When remodeling and maintaining areas exposed to high levels of moisture, you’ve probably heard the term “caulking” from your stone repair contractor or home remodeling contractor. You may find yourself wondering, “What does that mean?” You’re not alone—this isn’t something a high school or college diploma will teach you.

Caulking is the process of using a waterproof filler, also known as “caulk,” to seal an area and prevent moisture. As you can infer from the definition, caulking is critical for protecting your home, and here’s why.

Reason No. 1: Sealing and Waterproofing

Sealing your stone tiles together prevents water from seeping into unwanted places, such as ceilings and walls, where potential drywall and wood damage could occur. If your sink cutout is not caulked properly and water goes through, it causes cracks in stone.
Additionally, in the event of a leak or an overflowing shower, the seal will help prevent mold from forming beneath your floors due to moisture buildup.Another less commonly known benefit of sealing your stone tiles is pest control. Pests love to nest in the gaps between stones, leading to a higher risk of cockroaches and other unwanted visitors.

Reason No. 2: Structural Longevity

Improperly caulked stone tiles are more prone to damage from shock and vibration. Caulk acts as a shock absorber and ensures that the stones stay in place over time. Stone that’s not properly caulked tends to crack over time, leading to increased maintenance costs and repairs.

Reason No. 3: Aesthetic

Properly caulked stone tiles not only function well but also look great. Leaving your stone tiles unsealed creates unsightly gaps between the tiles. Professional caulking can also help hide any gaps or imperfections in the spacing of the stones.

When it comes to stone care, maintenance and preparation are everything. Always ensure that your stone is not only properly installed but that you consult a professional stone repair and maintenance contractor when needed. If you’re located near Bethesda and the D.C. metropolitan area, Capitol Stone Care is the best—we’ve got your back.

If not, feel free to contact our team anytime with questions about stone repair.

Contact us today via email at david@capitolstonecare.com or by phone at +1 (301) 512-5777.

www.capitolstonecare.com

If you’ve recently installed a natural stone countertop or floor in your beautiful Montgomery County home, this guide is for you! Alternatively, maybe our team recently restored your countertops or floors (or even another team—that’s okay too). No matter your situation, we are the most experienced stone restoration team in the DMV area (located in Bethesda, MD), and we’ve put together a few tips to help keep your countertops in great shape.

Tip No. 1: Clean and Dust Regularly

Don’t neglect your countertops or let them get dirty! Regularly clean the surface with a pH-neutral cleaner that’s gentle on countertops to avoid damaging the finish. Additionally, use a soft microfiber cloth that won’t scuff the surface while you clean.Most importantly, dry and clean any spills on your countertop immediately. Believe it or not, even seemingly harmless liquids, like grape juice, can damage your countertops’ finish!

Make sure you regularly dust the countertop as well. Dirt can be abrasive and may cause small scratches if it gets trapped under plates or objects. Start with a soft dusting tool and follow up by wiping the surface with a damp cloth.

Tip No. 2: Professionally Deep Clean, Polish, and Seal the Surface Annually

It’s highly recommended to have any natural stone surface deep cleaned, polished, and sealed annually to restore and prevent extensive damage to the finish. While some stone surfaces may require more frequent maintenance depending on factors like exposure to wear and tear, there’s a simple way to test if your surface needs resealing.

Pour a small amount of water on your stone surface. If the water beads into small droplets, the seal is still effective. If the stone absorbs the water, it’s time to call your stone repair professional (or us, if you’re near Bethesda) and get it resealed. We suggest testing a few areas since the seal may wear out unevenly.

Tip No. 3: Implement Protective Measures and Controls

While it may seem obvious, always use coasters and cutting boards. Knives can quickly damage the surface of your countertops. Also, the moisture from condensation on drinks is a hidden enemy. It only takes a moment to use a coaster, so make sure your family members do the same.

Humidity can also affect the durability of your natural stone surface. Control the humidity in bathrooms and kitchens by running fans and monitoring the temperature when possible to prevent mold and mildew buildup.

Tip No. 4: Address Chips and Cracks Promptly

From our years of experience, we know that small chips and cracks can quickly become larger problems. It’s crucial to address any chips or cracks as soon as you notice them. Ignoring these issues could lead to more significant damage and costlier repairs down the road.By following these tips, you can keep your natural stone surfaces in beautiful condition for years to come. If you’re near our Bethesda headquarters, we’re always here to help.

