Marble looks great until it’s cracked, chipped, stained or discoloured. If you have a marble column, benchtop or floor and it doesn’t look as good as at the time of installation, you have the option of either replacing it completely or restoring it. Unfortunately, both these options cost money. Therefore, this blog post is focused on helping you decide which of these options is best for you based on your particular situation.
What Is Marble Restoration?
Marble restoration is the process of repairing a piece of marble that has cracks, chips, stains or general signs of wear and tear. In this process, a professional technician uses mechanical abrasion techniques to remove the stains, scratches, cracks or chips. They use the diamond grinding process to remove the layer that contains the stains or chips. Once the damage has been removed, the technician carefully applies polish to make the marble shine and restore its natural looks.
What Is Marble Replacement?
As the name implies, this is the process of removing a damaged piece of marble and replacing it with a similar-sized one. Generally speaking, marble replacement makes sense only when you have tried the restoration process and the results are not to your liking. More often than not, people replace marble if they are not satisfied with a particular design after moving to a new home. Sometimes, marble replacement is preferred at the time of renovation to give a new look to the part of the house being renovated.
Pros and Cons of Marble Restoration
If the marble has become stained or chipped, it is always recommended to engage the services of a professional stone restorer to try and restore the natural stone to its original look. Professional technicians use a variety of techniques to get rid of all the blemishes. Generally, this is achieved by diamond grinding as mentioned above. Here’s a closer look at the pros & cons of marble restoration:
Pros
- It is much cheaper compared to marble replacement
- It takes much less time as compared to replacing a whole slab of marble
- It helps in retaining the original style and design of the marble flooring or countertop
Cons
- It isn’t always successful, especially when the stains/cracks are deep
- It may quickly get expensive, especially when the area to be restored is large
Pros and Cons of Marble Replacement
As explained earlier, this is the process of replacing the marble tile with a completely new piece. It takes a lot more time compared to marble restoration and it is also much more expensive. Sometimes, you have no choice but to replace the marble as the damaged piece of marble may be beyond restoration. Here’s a closer look at the advantages and limitations of marble replacement:
Pros
- It may help in restoring the original looks
- It may give a completely new lease of life to the space where the marble is being replaced
Cons
- You may not always find the right colour, design, style or shade
- It is much more expensive compared to marble restoration
- It is going to take much longer compared to restoring the existing marble tile
- You won’t be able to use the place where the marble tiles have been replaced for a couple of weeks
Final Thoughts: Which One to Choose?
When it comes to choosing between marble restoration and marble replacement, there are times when you have no choice but to replace the damaged piece of marble that is beyond restoration. However, replacement is a much more expensive option and it takes a lot longer compared to restoration. Also, you won’t always be able to find a piece that exactly matches the style, shade or colour of the rest of the design. The vendor might force you to buy a lot more stone than you need. In short, it can quickly get expensive.
On the other hand, marble restoration is much cheaper and takes a lot less time. Generally, it is always better to engage the services of a professional stone restorer to take a look at the damaged piece and give their opinion on whether they can restore it to its original glory. More often than not, experienced technicians have a lot of tricks up their sleeves and they may be able to work their magic to restore the natural stone to its original glory.
Quality Stone Restoration Services by the Stone Restorer
At The Stone Restorer, we have been serving the residents of Northern Rivers, Brisbane & Gold Coast for more than 3 decades. Our customers are surprised to know that our family has been involved in the stone business for over 5 centuries. We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee to our customers when it comes to natural stones or concrete. We have experienced technicians who use world-class technology and equipment for our restoration services. Also, we are fully insured and properly licensed.
Give us a call today at 0414 469 301 or ask us for a fast free quote on your stone restoration project.
