Posts tagged granite

I was just up to Western New York and Pennsylvania to visit my family and friends.  And as I was in my cousin’s Grandmothers house, which looks the same has it has for 40 years or longer, I happened to look down at the floor I remember playing on as a child, my eyes caught the pattern of the very old linoleum that had been there for decades.  I smiled at my cousin and said “this is patterned after Terrazzo.”  She laughed and said “this is linoleum. OLD linoleum at that!” To my amazement I had seen this floor for years and it has only been since I became friends with the owner of Colonial Floor Care; a Terrazzo, Marble, Granite and other stone Restoration Company in South Florida, that I became familiar with this gorgeous type of flooring. I explained to her what cleaning, polishing and restoration was and how it was done.

First inspecting the surface for chips or cracks, also making sure if the Marble or Granite are in tile form, that the tile be  inspect for lippage (where the tiles are not in line with each other making one higher than the other, which then will be honed using a special rotary machine to grind the two edges smooth and level). These imperfections have to be repaired with an epoxy/resin type filler that is color matched perfectly to the color of the stone and when dry ground down to a smooth finish.  After that is done, it is cleaned with a proprietary poultice to take all the dirt and grime that had been ground into the porous material that natural stone is.  After the cleaning is done, the surface is then polished using a large rotary type buffing machine, and in certain instances, these surface have to be ground down to remove scratches and using different grades of  grinding pads; polished to a smooth shine.  After the work is inspected and approved, then it will be sealed and your floor will maintain this shine for up to 14 years if regularly cleaned properly and maintained correctly. She was impressed I may say at what goes into restoring a natural stone surface.  The Marble Institute of America has much information about all types of stone products and helps set the standards for all Natural Stone products

She then reminded me about all the Cobblestone homes and streets we have in rural New York. We, who lived near the “Erie Canal” know all about Cobblestone.(This link will tell anyone who doesn’t know about it’s construction and what it did for the prosperity of all New York will find this very interesting.) Most of the houses surrounding the canal were made from those stones when it was being dug by hand by immigrants. These stones also paved the streets in some of the townships in the area from Rochester to Buffalo.  Also another natural building material, Cobblestones were cemented together with mortar of the time.  The streets were laid the same way we do with “stone pavers” of today. These homes and to some extent the streets, are still standing as a testament to the beauty and durability of all stone.  Not to mention in today’s world, natural stones are now considered an Eco Friendly building material.

I then did some internet searches for places I went to when I was in school near by, such as the Eastman House in Rochester, owned by George Eastman and built in the early 1900’s. Per the historical page on the website ” …  Mr. Eastman (1854–1932) built his home at 900 East Avenue between 1902 and 1905. He created a unique urban estate complete with 10.5 acres of working farm land, formal gardens, greenhouses, stables, barns, pastures, and a 35,000-square-foot, 50-room Colonial Revival mansion with a fireproof structure made of reinforced concrete..”  The inside was state of the art for it’s day, with all the new modern conveniences. The Eastman House Grand entry way had marble floors, Granite pillars, and ornate sculptures filled the home.  I remember going there as a child and teenager for the beauty of the Gardens and patios and side walks of Terracotta and just to be in awe of the Grandeur of the building. Also many government buildings of the early 1900’s and Churches in the area were constructed with concrete, marble, granite and other natural stones.

So I did one more search to find where all this stone would come from, only to find that New York and Pennsylvania had many stone quarries where granite and marble were quarried.  Now looking back, as a child and teenager I went swimming in old quarries that had filled naturally with spring water, never even thinking about what wonderful surfaces and building materials came from that filled up hole in the ground.

So I thought, did we have any other buildings using Marble in New York? And the answer is YES, many!  The New York State Capitol Building, the New York State Education Building in Albany, NY and the Empire State Plaza in Albany, NY to name a few.  New York City is full of them!  To numerous to name.  I was very impressed, living in a state that not only quarried the stone, but had historical buildings from that stone all over the state. Once again thanks to the Erie Canal when finished to transport these stone materials from quarry to cities all over the state.

I then explained to her what my friend and owner of Colonial Floor Care has educated me about natural stones, such as Marble, Granite, Terrazzo. Not only is this wonderful material used all over the United states, it is Environmentally safe, and lasts for centuries. Now it is currently being used to upgrade and remodel older homes.  Colonial Floor Care is South Florida’s Premiere natural stone restoration company.  They have been doing Historical restorations in the older homes of South Florida’s from the “great cover up” in the 70’s when it was fashionable to cover up these surfaces with new products such as Shag carpet, tile and  linoleum which were not only fashionable at the time, but affordable.

New home owners of today, while taking up these older carpets or tiles are finding hidden Gems under them.  Some not knowing what they are looking at, may see dull, scratched, stained or even chipping and cracking in these floors and just want to “cover them up” again.  But for the price of installation of good carpeting, tile or hardwood flooring; Restoration of your Marble tile (or slab), Granite, or Terrazzo, will add value to the home along with bringing back the original beauty and durability once considered THE flooring to have! Thus increasing the value of these Mid Modern designed homes.

If you have found what you may think is unable to be restored, please contact us for a free estimate by calling 305-731-2242, and one of our skilled craftsmen will come and talk to you about your individual flooring or surface restoration, polishing and cleaning needs.  We are Colonial Floor Care!  We care about YOUR personal project.