HouseTalk Guest - Wade from Cline's Natural Stone

Hello HouseTalk listeners!

Nice to see you here on the blogspot! For those of you who weren't able to listen, we missed you! You missed a great session as well and, of course, all the laughs and the little jokes and such, but this should be able to give you some of the practical knowledge anyhow.

First of all, for years you've called into HouseTalk for referrals for experts in certain areas. I've got great news for you. We've got specialists that we recommend in all areas. For example, now that the heat is high your a/c might be at the top of your mind. We've got two great air conditioning companies listed there: Howard Air and Day & Night Air. We've got OnSite Cleaning & Restoration...all kinds of specialty contractors. You can get there either through www.housetalkshow.com and click on Trade Partners or go directly to www.MyTradePartners.com and there you will find contractors who care.

This morning our guest was Wade Cline from Cline's Natural Stone in Phoenix. Phone 623-516-1516. www.clinesnaturalstone.com. Wade has a vast knowledge and lots of experience with tile in your home. Anything that you would like to know about tile, granite, marble, natural stone whether it be installation, upkeep and care...Wade can help with those questions.

Wade brought in a special deal for today's callers: For those who were calling in today, the person who asked the best question (according to Wade) got $100 ENTERTAINMENT bucks. These were given away by Cline's Natural stone. Aww shucks, you shouldn't have missed the show. See what happens when you're away? By the way, the winner was a caller from.....see the bottom.

Julie had called regarding a small bathroom remodel. Basically she just wants to put tile in around the tub. Wade told her that anyone who is contemplating a small remodel, even a small tub should also think about the long term and what they might like to do down the road. That way whatever you pick to do now you have done and then once the time comes to do another phase you can start in without redoing or having to "live with" a project that never flowed nicely together. Have a long term plan.

Tom asked about tiling his stairs and asked if there was any reason not to tile stairs. Wade said absolutely not, tiled stairs are very nice. You need to think of what kind of tile. For example, some tiles are more slick and would need grooves to keep it from being so slippery. Natural stone is generally better for steps because they have more grip.

By the way, Cline's Natural Stone has a beautiful show room. Wade's wife Lisa has done some marvelous ideas with glass inserts in stone. Go see what the options are. They're open 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. weekdays and until 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Have them put some things together. See what kinds of fun things you can do with that shower in your home!

Lucille in Surprise said they've been upgrading their home. She is a homemaker; she likes to make bread and do other baking, so she spends a lot of time in the kitchen. (Ahem, looks like HouseTalk will visit just before the timer buzzes next time the smell of bread is wafting through the air in Surprise.) Her question was in regards to what kind of countertop to put in. Wade suggested she be educated in all products and their benefits. You need to ask yourself what style works for you in the design of the house? What's your budget? Of course, he loves granite. There are other surfaces such as solid surfaces (Corian), which are very nice. Wade said that of 10 countertops, 2 of them might be corian. As a resale aspect too, granite adds more value. Lucille asked what the cons of granite are and his response was that the only drawback is the cost.

David from Phoenix had an area of travertine installed outside a few months ago. White residue powder coming up. What's the issue? Tends to come from the concrete beneath the stone. Water was maybe under the surface and as it evaporates, it carries the residue up. Probably coming from excessive water coming in underneath the slab. Until the water issue is stopped, the residue will keep coming.

Jim in Phoenix lives in an older home built in the 50s. Has flagstone floors throughout. Hasn't refinished it for some time, and it has worn nicely. However, he has owned the home for thirty years and it's time to refinish the surface. How? First question from Wade, what kind of finish/sealer was on there? Given the time it was built, it was probably a urethane sealer. What they'd recommend doing is to protect the walls, run an acrylic stripper, use a high-powered vacuum and go over it a few times. As an aside Jim also asked about termite treatment within the home, and Wade said for them to drill in through the grout joints so they don't break up the flagstone. If you have access the equipment, this can be done by homeowner. If not, call Cline's Natural Stone in Phoenix 623-516-1516. They are very experienced and happy to help with this.

Georgia in Phoenix has real marble in bathroom and on the kitchen counters. It has gotten to be real dingy. According to Wade, marble is quite easy to refinish and clean. Most color is probably from small scratches. It's actually quite easy to bring the shine right back. First you need to remove scratches and scuff marks. They grind with diamond and take off top layer and bring the polish right back. Then it will be sealed and look like new. It's cost effective in that it's much less than replacing.

I had to ask Wade a bit for our listeners' interest: How are granite countertops fabricated? Cut it to size you want. Laminate the front edge. Cut an inch and three quarters off the surface so the edge is a little thicker. Profile and polish. Granite comes with the top surface polished and nice. Your granite company will fit it and edge it. In order to prevent some health hazards in fabrication, the entire process has to be done wet or you get silica dust. Just as an aside, I told my people to go to 2058 W Rose Garden Lane if they're in the Phoenix area. You can look right into the fabrication shop. You can see countertop profiles as well as many of Lisa Cline's artistic taste in what to do with backsplashes and so on. It's a real experience.

