28.03.2023

Home Renovation Using Natural Stone—Instead of Installing New Tiles

Building design

Floors can be renovated cost-effectively using sanding methods. Photo: Lithofin

Have you just bought or inherited a house or apartment? Your own home—a long-awaited dream—has finally come true.Butthose who have just realized this dream are looking to the future with concern due to skyrocketing construction costs and interest rates. After all, your home should reflect your personal taste as much as possible without having to make compromises. When it comes to cost-effective renovations, the potential of existing materials can also be unlocked and given new life.

Floors are used every day, which over time leads to signs of wear and tear such as scratches, scuff marks, and stains. Who wants to have stains on their floor when they move into their new home? The only solution seems to be: rip up the floor! Or is that really necessary? Fortunately, signs of wear can often be removed from many types of flooring using sanding techniques. If you like the material, this is a cost-effective way to renovate.

Mechanical Refurbishment of Floor Surfaces

Repair sanding differs from the surface sanding mentioned above in that the surface still shows visible, deeper-lying joints even after sanding. When viewed in a reflection against the light, this pattern would consequently be interrupted by the interlocking joints. This is because the material is sanded down by only a tenth of a millimeter to mechanically remove minor dull spots or scratches.

Shallow repair grinding

Grinding before and after. Photos: Lithofin

Minor sanding work can be performed using a single-disc machine. To do this, a diamond pad is attached to the underside of the single-disc machine. Depending on the manufacturer and system, the pads for the five sanding steps are color-coded, have the grit levels in their names, or are simply numbered. In general, the pads should always be used from coarse to fine. Consequently, care must be taken during processing to ensure that no grit levels are skipped. The single-disc machine is also ideal for cleaning with a nylon pad or for polishing work. Weighing 40–60 kilograms, it is quite compact and can be easily transported and operated by a single person. A single-disc machine also uses the wet grinding method. When using this method, ensure there is sufficient water in the tank to cool the diamond particles. The machine is then guided in slow, crisscrossing motions over the areas to be polished. After each pass, the slurry is vacuumed up to prevent diamond particles from remaining on the surface. If only a small spot needs to be treated, a slightly larger area should still be processed. This helps to even out any visual differences.

Grinding with a single-disc machine

To remove any remaining grinding slurry, perform a thorough cleaning with Lithofin MN Basic Cleaner. A dilution ratio of up to 1:10 is recommended. The freshly cleaned floor is susceptible to staining immediately after grinding and cleaning. To reduce this susceptibility to staining and also to protect against soiling from oil and grease, treatment with a penetrating sealer is recommended. For the installer, treatment with Lithofin MN Fleckstop is suitable. For regular cleaning, optimal results are achieved with Lithofin MN Wischpflege. This special cleaner for natural stone floors cleans without leaving a film and can be used without wiping.

Ready-for-use flooring and protective treatment

Clean, well-maintained surfaces made of natural stone and engineered stone. Photo: Lithofin

Care kit for natural stone floors. Photo: Lithofin

The two most important cleaning products for a freshly polished and impregnated floor are an alkaline cleaner for occasional deep cleaning and a mildly alkaline maintenance cleaner for regular mopping. Lithofin offers a care kit that includes care instructions and contains the products Lithofin MN Deep Cleaner and Lithofin MN Mopping Care.

Care Kit for Natural Stone Floors

Anyone looking to refresh a floor in need of restoration and seeking a contractor can confidently contact a Lithofin Professional Partner in their area. The network specializes in this type of work and is available to provide expertise and experience. Using the appropriate machinery and grinders, Lithofin professional partners create customized quotes for customers that are tailored to the specific conditions on-site and deliver the best possible results.

Click here for more information.

Professional Partners and Network

Floor before and after surface grinding and renovation. Photos: Lithofin

This sanding process is particularly suitable for so-called soft natural stone floors such as marble, Jura limestone, or terrazzo. Sanding is generally possible even on hard stone floors such as granite. To do this, it is first necessary to completely remove any remaining carpet or adhesive residue. This may be the case when a stone floor is uncovered during a renovation beneath a carpet, PVC, or linoleum covering. The best way to remove these is with Lithofin LÖSEFIX. Another situation where sanding existing floors is appropriate is when the appearance of the surfaces needs to be harmonized due to an addition or expansion of the living space.

