Need supplies for 1928 Condo Building Floor Restoration

[tskochanski]

Hello, I live in a 1928 condo in Washington DC. Our 5 story building has about 4 types of floor surface and we recently got a slow speed 15 inch buffer and are interested in restoring the floors as best we can. We have simply mopped and broomed them for several years now.


*Can you tell what types of surfaces these are?
*Can you recommend products to perhaps (strip, seal, wax, and clean) these floors?
*Also if you know of any resources for learning about the restoration parts (grout fixes) that would be appreciated too.


Thank you in advance, details are below. --Tim


Here is our new (old) machine which came with a steel bristle brush for grabbing the pads, a few red and white pads, and a horsehair brush (I think its horsehair).
(Equipment1.jpg)

The entryway has some sort of stone mix.
(Entry1.jpg)

With a stone or marble bordering the main floor.
(Entry2.jpg)

There are several different kinds of stone in the floor.
(Entry3.jpg)

It seems to be held in place with that red grout material which has some cracks.
(Entry4.jpg)

The stairs which lead to a hallway (all hallways are the same) are Marble or some stone.
(Stairs1.jpg)

Here's a closeup.
(Stairs2.jpg)

The hallways are all similar 3/4 inch glazed? ceramic? mosaic tile?
(Hall1.jpg)

Here is a closeup.
(Hall2.jpg)

They may have been set directly into the concrete, I'm not sure but we do have one damage spot where you can see tile edges.
(Hall3.jpg)

 

[tskochanski]

I found a condo document that referred to:

1. A Terrazzo lobby
2. Marble Stairs
3. and Ceramic hall tile.

 

[Incognito]

I found a condo document that referred to:

1. A Terrazzo lobby
2. Marble Stairs
3. and Ceramic hall tile.

I'm going to guess that they didn't know WHAT to call that lobby flooring. It's not terrazzo. It's a custom design with marble, limestone, slate and other stones. I can't tell you what the grout is. Sorry. You could find the closest match you can and blend that with darker or lighter grout to repair the cracks. Obviously you'd need to scratch out and vacuum up any loose grout in those cracks very thoroughly. You might want to open them up to do so with a grout saw or dremel tool.

The stairs are certainly a white marble. They look well beyond "restoration". There are ways of buffing and polishing marble. For flat work there are specialized heavy equipment to restore from an abused/neglected state. Your machine can be used for maintenance. I'm certain those that regularly restore and maintain stone have specialized equipment for doing vertical and irregular surfaces that would be just smaller, hand held versions of the larger floor size machines that I've seen in higher end department stores, fancy hotels and office tower atriums.

The mosaic tile in the hall should be difficult to patch in and regrout. I regrouted an Olympic size high school swimming pool with similar mosaic tiles. They empty the pool and we scrubbed on our hands and knees with muriatic acid diluted by water. I was a "helper" at the time. The journeyman tile layer worked behind us grouting over the clean floor with a new application of grout.

In most major cities there are specialist in marble, tile and stone restoration. The process involves cleaning of the existing materials and determining what kind of sealers are present so you can apply a compatible sealer that could then be regularly buffed, polished and maintained (added coats as the manufacturer recommends every so often)