Hi Maurizio, I seem to have a difference of opinion with a builder about the sealing of bluestone. He layed and grouted bluestone down about 4 months ago (kitchen & bathroom) and to date has not sealed it. In the mean-time tradesmen have been walking all over them: Dust, paint, silicone, and other dirt/grime - although we have cleaned them, the tile still looks very dirty - not like a new one. I have told the builder that they should have "sealed" the surfaces prior to allowing contaminants to reach a porous surface. The builder told me that it is not required for the tile to be sealed (and if required does not need to be straight away) and that cleaning is not his responsibility. Could you please clarify for me what the correct application procedure for laying Bluestone down for a Kitchen and Bathroom and at what point should the stone be sealed if required?

 

Dear Angelo:

The problem is not the sealing or not sealing of bluestone and when: not only could not there be – and in fact there are not – any industry standards on if and when and with what sealing stone, but the real issue is the stone itself.

If you ask me, bluestone does not belong on a kitchen floor, and, sealed or not sealed, you will have more problems that you will ever care to get – end of the debate.

If you care about a comment on the fact that your GC contractor did not protect the floor, I'm pretty sure that I'd have given him a piece of my mind. But what can you do now?… J

May I ask you now to please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm?

Ciao and good luck,

Maurizio Bertoli

 

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