Joe,

 

The first thing is that the installer should have never attempted to seal the floor if he did not know how to seal it. He should have explained to the customers that he was no familiar with sealing and would recommend someone who knew how to apply the seal. Taking a job that one does not know how to do does not release them from the responsibility. The danger with the installer  now trying to fix the problem what other problems  will he create?

 

I would recommend to the customer rather than have someone who’s not sure of what they are doing to try and fix the problem is only asking for additional problem.

 

You may want to talk with the installer and discuss the problems and if he is not comfortable with the solution then recommend to him that you do the work. Try and build a relationship with him for in the future he may recommend you for other jobs. You must let him know that the home owner may want to back charge him for the repairs.

 

If the customer demands the Enrich & Seal be applied then remove the current seal and clean properly and reseal.

 

I would tell the customer that placing newspaper on the floor was not the correct material to use to cover a floor and that there are specific products for properly covering floors.

 

Regarding the uneven tiles. First what is the thickness of the uneven tiles? Is it the thickness of a dime ? if so that unevenness is acceptable lippages or un evenness. If it’s thicker then there may be a problem and you need to talk about removing the lippage.   I would tell the customer if the lippage is to be removed then the wood must be removed and installed after the floor has been ground and refinished and sealed.

 

Good luck with this job, it’s a job that you can make some money on but take your time and make sure you cover all your bases.

 

 

John E. Freitag

President/Director

The Stone and Tile School

Office 407-567-7652

Cell 407-615-0134

jfreitag@thestoneandtileschool.com

 

 

www.thestoneandtileschool.com

 

 

 

 

I didn’t know that Stonecare Central sold tape …..  I found it under Floor Machine and Accessories .  The  tape I’m using now is 3M with a 14 day clean removal, but it does not hold up around moisture. I spoke to the installer today to get his side of the story. The installer admitted that the sealer was applied incorrectly by his employees and he accepts responsibility, but I don’t think he willing to pay $$$$ to have me do the work. He has offered to clean up the residue himself,  but the home owner refused. If he can fix the problem, than I believe he should be given the opportunity.  I don’t think he has the resources or the expertise to do so. Sealing the floor was not a part of the contract. The homeowner wanted the floor sealed and the retailer (Emser Tile) recommended Aqua Mix Enrich N Seal. The customer insisted that the floor be sealed, so the installer did it to make the customer happy. The crew applied the sealer/enhancer and never cleaned up the residue. The homeowner then covered the sealer/enhancer with newspaper to allow foot traffic. That was 6 weeks ago …… The homeowner is now complaining about the unevenness of the floor and wants it leveled. I’m going to talk to the homeowner again later this week. I’m going to insist that they pay for a mockup on the actual floor to get a better feel for what they expect.

 

Thanks,

 

Joe

 

 

 

Joe,

 

Thanks for the pictures, this will be a fun job and one that will demand $$$ per sq ft to complete.

 

It is my understanding the job has been sealed with Enrich and Seal from Aqua Mix. I would approach the job in the following manner.

 

1.       First apply blue painters tape on the wood  from Stone Care Central.

 

2.       Then apply in top of the blue painter tape the red vinyl tape from Stone Care central  NOTE : I’m recommending you purchase your tape from Stone Care Central, I know this tape will not pull off the finish on the All tape are not created equal and I know these tapes will work.

 

3.       I would only tape off the section I would be working on that day and complete the each section before moving onto another section.

 

4.       I first would hand strip off the Enrich and Seal using a good Alkaline stripper.   Be careful not to flood the area with stripper the red and blue tape hold up well provided you are careful around the taped areas

 

5.       Once the floors are stripped I would then use a honing powder a my hand machine and hone each area, I’m assuming the customer is wanting a hone finish ? I would use a 200 to 250 grit powder then finish with a 400 powder, if the customer want a higher hone go up to a 800  

 

6.       Be sure to have the customer inspect the floor once you completed the 200/ 250 honing powder. It maybe the finish they are looking for.

 

7.       Once completed seal with an Impregnating seal.

 

 If the customer like what you have completed, Your done, this will be a lot of hand work and will require a lot of time.

 

Be sure you and the customer agree upon the finish prior to starting the complete project. If necessary the first day a do your sample and agree upon the finish , write out the process, and take  pictures of the finished product. This will eliminate any question at the end of the job.

 

If you try to use a small floor machine you will still need to address the corners  and edges next to the wood with a hand machine and by the time you do that you can almost complete the entire section by hand.

 

In order to make sure you have a consistent finish I would suggest you use a timer to time your work. I would estimate  that  each section will probably take approximately 2 minutes per tile per hone.

 

The stripping will probably take approximately 5 minutes per section, be sure to control you stripper. Make sure the stone is sealed (grouted /caulked)  completely next to the wood .

