A Look at Travertine and Limestone for Commercial Real Estate

June 28, 2011 By

The below is an excerpt from an interview with Jason Johonnesson, co-owner of IMS Texas:

Travertine tile IMS Texas

Travertine tile is an excellent choice for bathrooms, near fountains or anywhere near a water source.

Two commonly used natural stones for commercial real estate are travertine and limestone. The main difference between travertine and limestone is that although they’re made up of the exact same stuff they’re formed differently. Limestone is made up obviously of lime, that’s why it’s called limestone.

Travertine is also made up of that, but it’s formed by the precipitation of water, therefore limestone you might often find to be very porous, very absorbent material, requiring some pretty frequent maintenance. A lot of times you see water rings in it because a flood has occurred or a fountain has leaked and the limestone has turned a dark brown with water rings around it and such. It is a very absorbent material. Travertine on the other hand, I hear people call it porous quite often. I have not met porous travertine yet. After two decades of doing stone restoration, I still have not found any porous travertine. This stuff is formed by water. It is extremely dense and resistant to water. That is where it has spent its entire life. I have yet to find a piece of travertine that has been stained. I have seen etched travertine, that’s different, but actually stained, I have not found it. Because of that, because of its resistance to moisture it’s a great stone to use in applications where there’s going to be a lot of moisture, whether it’s a sauna, maybe a swimming pool, a hot tub, a bathroom.

Travertine is a great material to use as opposed to limestone, with a very similar look to limestone. Typically I tell people it has quite a few patches in it. They are surprised to hear it and I say, “no, really.” There might be a hundred patches on that single tile and they think I’m absolutely crazy. If I could ever just flip over the tile and show them then they would see that I am actually telling them the truth. And you could see what it looks like naturally that it actually needs to be patched and filled in order to get a smooth surface. It’s not at all absorbent. It’s a very dense form of limestone. That would be the best way to think about it.

And then the pros and cons to this. The pro is that it is a very easy stone to maintain. Both limestone and travertine, as far as scratch and finish maintenance goes, it’s very soft, it’s not as expensive as marble, definitely not as expensive as granite. It’s a very common material so there are a lot of products on the market to target the maintenance of this type of stone. Matte finish limestone is a great selection when you want that soft matte look in a building, that warm look in a building as opposed to the colder, glossier look that a marble might give you. And then the travertine is great for virtually the same thing and in addition to, around areas where there’s fountains, or any type of moisture being used. Travertine itself does not typically accept a seal, so you don’t ever really need to seal the travertine for the sake of the travertine, but it’s good to go through the motions and seal it so that the filler is sealed and so that the grout is sealed. So if you’ve ever hired anyone to seal your travertine it was a good way to seal the grout.

If you have a travertine, limestone or other natural stone floor and need it polished, finished, maintained or restored, call IMS Texas at (214) 351-9390.

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Diamond Grinding and Floor Lippage: Full Floor Restoration

June 17, 2011 By

IMS co-owner Jason Johonnesson discusses a full floor restoration:

What is diamond grinding?

Diamond grinding floor restoration IMS TX

The diamond honing tool, shown on the left, is used after the diamond grinding, if there is lippage on the floor

Diamond grinding serves a very specific purpose and it’s only done to a floor one time in its life and never again. The purpose of diamond honing is to remove what we call lippage. Whenever a stone floor is installed, whether it is a tile floor or a slab floor, it is not possible for even the best installer to lay it totally flat and there will be some lippage between some of the adjacent tiles. You don’t want to just begin restoring the floor with honing diamonds since they will shatter because they diamonds are moving very fast. At 175 rotations per minute, when the honing diamonds come in contact with one of these lips, the diamonds will shatter.

These lips have to be ground flat so that the diamonds can do their job. This entails a diamond grinding process where a more aggressive metal bond diamond is used. The diamonds used in this process are encased in a resin so they wear very slowly so the floor will achieve matte and polish finishes. Of course, this process is for grinding things flat, not achieving a nice finish. This is the heavy duty lifting part.

