Our Process:
Area Preparation: Drop cloths are laid down anywhere in the home we will be walking or working. Boot covers are worn when walking anywhere else in the home. Most services we provide use water and create slurry so we mask off any areas that might get damaged from slurry or strippers that are used. We use the highest quality masking tape and supplies to ensure no damage is caused during the service.
Tile and Grout Cleaning: Our tile and grout cleaning service starts with scrubbing down the areas using eco-friendly cleaners and grout brushes. Floor machines with scrubber pads are used for stubborn, hard to clean areas. After scrubbing the tile and grout we go over the areas with our hard surface extractor.
Our extractor uses 1,100 psi water pressure with a dual vacuum system to remove any dirt, mold, or oils from the substrate, leaving the areas thoroughly cleaned.
Natural Stone Honing and Polishing: Floor machines and/or hand grinders with diamond embedded pads are used for this service. We go over the areas, step by step, honing and then polishing the areas until they are returned to the desired sheen.
There are 4 different grit levels we can use. We always start off with the first grit level which is the step that actually removes the scratches, etch marks, or surface stains. The first step will leave the stone honed or matte finish. Each grit level we move up will make the stone shinier or more polished.
Sealant Removal/Stripping: Stone Improvement uses low VOC floor strippers to remove acrylic topical sealants. After the area is prepped we lay down the stripper and go over the area with our floor machine equipped with heavy duty stripper pads. We then go over the areas with our hard surface extractor. The extractor removes any left over contaminants and stripper residue.
For heavy duty sealant removal such as an epoxy, we lay down a soy based floor stripping gel to dissolve and soften the epoxy. The gel takes 24 hours to break down the epoxy coating. We then shop vac up the gel, scrub down the areas, and go over the areas with our hard surface extractor. This removes any contaminants and stripper residue that might be left over.
Sealant and Coating Application: We have a wide variety of sealants and coatings to choose from. Find out more about the sealants and coatings we carry here. For ceramic/porcelain tile we can use grout color sealants to seal the grout joints. After the tile and grout are cleaned we apply the grout color sealant to the grout joints using a tooth brush. Hand buffing the area during application and mechanical buffing after is used to remove any sealant haze on the tile.
Penetrating sealants are applied by wiping the sealant on with a lambs wool pad, letting it marinate, then buffing off any excess sealant. You can have light foot traffic in 2-4 hours after we apply the penetrating sealer.
Topical sealants are applied with a lambs wool applicator, coat by coat, until the desired sheen and protection is achieved.
Breakdown: After service completion, we break down and remove any equipment, drop cloths, and masking from the property.