Stone floors are tough, but they're also subject to stress. Grit, impact, and in some cases compromised setting of the stone can be big issues. Stone floor restoration deals with all these issues, and prevents damage. Stone polishing and cleaning can make your place look like a palace, and save you a fortune in maintenance and repair.

Stone surfaces basics

Stone surfaces can take a lot of wear and tear. They're very reliable, but they do have some weak spots that need watching:

• Grit: Grit acts as an abrasive, sanding down surfaces as it moves. This also destroys the finish on the stone, and may aggravate minor structural flaws in the stone, widening them. These flaws act as stress fractures, causing stone to chip.
• Pressure:Stone takes stress loads like any other material. Some weights can affect it, or affect the set of the stones, creating cracking, splits along joins, and other unsafe situations.
• Scuffing and scratching: This is normal wear, but it can remove finish on stone, exposing it to damage. Limestone, for example, is fine with a good finish, but if exposed reacts to acids, pitting and damaging the surface.

Safety

The safety issues on stone floors are more serious. Damage is preventable and fixable, but the safety situation has to be given priority.

• Cracked or broken stone:This is a real risk, to people and to the floor itself. The problems can spread in some cases as the surface receives unusual pressure as a result of the damage, doing progressive damage.
• Uneven, damaged surfaces: The uneven surface is a tripping hazard and can cause injury.
• Non slip surfaces: Deterioration of the non-slip treatment can occur in some stones. Some treated stones like flamed blue stones are quite OK, but age and damage can create hazards in this area. It's better to be sure, and make sure your stone gets full restoration. (Note: If in any doubt, consult an expert in stone restoration to make sure you just don't have this problem at all. Stone is easier to fix than people.)

Stone restoration

Stone restoration is tailored to the type of stone. All flooring stone is different, quality varies, and age and types of wear also vary. The good news is that a stone restoration job will restore not only the look of your stone, but will extend its life considerably.

These are some of the great types of stone restoration work available:

• Slate cleaning
• Stone cleaning
• Marble polishing
• Marble cleaning
• Stone polishing

Restoration work normally includes:

• Cleaning and polishing: Thorough restoration to top quality standards.
• Cleansing and restoration: Intensive cleansing, removes grime, stains and grit.
• Grinding: Scratch removal, restores the floor surface and removes the problems this damage causes, as well.
• Re-vitrification: This is a surface cut, removing the damaged areas and creating a new surface.
• Sealing: Critically important, sealing protects the whole floor surface from damage.
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You'll be astonished by what these restorations can achieve.