Single-disc machine and floor sander with planetary drive system. Photo: Lithofin

Sanding machine with planetary drive system. Photo: Lithofin

Once the floor is exposed, the sanding process can begin. It is best to use a floor sander with a planetary drive system for this, and to finish the corners and stair treads with a handheld sander equipped with an angle grinder using the dry sanding method. This type of sander is suitable for larger areas. Weighing approximately 130 kilograms, the machine is designed for professional use and requires experience to achieve the best results. Depending on the material, sanding pads of the appropriate thickness and grit size must be selected. In several steps, just a few millimeters are sanded away. This process removes scratches, dull spots, and signs of wear. When performed using the wet sanding method, the process is usually relatively dust-free. Soft stone types such as marble or limestone can be polished to a high gloss. Polishing an existing floor back to a high gloss is also recommended when living space has been expanded. In this case, the old flooring is sanded, and the entire surface is then polished again to create a uniform appearance. This process enhances the factory polish of the new flooring, giving it a more brilliant look.

Sanding Floor Surfaces

Natural stones such as limestone or marble are acid-sensitive materials. Fruit acids or carbonic acid from cola, sparkling wine, juices, or similar beverages can cause dull spots on these materials. These so-called aggressors should be blotted up and wiped away from the surface as quickly as possible to prevent damage. If you wait too long, the acid eats into the STEIN and becomes visible as a dull spot. This can only be remedied mechanically through polishing. If red wine has spilled, this presents a particular challenge, as not only the dull spot but also the red dye must be removed. Lithofin KF Schimmel-Ex, a chlorine-based cleaner, can be applied and left to sit for 10–20 minutes. Afterward, rinse it off with clean water to remove the colored residues. Acid rarely penetrates more than a few millimeters into the STEIN. It often combines with the material’s lime, forming a dull film on the surface.

Acid etching on polished surfaces

Surface grinding process: before and after. Photo: Lithofin

Occasionally, installed surfaces may settle, causing the grout lines to no longer lie flush with the slabs, or the installation work may not have been performed with particular care. The grout lines usually become rough, and interlocking patterns are clearly visible. In this case, a so-called surface grinding process is required. To do this, the first step is to grind the surface down to the deepest point of the joint using a coarse, metal-bonded tool. Then, the process is carried out section by section, compacting the floor and the joint. The result is a flat surface of the stone slab with the joints, so that they are no longer visible.

Defective joints can also be replaced during this process. Care must be taken to ensure that joint material suitable for grinding is used. Coarse-grained joint material is not suitable. Ideally, such joint materials should have no grain at all. Open-pored travertine can also be filled. On the one hand, it is possible to color-match synthetic resins to the STEIN and then polish them. This way, the filled areas do not stand out too much in terms of color. Alternatively, the open pores can be filled with white cement that has been color-matched to the natural stone using mineral pigments. However, this option is only recommended if a polished finish is not desired. This is because the cement-filled areas cannot be polished and would remain dull in appearance, thus failing to create a uniform surface. The surface is then further refined using resin-bonded diamond tools. All grit sizes must be used during grinding, and no grit size should be skipped. This is the only way to achieve a perfect finish.

Flat grinding method for deeper joints and interlocking grooves

Flat grinding with a level surface. Photo: Lithofin

Repair grinding of joints. Photo: Lithofin

Have you just bought or inherited a house or apartment? Your own home—a long-awaited dream—has finally come true. Those who have just realized this dream are looking to the future with concern due to the extreme rise in construction costs and interest rates. After all, your home should reflect your personal taste as much as possible without compromise. When it comes to cost-effective renovation, the potential of existing materials can also be unlocked and given new life.

03.01.2025

Event

City heat hotspot

Building design

We spoke to urban planner and climatologist Sebastian Kupski about materials that have a positive impact on the climate in urban areas and what climate-conscious urban development can look like.