Contact us today via email at david@capitolstonecare.com or by phone at +1 (301) 512-5777.

It’s no secret that natural stone countertops and tables are a pillar of any beautiful Bethesda, MD home. In fact, it’s the standard around Montgomery County nowadays, where it’s uncommon to find a home valued below $800,000. However, it’s also no secret that we love to enjoy our countertops (and have many children) in this area, which leads to unavoidable damage and chipping over time. Capitol Stone Care, led by our expert owner and founder David, specializes in accurately evaluating and restoring stone countertops to perfection, no matter how damaged or chipped they may be.

Today’s article breaks down the process we use to take your chipped stone countertops and make them new again – let’s get right into it.

Step No. 1: Inspection

At this stage, we’ll coordinate with you to get a proper set of eyes on the situation and determine the issue you’re facing. The process includes inspecting all aspects of the countertop, including the color, sheen, depth, and width of the countertop. We’ve seen thousands of countertops and will know exactly how to handle your situation when the time comes.

Step No. 2: Epoxy Filling and Repair

Our Bethesda, MD facility is outfitted with only the best tools and materials for your countertops – whether we take your countertop there or operate in your home, you can bet you’ll be getting the best. We’ll use our state-of-the-art epoxy and equipment to fill and seamlessly blend the chips in your countertop. Once the chips are filled, our expert team will sand down the epoxy, color match it to your countertop, polish it off, and seal the surface.

Step No. 3: Quality Assurance and Quality Control with Our Owner

Capitol Stone Care is the most trusted stone repair team in the entire DMV area. The reason we’re so highly trusted is due to our high level of owner-operator involvement in the process, which involves a final walkthrough from our founder and owner, David. David will thoroughly inspect the surface to ensure everything is up to par and properly represents our brand.

Step No. 4: Final Touch-Up

Once David completes his inspection, he’ll go through and touch up anything he sees as necessary. Imagine this step as when your dentist comes to see you after the hygienist. He’ll poke around and make sure everything looks perfect before you see your counter.

Step No. 5: Walkthrough to Ensure Client Satisfaction

After David finishes inspecting and touching things up, you get the final say. We’ll walk you through to ensure the job not only meets but exceeds your standards, and we know it will!
Capitol Stone Care understands and values making lasting transformations to every piece of stone we work with. More importantly, we care about DMV residents and building lasting relationships with you. Whether you’re contacting us about a chipped countertop or not, you can trust that we’ll work to build this lasting relationship.

Contact us today via email at david@capitolstonecare.com or by phone at +1 (301) 512-5777.

It’s no secret that an essential part of the stone repair process is adding sealer to protect the surface of the floor, table, or wall being repaired. While we are stone repair experts, not all stone is created equally. There are many different types of stone that we work on, ranging from travertine, marble, granite, and more. In addition to various types of stone, we work with different people across the Montgomery County, Northwest D.C., and Northern Virginia areas who have a range of personal preferences that may change the sealer we use for the job. We’ve put together this article to assist you in making an informed decision when it comes to choosing a sealer for your stone repair – let’s get into it.

Variation No. 1: Solvent-Based Sealers

Solvent-based sealers are amazing when it comes to enriching the color and appearance of the stone. However, it’s important to consider that it comes with potential environmental consequences and strong, harmful fumes during the application process. If you decide to go with this option, our team will apply it with respiratory protection and dispose of it carefully.

Variation No. 2: Water-Based Sealers

Water-based sealers are great because they tend to be a lot less harsh not only on the environment, but also in terms of odor. However, this does come with drawbacks. Water-based sealers are, unfortunately, quicker to wear off and won’t make your stone surface shine quite as well as solvent-based sealers.

Variation No. 3: Topical Sealers

Topical sealers are great due to their ease of application and re-application. Not to mention, they also provide a beautiful, glossy finish to the stone and enhance the natural sheen. However, they tend to wear off quickly and may alter the natural texture of your stone surface.Variation No. 4: Impregnator SealersImpregnator sealers are optimal if you don’t want to alter the natural appearance of the stone (if you’re looking to enhance or alter the sheen, this won’t be for you). They also provide very durable and long-lasting protection against routine stains (e.g., wine, coffee, water). The only real drawback to this type of sealer is that it tends to be a bit more expensive.When you’re making a choice, be careful to consider what’s important to you. We highly recommend using the following questions as a guide:

• Do you want an enhanced sheen or shine on your stone surface?

