Anything I need to know about cleaning travertine?

[joey895]

I am being asked to bid on a approximately 1400sf travertine job tomorrow. According to the customer it is about 3 years old and was never sealed. She wants me to give her a price for cleaning and sealing. If it matters it does not have grout lines. I know to stay on the alkaline side and turn the pressure down on the Turbo and I believe you should use the brush on the turbo.

My main questions are about sealing. Would Cobbs impregnator be good for this or do I need an enhancer? Approximately how many gallons of sealer would you say it would take? What's the best way to apply?

Anything else I should look for or take into consideration before bidding?

Thanks

 

[RickL]

Personally I would use a cleaner specifically for Stone but you should be ok with most alkaline clenaers TEST AN AREA FIRST. Yes you can use Cobbs T&G and Stone Impregnating sealer I would get at least a case great sealer and good for T&G jobs. Put it down wait 15 mins put a second coat down wait 10 mins clean of excess, go over the floor with a 175 with white pad spritz a little water on where your buffing .
Also DEFINATELY use the brush on the turbo at 800-900- psi

 

[Ron Lippold]

no more than 2 gallons and turn the heat down, are you going to use monkey pads or just a clean and seal

 

[Out of Character - 0]

I would NOT use an enhancer unless the customer wants the appearance change. Many people will, some will not.

Cobbs is good.

Depending on the stone, you may have filler come out of some of the holes.

 

[joey895]

no more than 2 gallons and turn the heat down, are you going to use monkey pads or just a clean and seal

Just a clean and seal.

 

[alazo1]

Tap some tiles to make sure they are not loose. No grout means water can get caught under the tiles and possibly come loose.

Albert

 

[J Scott W]

Spinergy Stone Perfect is made for natural stone. It contains no chelating agents that can attack some minerals or be hard to rinse off.

Travertine may be filled with either grout or a plastic resin. Inform consumer that your cleaning may knock some filler that is already loose. You may also find some places filler has been lost in the past and the voids filled with soil. Cleaning also reveals those voids.

You will require less than 2 gallons of sealer. Spinergy SolidRock Premium Stone sealer will cover between 600 and 1200 sq. ft. per gallon depending upon how porous the stone is and how much grout. Since you do not have grout lines, expect coverage of 900 to 1200 sq. ft. per gallon. A second coat if needed will require even less sealer.

Apply the sealer and watch for any places that are absorbing the sealer or appear to be drying out during the first 10 minutes or so. Add some additional sealer in these areas. After 10 minutes, wipe up any excess sealer.

After sealer has dried, you can drop a few drops of water in one or two places as a test to see if a second coat would be beneficial. Watch to see if the water soaks in and if so how quickly. This will let you know if a second coat will help.

 

[alazo1]

Good point about the filler popping out. You can offer to fill for a bit extra. use unsanded grout with the acrylic admix or get some traverfill which holds up better then grout.

Procedure for traverfill:
Dry holes
Mix
apply (slightly overfill)
When partly dried use razor blade to shave
Use some acetone around the edges

Note traverfill or unsanded grout do not shine so if the stone has a shine you need to use something like a polyester filler which is more work to do properly.

Albert

 

[fresh1]

turn your chem injector off and bleed your lines of any acid rinse.