Maintaining natural stone from day one is something that we are passionate to promote. Many of the problems our clients have will stem from either not correctly looking after their stone or an unsolved issue from installation. This is why we love to collaborate with architects like MarbleAir. We can help to provide the correct advice to clients from the very beginning.
Based in Oxfordshire, MarbleAir is a multidisciplinary architectural practice that puts its clients right at the heart of everything that they do. Anna shares our same passion for creating luxury and beauty in the spaces that she works in. Although we don’t supply or provide our services directly to Anna’s clients, MarbleAir’s high standards mean that they engage with experts at every step of the journey. We were delighted to be able to help out with some stone on a site last December.
Having just completed a church project in Stoke Lyne near Bicester with limestone floor tiles, Anna was concerned after noticing a white silt gathering in the corners of the tiles. The substance, which had the feel of wet salt would regularly return after hoovering. Anna suspected that this was due to residue moisture from under the tiles escaping but wanted to ensure that there was not a bigger underlying issue.
Luckily, this is a fairly common occurrence, and will usually settle down within 12 months. (We would always advise clients to investigate further if no improvement at all is seen within 3 months). It is important in cases of efflorescence to keep the floor as dry as possible, sweeping and vacuuming the salt residue rather than wet mopping.
If sealed before prior to installation, this efflorescence should not leave any permanent colour staining to the stone. However, our recommendation would be to reapply the impregnating sealant once the efflorescence has stopped. The salt movement will have exposed new capillaries in the stone, limiting the effectiveness of the initial sealant.
Anna commented ‘I did not have to wait long for this thorough and knowledgeable advice from Athena Stonecare. They have been very helpful putting the client and the contractor at ease with the issue.
It’s true that some things concerning building materials and their performance in certain environments we take for granted. Lesson learnt and we are lucky to know Athena Stonecare and ask all things stone care’.
The moral of the story is this: make sure that when you engage an architect you engage one who goes the extra mile. We love to work with teams like MarbleAir who see the ongoing maintenance as part of the package.
Ahead of Decorex 2024, we are exploring the hot topics of the show that so naturally throw stone into the limelight.
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