• Do you want your stone surface to resemble the original stone?

• Are you willing to service the stone surface frequently with touch-ups and maintenance?

• Are you passionate about the environment and averse to potential environmental impact?

Photo of a recent job we did in Bethesda, MD that involved re-finishing a damaged granite counter.

We truly hope this helps a bit as you work through the sealer selection process and plan your stone repair strategy as a whole. Whether you’re located near our home base of Bethesda or not, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team! We’re glad to provide any insight we can and wish you the best with your project.

If you are in the Bethesda area and need our help, most definitely reach out to our team and we’ll be glad to help. Call us at 301-512-5777 or email david@capitolstonecare.com for a free estimate.

Cracked Stone Tables and How Capitol Stone Care Repairs Damage: Our Process
Stone tables can be worth thousands of dollars depending on their history, material, and connection to your family. Unfortunately, stone tables get damaged easily for various reasons, including moving and items being placed on the surface of the table. If your damaged table is a special table a relative created or passed down to you, or simply very expensive, replacing your damaged stone table may not be feasible. Whether you’re located in the Bethesda, D.C., or Northern Virginia area or not, check out this article and leverage it to assist you with vetting your stone repair contractor.

Let’s jump right into how our professional team carries out our process.

Estimation, Assessment, and Inspection

The Capitol Stone Care team, led by our founder David, will assess the issue and work with you to determine the proper solution. Our transparent estimation and assessment process will provide you with not only our action plan but a firm price and a timeline. We always work to make a fair deal for the client and get the job done as soon as possible.

Cleaning and Preparation

You obviously want your table clean, and so do we. Most importantly, beginning our work requires a clean surface to work with. Depending on the type of stone your table is, we’ll clean it with a tailored process to ensure we don’t damage the finish and things are ready for us to complete the job properly. We take our time and do things properly, so you can expect to receive your table back as clean as new.

Bonding

Once your table is prepared, we’ll start the most important part of the process: bridging the gap between the cracks in your table! We do this with a special epoxy resin that will match perfectly with your table and look as good as new when we complete our process. Not to mention, this epoxy resin will strengthen the bond between the cracked pieces of stone and provide lasting durability for your table.

Matching

Once the crack is filled and the surface is even, we’ll start to work our magic to ensure you can’t tell we ever worked on your table. This includes matching the color and the pattern in your table. While this can be tricky, our team has extensive experience with completing this process and will take our time to restore the original sheen, color, pattern, and texture to your table.

Reinforcement

We really do care about durability when completing stone table repair jobs for Bethesda and Potomac (and general Montgomery County!) residents. Our homes are expensive enough, so our one-time service is designed to ensure you truly only need us once unless you damage your table again. Upon the completion of the matching process, our team will reinforce the bottom of the table with fiberglass rods. In addition to the epoxy resin, this will stabilize our work and create a more durable surface.

Sealing

As the final touch to our work, we’ll add our sealant to the surface of your stone table. Not only will this sealant enhance the sheen and appearance of the stone, but it will protect the stone from common stains and moisture as well. Nonetheless, we highly recommend treating your repaired stone table with care.

Whether you’re a prospective client in the DMV area (we specifically serve Montgomery County, Northern VA, and D.C.) or not, we highly recommend using this article to vet potential stone care contractors. Ask them “how” questions about their process and see if it aligns with our process described in this article, we promise you’ll be glad you did. If you have any questions about our process or would like a free estimate, please feel free to reach out anytime!

Call or Text: (301) 512-5777

david@capitolstonecare.com

www.capitolstonecare.com

To purchase the high-quality stone care products that our team recommends and uses every day, visit www.mbstonecare.com

If you’re currently doing your research, it’s likely that you’re unsure whether your stone surface is ready and/or qualifies for a repair at its current state. If you happened to stumble across this article, you’re in luck.
In this article, our team of Bethesda homeowners and stone restoration experts will give you a few signs to help identify when your stone surface needs to be restored.

Sign 1: Dull Spots and Etched Marks.

