Q1: I am planning to re-do my kitchen. What should I choose for the counter. I have a choice between Marble and Granite.

Q2: Is granite suitable for flooring?

R1: Granite is hard wear resistant stone. This property makes it the ideal flooring material BUT the dust and sand leaves scratches and re- polishing laid granite is next to impossible. Scratched granite floor looks bad. Marble being a soft stone can easily be re-honed and polished. If the area under consideration is low trafic with minimum dust polished granite can be used. But be careful, if wet it can become dangerously slippery.

Un- polished granite (honed) or even flamed granite can be used. Other alternates amongst stone are Kota Stone, Bansi Paharpur (a variety of sandstone).

Q3: What do I use in a bathroom.

R1: A classical question with numerous alternatives. We will just concentrate on stones. I have seen practically all kinds of stone being used, right from Polished Granite to hand chiseled sand stone.

Ideally the bathroom surface should be fairly rough( recommended friction factor is 0.7 (anti-skid)) and non-porous. You can use un-polished granite, honned marble with epoxy filling and sandstone with epoxy and sealer coat. The details about the chemicals to be used can be provided.

Q4: I have a farm house where I have put up a lot of sculptures in stone in the open. How do I protect them?

R1: You can and should take of your sculptures. Some people want them to age. This can be best attained by leaving them untreated or by using specialty staining chemicals to give them an antique look.

Alternatively if you want them to retain their new look get them treated with suitable sealant and coatings. This will vary from stone to stone and we need more details to provide specific treatment.

Q5: I have marble floor in my house. The floor is stained . I have tried repolishing the floor but the stains do not go.

R1: Stain removal from stone is an art. The first step is to identify the stain. Is it oil, ink, paint, dirt, wine, coffee, rust etc. Etc.

Once the stain is identified special stain removal poultices are available to remove them. The older the stains the more difficult it is to remove them. It is best to get the stone sealed by an impregnating sealer immediately after laying it to prevent it from getting stained.

Q6: I have fixed a yellow Italian marble. It was looking good initially but within a year it has started developing holes and pits.

R1: You have used Travertine. It is a beautiful stone but it inherently has pits and holes which are normally filled using a mastic. Maybe in your case they just used pigmented mortar which is now coming out. Get it patched with a matching mastic and re-polished. It should last you a life time.

Q7: I like yellow sandstone. The one which comes from jodhpur, Rajasthan. Can I use it for cladding.

R1: Yes you can use it for cladding but you should pre-seal the stone as it is very porous otherwise with time you will have colored patches.

Q8: Which marble is the best?

R1: Which food is the tastiest? It depends on your choice and utility. It is very difficult to answer this in absolute terms.

Q9: We have an old marble fountain in our yard. We have been cleaning the salt scales using toilet acid for a number of years. The stone seems to be getting yellow and cracking. What should I do?

R1: You have been using the wrong method for cleaning. Acid (in your case hydrochloric acid) has been eating away layers of stone causing pores and pitting. The yellow stain is because of chlorine. Stop using immediately. Fountains like yours are priceless and should be preserved. Clean up the entire stone by using an alkaline penetrator. This will remove all traces of acid from the stone. Get the stone polished and sealed using an ideal underwater sealer.

Q10: We have used high quality green marble in our restaurant floor. We have started noticing a white powder coming out of the joints and the stone near the joints is loosing polish and becoming rough. The floor looks bad.

R1: It is efflorescence. You must be washing the floor very frequently. The water is going in through the joints (grouts) and dissolving the chlorides in the mortar. Normally the sand in the mortar contains chlorides. This causes the formation of a weak acid which starts attacking the joints as these are the weakest spots and here the stone pores are exposed . This is like a chain reaction . It is best arrested by reopening the joints and filling with a non toxic water based epoxy. If you want immediate results use High molecular weight polymer oils (HMWPO). Just apply this oil on the stone joints once a month and that sould arrest the problem.

Q11: I am planning to build a house in Bangalore. Where can I buy good quality stone at reasonable prices.

R1: Right here on Findstone.com. Post your inquiry and I am sure a couple of Bangalore stone dealers will approach you . You can choose and negotiate.

Q12: I have marble mines in Rajasthan. I am looking for a financial partner. Can you help me?

R1: You will have to give more details on the quality, type of deposit and the kind of financial arrangement you are looking for. Post the details on the site and you may receive responses.

Q13: How do I find buyers for my stone. I would prefer export inquires.

R1: The answer is the same as for Q 15.

Q14. I have seen a number of interesting stones on your site. Can I get samples?

R1: I am sorry. We can not help you directly but you can contact individual suppliers / mine owners/traders and they may send you samples. They may also charge you for it.