Author Archives: mrcleanpolish

Regrouting and Sealing Slate Shower in Boston

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Boston slate shower before regrouting
Regrouting Slate Shower – Before
Boston slate shower after regrouting
Regrouting Slate Shower – After

We get lots of calls to regrout tile and stone showers. That is to say, we end up regrouting LOTS of showers, including this beautifully designed slate shower.

One reason it’s a popular service is simple – it works!

Even though it’s usually only a one day project, it can have a very dramatic effect on the whole look of the room. In fact, it can make the shower look ‘like new’ without having to go through the dust and delay of remodeling.

In addition, regrouting and caulk replacement is a very logical way to keep the grout and caulking in a good state of repair. Also, it may help reduce unnecessary leaking and water damage, even though that isn’t a guarantee.

In December we got a request from a condo owner in Boston for cleaning and regrouting his slate shower. The shower was very solid, with a beautifully installed slate tile with strong color variations. He wanted the stone professionally cleaned because a film of old sealers and hard water deposits was interfering with the look of the wall.

You can get a larger image by clicking on the photos above.

We did a heavy duty cleaning of the stone, scraped out the old grouting, removed the old caulking and replaced the grout and caulk with a colored version that complemented the stone. Then we sealed the stone with a stone color enhancing sealer that works well with slate. Right after our job, the tub was scheduled to be refinished, so in order to coordinate with the refinishers, we waited until the they were done to caulk the line where the tub meets the stone. That saved them a trip back. The ‘after’ picture above was taken before the final caulking. The homeowner was pleased with his ‘new’ regrouted slate shower!

If you’d like to see other examples of what regrouting slate, porcelain or marble tiles looks like, check out these other jobs we’ve done, like these projects, a full regrouting in Amesbury or the restoration of a Lexington shower.

If you have a stone or tile tub shower or stall shower that needs professional regrouting, feel free to call or text us at 617-221-4002 or fill out the form below for a free estimate. We’d love to make it look like new for you!

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

Service Area Map of Eastern Massachusetts
We Service All of Eastern Massachusetts

Solving ‘Marble Mysteries’ – Regrouting Marble Shower Floor and Walls

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Marble shower Hingham before regrouting - green copper leaching
Marble shower Hingham before regrouting – green copper leaching
Marble shower Hingham with green copper leaching close up before regrouting
Marble shower Hingham with green copper leaching close up before regrouting
Regrouted and cleaned marble shower bench Hingham - green copper gone
Regrouted and cleaned marble shower bench Hingham – green copper gone

Sometimes stone maintenance can be a little bit hard to figure out – a ‘marble mystery’.

We got a call from a homeowner in Hingham, a suburb on Boston’s South Shore, who was frustrated with the look of his marble shower.

You can click on the before and after pictures to get a better resolution photo.

It was a beautifully installed stone shower, but he had noticed that some sort of green residue was showing on grout lines near the shower bench and onto the floor of the shower. It wasn’t mold, it wasn’t any form of cosmetic dye…at first we couldn’t figure out what it was at all.

Then the homeowner recalled that the original installers had run the copper shower pan liner up to and under the shower bench as a waterproofing measure. This is not the standard way to do it, but we have seen it done that way on occasion.

So over time the green copper ‘rust’ had leached through the grout lines and permeated the grout. Fortunately the marble itself wasn’t discolored. Technically, copper doesn’t ‘rust’, but it ages with a green color – think of the Statue of Liberty.

The marble didn’t need any diamond honing or polishing, so that was not part of the solution.

The Plan of Action: Steps to Regrouting the Marble Shower

1. Clean the marble shower surfaces with non acid, marble safe cleaning liquids
2. Regrout the walls of the shower with traditional non-sanded grout
3. Recaulk corners and edges
4. Regrout the sanded grout floor of the shower to remove the green discoloration
5. Apply clear penetrating sealer to protect the stone and grout

Regrouting marble shower walls is fairly standard work – we do it every week. But regrouting marble shower floors with sanded grout is not something that always needs to be done; the sanded grout is difficult to remove without using special grinding tools with diamond tipped blades. Still, we’ve done enough of them to know the process and it came out looking nifty and clean – no sign of green, just fresh new grout, clean marble and a ‘new’ look to a beautiful marble shower restored to its original appeal!

If you have a ‘marble mystery’, feel free to give us a call or text at 617-221-4002 or just fill out the form below with your contact information.

