffer to remove the scratches and refinish the stone. The beautiful beige shades of the travertine tiles began to gleam as the process went along. For the finishing touch, we buffed on Tile Armor, our proprietary sealant that protects travertine against water, stains, and etch marks.

The procedures had great results—no one could believe the outcome! The homeowner had expected that, at best, the tiles would be clean and the scratches would be removed. But he never imagined that the tiles would look this beautiful. For a moment, he thought that we had replaced the tiles instead of cleaning them. It was amazing how the renewed floor added an elegant touch and much more value to the room. Needless to say, the homeowner was delighted.

After showing him the results, we told the homeowner and his wife about some of the benefits of our special cleaning products. The travertine tiles were not only spotless, they had also become resistant to water, stains, mold, and mildew thanks to Tile Armor. Tile Armor is a solvent-based sealant that keeps liquids and external agents from getting through the tiles and causing stains or severe damage. This is important for natural stones like travertine that are porous and can absorb liquids if they are not protected. We also suggested using pH-neutral cleaners to prevent the sealant from wearing off too soon. Additionally, we recommended the use of a terry cloth to dry the dirty water and told him that abrasive materials like steel wool can scrape the surface and ruin its appearance.

Are any of your tiled surfaces looking dull as well? Do you own a travertine floor or countertop and don't know how to recover its former glow? Don't worry! Sir Grout of NE Florida is here to the rescue. We are experts in hard surface restoration procedures. We can restore surfaces made from travertine, slate, marble, limestone, granite, and more. We can also repair, clean, and seal the grout in your home. For more information about our procedures, call us at (904) 420-4141 or fill out the "Request a Quote" form on our website if you want to schedule an appointment for a free consultation today. We cover Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties in Florida.

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