Kathy called and said that she has terrible hard water stains in glass shower. What can be used for that? I told her that option is to treat the water - the salt-based potassium softeners work. There are systems that supposedly soften, but I have not had the experience with them to say how well they do or don't work. I'll have to get back to her with a type of product since CLR doesn't work. Kathy said she's send an email to me at warren@housetalkshow.com. See how nice it is? Even if I don't know the answer, I can find it for you!

Roger in Chandler asked about the silicone caulking between backsplash and countertop. Seems that it's always about six months to open up. Wade suggested that the silicone is probably opening due to it not having been cleaned and dried very, very well. If it's clean and dry, that silicone should not open up. The silicone should only be put in the crack, not sitting outside on the abutting surfaces. Water can work it's way under that.

Roger also asked about granite overlays for countertops and islands. I haven't looked into it enough to know if it's practical or not. Doesn't seem that the substrate would be sound enough. Wade said that a person is limited in color and type that can be overlayed. You're basically at the same cost to do an overlay as you would to go out and pick an entire granite. Wade himself is not a big fan of the granite overlay.

Barbara in Mesa asked about saving existing granite. Her sister-in-law used glass cleaner on the granite countertop over a period of time so it has become pitted. Can it be saved? It can probably be cleaned up and buffed somewhat and some of the shine brought back, but maybe not completely.

Mike asked about cleaning slate in the entryway. Hasn't been cleaned in LONG time (he wouldn't say how long!) How can it be cleaned? Again Wade asked about the finish. If it has a sheen, it's probably a topical finish. Beware of using any chemicals on it. Mike can probably go in with a strong, neutral pH cleaner found in the tile section of your stores. Clean it up, dry it up well and then finish.

Mike also asked a question about what kind of block to use for a climbing wall at their church. (Ahaa...good question again...might even be in the lead for the winner of the 100 Entertainment Bucks!) We had to go to the break to think about this one for a couple minutes... Natural stone when it's done to a veneer situation and attached to a wall is not necessarily strong enough to be climbed on and pulled on. Should do something that can be fastened directly to the wall. Wade said he has seen where they put rebar and then cover it with faux stone to make it appear like a stone, but still be safe. They'll have to check more into this one.

Wade took a few moments to just say that people want to do things to bathrooms and kitchens. Cline is a big believer in people becoming educated in the products so that they can choose the product that is good for their lifestyle. People should know the pros and cons so they can know what works for them. Cline's Natural Stone tries to educate and help you find the best product for your dollar. "We're good at giving ideas, and ideas don't cost anything when you come to Cline's Natural Stone," said Wade.

Jim in Maricopa just recently bought a house with granite countertops. What's the best daily cleaner? Wade said soap and water and then rinsing with water works very, very well. If you're going to use Windex, use it sparingly.

Sally in Phoenix has saltillo tile. It's an older home built in 1978 and the tile has not been sealed in 18 years. What's the best way to seal, clean it and fix a large slab crack? The cracked tiles can be either fixed or filled in with a non-sanded grout, depending on the size of the crack. Most people like a slight finish on the saltillo because it keeps it easier to maintain. He recommends any type of an acidic tile cleaner to agressively clean it, following the directions closely and then extracting/sucking up the excess water with some sort of vacuum. Sometimes it's good to look at the cost of renting equipment vs. just hiring someone who has the equipment and knows how to do it easily and efficiently.

Ben in Phoenix called. He had cleaned his granite countertop and then shortly after noticed that it was cracked around the faucet. According to Wade, if granite is properly installed it's very difficult to crack it. The cleaner would not crack it (unless the cleaner stood on it!). Given the location of the cracks it probably occurred while drilling the holes for the faucet. Installer should go back out and take a look.

Dan in Phoenix. Has seen terrazzo floors in Puerto Rico and Europe, but hasn't noticed them in the Phoenix area. Are they here? Yes, go to the Esplanade for one example. Dan asked then what exactly is terrazzo, is it hard to maintain, expensive? It's a product where the stone chips are put down with a resin and then ground down. It's a very durable floor, fairly expensive. It's a pretty laborious processs to install. They frame it in smaller spaces, grind it up flat, go on to the next area. Really good floor, but defnitely not a real popular floor.

Tim, head of a facility with an HOA in North Scottsdale. They are looking at putting in stone accents on some of the houses as a way to keep the community updated. What is the color durability of faux stone vs real stone? Is there a faux stone out there that can withstand and keep the color? Wade has a definite opinion...he believes in everything real! There is cost involved, yes. There is real stone available in a veneer. With many of those, the cost is so close it pays to use the real. In 25 years, who knows what the faux will look like, but the real stone will still look like real stone.

What a fun show with lots of good questions for Home Repair On The Air. We weren't able to take all the calls today, but tune in next Saturday for more!

Tune in also to hear which caller with the best question got the Entertainment Bucks!

I'll be back next Saturday. If questions come to your mind during the week, send me an email to me at warren@housetalkshow.com and I'll see if I can answer them on the air next week.

Until then, make it a great day and I'll be back next Saturday! And remember...I'm here at Trades Unlimited for all your home improvement needs!