Clay Carson owns and operates Act One. Clay is a 20 year veteran of the tile and stone care business. He grew up and has lived all his life in the Boston area. He’s a pretty mellow, low-key guy in general, but he does get enthusiastic about all aspects of marble and tile. In fact, if you let him, he’ll talk your ear off about it!
He lives with his family and their two cats, Remington and Lola the Ragdoll.
Act One has a small, dedicated crew of stone craftsmen who care about the old-fashioned way of doing the job right. Above all, our goal is to make sure you, our customer, are so thrilled with your results that you want to show them off to friends and neighbors. We keep up with specialized training to make sure you have only stone and tile experts working for you.
For years we ran both new tile and marble installation crews as well as maintenance work on existing tile and marble. Eventually, as of 2009, we stopped doing installations and focused exclusively on the maintenance aspect.
We’re based in the Watertown area and we service an area within an hour’s drive. Generally, that takes the Act One service area to a bit past Route 495. In other words, we cover most of Eastern Massachusetts.
Having worked for years as a tile and stone installers, we understand not only your stone, but equally important, what’s behind it and how to fix problems that go deep down below the surface.
Many of Act One’s clients are homeowners who want to restore marble or granite surfaces like floors or countertops. However, we also service commercial property owners such as hotels, restaurants, universities and hospitals. We’ve worked for Shriner’s Hospital, Giorgio Armani, Legal Sea Foods, Stop and Shop, Fitchburg State College, Hampton Inn, Hyatt Regency, Holiday Inn, Four Seasons Hotel and MIT. For more, see our page on commercial clients.
We enjoy solving complicated problems like stone countertops that have lost their shine or leaks in tile or marble showers. Have cracked or broken marble tiles or grout appearance problems? If you have a tile or stone problem, we have specialized training and we’re willing to talk you through it on the phone as far as possible. So don’t be uncomfortable calling even if the job is small or you’re not certain what the problem is.
If you ask what he enjoys about the stone restoration industry, Clay says: “For one thing, it’s never boring. We never know what the next job will bring, because every stone job is a bit different. Other tradesmen like electricians or carpenters just never get to see that sort of thing from start to finish. It’s very visual. Plus, our clients are super! We really click with them because they want the same thing we want. We both want the stone to come out beautiful!”
If you’d like something done with grout or caulking or marble, granite, ceramic, porcelain, slate, limestone or any other stone, just give us a call or text us at 617-221-4002. We’ve been in the business for a while, so odds are we can do what you want. If we’re not the right fit, we may refer you to a competitor who can provide you what you need. If you prefer, you can use our webform below and we’ll get back to you asap.
Specialized Training
Clay is certified in Stone, Masonry and Ceramic Tile by the IICRC. That’s an international trade group owned by all the major regional and specialty maintenance associations. The IICRC (Institute for Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification) is an impartial body that sets standards for education, performance and quality testing in the flooring maintenance, restoration and installation industries. They train major tile and floor manufacturers and contractors to make sure its members follow recommended installation and cleaning procedures. In addition, they hold training classes at various cities throughout the country.
Clay’s also certified as a CDT (Construction Document Technologist). The Construction Specifications Institute administers the Construction Documents Technology Program. It provides a comprehensive overview for anyone who writes, interprets, enforces, or manages construction documents. Project architects, contractors, contract administrators, material suppliers, and manufacturers’ representatives use a common ‘language’ to define and interpret construction information. We speak that language.
Not every project requires reading and understanding blueprints and construction specifications, but many of our commercial projects do. When we need to reach out to project architects and design/build contractors, it makes it easier to coordinate our trade with the rest of the crews.
The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation is an industry supported non profit classroom and workshop style specialized training organization. Clay and a supervisor for the company learned proper tile installation and repair techniques in their South Carolina facility. It’s a classroom and hands on type of approach. The instructor was a widely known third generation tile installation expert.
World renowned marble polishing expert Maurizio Bertolli started MB Stone Care. Clay had the privilege of being a student at only the second training class Mr. Bertolli ever conducted.
Maurizio’s course covered natural stone restoration and marble, granite, slate, travertine and tile cleaning, refinishing and concrete polishing. Today under new management, MB Stone continues training and providing excellent tools and chemicals for a new generation of marble restoration pros.
So if you’d like something done with marble, granite, ceramic, porcelain, slate, limestone or any other stone, just give us a call or text us at 617-221-4002 and ask for Clay. We’ve been in the business for years, so odds are we can do what you want, or we know who does – there’s no risk in just talking. If you prefer, you can use our webform below and we’ll get back to you asap.
Our contact information:
Act One – Marble and Tile
15 Main Street # 138
Watertown MA 02472-4403
https://cleanpolishmarblegraniteboston.com
617-221-4002 Text or Call