Cost of floor restoration?

Often, there is a great deal of confusion with facility managers and engineers when they have a new floor. If they have a limestone or very soft marble that wears very rapidly, they may need to have it restored after a year. So, let’s say a year has gone by and the floor looks pretty bad so they get a proposal which is much more than expected. Sometimes I’m asked, “It’s only a year old, why would it cost so much?” Well, the truth is the first restoration is always the most expensive because that’s the one that has the lippage. Once the lippage is removed, every subsequent restoration, or scratch and finish maintenance is much cheaper. Removing the lippage saves you cost down the road, so a full restoration would be the first step and includes diamond grinding, diamond honing, and diamond polishing then a final polish.

IMS TX, for nearly 30 years, has restored natural stone floors in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and throughout Texas. Call (214) 351-9390 today for a fast, free quote.

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How To Clean Granite Countertops

June 6, 2011 By

These countertops are costly, but are quite elegant in a nicely designed kitchen. When people do have these countertops installed the most common worry is preventing stains from setting in, as it’s a surface that does see a lot of activity. Because of its durable nature it can take a beating, but because of its porous nature, it can absorb many things that can cause stains.

Granite countertop restoration

When you need professional granite countertop restoration

When you first purchase these countertops, they will have been factory sealed and finished, which gives a grace period for the owner. With time, the sealant will dissipate away and it is recommended to re-seal the surface, with a non-toxic sealant every one to two years. This of course will prevent any major damage from occurring. Also take in mind to continually wipe the surface down with warm water and soft cloth or sponge, use coasters and hot plates, think prevention with these surfaces to avoid any issues.

When a stain does occur, there are ways to get rid of it. You typically want to avoid abrasive cleaners and harsh chemicals, these can potentially do damage to the surface, which could cause you to have to restore your countertop or purchase a new one. There are recommended granite surface cleaners available on the market, these cleaners have a neutral pH and will not damage your surface.

To start, you can wipe your surface down once a week with a damp cloth and a chosen stone cleaner. There are many different household items you can use to clean the surface to remove a variety of different stains, but dish soap and water will clean the majority of the stains, and a granite cleaner can remove the soap film that may be left behind.

Some other cleaning products you could use are, rubbing alcohol, which can leave a shine on the surface afterwards. If you choose to use vinegar, do ensure you dilute it quite a bit; this can help remove various water stains from the surface.

It really comes down to wiping the spill up immediately and never letting it just sit, and take preventative measures, as mentioned above. These are beautiful looking surfaces and if you’re thinking in terms of keeping it looking like new, it is definitely possible, but with the right preventative measure and care.

Do your granite counter-tops need professional restoration? IMS is now offering their highly-specialized technology and decades of experience, previously only available for commercial clients, to consumers in the Austin, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth area. 

Call-us for a quote at (214) 351-9390.

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Marble Restoration by IMS Texas

May 28, 2011 By

marble_countertop_ims-texas

IMS Texas recently restored this white marble counter

IMS works with all types of natural and artificial stone. Its specialty is marble: in fact, marble floor restoration is the service which launched the Natural Stone Division (NSD) in 1994. But floors aren’t all IMS does.

Says NSD head Jason Johannesson, “We also do restoration of vertical surfaces like walls, columns and pillars. And we do lots and lots of countertops.”

In addition to being able to offer so many different kinds of restoration services, Johannesson and his team actively cultivate a special relationship with stone and in particular, marble.

“Stonework is more an art than a science,” he explains. “You can’t, [for instance], just write out instructions for polishing marble. You feel [what needs to be done] through the equipment.”

Unmatched Understanding of Stone Materials

Understanding the materials used is key, and Johannesson spares no effort in learning about the properties of the stones his division deals with. For example, marble is a stone that comes in a variety of kinds, colors and hardnesses. And each type of marble requires different handling. Even marble that comes from different areas of the same quarry will react differently to the restoration process and will need a slightly different touch.