May 3 is the day of the sun. Without the sun, there would be no life on earth – a good reason to dedicate a day to it and become aware of it. However, as climate change progresses, the darker side of the star is coming to the fore: the heat is increasingly causing problems for cities. This creates problems that challenge landscape architects and urban planners.

The urban space promotes heat islands, which are intensifying in the course of climate change. This leads to overheating. The buildings themselves, the sealing of the ground, the lack of greenery and artificial materials such as concrete and asphalt are responsible for this. We spoke to urban planner and climatologist Sebastian Kupski about materials that have a positive effect on the climate in urban areas and what climate-conscious urban development can look like.

You can find the full interview here as a PDF.

To mark the Day of the Sun, we dug through our archives and pulled out G+L 07/2017: the issue focused on natural technology: new materials that defy climate change. A topic that is still relevant today.

05.11.2024

Event

5 questions for Christoph Ingenhoven

Building design

Christoph Ingenhoven photographed by Jim Rakete.

For Christoph Ingenhoven, the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic mercilessly expose the failures of recent years. Nevertheless, he remains optimistic.

Too long supply chains, too much consumption, too little substance, too little solidarity, too little Europe, too much populism, too little work, too much life: for Christoph Ingenhoven, the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic mercilessly expose the failings of recent years. But he is far from losing his optimism as a result. We had a chat with him.

Christoph Ingenhoven photographed by Jim Rakete.

Christoph Ingenhoven, how are you and your office experiencing these days?
As I was traveling in the Engadin and London, trips to Cannes and Riyadh were cancelled at short notice and I was unable to return to Switzerland, I finally ended up in Düsseldorf, where the majority of our extended family from London, New York and Munich had also arrived in the meantime. My partner stayed in London with her children and one of my daughters was unavoidably deployed in hospital, so it’s a good thing the houses are big enough for that… The office has 45 percent of employees working from home, 45 percent still in the office, 5 percent on sick leave and 5 percent on vacation. We are all trying very hard to do our work with video and telephone conferences, which we are doing well together.

So almost half of your employees are working from home. How quickly was that possible and: Is everything continuing as usual?
We managed the switch within a few days. Everyone can take their computer and screen with them. For everyone else, it’s a new situation, but you get used to it after a few days – especially with the right discipline when preparing for conference calls. This is not a permanent solution and in normal times it is not good for the team and the quality of our work, which thrives on thinking, drawing and talking together. For the moment, however, it secures our ability to act. It’s a good thing that the internationalization of our projects in many very different countries means that we have always been used to working virtually to some extent in different time zones.

What challenges are you and your team currently facing?
Meeting deadlines and commitments to our clients, keeping in touch with clients, prioritizing paid work over unpaid work, carefully pushing projects over the finish line in the final decision-making phase, realistically assessing how the year will continue, running stress tests, reducing costs, motivating employees, holding your nerve, keeping quality high, not losing your sense of humour, finding new orders for the time during and after the crisis, winning competitions …

“You’re all more grown up after the crisis.”

You also have offices in Sydney and Singapore. How is the situation there?
Singapore is continuing to operate relatively normally and, as a large proportion of our Australian projects in Sydney and Melbourne are currently being processed there in addition to the Singaporean projects, capacity utilization is also very good. The opening of our Toranomon Hills project in Tokyo has been postponed, although the project has been completed. A second high-rise there is under construction and will probably open for the postponed Olympics next year.

Architecture students are asking themselves how they should complete their assignments in a team despite the initial restrictions. What advice would you give them?
That shouldn’t be a problem for this generation, Face Time, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype …, they can do it. The crisis is an opportunity, it mercilessly exposes our failings and shortcomings: too long supply chains, too much consumption, too much marketing, too little substance, too little vertical integration, too little solidarity, too little Europe, too much populism, too little work, too much life, the world is much nicer without emissions, fewer cars are not a mistake, childcare is difficult to replace, our small businesses are poorly financed.

Everyone tries to get rid of their problems first and foremost with the state, not only those who are really in need, but also those who have always taken all the profit out of the company in a timely manner for years. If we learn anything from this, it may have been very good and when we have the crisis behind us, you will all be much more grown up, stay alive!