Whether you decided to use an unfriendly cleaner, spilled wine on your counter or floor, or even water, dull spots and etched marks will appear easily and stick out on stone surfaces. 
Dull spots tend to stand out easily and make it difficult to compete in the D.C. area, where upscale living and home renovations are the standard. If you have dull spots on your stone surface that stick out like a sore thumb, contact our team today for a consultation.

Sign 2: Severe Cracking on Tables and Counters.

Aside from losing the function of your table or counter, severe cracking can pose serious safety issues. The last thing you would want to do is have a large piece of stone crack and fall on somebody’s foot. 
However, don’t stress about this as it can easily be fixed by a qualified professional. If you see severe cracking on a stone table slab, contact a local stone restoration specialist immediately. 
Our team has our own shop in Maryland and will transport the stone to and from anywhere within the D.C. area, as well as repair it for you. 

Sign 3: Scratches and Scuffs.

If you’re seeing a high volume of scratches and scuffs when the light hits your floor or counter, it may very well be time for a restoration.
Restoring the finish and sheen to your stone surfaces will not only make the surfaces themselves look better, but it will also light up your home and add value to it. In today’s D.C. residential real estate market, value add through remodel and restoration is essential to defeat high interest rates. 
Overall, if you’re a homeowner one or more of the above cases will eventually catch up to you. In turn, you’ll have to restore your stone surfaces to remediate the issue. If you find yourself missing the beauty your stone surfaces once held, contact a stone repair specialist today. 

Contact us for a free estimate 

Call or Text: (301) 512-5777

david@capitolstonecare.com

www.capitolstonecare.com

To purchase the high quality stone care products that our team recommends and uses everyday, visit www.mbstonecare.com and use promo code “capitolstone10” to receive a 10% discount at checkout.

If you’ve ever seen a beautiful home renovation, especially in luxurious areas like Great Falls, McLean, Potomac, Chevy Chase, or Bethesda, they all tend to have a few things in common. Among these things, the two that standout the most are beautiful stone floors and kitchen countertops. If you’re a busy D.C. area professional that’s worked hard to earn a luxurious living space and commonly has guests over, it’s likely that you care about the appearance of your home – who would blame you for that? 

Like all great and heavily used things, stone countertops and floors in beautiful home renovations and constructions take impact and will quickly show wear and tear. Before we dive into this article, if your formerly beautiful stone floors and countertops are already damaged and that’s why you’re here, go ahead contact our expert Bethesda team today for assistance. Once your stone surface is restored, this article will serve you with a few tips to make our work last.
Whether you’re planning to restore a damaged stone surface or already have, our team of experts has assembled the following maintenance tips to ensure your beautiful stone surfaces stay shining. 

Tip 1: Avoid using common cleaners on the stone.

Whether your stone countertop is granite, marble, limestone, travertine, terrazzo, or any other type of stone, using common household cleaners on your stone surface is never the right move. While the cleaner may remove the mess, it will damage the polish and sealant on the stone, leaving an ugly dull mark on the surface of your floor or counter.
You should instead use a drop of neutral pH dish soap on a microfiber cloth with some water to ensure that your countertop does not lose its sheen. Dish soap is very gentle and safe to use for cleaning countertops.

Tip 2: Avoid direct contact with pans, knives, appliances, and rough objects.

While it may be convenient to cut things on paper plates, put pans on your countertop, and leave your appliances directly on the stone, these practices can quickly lead to damage.
You should avoid this by always using cutting boards that are soft on your counter, placing rubber mats under appliances when possible, and always keeping pans off the surface of your countertop. While these practices may be tedious, they will go a long way in preventing damage to your stone countertop overtime.

Tip 3: Ask guests to remove shoes and prepare when moving furniture items over stone floors.

If you have a shiny stone floor in the entryway of your home, we highly advise having guests remove their shoes when possible.
In addition, moving furniture items through the area place your stone floor at the risk of damage. When possible, use alternative entryways to move furniture throughout the home or ask your preferred moving company of choice to use floor coverings. If you’re moving furniture within our service area of D.C., Montgomery County, or Virginia, we strongly recommend MoCo Moving because they always use floor coverings and are local to North Bethesda, Maryland.

By implementing these safety precautions and practices into the maintenance routine for your home, you can preserve the life of your brand new or freshly restored stone countertops and floors.

