Archive for March, 2008...
Filed under Care and Maintenance
Every now and again you might come across some polished travertine. This looks a lot like polished marble with one very notable exception. As noted in previous posts, the travertine stone polishes, but the fill does not. This gives lower grades of polished travertine a splotchy look. Some factories also use a resin for fill rather than a color matched cement. This improves the polished look, but costs considerably more.
If you are one of those people with a polished travertine in your place, take a look at some care and maintenance information from StoneTech Pro.
Filed under Slate health and safety
3M™ P100 Particulate Filter Respirator - provides 99.97% filter efficiency against oil and non-oil, certain dusts, fumes, mists, radionuclides and asbestos-containing dusts and mists. Click here for more information and if you buy one, don’t forget to wear it!
According to my calculations, a person wearing one of these filters could work in dusty conditions, every week day for well over 12 years, and still not inhale the dust that a non-protected person would inhale in just one day…
Comments (0) Posted by Peter Phillips on Monday, March 31st, 2008
Filed under General
Since I don’t expect a lot of you have issues with your kitchen floors being “tagged” , this post is directed mostly at you folks with commercial properties or public locations with a lot of traffic.
There is a company out there by the name of Nanotec that is producing a product aimed at making the removal of graffiti from concrete and stone a simple and quick process. Check out an article about the product on infoLink.
If you are having issues with graffiti on the kitchen floor, you might want to pick some of this up, or it might just be time to get the kids into some after school activities.
Filed under Slate photo of the week
This is an installation of California Gold 16”x16” Indian slate tile in a theatre room. This is a fantastic looking slate and the brick pattern installation is particularly attractive.
Comments (0) Posted by Peter Phillips on Friday, March 28th, 2008
Filed under General, granite tiles, installation
Yesterday my colleague Gratian wrote a post about different types of countertops. One of the items he mentions is a question I get a lot so I thought, in case you guys aren’t checking out the other blogs, you missed it. Check out Gratian’s advice about using natural stone tiles as a countertop HERE. There is also more information about the topic on Bobvilla.com.
Filed under Slate health and safety
Silicosis (also known as Grinder’s disease and Potter’s rot) is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation and scarring in forms of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs.
Silicosis (especially the acute form) is characterized by shortness of breath, fever, and cyanosis (bluish skin). It may often be misdiagnosed as pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs), pneumonia, or tuberculosis.
This respiratory disease was first recognized in 1705 by Ramazzini who noticed sand-like substances in the lungs of stonecutters. The name silicosis (from the Latin silex or flint) was attributed to Visconti in 1870.
For the full Wikipedia article, please click here.
Comments (0) Posted by Peter Phillips on Thursday, March 27th, 2008
Filed under General, Natural Stone Accessories
Check out the unique use of marble slabs that were damaged during a renovation at the Museum of Modern Art. Michael Cannell from Dwell Magazine has some more details on his recent post HERE.
Filed under Slate Installation
Click here for information on this DVD offer.
Comments (0) Posted by Peter Phillips on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Filed under General
Ok, guys and gals, I am back again from a quick stint in Southern California. For those of you who didn’t recognize the bronze statue in front of the granite wall from my last post, it was the mascot for the Anaheim Ducks. While they are playoff bound again, and defending Stanley Cup champions, most people in Southern California don’t seem to have taken notice. If you are in the area, check them out once playoffs come around.
There were so many impressive displays of natural stone all over the place I have been trying to decide what to tell you all about. Unfortunately, my camera was not fully operational for the duration of my trip, but if you find yourself in Huntington Beach, CA and have some time to check out the Bella Terra Mall, do so. They have revamped an old shopping center and used travertine and woodgrain quartzite quite extensively. I was impressed.
Filed under Slate sealing and cleaning
Slate with a natural split-face has a good mechanical coefficient of friction because of the rough surface.
With honed/polished slate, as with any other product that has a smooth surface, it’s a different story - it can get slippery when wet. New Dimensions Solutions, LLC produces an interesting sounding product called “Skid Safe”.
I do not have any personal experience with this product, but if the advantages are as good as claimed, it seems like it would be a tremendous safety addition. For further information, please have a look at their website: http://ndclean.com/skidsafe.html
If anyone has used this product, please leave a comment with your experience of its efficacy.
Comments (0) Posted by Peter Phillips on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