Our contact information:

Act One – Marble and Tile
15 Main Street # 138
Watertown MA 02472-4403
617-221-4002 Text or Call

Refinishing Brown Marble Vanity Counter Top

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Emperador Brown marble vanity left side before polish dull
Emperador Brown marble vanity left side before refinishing dull
Emperador Brown marble vanity overall before polish dull
Emperador Brown marble vanity overall before polish dull
Emperador Brown marble vanity left side shiny after polish
Emperador Brown marble vanity left side shiny after refinishing
Emperador Brown marble vanity overall after polish shiny
Emperador Brown marble vanity overall after polish shiny

Recently we got a request for refinishing marble on a vanity top for a homeowner in Cambridge. The stone was a variety of Emperador, which can be fussy to polish. Photos are on this page. You can get a better resolution photo by clicking on each image one at a time to see detail.

The process was a one day event. The homeowner removed the faucet spigot and handles herself to allow us to do a better job. We recommend this, but it’s not always critical, depending on where the gloss needs attention

First we use diamond abrasive disks to remove etching, so called ‘water spots’, and then smooth out the stone, eliminating scratches and allowing light to reflect better. Then we use a polishing powder made for marble countertops, buffing it to a shine. If you google the expression ‘refinishing marble’, you’ll get all kinds of results, some even implying that marble restoration is something anyone can do at home with no special equipment. That’s just simply not true. These steps require years of specialized training and practice to get it right.

The final step is a clear penetrating sealer to protect the marble, and then it’s ready to enjoy and use again!

If You Need Marble Refinishing

If you have a kitchen or bathroom marble counter top that you’re not happy with, feel free to get in touch with us to get free quote for restoration and refinishing. You can fill out the form below or just call or text us at 617-221-4002.


Our contact information:

Act One – Marble and Tile
15 Main Street # 138
Watertown MA 02472-4403
617-221-4002 Text or Call

Service Area Map of Eastern Massachusetts
We Service All of Eastern Massachusetts

Concrete Polishing

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Recently more and more of our clients are asking us for concrete polishing services, mostly floors but also some countertops. While we have historically done more marble polishing, concrete polishing is gaining in popularity and becoming more acceptable in even high end residential settings. That’s because we use the same diamond honing process we use for marble to create a smooth, light reflective surface on the concrete. In fact, we even use the same machines and the same diamonds! The sealers for concrete are a bit different, though.

You can have the finish anywhere from very glossy to a low luster shine. In contrast with marble refinishing, we can actually tint or dye concrete to achieve varying color effects. In addition, concrete densifiers are able to strengthen the surface and make it more durable than raw concrete.

Benefits of Concrete Polishing

It’s more cost effective than other floor treatments, and much easier to keep clean than raw concrete. Additionally, it allows you to have a brighter room with more design options than ever before. That’s partly because of its light reflectivity in contrast with either tile or carpet. Now that more and more people have seen the possibilities in restaurants and retail spaces, count on this option to become more common in offices and homes as well.

From a sustainability perspective, polished concrete flooring reduces your carbon footprint. and construction delays by not having to buy a floorcovering material and wait for its delivery and installation. After all, if you already have a concrete slab, polishing it and repurposing it is the ultimate in ‘Reduce [unnecessary floorcoverings], Reuse [what you already have underfoot] and Recycle [create something ‘new’ out of what already exists]! We couldn’t say it better than the folks at Eneref Institute:

“Comparatively, polished concrete is a more environmentally friendly flooring system, as it is “manufactured” directly in the facility. Odorless, non-flammable and non-toxic, installing and refining concrete flooring in situ requires little energy, no solvents and no volatile organic compounds”.

ENEREF.ORG

The photo below is an art gallery we recently honed and sealed for a major university in Cambridge. They wanted to say goodbye to their old institutional carpeting. So we removed the carpet and ground the adhesive off the concrete. The next step was to hone it with diamond abrasives. The final touch was to apply a sealer. Many sealers add gloss, but they emphatically did not want a shiny floor. Following their vision, we used a low luster sealer to lock in color and a low sheen.

Polished concrete floor with low sheen sealer in Cambrdge Massachusetts
Polished concrete floor with low sheen sealer in Cambrdge Massachusetts

Call or text 617-221-4002 or fill out the form below to get your quote.