 

If the stone is grouted next to the wood prior to starting remove the grout and replace with caulk. Grout will never hold next to the wood. So you might as well replace it now and give the customer a great job. Not one that will fail in months down the road if you only grout the stone next to the wood.

 

There is a LOT of hand work here, charge accordingly.

 

I would be in the $6.00 to $9.00 per sq ft range

 

You will probably be able to complete 100 to 125 sq. per day  if you get more done that great but this is a job that will take time and patience.

 

I don’t think they will find  many contractors willing to attempt this job. Therefore the value is there  1100 sq ft I would plan on 10 to 12 days to complete.

 

If you have any other question on this job please let me know

 

John E. Freitag

President/Director

The Stone and Tile School

Office 407-567-7652

Cell 407-615-0134

jfreitag@thestoneandtileschool.com

 

 

www.thestoneandtileschool.com

 

 

 

 

Hi John,

 

I attached a zip file containing the photos. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

Joe

 

 

Joe,

 

I’ve been out of town for the past 6 days with limited internet service, I reviewed my emails and cannot find  any pictures to go along with this, can you resend them to me so I could offer my option and comments.

John E. Freitag

President/Director

The Stone and Tile School

Office 407-567-7652

Cell 407-615-0134

jfreitag@thestoneandtileschool.com

 

 

www.thestoneandtileschool.com

 

 

The clients expectations are high …..and the home is new. I’ve considered sanding along the wood trim with a orbital sander, then blend. Each area is 32” x 32” or less. I could use a rotary floor machine and cut the velocity pads (aka:  Turbo, Twister, Monkey-pad, Alpha-pad, ect.) down to fit a 10” drive pad. I think a 800 grit (white) followed by a 1500 grit (yellow) velocity pad would do the trick. The smaller areas along walls could be worked with a sanding block. Cutting the velocity pads down would provide a smaller foot print and allow the machine to avoid the lippage as much as possible. I don’t think leveling the floor would be a good idea, the wood trim is not flush with the tile surface now and leveling could make it worse.

I’m encouraging the homeowner to have the wood trim removed and replaced. The trim is faded in areas, I think the grout acted as a poultice and pulled some of the color out. The grout is powdery and cracking along the trim. I assume the wood absorbed the water and the grout did not cure correctly. The trim also has sealer/enhancer along the edges. I don’t thinks it’s worth salvaging ……. If people want to use wood with stone, they should attach it with Velcro!

The job is located about 300 miles away, so I’ve only had one opportunity to evaluate the floor. The owner does not want to do mockup, in case they decide not to go forward. I don’t want to turn any work away …….. revenue is way down.

Not sure how to price the job …… On average I can complete (clean, seal & hone/polish) about 300 sq ft of Travertine a day. In this situation I don’t think I could complete more than 100 – 150 sq ft a day with the trim removed. I spoke to the owners yesterday and their eagerly awaiting a proposal.

Joe

 

This one is going  to be good- I can’t wait to see all the replies and I will add – all are probably very good ideas, depends on your skill and what the client’s expectations are.

 

Get carbide grit screens and try simply sand the sealer and dirt off. It is sold in various grits. You can probably rent one from a local shop, it also has a vacuum attachment so no mess.  But the client will have to accept a slightly rounded edge on the tiles and wood.

 

If , like some of my clients, want a flat floor, then you may not have a choice to do it as you said, but I have done stone insertions laid as your photo with wood inlays.   I made certain the voids between the wood and travertine were filled.  You  then concentrate on the travertine, do a first pass with your preferred diamonds to clean off the film, on travertine I like baby rocks, they are a circular abrasive formation metal bond.  Be sure to have someone close to pick up the water fast concentrating on the joints of the wood inlays.   And you just grind as you normally wood, trying to avoid the wood, but don’t make a headache from it.  Once your done completely to the desired grit you let it all dry, may take a few days, check with a moisture meter.

      The wood should lift in some areas, Then complete the work using the carbide grit screens to get the wood down to the travertine floor finishing at the desired grit.

 

Then all can be resealed and wood varnished as desired

 

 

 

I got a client who just built a new home. They installed 1100 sq ft of travertine combined with wood trim (see photo).  They bought the materials through or from Direct Buy and used Direct Buy’s installation contractor.  Anyway …… the installer didn’t have a clue they used a sponge to  apply Aqua Mix Enrich N Seal and never cleaned up the residue. According to the home owner the installer never cleaned the floor and they can see grout and dirt under the sealer/enhancer as well as foot prints. The owner wants the floor fixed ………. Any ideas on how to work around the wood trim, pricing, ect ? I was thinking about having the wood trim and baseboards removed. The trim has sealer/enhancer on it and I think it would cost less to replace the trim than pay me to work around it. I’ll probably have to level, fill and hone the floor. I was thinking about skipping from area - area with a 13 “ Hawk or would  a DS 301 Planetary Polisher be more effective? Any ideas on pricing ?  Thanks in advance for any help …..

 

Joe

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