“It’s a job that requires constant finessing and constant problem solving. Making marble [look] consistent is not consistent work,” Johannesson says.

The Details Make the Difference

Even the weather can play a role in how IMS stone technicians will approach a restoration job. Humidity, for example, often determines how the team will go about doing a final polish since that step in the restoration process involves chemicals rather than machine work.

IMS can restore marble floors to original luster indefinitely and without any loss to stone integrity. However, if structural issues exist, they will make the marble unworkable.

“Sometimes people have sprinklers or fountains that leak through the concrete slab [beneath the marble],” says Johnanesson. “It’s not visible from the surface. [But] you can see darkening and water rings and efflorescence, which is a thick white mineral deposit, begins to form. And we always turn those [jobs] away.”

But in most cases, IMS is more than able to restore a marble floor. How often that floor needs refinishing work will depend on the rate of wear, which is directly proportional to the amount of traffic an area sees.

“One building might need [maintenance] every 10 years and [another] might need areas done every month. It totally varies,” Johannesson observes.

Clients can do two basic things to keep a marble floor looking its best between restorations. First, they can use polypropylene mats to prevent particulate matter from reaching the marble surface and causing the scratches to appear.

“And secondly,” says Johannesson, “[they can] make sure that a janitorial firm is cleaning the marble every night with an automatic floor scrubber, since mops can’t adequately clean natural stone.”

Marble—and other natural stone floors—are meant to last the life of only the highest quality buildings and represent the best that money can buy. So why treat those floors with anything less than the exceptional care that IMS can offer?

Do your marble counter-tops need professional restoration? IMS is now offering their highly-specialized technology and decades of experience, previously only available for commercial clients, to consumers in the Austin, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Call-us for a quote at (214) 351-9390.

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Tips for Cleaning Marble Floors, Bathrooms, and Countertops

May 6, 2011 By

Some of the more common areas marble surfaces are installed are in the kitchen, floors and countertops, and also bathrooms, floors and countertops. Both of these areas due tend to see quite a bit of mess day to day.

Because marble can be so expensive to install, many people have the question of how to clean theses surfaces and maintain them, and this may prevent a person from wanting to purchase this natural looking stone.

To put everybody’s mind at ease, to clean these surfaces, typically you will need warm water, soft sponge, or cotton cloth, and there are numerous different stone cleaners available on the market.

When any type of spill may occur, you can simply wipe the surface down with warm water and a wet sponge. Do this soon after the spill occurs, as is could seep into the marble making cleaning more difficult. At this point you can use one of the many different stone cleaners on the market and wipe the surface down with your sponge or cloth.

marble floor restoration

If you need professional marble cleaning, IMS Texas can help, such as with this white marble floor restored to a high gloss and deep clarity

You can even take a dry cotton cloth when done to polish the marble surface to give it that shine back. Typically there are factory sealants on the marble that do prevent any long term damage to occur. To avoid breaking down these sealants you would want to stay away from using common kitchen or bathroom cleaners.

When it comes to marble floors, regular cleaning is the only way to prevent any long term damage. Marble can be very susceptible to stains and dirt particulates, because of its natural porous nature. To prevent dirt particulates, installing a floor mat will greatly help, and regular dusting and sweeping will of course keep the dirt away. If it happens that a spill occurs on your floor, you can again use warm water and a sponge to clean up the spill. At that point you can apply a marble stone cleaner and gently go over the area, and buff it after with a cotton cloth.

What if there is a possibility of a stain settling in? Clean the surface immediately after the spill, if a stain is still there, it may be oil based, and baking soda and dish detergent can help with this. If that does not work, you may have to restore the area back to its factory finish. This of course depends on the size of the spill. The above information can certainly help with everyday accidents on these floors.