Our Contact Information:

Act One – Marble and Tile
15 Main Street # 138
Watertown MA 02472-4403
617-221-4002 Text or Call

Service Area Map of Eastern Massachusetts
We Service All of Eastern Massachusetts

Polishing Marble Lobby for a Boston Property Manager

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Boston lobby marble before polishing
Boston lobby marble before polishing
Boston lobby marble after polishing
Boston lobby marble after polishing
Boston Property Management Letter
Boston Property Management Letter

Your condominium lobby and common area set the tone for the whole property. Overall, if the lobby and hallways of your building convey elegance and style, property values goes up…for you and everyone in the building. So polishing marble floors in the common area can go a long way toward setting the tone you want.

The leading real estate site cooperator.com puts it this way:

“According to residential interior design experts, a building’s common areas should not be neglected since shabby lobbies, hallways, community rooms, or even doorways and vestibules can detract from a building’s overall appearance, and possibly take away from the value of each individual unit…”Good-looking common areas are important as a prelude to the rest of the building,” says Marjorie Hilton, president of Manhattan-based Marjorie Hilton Interiors. “You want people to have a good, solid, significant impression when they walk in.”

A Typical Assignment – Polishing Marble Floors to Upgrade Common Area

Recently a condo building in Boston contacted us via their property management company. We like working for property managers because they understand the value we can bring to a condominium setting.

Even under the best of conditions, marble flooring generally gets a lot of wear and tear in a common area setting. In addition, there is slush and snow from Boston winters, and sand and salt that go along with it. Additionally, some cleaning companies may occasionally use harsh or acidic cleaning chemicals that can eat into the stone’s surface. In this case, they had even more foot traffic – they had just undergone a major renovation. By the time is was done, they had dust everywhere and construction workers had been traipsing through for weeks on end!

After the long renovation, the condominium residents wanted to clean their marble steps and polish the black and white marble at their upper lobby. Photos of before and after are above. (You may have to right click each image and select ‘open image in new tab’ to see the full size photo).

All things considered, they were so pleased the property manager wrote us a letter of recommendation! Click that image, too, to see what she had to say.

To see other posts about polishing marble floors, you can see this post about a Cambridge kitchen floor, this one about repairing acid damaged floors and this one about polishing marble stairs in Brookline.

If you manage a condominium building with marble stairs or a marble lobby and you want it honed, cleaned, sealed, repaired or polished, feel free to get in touch with us for a free estimate. Then we’ll email you a quote, stick to it and make you look good by making the marble look great!

Call 617-221-4002 or fill out the form below to get your quote.

Our Contact Information:

Act One – Marble and Tile
15 Main Street # 138
Watertown MA 02472-4403
617-221-4002 Text or Call

Service Area Map of Eastern Massachusetts
We Service All of Eastern Massachusetts

Marble Stains, Water Spots, Hard Water Stains on Marble or Granite…..Can They Be Cleaned Away??

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Every week potential clients ask us this question: “Can you clean away the stains, water marks, water spots or rings on my marble vanity, marble floor or granite countertop?”

The answer, in almost every case, is “Yes, we can get the marble stains out and it can look beautiful again!”

Wellesley brown marble vanity with etch marks water spots rings
Marble Stains on Vanity
Wellesley brown marble vanity after removing etch marks by polishing
Marble Stains Gone

For example, the photos above was a brown vanity top in Wellesley with ‘water rings’. They can’t be cleaned away because they are not soil sitting on top of the stone. So removing the stains is not usually a matter of just ‘cleaning’. In most situations, what looks exactly like a hard water spot or a stain on the marble is not a true stain that you can just scrub away. Instead, it is more often an etch caused by acidic chemicals. To add insult to injury, many times the acid was inside a liquid or spray cleaning chemical used to keep the marble clean. Ouch! Or as Architectural Digest put it, “For marble, acid is kryptonite“.

How to Remove Marble Stains

The first step is to identify what type of stain we are dealing with. To be technical, most people misuse the word ‘stain’. A true stain is anything that added color to the stone that wasn’t there before. Think of grape juice sitting on a countertop and leaving a purple blotch on previously pristine white stone. That’s a true marble stain. These are possible to hone out or clean out, but in the long run they may require a poultice paste to gradually pull the stain color up through wicking action. This process doesn’t always work, so yes, in some cases, a stain is permanent and we can’t get it out and neither can anyone else. In showers where there is hard water, there can also be hard water deposits that aren’t actually added color, but they are on the surface of the stone and can be removed.

But mostly what looks to people like a stain is actually an etch mark from acidic food or makeup or cleaning chemicals. This shower below was damaged by acid based cleaning chemicals.