Are you preparing to restore your damaged or aged stone countertops and floors?

Our team is the trusted choice of busy DMV area professionals for stone floor and countertop restoration of marble, granite, quartz, terrazzo, limestone, and more!

Contact us today for a free estimate.

Call or Text: (301) 512-5777

david@capitolstonecare.com

www.capitolstonecare.com

When Capitol Stone Care was contacted to assist with the floor at 2301 Cathedral Ave NW, the floor in the lobby of the apartment building was dull, scratched, and scuffed. Given that it’s an apartment building and the lobby takes a high volume of foot traffic, this was no surprise to our team.

Despite having a special loading dock and route for furniture and items to take in the building, human activity had worn the floor down in this picturesque lobby. In turn, Capitol Stone Care was called in to professionally restore the shine to this floor.

High foot traffic stone floors in lobbies, shopping malls, stores, government buildings, and public areas will experience repeated impact from foot traffic and various items. In turn, this high level of impact results in damage over time.

For this reason, the poor condition of the floor in the lobby at 2301 Cathedral Ave NW wasn’t a unique issue. If your building or business’ stone floor is damaged, you aren’t alone either. It’s very common and will occur in any high foot traffic area over time! In our experience, here are three of the most common flaws seen with aged and damaged stone floors in busy lobbies and how we fix them.

Flaw 1: Dull floors.

Over time, stone floors tend to lose their natural glossy coat. As a result, they won’t really shine or sparkle like they once did. A healthy stone floor should sparkle and shine without any dull patches and cast a beautiful reflection.

At Capitol Stone Care, our team solves this issue by using top quality polish and sealant. After receiving treatment from our team, your floor will sparkle like it did when first installed. 

Flaw 2: Scratches.

Scratches on stone floors are inevitable as time goes on. Whether it be shoes, dog/pet paws, or something being moved through the lobby, floors will always take impact and damage, leaving scuffs and scratches.

Not only do these scratches look poor aesthetically, but they also contribute to a loss of the original sheen in your floor. At Capitol Stone Care, our team is able to fix this issue through our expert honing process, where we smooth the scratches out of your floor using top quality, high grit diamond pads.

Flaw 3: Dents, chips and cracks.

Another common and seemingly more frightening issue is chips and cracks within your stone floor. This will commonly occur on the ends of stairs due to furniture being moved and furniture dollies being used. Unfortunately, chips and cracks in your floor can be a serious eye sore. Luckily, Capitol Stone Care offers an additional epoxy repair service to fill and correct any chips and cracks in your floor. 

All in all, these are some commonly encountered flaws in aged and damaged stone floors. Although commonly encountered, each flaw has a specific solution and can be remediated by a qualified professional. 

Do you have an aged or damaged stone floor in a high foot traffic area?

Don’t worry, it can still be restored! Whether your floor is travertine, marble, terrazzo, or another type of stone, our expert team is more than glad to help.

Contact us for a free estimate.

Call or Text: (301) 512-5777

david@capitolstonecare.com

www.capitolstonecare.com

To purchase the high quality stone care products that our team recommends and uses everyday, visit www.mbstonecare.com (link in bio) and use promo code “capitolstonecare10” to receive a 10% discount at checkout.

Overtime, any beautiful countertop will take heavy wear and see a decline in beauty and condition. Whether you’re cooking on your countertop, eating on it, or just using it to store an old stack of paper or some supplies, you’re going to end up with scratches, cup rings, stains, and a loss of the sheen your counter had when originally installed. On occasion, you may even have an appliance scratch or scuff your countertop directly and cause damage that can be frustrating to deal with. 

Regardless of your situation, our team is glad to help restore your countertop and save you from spending money on disposal costs, buying a new countertop, and installation costs, which can add up to thousands of dollars combined. Today we will break down our high quality process to ensure your countertop looks as good as new when our team of experts is done. Here are the 4 precise steps our team follows to restore a marble countertop:

1. Preparation

Our team values protecting your home throughout the renovation process above all else. The preparation process includes protecting all floors, rooms, walls, and furniture around the working area with plastic secured by painters tape. 

We will work to comprehensively cover the area and never rush this step in the process, as it will be essential to preventing any damage from occurring.

