The 8 Beatitudes of Natural Stone Care

The “Eight Beatitudes” of keeping your natural stone beautiful (the way it should be).
For building managers, developers, homeowners and designers.

1. Choose your stone wisely – don’t mix granite with marble with wood with metal interspersed, unless you want to spend big money with maintenance and aftercare, probably substandard. The care, smaller machinery and various methods make those intertwined materials a “restorer’s nightmare”.

2. Inconsistent luster is not always bad – some limestones and marbles have varying density patterns that make it impossible to polish evenly and look like “ceramic”.  Some have natural artistic patterns unique to stone.

3. Take care of spills before they stain! Calcite based stone like marble and limestone will stain regardless of whether they are sealed when acid (of most any kind) lay on the surface.  Blot, don’t wipe, the spill ASAP to prevent damage to the stone surface.

4. Minerals like iron and copper exist in lots of different stone – especially the white marbles and white granites – these minerals, iron being the biggest “culprit”, can oxidize (rust) when moisture sits on the surface or between the grout lines, etc. for any period of time.

5. Is there a “Black Granite”? Some say NO! – that all black granites are really a form of marble or a mixture of stone and minerals, e.g. carbon.  Some geologist say there are exceptions, but, regardless, there are thousands of instances where black granites will lose their color and “stain” very much like marble.  Beware of losing beauty.

6. Don’t wax on stone!  Unless you want to manage a very meticulous and regular and careful programme of stripping, allowing to breathe and redoing after one week of allowance, waxing only the tiles, slabs and NOT the grout lines as the grout will absorb the wax and get damaged in the process, discolored, etc.

7. Choosing counters and Bar tops! The Tough Granites are the better choices of the group, but Green Marble, White Carrara and Statutory White are not bad if the color is a crucial issue along with the veining / movement.  Our seals ARE getting better each year (go to www.marble-institute.com for the limits on sealing, etc).

8. Think, call a professional for “advise”, research on the internet, go to www.-marble-institute.com consumer homepage, and shop around.  It will save you money, time and aggravation later.  Believe me – been there, done that.