Etched Emperador brown marble Sudbury shower walls
Acid Damaged Shower
Polished Emperador brown Sudbury marble shower bench
Acid Damage Gone

The process that works is to hone down the marble or granite by using diamond abrasive pads. Then we go over the area with a marble polish that builds back the shine. If there is any soil on the surface, this also removes it and achieves cleaning at the same time.

If you have a ‘water mark’, a ‘water ring’ or an etch or ‘hard water stain’ on your marble or granite, whether it be a shower wall, shower floor, marble floor, granite countertop,  or marble vanity, give us a call at 617-221-4002 or fill out the form at the end of this page and we’ll get your stone back into shape!

Our contact information:

Act One – Marble and Tile
15 Main Street # 138
Watertown MA 02472-4403
617-221-4002 Text or Call

Service Area Map of Eastern Massachusetts
We Service All of Eastern Massachusetts

Restoration of Historical Tile Floor in Copley Square Boston

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You never know what ‘buried treasure’ you’ll find underneath old floors in Boston! Tile restoration can bring an old floor like this back to life.

Copley Square Antique Ceramic Floor Before Restoration - dull overall before
Copley Square Antique Tile Floor Before Restoration
Copley Square Antique Ceramic Floor - note built up mastic
Copley Square Antique Tile Floor Before Restoration
Copley Square Antique Floor After Restoration
Copley Square Antique Tile Floor After Restoration
Copley Square Antique Floor After Restoration - light gloss sealer
Copley Square Antique Tile Floor After Restoration

One gentleman in Copley Square was renovating his condominium and discovered that the cheap carpeting that had been thrown down all over his unit was actually hiding an old floor, undeniably a very old floor.

In fact, this floor was so old it was original to the building, when it had been a hotel to some of Boston’s finest. It reminded me of the individual piece custom built patterns of old Victorian homes. (Some of which you can still buy today, a shameless plug for Original Style in England). He wanted to restore it to its former state, but due to age and being covered with thick old carpet glue, it was a real project to get it clean and refinished!

How We Got the Floor in Shape

We actually had to actually use paste paint remover to get the blackened glue off the face of the tile. Along with a LOT of scrubbing! We then used a gloss sealer to add a light shine that he wanted. It was missing a few tiles, but he was OK with a bit of imperfection, as long as the majority of the floor looked great.

As a result, he got to have his floors restored to their proper historical state and we got a few nice before and after photos from a job well done.

If you have an old floor or tile or marble surface you’re considering having refinished or restored, give us a call or text at 617-221-4002 or fill out the form below and we’ll see if we can help!

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

Service Area Map of Eastern Massachusetts
We Service All of Eastern Massachusetts

Deep Cleaning for Ceramic and Porcelain Tile and Grout Cleaning

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We recently completed a project for a family in Winchester that needed help getting a family home ready for sale. The project included some shower regrouting and deep cleaning ceramic tile floor in a large bathroom.

Shower regrouting is usually a process of completely replacing the grout and caulking. It makes the grout look brand new…because as a matter of fact, it actually is new! But cleaning sanded grout on a ceramic tile floor doesn’t replace the grout. So it can be harder to make it ‘bounce back’.

This floor grout had originally been white, but over time, wear and tear had made the grout dull and soiled. Ceramic tile cleaning is not just a matter of mopping at this point. It’s time for serious TLC.

We used alkaline and acid based cleaning agents and a ceramic tile cleaning machine scrubbing process that loosens even ground in dirt from old grout. Scrubbing is important, however it’s also important to vacuum up the soiled water with with either a wet vacuum or a hydrophilic tile sponge. That’s the step that actually removes the soil, so it can’t sink back into the grout lines.

As a result, the house was ready for the realtor to show and looked great, at a reasonable budget. The homeowner was so happy she wrote us a letter of recommendation, a nice touch!

Reference letter from happy client
Ceramic Tile Cleaning Reference

If you would like a marble or ceramic tile floor cleaning cleaned or grout replaced, give us a call or text at 617-221-4002 or fill out the form below the photos and we’ll be happy to get you a quote ASAP.

Our contact information

Act One – Marble and Tile
15 Main Street # 138
Watertown MA 02472-4403
617-221-4002 Text or Call

Service Area Map of Eastern Massachusetts
We Service All of Eastern Massachusetts

Need Tile Repair in Eastern Massachusetts?

