Travertine Services: Polishing, Honing, Cleaning & Sealing
HAS YOUR TRAVERTINE LOST ITS LUSTER?
"Travertine Limestone" and "Travertine Marble" are the same stone. They are characterized by winding, irregular holes in the surface, with the flats finished to varying degrees of smoothness and reflectivity. "Shell Stone" is another type of this same material with shells imbedded.
Travertine has undeniably become more and more popular in the past few years. With that popularity there have been corresponding problems. Some relate to installation, while others are an inferior grade of stone and there remains the ever present failure to use the proper stone cleaning process and product. Take a look at our Stone Blog for some common sense caveats for care and maintenance.
Travertine Restoration:
The characteristic voids in Travertine were caused by gases present when the rock was in the molten state. These voids appear as holes in the tiles and are either filled during the fixing process or at the Factory. Heaven Sent Floor Care’s restoration process may involve filling an entire floor or random tiles that have these voids. The fill is either a form of grout or an epoxy resin filling. Our craftsmen also perform crack repairs, grout repairs, grout restoration for soiled grout all of which is done based on the level of restoration your particular surface requires and the finish you desire. Heaven Sent Floor Care uses the latest state-of-the-art equipment, diamond abrasives and other tools to restore your surfaces to like new again. We do feel an obligation to inform consumers about some of the harmful and unethical methods some companies utilize in restoring and maintaining natural stone by reading our Stone Blog.
 |
 |
| Before: Newly installed travertine has grout haze and an uneven finish. | After: Finished to a clean and custom medium shine. |
Travertine Cleaning:
Our travertine cleaning process typically involves the use of our high pressure hot water extraction unit (up to 1200 psi) providing for the most effective cleaning method for your stone. Effective and through cleaning is crucial for a smooth looking uniform finish and proper sealing. Our unique state-of-the-art cleaning process will yield you MAXIMUM soil removal in cleaning your travertine tile. We relish our client's "Aha Moment" when they see their fresh clean travertine tile floors.
 |
Our cleaning tool pulling out dirt and grime collected in the pits of the Travertine and the grout lines revealing a much cleaner and brighter floor. |
Travertine Honing:
Our competitors say “honing” is a process to finish stone. Tile retailers refer to a “honed” stone as one that has been “finished” at the factory, suggesting the stone needs no further care or maintenance and will look as beautiful on your floor as does the showroom sample.
We prefer the term “custom abrasive process” because that is far more descriptive and accurate. The custom abrasive process is designed to be the most effective without causing damage by unnecessarily opening up air pockets that turn into holes. We use lower grit levels with more sanding impact which will clean the stone & finish the Travertine to a soft sheen with glowing reflection. What our competitors refer to as a “honed” finish, we describe as a “satin glow finish”. Need your travertine holes filled? We are able to fill the holes with our Traverfil grout or epoxy based fill system to blend with your stone.
 |
What a huge difference!Right side: A supposedly “honed” Travertine after installation. |
Travertine Polishing:
Do you have polished travertine? Whatever your need is Heaven Sent Floor Care has the training and experience to polish your travertine. Using finer abrasives, or compounds we achieve a very clean, highly reflective, shiny finish. The shine intensity can range from a honed (more of a matte finish) to a ”custom medium shine” to a very mirror like “high gloss finish.“ The amount of fill (see fill effect photo below), open pores, blade marks will affect the shine uniformity especially when going with shinier finishes. Marble looks its best when finished to a high gloss.
 |
Fill Effect: The center tile has quite a bit of fill in the Travertine. Filler is usually epoxy or grout inserted in large pits/pores and will not reflect the light the same way the stone will. The shinier the finish on the stone, the more contrast the fill will create. The dark band is a shadow from the windowpane.You can see the sky mirrored in the stone. |
Travertine Sealing:
We use high grade penetrating (impregnating) solvent based sealers to seal your travertine surfaces. Their function is to absorb into the pores of the stone and fill them up. Tight pores help keep spills on the surface so they won’t soak in. Although penetrating sealers are not bulletproof, they are essential in keeping some acidic spills on the surface to prevent acids from eating away the underlying layers. This insures the resulting etch, or dull spot, can often be rehoned with the proper abrasives. Common liquids containing acids are: Citrus, vinegar, wine, soda, some perfumes and medicines.
While topcoat/surface sealers are appropriate for some types of natural stone, they ARE NOT RECOMMENDED for Travertine, Marble or Limestone.
 |
 |
Both photos are of Travertine with a topcoat sealer full of scuffs. Topcoat/surface sealers scratch and scuff much more easily than the stone itself. They will also flake, peel, and if applied too quickly can trap air bubbles and dirt underneath. This leads to a dirty hazy looking floor which most homeowners are unhappy with in a short time.
 |
The light patch in the middle is where we’ve |
Travertine Grinding:
Using the highest impact abrasives (lowest grits) this method is designed to remove a measurable amount of stone. Uneven tile edges (lippage) can be evened out using this method. Depending on the density of your stone and severity of lippage, our grinding process and state-of-the-art machinery is the most efficient available.
 |
 |
| Left: Example of “lippage” or uneven edges. High edges can be ground down using abrasives... with caution. | Right: Example of poor grinding on Travertine: Excessive and uneven grinding technique resulted in wavy stone and also opened up large pits. *This grind was not done by our company.* |
Travertine Etching:
Travertine, Marble and Limestone are all subject to etching. Etches are small scratches that create a dull spot on the stone. Mostly caused by spills containing any type of acid: Citrus, wine, alcohol, vinegar, pet accidents all contain acids. Acid eats calcium carbonate found in these stones and the result is an etch. The natural chemical reaction is almost immediate and can vary in severity depending on acid level, how long it sits, and the size. Penetrating sealers guard against the acid from eating through layers of the stone, thereby keeping the etch on top so it can be buffed out again during regular professional maintenance.
 |
Example of large etches on Travertine. Acidic and/or abrasive cleaning agents |
(Abrasives and techniques will vary according to grade, density, porosity and installation of the stone. Travertine, Marble and Limestone have different characteristics, use different approaches, and provide varying results
due to being a naturally occurring product)
Satin Glow Finish:
A soft subtle sheen for a clean and uniform look. Rids the stone of the dull chalky appearance so common with newly installed Travertine.
 |
 |
 |
Before |
During |
After |
High Gloss Finish:
We use the finest abrasives to achieve the glossiest finish possible for your stone. This shine is like turning your floor into a work of art, something to be noticed as much as the art on your walls. After the completion of our services we will provide you with specific instructions on how to clean your travertine or limestone surfaces.
 |
 |
 |
| High Gloss travertine makes for a very elegant foyer | Before: Limestone kitchen with black marble accents. A high traffic area that has become dull and lifeless. | After: Cleaned and re-polished brings back all the clarity and pizzazz to the limestone. |
Contact us today
Give us a call today at (214) 763-8832 or click here to receive your free, no-hassle quote for service.
The Stone Blog
The ultimate resource
for natural stone.