Who F'n wax'ed the marble?

[Jim Nazarian]

Was supposed to be easy 1000 sqft of re polish until I noticed the wax, good thing I haven't given an estimate yet..stripper recommendations?

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Some people put ketchup on everything, and also "wax" all floors.

 

[Mikey P]

They all work Jim..

But you'll need to polish as you know

 

[clean image]

They all do not work...

Must test

Worse case you can razor entire floor and remove and regrout

BTW...that is an improper install, that's why grout is failing..

Butt install micro bevel

Plan on remove and regrout if she is wanting perfect grout.. Easy..

 

[Mikey P]

If it's VCT finish/wax the ACE Hardware brand or Zep will take it off but after looking on a larger screen just now, yeah that lippage is going to ruin your day.

 

[Jim Nazarian]

Homeowners are in their 80's, the floor has a few etch marks in the kitchen & they just want it "shiny again", they aren't aware of the improper install or lippage, the yellowed wax in the grout lines doesn't even bother them .

House is in Hidden Hills, Kardashians & other whacky celebrities & athletes galore.

 

[Mikey P]

Well...



Just slop some more down than.

You wont got to hell, I promise.

 

[Mikey P]

Jim and I are going to do a Podcast on how to make millions backing out hard surfaces soon


@Jim Pemberton

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Jim and I are going to do a Podcast on how to make millions backing out hard surfaces soon

I used to spend most of my day helping people with upholstery cleaning problems. Now its area rugs and ceramic/stone floors....and 90% of the ceramic/stone problems are related to VCT floor finish issues.

 

[Mikey P]

Hard Surface has it's Pork Chops too.


A shiny reflection can make the Chop disappear quicker than a herd of maggots.

 

[Jim Nazarian]

I used to spend most of my day helping people with upholstery cleaning problems. Now its area rugs and ceramic/stone floors....and 90% of the ceramic/stone problems are related to VCT floor finish issues.

Its pretty rare I encounter wax jobs, most homeowners are educated & know better but in this case the "marble contractor" waxed & ran 5 years ago & these people didn't know wax wasn't acceptable until yesterday.

Wax in itself isn't the problem, but adding extra labor to an already expensive project, many homeowners freak.

This job is 1000 sqft, minimum 8 step process from stripping wax-repolish-seal, so...
1000 x 8 x .50¢=$4000 (No way .50 in Hidden Hills!)
1000 x 8 x .75¢= $6000
1000 x 8 x .95¢=$7600

What would you charge Mike?

 

[Mikey P]

Depends, what are the 8 steps?

 

[Jim Nazarian]

Strip wax 2x
Polish 400, 600, 800, 1500, 3000
Seal
(no lippage removal)

This isn't some random customer asking for a bid, the job is mine, my Great Uncles & the homeowners Uncles were carpet wholesalers in Los Angeles back in the 1950-1970's...Old country Armenians in the carpet biz thing.

 

[Mikey P]

How are you going to prevent picture framing?

 

[Mikey P]

7 to 8k

Or hack it out and strip, 400, 800 and EMP For 5000

 

[Jim Nazarian]

I started this thread to share the dilemma, I can't do a hack job for these folks & I can't charge $10k for full lippage removal...to top it off wife thinks everything can be done in a day or two

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Do it right...

 

[Jim Nazarian]

Husband is a Pharmacist, the man is 83 & loves to work & & scared to retire, I think I will stop in on Monday & tell him the floors aren't that bad & he shouldn't waist $10k on them, instead they should take a cruise or go to to a fancy spa in Arizona or something.

 

[clean image]

We could do that job in day. We do all the time. However, this what we do almost everyday.

I still question if there is still a topical...because topical a dont etch.
It's hard to tell from your pics..
The grout lines are not shinny...could be a bad angle


And if topical was applied, most of it probably would be worn off in hi traffic lanes. (Why it etched in traffic lanes?) depending on teaffic and care

Did you test it?

