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Ok a few things.
First you said you are grinding this floor so starting at 220 resin
is not an option.
You will need to start with a 50 or 100g de lippage tool on a
weighted (200+lbs) floor machine.If you have some severe lips you may
need to knock them down a bit with a cup wheel on your makita or create
flashing slopes.
Once you grind that travertine it will open up like swiss
cheese.
Now as for filling if you want your fills to polish as much as
possible then using something like Buff poly is perfect....but if you
have never filled 1000+ ft of travertine that has been ground you are in
for a good time.
Filling will be very tedious and time consuming (we have a few
tricks feel free to email me)
, you have to charge alot more for filling a floor with poly vs
traverfill or ns grout/epoxy it just takes alot longer.You have to
be sure to get the residue completely off of the surface otherwise it
will dry very very hard and your 50 resins usually won't even take it
off so you would then have to follow with something like a 100g vac
brazed to remove the poly and at the same time take out the 50metal
scratch patterns, but you also take the chance of opening up more holes
which will require more filling.....
There is no product than I know of that is easy to apply, has a
long working time, that will cut of the residue with resins,and take a
high polish like poly will.If there is something out there I would love
to know, we have tried things like venitian plaster,ground up travertine
dust with plaster or epoxy grout.Maurizo was an advocate for using latex
based caulk which does not shink, dries very hard, is waterproof, and is
shiny, I have tried a few times and we just can't seem to get it right
or are not using the right caulk but I watched MB do it and it looked
great.My point is there is no EASY way to grind and fill and take to
polish and have fills that look as good as the stone you need to explain
this to your customer and again if you fill with poly you need to charge
accordingly.
We have had to come in after some very very poor installations from
so workers south of the border, being here in San Diego we see alot of
these floors and in fact nicknamed on job the "great wall of china" so
we alot of experience with GRINDING travertine and are always
looking for helpful hints tricks or advice.Ok I am done rambling have a
good weekend everyone.
Rod Medel
Superior Stone Restoration
San Diego
--- On Sat, 5/9/09, jfrancis@protocolfloorcare.com
<jfrancis@protocolfloorcare.com> wrote:
From:
jfrancis@protocolfloorcare.com
<jfrancis@protocolfloorcare.com>
Subject: RE: [sccpartners]
Travertine Grind
To: "Restoration and Maintenance"
<sccpartners@stoneandtilepros.com>
Date: Saturday, May 9,
2009, 11:05 AM
Hi John, Thanks for your comments. I do have some heavy
lippage to remove on this floor. Even though the stone is softer, do
you think I may be able to eliminate metal grinding and/or 50/100
resin? I am interested in a good filler. Could I get
product info? Or debbie could you provide? Jason
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
From: "John Freitag" Date: Sat, 9 May 2009 13:06:19
-0400 To: Restoration and
Maintenance<sccpartners@stoneandtilepros.com> Subject:
RE: [sccpartners] Travertine Grind
I
would never try to grind or hone over a ceramic tile, you are asking
for problems. Try the following 1. Purchase
some clear packing tape, tape over the inserts, over tape the insert,
then go back with a single edge razor blade and cut off the tape even
with the grout line, you should be able to hone over the ceramic
tiles. The tape is so thin the diamond will glide over the tape.
Seeing it a soft travertine I would suggest starting with a 220 grit
and test a small area, if ir removes the damage continue , if it does
not go to the 120 but in most cases you can remove a loot of damage
with a 220 diamond, providing it’s a good 220 grit, meaning all 220
grit diamonds are not created equal.
Note
: if the damage is very light try a sample at a 400, I recommend
always test a small area if your not sure of the damage in the stone.
To do a test take little time but on 1200 plus sq.ft if you can
eliminate 1 hone you have saved a lot of time.
There
are products out in the market call traver-fill specifically
designed for filling travertine. I think StoneCare Central has
one , if not I can put StoneCare Central in touch with the direct
manufacturer. This a great product, very little shrinkage and once you
know how to use it it’s great. It matches the quarry fills almost
perfect.
2. Dry
grinding marble, I have seem this done before, the problem you have is
the dust, even with vac attached to your floor machines there is still
dust that get on the customer furnishings, and you will have a n
unhappy customer.
For
as much as diamonds I prefer the triple thick 3” diamonds from
StoneCare Central I have used these diamond for over 8 maybe 10 years
as my diamond of choice, I operated a restoration company that had
sales over 1 million dollars per year and that ‘s the diamond I
used.
3. Dry
grinding to see the scratch patterns is nice, but I use a teach in The
Stone and Tile School how to make sure you achieve a good even and
complete grind or honing through a timing process that will guarantee
a good hone and will assist you in bidding the time it will take to
complete a project regardless of the size.
4. I
concrete diamond for marble, there a lot of suppliers trying to design
a diamond that will work on ALL materials, I still believe that you
need to use the diamond that is designed for the stone you are working
on. Marble, Granite, concrete. Some day maybe there will be one
diamond for all but for now I’m not convinced of it.
Don’t
forget after you complete this job to sell the customer theproper care
products for cleaning the floor and for the proper cleaning of any
other stone or tile surface that maybe in the house
CARE
PRODUCTS MEAN EXTRA SALES AND PROFITS FOR YOU
If
I can be of any other assistance please advise, visit or school site
at www.thestoneandtileschool.com
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:
jfrancis@protocolfloorcare.com [mailto:jfrancis@protocolfloorcare.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 09, 2009 12:17 PM
To:
Restoration and Maintenance
Subject: [sccpartners]
Travertine Grind
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
From: jason francis
Date: Sat, 9
May 2009 08:25:59 -0700 (PDT)
To:
<jfrancis@protocolfloorcare.com>
Subject: Travertine
Grind
Since we are talking
about travertine I thought I would get some feedback on my next big
project. I am grinding 1250 sq. ft of soft honed travertine and
bringing it to a high polish. The homeowner decided to put ceramic
tile inserts throughout the floor, of all things to put. 1. Has anyone
ground ceramic inserts? My assumption is that if it is through body,
than it will be fine. My plan is to try an area and see how it works
first. Hopefully it is thick enough tile. Man it would be a lot more
work if I have to blend around these inserts with metals then duct
tape them off. 2. Do ya'll have a preferred fill? I am planning on
using epoxy grout. Is there anything wrong with Laticrete from Home
Cheapo? Obviously I want the fill the take a high polish. 3. This
question is strange. I have a full set of diamonds I use for concrete
called T Bone(Dry). Manufacturer sells them as also for marble and
travertine used dry. They say its new technology. Has anyone ever
worked resins dry on marble? I am almost afraid to try. I would assume
there is no harm in just using them wet. At the same time it would be
nice to see the scratch pattern as you work. Thanks in advance for
your thoughts, Jason Protocol
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