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Q.  I just bought a house that has very dated floral designs baked into various kitchen tiles on the counters and backsplash. Is it possible to remove the design and repaint the tile? I would be ok with a different color tile as long as I could... Read More

Q. Is there a solvent that can be used to safely remove years old grout haze from porcelain tile? I can provide more information as you need. Thank you. A. For standard grout, you will need an acid-based grout cleaner. For epoxy grout, then a... Read More

Q. The shine on our travertine marble has not looked even since it was installed. The installer told us that this was characteristic of the stone. Is this true? A. Your installer is correct. Most travertine contains many holes that are filled with a... Read More

Q. Can cement tiles or ceramic tiles be installed on top of Corian or Avonite? I am restoring a kitchen on a tight budget, and I prefer to cover the existing countertops vs rip out and replace.   A. Yes, you can install them directly over the Corian... Read More

Q. Hi, I have a tumbled crema marfil kitchen floor. It is 5 years old. It appears to hold the dirt in cracks that appear to have increased over time. When I have the floor steamed cleaned it looks really great but months later it becomes so dirty... Read More

Q. Your website and articles are extremely helpful. I now know that you don't have to seal travertine. Here is my problem; my employee applied sealer to filled travertine and didn't wipe off the excess. I spoke to a rep at the sealer company and used... Read More

If you apply a silicone impregnator to the back of a tile before setting, this may cause a bonding problem. Since most setting mortars are water based they will want to repel the water. Use an epoxy-type setting material. TIP: Before setting any... Read More

Curling in green marble can be a serious problem when the marble is set in a wet mud or thin-set. The Marble Institute of America recommends that green marble be set with an epoxy-based compound. Check with the installer and see what has been used to... Read More

There is only one solution for this problem--replace the tiles. Some green marbles are very susceptible to curling when they are installed using a water based setting material. The installer should have used a water-less setting material such as... Read More

Q. I'm a park educator (park naturalist) working at a fossil site in Canada. I'm putting together sets of fossils for use in classrooms, including some Green River fish fossils, which are in very soft limestone that flakes in delaminates... Read More