Faced with an uneven 4,000 feet of limestone mosaic tile that “rolls” – Boston Stone Restoration had to get creative.
For several months we have been talking about a big project in Newport, RI. The Belcourt Castle on historic Bellevue Avenue has been undergoing a massive renovation for over a year. Built between 1891-1894 the mansion was originally used as a summer home for Oliver Belmont, whose father was the namesake of the Belmont Stakes.
The mansion changed hands several times in the last 120 or so years, and was most recently purchased by Carolyn Rafaelian, owner of Alex and Ani, in November of 2012. We were excited and honored to be contacted by the project manger to work on the beautiful stone inside. We’ve already posted about the pavers we restored, but the epic job was the almost 4,000 square foot mosaic ballroom.
However, this proved to be no easy task. The hand-laid floor was uneven, a frequent problem with very old stone floor and tile installations. Traditional diamond honing and polishing uneven polish because the diamond polish pads made uneven connections with the surface. The BSR team did several tests determined to find the best path to a flawless finish.
Since grinding the whole 4,000 foot floor to level would be an impractical solution, we planned to apply a coating after the floor was restored, to help maintain the beauty, ensure easy maintenance and create a small but lasting optical illusion masking the minor polish variations.
Boston Stone Restoration owner, Paul Bunis was excited to try a new coating that had been used successfully on terrazzo projects. But coatings can be fickle and this one did not take. The BSR crew had to work overtime to remove the faulty coating and strategize the next step. Fortunately, Paul knew of another coating that he could try. This one worked like a dream and the floor looks stunning!!
Part of what we do here at Boston Stone Restoration is work diligently to get the end result our client wants. If at first we don’t succeed we try, try again.
Do you have an epic stone project that needs help? Call Paul and Melissa at (781) 793-0700