I guess he dosnt care about the grout?

 

[Jim Nazarian]

Floor is 25 years old so over the years spills in front of the fridge, sink & oven resulted in about 50 small etch spots, that they have now covered with rugs, there is one large etch spot in the middle of the room.

Wife said wax was applied about 5 years ago, I am guessing more like 8-10, I was able to scrape the wax out of the grout, kind of flakes off.

There wasn't a pantry or closet where I can test an area unfortunately

Husbands instructions to me was, wife is the boss of the house...do whatever she wants & make her happy.

 

[Old Coastie]

Jim, if price is an issue, then I'd suggest explaining his options and costs. But at 83, does he actually care about lippage and topical coatings?
The main arguments for refinishing are:
You need the money.
He has the desire.
His kids want the floor perfect.
They realize what it is all going to take.

The main arguments for topical:
He doesn't mind if purists object.
They could do other things with the money.
You don't mind giving them an informed choice.

If I refinished, it would be lippage all the way and go for the max result.
BUT, in this case I'd consider that (at their age) they are going to spill stuff and ruin the finish in ten seconds. My suggestion to them would be to let you maroon pad the floor and apply floor finish, then to call you when it looks a little worn so you can buff it up.

Boils down to what they want to do.

 

[Jim Nazarian]

I have never applied a topical so thats not an option.

Its been 5 days & I still haven't typed up an estimate, best solution for the homeowner & my conscience is for me to use MB-11 etch remover on a few of the larger spots & then just Money Pad the Kitchen & breakfast room & skip the hallways & large entry, I know all the negatives with Monkey Pads & we rarely use them but in this case the low cost, easy of use & hopefully minimum picture framing might be my only option. Homeowner will be very happy compared to spending $10k.

I will still provide the full $10k, strip, lippage removal, repoilsh bid just incase, my kids tuition is due Dec 1st .

 

[Lee Stockwell]

The price is the price.

Don't take it personally.

 

[Doug Rice]

Sorry, what is picture framing? I know I'm the only one here wondering.

 

[Old Coastie]

Doug, when one tile is set higher than its neighbor, there is a ledge, or "lippage."
If those edges are not leveled by heavy honing, the polishing discs have to jump the gap formed by the lippage and leave an unfinished zone right there below the lip. That unfinished bit looks like a partial 'frame' on the lower tile, hence the name.

 

[clean image]

Just strip , hone and polish. No need to grind unless big lips.

 

[SuperDave212]

We actually ran into a wax job where the people didn't want to pay to strip it...we compound polished over it and it came out pretty good...just saying u could try a test area..

 

[ted mcfadden]

This is an easy job to get done!

If this job is 1000 square feet, I could strip it refinish and regrout the entire floor for $7,500. This would take 5 days for three guys.

I would remove the lippage and polish it for $5000. This would take three days for three guys. Re-grouting would make it $7500.

I would strip it, refinish it with diamonds: likely 220, 400, 800 and 5X for $3,800 (on the high side). This would take two days for three guys. We would likely be able to restore the grout to pretty near like new condition. If a few lines needed replacing we would do that as a courtesy.

Here is an example of an 800 square foot floor stripped, refinished and polished in two days with two guys.

 

[Cleanworks]

This is an easy job to get done!

If this job is 1000 square feet, I could strip it refinish and regrout the entire floor for $7,500. This would take 5 days for three guys.

I would remove the lippage and polish it for $5000. This would take three days for three guys. Re-grouting would make it $7500.

I would strip it, refinish it with diamonds: likely 220, 400, 800 and 5X for $3,800 (on the high side). This would take two days for three guys. We would likely be able to restore the grout to pretty near like new condition. If a few lines needed replacing we would do that as a courtesy.

Here is an example of an 800 square foot floor stripped, refinished and polished in two days with two guys.

What tools do you use for the edges and corners, like the stair corners.

 

[Wandslinger]

What tools do you use for the edges and corners, like the stair corners.

I would love to know as well