This Dull Limestone Floor in Chicago Was Brought Back to Its Natural Beauty with a Stone Polishing Service

May 29, 2017

Every special moment in our lives is better when shared with loved ones. This family from Chicago was very close and loved to spend those special moments together. On this occasion, the younger daughter was about to finish high school and to celebrate her graduation, her parents wanted to invite their friends and family over for a special dinner. The mother wanted everything to be perfect to properly honor her daughter's achievement. Less than a week before the big day, she thought it would be a great idea to thoroughly clean the house. While cleaning, the woman tried her best to make the floor in the foyer shiny like it used to be, but could not achieve the results she wanted. Luckily, she was about to find the perfect solution.


Getting the context
Mothers often take care of every single detail when planning a celebration for their children and, if the celebration is at home, they would rebuild the entire house if they could. This mother tried hard to make her house look flawless to celebrate her daughter's high school graduation. Therefore, she deep cleaned everything, especially the foyer. While cleaning, she found an old album with pictures of her family when they first moved to that house. In the pictures, she saw her limestone floor shine, but now it looked dull and charmless. She also noticed that the color of the powder room's floor had also changed, looking stained and grimy. In that moment, she understood that she needed professional help to regain the charm and elegance of the stone surfaces. The problem was that she didn't know where to start looking. Fortunately, her co-worker shared a hard surface restoration company post that offered a professional stone polishing service in Chicago.

Getting in contact
At that point, her frustration had reached its maximum not being able to fix the problem herself, so she decided to visit our website. She read some testimonials and even contacted her co-worker to ask for references. The co-worker said she had hired our services before and that our technicians had exceeded her expectations. The mother felt confident and scheduled a free in-home consultation.


Getting assessment
Our team of technicians arrived on the scheduled date and time. The homeowner showed us the surfaces and they told her that the limestone floor in the foyer was scratched, dull, and stained and the natural stone floor in the powder room was scratched and stained. They specified that they would have to perform two different procedures with multiple stages to revive the two areas.

They explained that the floor in the foyer was damaged due to the use of harsh cleaners, heavy foot traffic, and spills absorbed by the stone. But most importantly, because the surface hadn't been sealed in a while. On the other hand, the natural stone floor in the powder room had deteriorated due to the use of topical sealers. These leave a waxy film on the surface that causes the surface to quickly lose its shine; these sealers attract grime that attaches to the stone, staining it.

Getting restoration
Our crew began with the gray limestone floor. First, we did a thorough cleaning by combining stone safe cleaning products and a high-speed scrubber to remove all the grime. Next, we honed with a low numbered grit pad to remove all the etch marks and stains. The team gradually increased the number of the grit pads we used until the stone achieved a semi-gloss finish, as requested by the client.

After, we proceeded to restore the floor in the powder room. Our experts had to begin by scraping off the old, grimy layer of wax with a razor. Then, we chemically stripped the floor with the appropriate products and a scrubber to remove any residue. When the surface was completely clean, the team honed the stone to a matte finish.

Getting the stone sealed
Now, both surfaces looked attractive and beautiful. However, there was a crucial stage missing –the sealing procedure. There are two kinds of sealant. One is the topical sealer, which creates a protective layer on the surface, repelling spills. The disadvantage is that the protective layer can attract dirt that sticks to the surface, staining the stone. The other kind of sealer is impregnating. This sealant penetrates the stone and seals its pores from the inside out. Therefore, if a spill occurs, it will bead on the surface and won't be absorbed by the stone causing damage to its composition and appearance. For this reason, our professionals used an impregnating sealer that would preserve the stone for much longer.

Getting results
After achieving the expected results, the client was shown the floors. She was thrilled with the appearance of both floors. She mentioned they looked better than when she moved in. She thanked the team for an extraordinary job and for helping her improve her home's appearance for the special occasion. She even said she would recommend our work to everyone she knew.

Getting some maintenance tips
The team gave the client some tips and recommendations regarding the care and maintenance of the stone. First, the stone should be kept as dry as possible, remove any spill shortly after it occurs, and use a damp mop to remove dirt. The specialists also suggested that the surface was cleaned on a frequent basis to prevent scratches from walking on dust. Finally, the experts told her to often check the state of the sealant by placing some drops of liquid on the stone. If the liquid beads, the sealer is properly working; if the liquid is absorbed, it means that the surface needs to be resealed as soon as possible.

If your hard surfaces need a stone polishing service, Sir Grout Chicago is the best choice for you. Call us at (773) 923-2084 or fill out the "Request a Quote" form on this page.

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