Learn How this Beautiful Marble Floor Went from Dulled to Glossy Thanks to a Stone Cleaning and Stone Honing Service in Simsbury, CT

April 26, 2017

First impressions are the ones that stick in our memories. When it comes to your home, the foyer is the greeting area that shapes that initial impression. A charmingly decorated foyer can make your home a memorable place for whoever comes through your front door. With all the options there are to decorate your home, you may wonder which elements are best to add the elegance you're looking for to your foyer. A popular choice for many is marble flooring.


Marble floors have been known for their elegance and class for centuries, and their demand in today's market continues to thrive. Marble is a beautiful stone, characterized by striking veins and a clean appearance. This stone has a classical feel and gives a sense of timeless luxury to any room. However, despite its beauty, marble can be easily damaged by certain types of spills or by using the wrong cleaners. This natural stone is extremely sensitive to acidic spills, like citrus juices, wines or vinegar. Acids cause etches on the surface that can be seen as dulled light spots or rings. Marble can also be stained by spills of dark liquids or rust. For these reasons, it is very important to get acquainted with proper maintenance and sealing to help protect the marble against the wear and tear of everyday life.


Our client, a Simsbury, CT native, invested in a marble floor for his foyer and was pleased with how much it improved the look of his home entrance; but as time passed, the heavy foot traffic in the area started to soil and dull the marble. In an attempt to restore the shine, he applied a layer of clear floor finish and repeated this process several times over the years. Unfortunately, this was the wrong way to maintain marble because as the wax finish layered the surface, dirt became trapped between each of the layers. The floor looked dirty and hardly resembled its original state. Fearing his flooring was irreversibly damaged, he decided to look for a local Simsbury stone cleaning and stone honing service to turn his marble back to its original beauty.

He knew he needed to find the best quality hard surface restoration experts to preserve his investment, so he went on Google and carefully searched for a company in his area that could get the job done. After meticulously going through many online reviews, he soon landed on Sir Grout Hartford's site. Noting their experience and expertise restoring natural stones like travertine, granite, and marble, he placed a call to schedule a free evaluation.

On the appointed day, Sir Grout Hartford's owner, Rod Carnes, arrived to assess the foyer's floor and suggest a service that would fix it. To solve the problem, he explained that all the old, dirty floor finish had to be completely stripped off. He even did a small test area, as seen in the photo, which revealed the true, brighter color hidden beneath the deteriorated floor finish. After the stripping process, honing and polishing removed the scratches or dull spots, restoring its original shine. Seeing the demonstration and trusting our team's knowledgeable approach and experience, our client agreed.


A few days later, our crew returned to the client's home to begin their work on his foyer's floor, beginning by removing the floor finish near the baseboard trim before applying a strong but safe cleaner to remove the layers of wax build-up from the rest of the floor.

The cleaning process was completed by scrubbing the marble with a pH-balanced cleaner to loosen up the dirt build­up. Once the chemicals managed to dissolve most of the dirt, our crew wet-vacuumed the entire floor to completely remove the residue from the marble and grout lines.

When the marble had regained its original color, our crew started the honing process using different sets of diamond pads and abrasives to grind the damaged surface and bring out its semi­gloss finish. To protect the marble from future wear, they applied a sealant. Lastly, the crew buffed the floors to add shine.

When our team finished, they presented our client with the results. He was wowed by how clean and glossy his floor looked. He said it looked like it did when he first installed it. He thanked our team and said he would call us back for yearly maintenance to keep his foyer in prime condition.

Before leaving, our crew decided to give a few tips to the homeowner so he could take care of his floor and make the results last longer. They recommended to always use cleaning products specifically designed for marble, since the pH imbalances of a regular cleaner can etch the stone's delicate surface and leave marks. Also, it is necessary to regularly seal the stone to protect it from spills and other damaging agents.

If your marble floors are dulled and damaged, here at Sir Grout Hartford we have all the tools, products, and expert personnel to restore their appeal. Call us at (860) 781-6480 or fill out the "Request a Quote" form to get in contact with our team of hard surface restoration specialists and get your free in­ home evaluation.

If you found this article helpful then let us know in the comments section below. Likewise, feel free to share it using the share options below. Want us to cover another topic of your interest pertaining to Hard Surface Restoration? If so, then like us and follow us on social media, and post to any of our social media profiles the topic you'd like us to discuss: Facebook Sir Grout Hartford, Instagram @sirgrout, and Twitter @SirGrout.