The problem is not from the toilet,as I was hoping for. The way the tile was set in this 70 story building is concrete floors, leveling material, and then thinset. Is it possible that the moisture from the concrete and water mixed in the thinset, is causing this tile to oxidize? Again I beleive that they used a different setting material on all the shower walls.The walls are great.

--- On Thu, 5/28/09, John Freitag <jfreitag@thestoneandtileschool.com> wrote:

From: John Freitag <jfreitag@thestoneandtileschool.com>
Subject: RE: [sccpartners] Carrara stains
To: "'Restoration and Maintenance'" <sccpartners@stoneandtilepros.com>, tony@stonebritechicago.com
Date: Thursday, May 28, 2009, 2:37 PM

These are great pictures of your problem. This one you need to investigate, there could be several reason for this.

1.       It appears that most of the staining is around the toilet area and the further  you get from the toilet area the less the stains seem to appear based upon what I see in the third picture. This could happen if you have a toilet that has not been properly installed and the wax seal is leaking and allowing waters (ETC ) to leach into the setting bed of the stone and this is causing the discoloration.

2.       With moisture in the setting bed if the sub straight is on a second floor or  has a basement under  it the sub straight may have been put in using nails or screwed and they are starting to rust due to the moisture in the setting bed.

3.       The first thing I would do would run a moisture test using a moisture meter. If the stone is wet then the moisture is coming from somewhere and my guess would be the toilet, check you moisture reading to see id there is more moisture closer to the toilet. If this is the case then I would bet the toilet wax seal is leaking and must be repaired.

4.       If there little or no moisture in the floor , then this could be coming from something that got into the setting materials and is now oxidizing. Use a poultice as you have been and remove the stains. The problem unless you know what causing the problem you cannot guarantee the stain will not re appear.

5.       If it is the toilet leaking , then poultice have the owner of the home have the toilet fixed, then place a fan or dehumidifier in the bathroom for several days ( weeks )  to dry out the stone,  then go in and poultice out the stain, hone if needed , repolish and your done.

CAUTION : In your agreement with the customer make sure you note that the stain may re- appear and if they do the same process will need to take place.

John E. Freitag

President/Director

The Stone and Tile School

Office 407-567-7652

Cell 407-615-0134

jfreitag@thestoneandtileschool.com

www.thestoneandtileschool.com

 From: Anthony Masecchia anthony@777-7797.com [mailto:anthony@777-7797.com]
Sent: May-28-09 12:58 PM
To: 'Restoration and Maintenance'; 'tony@stonebritechicago.com'
Subject: RE: [sccpartners] Carrara stains

White Carrara has iron in the marble -  its normal that if water touches the surface the iron may oxidise.  We also take care of a large condo complex where every shower sill and marble in front of the shower as well as the first few tiles off the floor show a huge rusting discoloration.  There is little to be done to remedy the situation, removing it and applying an impregnator may help but the iron will nonetheless be exposed. In my opinion a label should be on these tiles to warn people of this situation before they make the purchase.

Anthony

Marble Maestro