Keeping Your Granite Countertop Pristine
Granite Maintenance Myths: What’s Really Necessary to Keep Your Countertop Pristine? Granite countertops are durable, beautiful, and highly sought after in kitchens and bathrooms. But
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Chips, Broken Edges, Cracks, Stains, Holes, Uneven Finish
Evaluation – Most limestone repairs are small enough to be evaluated using photos and a phone call. There is usually an easy-to-diagnose cause of chips, holes, and broken edges so uploading photos to our site and explaining the process is usually all that is required to estimate the cause and the cost. Some limestone repairs require a detailed inspection to ascertain first how the condition occurred and how your limestone surface will be repaired to provide maximum long-term value.
Some cracks, hollow tiles, broken edges of tiles, and other issues are caused by the movement of your limestone floor tiles. The usual cause of this for broken corners on your limestone floor is improper coverage of setting material causing a void beneath the tile. A usual cause of cracking across several tiles of your limestone floor is a crack in the concrete subfloor or movement in the subfloor if installed over a raised subfloor or upper floor of the home. These conditions require a larger intervention than a simple repair.
Sureshine will evaluate your limestone repair in Huntington Beach, CA and explain what can be done to achieve long-term value, the cost of the repair, and possible alternatives so you have a complete picture of what to expect.
Preparation – Some repairs require specialized adhesives, factory color matching, or special order brackets to make sure your limestone repair is secure. During the inspection, your Sureshine representative will advise you on the time needed to assemble the kit necessary to perform your limestone repair. Sometimes a deposit is required when ordering color-matched adhesive. We will advise you every step of the way.
Execution – On the day of your limestone repair we will arrive on time, walk you through the repair again, show you any custom colors that were ordered for your final approval, and execute the limestone repair as described in our proposal.
usually happens around sinks, stair treads, or anywhere that there is a danger of light impact or foot traffic. The typical chip is caused by pots and pans hitting the edge of your limestone or natural stone sink or dragging something heavy up the stairs. The process of chip repair involves the use of high-strength structural epoxy or urethane that is color matched, as possible, and allowed the proper cure time (usually 1-2 hours). Sometimes faster limestone repair adhesives can be used on chips that are small and may not get as much traffic.
Expect a limestone chip repair to take 2-3 hours if that is all that we will be doing. The cost of your limestone repair in Huntington Beach, CA will be the prep time, cure time, and the time necessary to provide a smooth repair that blends with your existing finish. Some localized limestone repairs may be visible after our service but we work hard to make them blend as much as possible with the surrounding limestone surface.
usually occurs on a limestone counter, a limestone table, or a limestone hearth. These surfaces tend to stick out when moving something heavy around and get banged into. The process for a limestone edge repair or a limestone corner repair is to save as many of the pieces as possible so that we can use them to fill gaps and holes. Sureshine will thoroughly inspect these types of repairs to make sure that proper support can be placed across the repair to prevent future breaks. We use brackets, biscuits, and other methods to strengthen corners and edges that are reassembled.
This is an involved limestone repair expected it to take 4-8 hours with ample time allowed for the adhesive to cure prior to sanding and polishing the surface. The crack or seam where the pieces fit together will either appear to be a vein or have varying colors to mimic the stone. We work hard to make our limestone repairs invisible but they will likely be visible under close inspection.
Send your photos today to see what we can do for you.
are fixed using color-matched (as possible) adhesives that are designed to last. We first evaluate the area to figure out the cause of the hole so we can help to prevent further damage done to the repair area. Knowing the cause also helps us formulate a plan for the repair. The typical process includes cleaning out the holes before applying multiple colors of adhesive as necessary to provide a clean match to the limestone around it. We will then sand and polish the hole so that it is flush with the surface and the finish blends. This is called the sand-to-smooth method.
When time or money needs to be saved holes can be filled using a blade and knifed flat then allowed to cure prior to wiping the hole and the surrounding area with acetone to remove residues. This is commonly done after refinishing on porous surfaces like limestone and travertine.
If you have questions about filling holes in your limestone floor or counter, call Sureshine to schedule an inspection but don’t forget to upload your photos on this page so we can discuss your repair when you call.
are usually caused by something occurring under the tile especially cracks that extend across multiple tiles and grout lines. This is true on both concrete and raised subfloors. These cracks can be filled but will never be “repaired” permanently because of the constant movement of the floor under the tile. If you send photos of your limestone cracks we can usually diagnose this over the phone after asking a few questions and advise you on the longer-term coarse of action.
can occur for a number of reasons and will usually require an inspection to properly diagnose and estimate the cost of a repair. If you have a crack across the sink on your limestone countertop, you most likely have a steel rod that is rusting that was originally put on your counter to prevent cracking (ironically). We can remove the rod by cutting it out and reassembling the sink rail. This is more common on granite and quartz counters but does happen on limestone counters.
If you have an isolated crack in your limestone floor the first thing to do is knock on it. If you hear a hollow echo and a rattling sound, that means that that limestone tile is moving and likely loose. The repair will likely include the removal of the tile and reinstalling or replacing it.
Send us your photos and we can help you get started on your limestone repair.
can have a lot of different causes and solutions. Stains happen when a colored staining agent is allowed to sit on the surface for a long period of time and are not able to be removed using conventional cleaners and methods. Examples of limestone stains can be wood or tannin stains caused by cutting boards, rust stains on your limestone caused by the oxidation of steel chair legs, oil stains around your stove, water absorption stains in the limestone around faucets, silicone spots caused during the installation coming form under your limestone counters.
All of the causes of these stains have different methods of removal. Some are simple chemical treatments. Others require abrasion to open up the limestone surface prior to the application of stain remover. It is important when trying to remove a stain to know what caused it so the proper removal method can be used.
If you are unsure of how to remove stains in your limestone surface, call Sureshine today and upload photos to our site. We will review them and provide a plan for removal if possible.
Limestone Leathered finish is a rough or textured finish most commonly done on limestone and natural stone counters. The leathered finish on your limestone counter is achieved using abrasive brushes that remove the softer parts of the stone while polishing the harder areas of the stone. Leathered finishes come at all levels of shine from matte to polished. A leathered limestone counter has an old-world look and feel.
Dust mop and vacuum your limestone floors regularly, daily of possible. The amount of foot traffic in your home or business will determine how often you should clean. If there’s construction nearby in Huntington Beach, CA, you might need to clean more often. Use a vacuum that’s safe for hard surfaces and won’t scratch your stone floors.
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