On the day
What it is like to have us in the house.
The part nobody puts on a website: the tape, the drop sheets, the noise, and how long you are without your kitchen. Here it is.
Letting a tradesperson work on an irreplaceable surface in your home is a trust decision before it is a price decision. This page is the honest account of what happens, so there are no surprises on the day.
Before we arrive
You will have a fixed price in writing, the date and the start time, and a note of which rooms are affected and for how long. For a benchtop or vanity, clear the surface and the cupboards directly beneath it. For a floor, we will have told you which furniture to move and which we will handle. Nothing else is needed from you.
Protection
The first half hour is masking. Joinery, appliances, splashbacks and adjoining floors are covered and taped. Doorways to the rest of the house are sheeted. Stone is polished wet, so the containment is about water and slurry rather than dust, and it is thorough because a splash on a timber floor is our problem to fix.
Noise and dust
The machine sounds like a vacuum cleaner, and it runs in bursts rather than continuously. Because the abrasives run wet, there is no dust cloud; the slurry is vacuumed as we go. You do not need to leave the house. Most people stay out of the room being worked and get on with their day.
The test patch
On any job where the result is not a formality, we do a small area first, out of sight, and show it to you before continuing. It takes twenty minutes. If you do not like what you see, we stop there and you pay the attendance fee only. This is written into every quote.
Who moves what
Sofas, dining tables, rugs and freestanding pieces: us. Fitted joinery, plumbed appliances and anything you would rather we did not touch: stays put and gets masked. Very heavy or valuable pieces are best moved before we arrive, and we say which when we quote.
When it is back in use
The polished surface is usable immediately. The sealer, applied last, needs to cure: a few hours to overnight depending on the product, and we tell you the exact window before we leave. Light use is fine straight away; spills, chopping and hot pans wait for the cure. A short care card stays on the bench with the cleaners that are safe on sealed stone and the ones that will undo the work.
Handover
We walk the surface with you before packing up. If something is not right, it is fixed then. The job is photographed from the same spot as the before shot, and if you are happy for it to appear on this site we ask you then, and a no is fine. Every sealed surface goes on the reminder list, and you get a message when it is due.
Related questions
Is it messy? How much dust is there?
Very little. Marble is polished wet. Water keeps the abrasives cool and it keeps the dust down, so the process produces a slurry that is vacuumed up rather than a cloud. The room is protected before we start: joinery and appliances are masked, adjoining floors are covered, and the working area is contained. There is some noise from the machine, comparable to a vacuum cleaner. You do not need to leave the house, though most people prefer to be out of the room being worked. We leave the space cleaner than we found it, which is a fair thing to hold us to.
Do you move furniture?
Yes, within reason. Sofas, dining tables, rugs and most freestanding pieces we move and put back. Fitted joinery, appliances and anything plumbed in stays where it is and we work around it, protecting it as we go. Very heavy or valuable pieces are best moved before we arrive, and we say which ones when we quote. A stone dining table is usually worked in place rather than moved, since it is heavier than it looks and the risk of damage in moving it is higher than the inconvenience of working around it.
How soon can I use my benchtop after it is restored?
The same evening for most jobs. The polishing itself leaves the surface ready to use immediately. What needs time is the sealer, which is applied last and needs to cure before the stone is exposed to water and oil. For most penetrating sealers that is a few hours to overnight, and we tell you the exact window before we leave. Light use, like putting the kettle on, is fine straight away. Chopping, spills and hot pans should wait until the sealer has cured. We leave a short care card on the bench with the cleaners that are safe on sealed stone and the ones that will undo the work.
Send a photo. Get a price.
Two or three photos, your suburb, and what is bothering you. Most benchtop, vanity and table quotes come back the same day.
