Hi John.  Thanks for the advice.  Have a couple of quick questions.  See my questions below.<div>Thanks,</div><div>B<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 8:51 AM, John Freitag <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a target="_top" href="mailto:jfreitag@thestoneandtileschool.com">jfreitag@thestoneandtileschool.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">Baird,<br>
<br>
If you go down to a 50 grit diamond plan on opening holes in the floor and<br>
you will probably need to fill all the holes. I would recommend staying away<br>
from that.<br>
<br>
I would approach the job by going in and cutting the grout down the<br>
approximately 1/8 of an inch then using a fine tool or other methods you may<br>
prefer to remove the grout.</blockquote><div> </div><div> <font class="Apple-style-span" color="#FF0000"><b><i>You are referring to the grout between the tiles I would guess. I don&#39;t recall that the grout between the tiles were in bad shape, just the grouting of the holes in the travertine ( would have to take another look to be sure but it was pretty much lake any other grout job between tiles).  Considering this, is it important that  I remove and regout the grout lines (this might add a lot of time)?.</i></b></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#FF0000"><b><i><br></i></b></font></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">Then I would re-grout the floor  using a non<br>

sanded grout but would use a latex additive to the grout. I would use at<br>
least 50 to 70 % latex and the remainder water when mixing the grout. The<br>
latex will improve the bonding of the new grout to the old grout. When using<br>
the latex additive the grout will cure much faster so your pot life will be<br>
short. Mix up small batches of grout.</blockquote><div> </div><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); "><b><i>Do I just trowel it on and wipe off the excess with a squeegee (sort of like color sealing).  I have never grouted travertine.  Also, is traverfil an option or better to go with a light unsanded grout with the additive (in other words, what does traverfil do that the other stuff doesn&#39;t?)</i></b></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); "><b><i><br></i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); "><b><i>Next, do i then hone the whole floor at, say, 400 , as I normally would </i></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); "><b><i>(or something lower?) </i></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); "><b><i>and then polish?  How long to wait after regrouting to let it dry?</i></b></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); "><b><i><br></i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); "><b><i>Next, How does the latex/grout combo turn out after polishing?  I would guess flat.</i></b></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); "><b><i><br></i></b></span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#FF0000"><b><i>Concerning sealant,  I proposed either an impregnating sealant, which will do nothing for the grouting, which is flat-not glossy, or a topical polymer which will help even out the shine across the whole tile, travertine and grout.</i></b></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#FF0000"><b><i><br></i></b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#FF0000"><b><i>Finally, How do I estimate the time spent grouting.  Because I have never done this, I don&#39;t know if this wll take a day, two days etc.  The whole thing is about 600 square feet.</i></b></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#FF0000"><b><i><br></i></b></font></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<br>
 Even though most grout have latex already added you will need to add more.<br>
The latex additive can be purchased in Home Depot and other tile supplier.<br>
It&#39;s usually in the tile section by the setting materials and grouts.<br></blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); "><b><i>What is the typical coverage for this grout and latex combo?</i></b></span></div>
<div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<br>
<br>
John E. Freitag<br>
President/Director<br>
The Stone and Tile School<br>
Office 407-567-7652<br>
Cell 407-615-0134<br>
<a target="_top" href="mailto:jfreitag@thestoneandtileschool.com">jfreitag@thestoneandtileschool.com</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<a target="_top" href="http://www.thestoneandtileschool.com" target="_blank">www.thestoneandtileschool.com</a><br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Baird Standish [mailto:<a target="_top" href="mailto:bairdstandish@gmail.com">bairdstandish@gmail.com</a>]<br>
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 7:56 PM<br>
To: Restoration and Maintenance<br>
Subject: [sccpartners] Travertine with bad grouting job<br>
<br>
Hi,<br>
I just inspected a newley installed travertine floor that the owners<br>
would like us to bring to a consistent polish and seal. The tiles are<br>
not finished well, with much irregularity to the polish. The key point<br>
is that the grouting (traverfill or maybe just plain unsanded grout,<br>
probably the latter), is not well done. Some of the grout is flush<br>
with the surface but much of it is below the level of the travertine<br>
surface. The surface itself is smooth and scratch free, so I could<br>
otherwise finish it with one 400 grit hone and polish, but it looks<br>
like I will need to use a 50 grit diamond to grind down the floor to<br>
even out the grout, then work up from there. I&#39;m wondering if it is<br>
possible to grout over the existing grout effectively (without it<br>
coming loose) and cut back on the number of hones?<br>
Thanks<br>
Baird<br>
<br>
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Facility Specialists, LLC<br>
1616 Walnut St.<br>
Philadelphia, PA 19103<br>
Phone: 215-732-7505<br>
Fax: 215-546-9160<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>________________________________________<br>From the desk of<br>Baird Standish<br>Managing Partner<br>Facility Specialists, LLC<br>1616 Walnut St.<br>Philadelphia, PA 19103<br>
Phone: 215-732-7505<br>Fax: 215-546-9160<br>
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