Polished Marble Floors

An Alternative to Polished Marble Floors

By: Albert Lazo

There's no better looking flooring then polished marble. It adds luxury to just about any room. The mirror like polish can last years if taken care of properly. Unfortunately it may not work in certain home situations, specially in a home with pets and kids. If you can't afford to replace your marble floor and are looking for alternatives the following tips may help you.

What you should know about Polished Marble Floors
As you may already be finding out, marble is actually a fairly soft material that is prone to scratches and etching. Acidic drinks as well as incorrect cleaners will etch the surface of your marble flooring. Often the homeowner thinks these are just water spots that can be cleaned out. Etching is when something has eaten away at your marble and the only remedy is to have it professionally restored. Pets can scratch the surface as well. You may be realizing that polished marble floors do not fit your family's lifestyle due to the spills, pets or maybe you just want a floor that's a little more forgiving and requires less maintenance.

So what's the alternative
Fortunately there may be an alternative to a polished marble floor without having to rip it out. Instead of a polished and shinny look you may want to think about getting your marble honed. What is honed?. The surface is more of a matte finish rather then shinny and polished. There are different degrees of honed depending on what grit the marble is honed at.The higher the grit in which the marble is honed at, the shinnier it becomes. Also it is fairly easy for a marble restoration company to make this transition to your marble surfaces due to that it is usually a one step process.

What does a honed marble finish accomplish?
Since the marble surface would be honed, scratches and etching are not nearly as noticeable making your floor easier to take care of. Note though that the higher the grit the more shinnier the surface becomes. The shinnier the surface the more scratches and etching will show. Depending on the type and color of marble that you have, a honed look will give your floor a new look without the expense of replacing to a new flooring material.

Does my particular marble floor look good honed?
This is something that needs to be considered before going through with the process. For instance, darker stones will look lighter in color when honed. Part of the reason marble gets it's deep colors is due to that they are polished. A black marble such as Nero Marquina or brown such as St. Lauren will be a few shades lighter so a test of how the final transition will look like is critical. If you have an extra marble tile a stone restoration professional can hone it for you. Often the homeowner does not have extras laying around. In this situation the alternative would be to buy a few tiles of a like marble. As a last resort the marble floor professional can do the test on the actual floor. There would probably be a cost to do this test specially if the restorer has to bring back the marble to the shinny state it was originally in. Be aware too that getting the surface back to blend in with the original can be hard even for a seasoned pro.

A word about Baseboards
It is possibility that the baseboards would have to be removed before commencing with the honing process. Most floor and hand machines are not able to get right to the edge which would be required when going from a shinny to a honed surface. If the homeowner is handy they can do this themselves to save some money.

About the Author

Albert Lazo, owner of Love Your Floors. A carpet, upholstery and tile cleaning company in San Jose. We also polish , hone and grind marble and travertine surfaces.

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