2. Honing

Once the work area is fully protected, our team will begin honing the counter with our state of the art handheld machines to ensure a smooth, even finish. Once we have completed the Honing process for the general surface, we use a special pad and attachment to hone all of the tighter, smaller areas that our larger tool may have missed. 

This attention to detail on behalf of our crew is what sets Capitol Stone Care apart. Even where it may be easy to cut corners, our team refuses to do so and promises to deliver beauty back to every corner of your counter. 

This step of the process will remove any etch marks, scratches, and stains, setting the surface up for polishing.

3. Polishing

The marble is then polished using our signature process, which involves honing and polishing your countertop. At the end of our polishing process, your marble countertop is going to have its fresh original sheen again. 

Once the countertop has been polished, it’s ready for a fresh seal to close out the process and preserve its newly restored beauty. 

4. Sealing

The final step of the process is adding our signature seal to your countertop. This seal will add an extra layer of protection and preserve the fresh sheen on your marble countertop, keeping it smooth as long as possible.

When working with damaged marble, this process never fails our team in restoring the classic feel to old countertops.

Are you getting ready to repair a damaged or used countertop? Whether your countertop is travertine, limestone, marble, granite, terrazzo, or another type of stone, we have the experience to fix it all. Save yourself the money and avoid replacing your favorite counter by investing in a high quality restoration!

Our crew offers full service polishing, repair, and refinishing all throughout the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area on any type of stone surface needed. 

We proudly service homeowners, businesses, and government entities with a 100% satisfaction rate on google.

Are you looking for stone countertop or floor repair?

Contact us for a free estimate today.

(301) 512-5777
david@capitolstonecare.com

www.capitolstonecare.com

When refinishing an aged travertine floor, our team commonly notices similar flaws that need to be addressed. Many of these flaws come directly from age, such as damaged grout, a worn down finish, and small “holes” or dents in the floor that create the illusion of craters in the tile. Occasionally, we see more directly caused instances of damage, such as large cracks, scratches, or holes in the floor caused by heavy furniture being moved through the house. If you find yourself in this situation, don’t worry! Our team has the experience and knowledge to bring your favorite Travertine Floor back to life. With enough time and foot traffic, any floor will become dull, scratched, and dirty.

These are the 4 precise steps our team follows to restore a Travertine floor:

1. Protection

Our team values protecting your home throughout the renovation process above all else. The preparation process includes protecting all rooms, walls, and furniture around the working area with plastic secured by painters tape. During this stage, any furniture on your floor will be moved as well by our crew if included within your contract.

2. Honing 

Once the work area is fully protected, our crew will begin honing the area with our top of the line floor machines and solution. Once the Honing process is complete, the small “holes” or dents discussed in the opening paragraph of this article will be further exposed in the travertine. To fill these holes, our team uses a high level of care and attention to detail, grouting every dent in your floor with a squeegee to ensure a smooth application and finish. We then allow the grout to cure overnight and hone the floor again with state of the art high grit diamond pads and water to achieve a seamless, level surface. This is one of the most important steps in the process for getting rid of the physical damage in your floor itself, while the natural shine will be restored in the next step.

If you choose to upgrade to our seamless floor service, our team will also fully remove and replace the epoxy grouting between your tiles during this part of the process. Once the grouting is cured, we will then hone the grouting and floor down to a smooth and even level, leaving you with a beautiful seamless finish.

3. Polishing

The travertine is then polished using our special three step D.I.P. process, which involves honing and polishing your floor. At the end of the polishing process, your travertine floor is going to be shining and almost back to its original form. The floor is now ready for a fresh seal to close out the process. 

4. Sealing

The final step of the process is adding our fresh, signature seal to your floor. This seal will add an extra layer of protection and the final shine on your Travertine surface, restoring it back to the way it was as new. 

Getting ready to repair a stone floor, countertop, or surface? Whether your surface is Travertine, Limestone, Marble, Granite, Terrazzo, or another type of stone, we have the experience to fix it.

Our crew offers full service polishing, repair, and refinishing all throughout the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area on any type of stone needed. We proudly service homeowners, businesses, and public entities with a 100% satisfaction rate on google.

Contact us for a free estimate today!

Call or Text: (301) 512-5777
david@capitolstonecare.com

www.capitolstonecare.com