Where professionnal marble restoration is indicated, IMS (Interior Maintenance Specialists, Inc.) is now offering their specialized technology and decades of experience, previously only available for commercial clients, to consumers in the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth area.

IMS takes pride in their skills in restoring marble to its original immaculate condition – the way it was meant to be seen.

Call-us for quote at (214) 351-9390

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Granite Natural Stone Floors: Pros and Cons

May 3, 2011 By

One of the most common types of stone found throughout the United States, and especially Texas, is granite. It’s commonly used in vertical walls and floors. As with any type of stone selection there are pros and cons to granite. Granite comes in all types of different colors and finishes. There are two finishes that are the most common, one is a polished finish and the other is a flamed granite finish. I’ll discuss both finishes.

IMS TX pink granite restoration

After IMS restoration work, this pink granite has exceptional gloss and clarity

The good thing about granite is that scratch and finish maintenance, or restoration work, is very infrequent because of its hardness. It’s very, very hard. In fact, if you have a stainless steel pocketknife, try as you might you won’t be able to scratch the granite. Granite is harder than stainless steel. The rate of wear for granite is very slow when compared to a much softer material like marble or limestone, which would be about as hard as your fingernail. So you have the hardness of stainless steel versus a fingernail. You get the idea.

If you install a new granite floor throughout your lobby, it may be ten years before you need restoration work. You might need some work at some of the pivot points in five years of so, but it’s not going to be within six months to a year like it would be with limestone or marble.

The downside with granite is when it is time for a restoration, it is much more expensive. Obviously, due to its hardness it takes much more time to restore. In order to get it to look like new again, or better, it takes quite a bit of time and effort.

When you look at various granite samples you can see that they come in a variety of crystal structures. For example, take absolute black granite—the crystal structure is very fine, very tiny crystals that are very compact and dense. Then you have other types of granite which have enormous crystals that you might not even think is granite.

Granite that has a flamed finish is very textured and rough. It’s not a smooth finish like the polished granite. The reason it is called flamed granite is because they begin with a smooth, unpolished surface and run torches across it. As the torches heat up the crystals they expand and pop off, much like popping popcorn and it even sounds the same. You are left with a textured surface.

Now the pro to flamed granite is that it is virtually a permanent finish. In one hundred years this will still look the same. There’s no restoration needed or diamond polishing like you need to do with polished granite. The downside to flamed granite is that it is much more cleaning intensive. It takes a lot more effort to keep it clean because its texture has a lot of crevasses that can trap dirt. However, if you are following our cleaning recommendations and keeping the grout cleaned, the flamed granite will be cleaned as a byproduct.

Polished granite and flamed granite are the most common types of granite that you see. In our next article I will cover a helpful hint when you selecting granite for your countertops, bathrooms and other areas that frequently get wet.

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The Big Question: Refinish or Restore?

May 3, 2011 By
IMS TX granite restoration

A granite floor is durable, but can require expert restoration at times

Natural stone floors are among the longest-lasting—and most stunning—floor types available. And as such, they represent a major structural investment for your building. That’s why IMS offers high-quality natural stone floor refinishing and restoration work to help ensure that investment yields maximum return.

Typically, most clients require the refinishing work that our Scratch and Gloss package provides. This maintenance plan involves removing surface wear marks that might be particularly evident in high-traffic areas.

For all refinishing work, IMS uses special diamond abrasives to grind out the imperfections. The process itself consists of three steps: diamond honing, diamond polishing and then one final polish of those areas that have been worn down the most. The restoration process is similar, but much more work-intensive.

Says IMS Stone Technician Supervisor, Luis Zamora, “Restoration is when you sand the floor [from wall to wall] to make everything level [because] the tiles are not level with each other and have a little lippage.”

Lippage

This “lippage” arises from how a stone is cut. An edge mark might remain around a stone square, making it appear as though a kind of “picture frame” surrounds the tile. Lippage can also occur through seismic shifts that cause a building or some of the tiles in a pre-existing floor to move.