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Recently a fairly famous local restaurant called us for a ‘semi-emergency’ tile repair and refinishing. They’re a local Boston legend in fine dining circles and were nearing the end of their renovation, which had to provide a true ‘first class’ experience.

However, one of their dining rooms just wasn’t working out right. The floor was a magnificent old handmade Mexican Saltillo tile. Overall, it had just become worn down from foot traffic and we needed to do some heavy duty refinishing. Plus, one tile had come loose and it was not going to be possible to find a suitable replacement – these tiles were somewhat unique in size and color.

Oh, By the Way, This is a ‘Rush Job’ Tile Repair!

Oh, and we needed to finish the job by this weekend, as in 100% done by first thing Monday morning! In addition, they had a long list with a lot of other tile cleaning, tile repair and refinishing to make the restaurant look good as soon as possible. Monday morning – white glove inspection time!

If you give this job to someone who doesn’t know any better, he can actually ruin the floor. That’s because Saltillo is soft and can dissolve under heavy abrasion. Literally disintegrate!

So we used strong but safe cleaning liquids, minimal abrasion and commercial strength floor finish along with some hand scrubbing and TLC. They wanted the lighter color grout lines colorsealed (that’s a recoloring process for sanded grout lines).

Results? Monday morning the floor was ready to host a party and easily passed inspection. If you click on the photos above you can get a higher resolution picture that shows the detail better.

If you have a Mexican handmade Saltillo tile floor or any tile you’d like us to repair or any refinishing or tile replacement in the Boston/Cambridge/Eastern Massachusetts area, feel free to call or text us at 617-221-4002 or fill out the form below for a free price quote. We’ll take your work seriously!

Our contact information:

Act One – Marble and Tile
15 Main Street # 138
Watertown MA 02472-4403
617-221-4002 Text or Call

Service Area Map of Eastern Massachusetts
We Service All of Eastern Massachusetts

Does Your Boston Area Condo Need Help Cleaning Marble Stairs?

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Marble Hallway Before looks tired
Marble Hallway Before
Marble Hallway After looks brighter and cleaner
Marble Hallway After

One thing I like about living in an older town like Boston is the original marble floors that you see in the common areas of apartments. Many of these are now condominium hallways and the owners wisely kept the marble floors to convey luxury and style. Sometimes they’re only in the lobby, but sometimes all the stairs are thick chunks of marble, and even the walls. Cleaning the marble stairs and halls can be a problem, though.

After all, our New England winters drag sand and salt in. Additionally, think of years of foot traffic, plain old wear and tear. Eventually marble floors and stairs start to look ‘beat up’. They attract soil that you just can’t clean away, regardless of how much liquid detergent your cleaning company uses. As a result, we’ve seen some people blame their cleaning staff for not being able to clean the marble stairs and halls well enough.

Don’t Put the Blame on the Cleaner! Cleaning Marble is a Job for the Pros!

Don’t fire your cleaning person! At some point, they need more than plain cleaning. Occasionally they need a ‘tune up’. Basically, that’s a marble restoration project that calls for us to use diamond abrasives. Essentially, we actually sand away the scratches from foot traffic and expose fresh stone.

That’s not a job for an amateur – your cleaning company is wise to pass on it.

Give us a call and we can do it for you. The diamond honing pads gently remove a paper-thin layer of the stone. Then we apply clear penetrating sealer to protect the marble. All honing is always done wet to avoid airborne dust.

Frequently, we also caulk or grout the edges of the stairs so the whole job looks fresh and new.

Condominiums can gain value from a stunning looking common area – or they can lose value if it looks beat up and neglected. Make sure you keep the value of your investment high and enjoy your marble the way it was meant to be experienced!

The pictures below are from a building in the Brookline area. The owners wanted the marble floor on the steps and lobby to reflect the care they had put into the renovation and restoration of the property. The job was done on a fairly tight schedule, on budget and the results speak for themselves. In this case, they didn’t want a polished, shiny finish – just a clean and honed look and a smooth edge treatment with white caulking. If you click on the pictures, you can get a higher resolution photo.

If you own or manage a condominium with similar issues, feel free to give us a call or text for a free estimate at 617-221-4002 or fill out the form below. We service Boston, Cambridge and all the suburbs in Eastern Massachusetts.

Our contact information:

Act One – Marble and Tile
15 Main Street # 138
Watertown MA 02472-4403
617-221-4002 Text or Call

Service Area Map of Eastern Massachusetts
We Service All of Eastern Massachusetts