Problem with new Travertine floor.

[Redangel]

Hi I'm hoping somebody can offer some advice.
I have just had a travertine floor laid in the kitchen. It was laid and sealed in about 6 hours and the tiler used HG impregnator and left telling me not walk on it till the evening and not to put things back till the next day. It was very wet when he left and he told me to wipe it with water when it was dry. We noticed that there were boot marks all over it and dirty looking smear marks which didn't come off with the water. Got in touch eventually and he agreed to come back 3 days later.He came back this morning said he had cleaned the Hg stuff off and then resealed with Lithofin stainstop. Wasn't too happy and made us feel as if we were at fault , anyway we left the floor and went out because the smell was horrendous we came back about 3 hours later and the floor looks awful. There are still boot marks and smear marks all over and it just looks dirty. Have phoned a company who sell LITHOFIN FOR SOME ADVICE AND THEY HAVE SAID HE COULD HAVE RUINED THE FLOOR. i CANNOT GET IN TOUCH WITH HIM and think we are going to have problem getting him back. What can I do? Is there anything I can use to remove the sealant. I would be very grateful for any advice. Really sorry for the long post but I am desperate!!!

[enduro]

There is a company call marble master who could help, they grind the top surface off with a machine and reseal or polish the surface give them a try for advice.

[pjc]

two different products putting stainstop on top of hg impregnator wouldn't do much
you would never get rid of all the hg i only hope you haven't paid him I would speak to hg and ask there advice my guess is you will have to strip the floor with hg stripper and another coat of impregnator then golf polish not the best way but may save it :Pete
http://www.hg.eu/uk/

[Grace'sDad]

I just used HG impregnator this very afternoon on my own travertine bathroom walls to re-seal them. I'm sure that it should be rolled on sparingly with a foam roller and any excess wiped away within 5 minutes. It does stink - that's the Naptha - lasts a couple of days is all.

I know from experience that if there is any excess build up it forms a sticky unmoveable film after more than 20 minutes or so.

Sounds like he's put WAY too much on and it's now stuck there.
Stain stop has only added another layer. (did he work with a guy called Tonto?)

Check with some marble experts - perhaps there are products which can chemically strip it back and then clean it.

[billy123]

sorry to hear of this i think you will find that he has used way too much impregnator and that is what has caused the problem i would call in a marvle cleaner and see what they say

[Redangel]

Thanks to all who replied , much appreciate the advice.

My problem now is, he is back here now and saying he will get it off this time, no problem.He apparently diluted it last time and that is why it didn't work so he has told me he using brick acid now and that will do it. I am really concerned that he doesn't know what he is doing and we're going to end up in an even worse state . Can anyone advise will brick acid harm the floor and is it likely to solve the problem? Any advice much appreciated.

[grumpygrouter]

Originally Posted by Redangel

Thanks to all who replied , much appreciate the advice.

My problem now is, he is back here now and saying he will get it off this time, no problem.He apparently diluted it last time and that is why it didn't work so he has told me he using brick acid now and that will do it. I am really concerned that he doesn't know what he is doing and we're going to end up in an even worse state . Can anyone advise will brick acid harm the floor and is it likely to solve the problem? Any advice much appreciated.

I am no expert but my gut instinct is NOT to use acid on travertine. I think this may do seroius damage to your tiles. Travertine is metamorphic limestone and should be kept away form acids, especially hydrochloric.

I got my info from here-> http://www.pavingexpert.com/maintain_02.htm

Grumpy

[Grace'sDad]

Make him drink the acid cleaner, bury the body in the garden and then get someone in who knows what they are doing.





(.....jokingly said )

[Redangel]

Once again many thanks for the advice. Must admit I do feel like doing exactly what Grace's dad suggests!!!!
Grumpy grouter ,thanks for the link to the info about acid on real stone , we showed it to him and he said he uses it on his own floor every 6 months!!I think this may have finally made him realise though as he has now admitted defeat and has taken advice from Lithofin who have told him to use a particular product ( i PRESUME STAINAWAY )which he can't get ' till Wednesday !!!!!!!!


So we will have to hump everything out of the kitchen/morning room for the 4th time. Think I'll stick to lino in future.

[Ric]

what a shame, impregnator should be put on sparingly over a number of coats preferably with roller, until the tile is saturated, and excess should be wiped off tile before it dries. Sounds like a rush job to get finished.

[grumpygrouter]

Originally Posted by Redangel

Once again many thanks for the advice. Must admit I do feel like doing exactly what Grace's dad suggests!!!!
Grumpy grouter ,thanks for the link to the info about acid on real stone , we showed it to him and he said he uses it on his own floor every 6 months!!I think this may have finally made him realise though as he has now admitted defeat and has taken advice from Lithofin who have told him to use a particular product ( i PRESUME STAINAWAY )which he can't get ' till Wednesday !!!!!!!!


So we will have to hump everything out of the kitchen/morning room for the 4th time. Think I'll stick to lino in future.

Hopefully you will have a satisfactory conclusion. Let us know how you get on.

Grumpy

[Redangel]

Will let you know the outcome , I've got everything crossed. I am just concerned that he may have damaged the floor tiles.
Once again Thanks to all, you've been a great help.