IMS TX floor lippage example

Lippage, seen here, requires leveling using specific abrasives and techniques such as those IMS provides

If a floor happens to be made of granite rather than marble, the restoration process requires an extra leveling step and uses abrasives made to handle the much harder surface granite presents.

“Marble diamonds don’t have as much grit as granite ones do,” Zamora observes. “Granite diamonds have a higher grit and more steps of diamonds to use than marble.”

What makes the IMS technique different from the ones used by other stone refinishing firms is that it requires cutting through stone surfaces to remove scratches and old wear patterns.

“Other companies will just have guys go in and put polish over polish and never refinish it,” says Zamora. “And after a while, you start to notice the wear pattern where they didn’t cut it with a diamond.”

Additionally, applying layers of polish over old polish—rather than grinding down surface layers—will eventually make high traffic areas appear cloudy rather than see-through-clear. This, in turn, will make the floor gloss look uneven, detracting from the beauty of the stone.

IMS Can Repair All Types of Stone Floors

While Zamora and the other IMS stone technicians primarily refinish and restore floors in marble and granite, they have successfully repaired many other natural stone floors, such as those made of limestone, terrazzo and travertine. They have also applied their knowledge and expertise on floor projects for the IMS Concrete Division.

Like the rest of the IMS team, Zamora and his colleagues are true blue professionals committed to bringing out the best in your floors, and ultimately, your building.

“My satisfaction is knowing that I can make something look beautiful,” he says. “I love making [floors] look brand new.”

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More Than Just Another Carpet Cleaning Firm

May 2, 2011 By

Jason Johonnesson, co-owner, IMS Inc.

Since 1993, IMS has provided the great state of Texas with high-quality commercial carpet cleaning and flood restoration services. But as its name—Interior Maintenance Specialists—suggests, IMS is a firm that provides so much more, especially in the area of natural stone restoration.

Not long after Larry Johonnesson established the company, he and his son and partner, Jason, found themselves inundated with client requests to restore marble surfaces. The younger Johonnesson immediately set to work researching different methods and products that IMS could use for that end. In 1994, he inaugurated the Natural Stone Division.

Client demand, however, did not stop at marble restoration. Bill Mobius, then-manager of the Trammell Crow Center (TCC) in downtown Dallas, approached Jason with a new challenge and opportunity. If the younger Johonnesson could come up with a way to restore granite, a stone notoriously difficult to repair because of its extreme hardness, TCC would offer IMS a contract.

“I spent 6 months at the Trammell Crow Center testing all types of diamond abrasives along with different products made for restoration and some that weren’t,” remembers Jason.

Hard work and perseverance eventually led to a breakthrough. The younger Johonnesson not only landed IMS its first granite floor restoration contract, but also transformed it into a class A building maintenance company.

“To my knowledge, that was the first-ever granite floor restored back to original standards or better in the Dallas area,” Jason says. “It looked as good or better than when it was new.”

Finding a way to successfully work with granite also helped IMS become unique among peer companies and in the field of floor restoration.

“There were people claiming to do granite restoration, but it was not to new standards,” explains Jason. “They were using stones and not diamonds and very antiquated equipment and the results were just a moderate improvement.”

Although the younger Johonnesson now serves in an executive capacity at IMS, he admits that he still frequently finds himself out in the field.

He says, “In the world of natural stone, there are new materials being quarried all the time. And there’s also a lot of engineered (man-made) stones coming out, so that throws you for loops. What worked on one job site may not work on another.”

This passion for hands-on problem solving has been at the heart of his success as head of the IMS Natural Stone Division. With the constant influx of new flooring materials onto the market, Johonnesson is constantly on the lookout for the best possible methods to achieve the superior results on which IMS has built its reputation.

“That’s one of our driving forces,” he observes. “We’re always looking for the next big thing in restoration and carpet maintenance and the best way to get premium results while reducing costs and being environmentally friendly at the same time.”

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