Within the first 12 – 18 months of installation of a stone floor, especially filled and honed travertine, you can expect 5 – 10% of the floor, especially in high traffic areas, to experience exposure of new holes. This occurs due to the nature of travertine itself; a capillary filled stone. When the tiles go along the filling line, the machine can only fill the holes that are visible at that time. However, there are other holes/pores lurking just below a razor thin surface of stone just waiting for that first rubber heel, chair, etc. to expose them. As mentioned prior, you will notice this most frequently and visibly in high traffic areas. This is not a defect of the stone. It is a normal and expected occurrence with travertine.
To remedy this issue, it is best to wait at least 12 months, for most of the shallow pores to expose themselves and begin to fill the exposed holes/pores. At this time, clean out any loose debris in the exposed area – do not dig or stick sharp instruments into the hole as that would exaggerate the problem and could possibly open up more holes than would not occur normally with natural foot traffic. Make sure the area around the void to be repaired is sealed well as to not allow any new grout to adhere to the stone’s surface. Fill the holes with regular sanded or epoxy grout (whatever color is deemed appropriate to match the stone). After this application is fully completed, make sure these newly grouted areas are sealed with any regular non-solvent based stone sealer.

Please be aware that slate is a natural stone. Because of this, slate (as well as all natural stone) will have variance from piece to piece and from lot to lot. Different quarries, even though mined from the same part of a certain Country, will have high variation.

This is the natural beauty of the product.

Note that if you are trying to add to a slate job that was installed previously, it maybe difficult to get the same tones in any new batch of slate purchased.

Also note that slate is a sedimentary rock which is composed of compressed layers of stone. It is a natural occurrence of slate to peel or slake especially in freeze thaw areas. It is not recommended to allow water to stand on natural slate as it may cause the slate to rust due to the natural mineral components within the stone. It is highly recommended to place a good quality sealer on all slate products.

Porcelain and ceramic tile is resistant to germs and bacteria and it is also among the easiest of flooring materials to clean. You can clean your porcelain tile with a damp sponge mop. A solution of 1/4 cup of white vinegar to 2 gallons of water works best- allowing time for drying. You can also sweep or vacuum. Although the glaze of a tile is impervious, it is still possible for its surface to discolor from certain chemicals.