Marble Polishing
Honed, semi-polished, or high-gloss finishes for floors, counters, stairs, and vanities.
Full marble restoration across Brossard, the South Shore & Montreal: etch removal, scratch repair, stain lift, re-honing & sealing. Free on-site estimate.
Polishing handles the shine. Restoration handles the damage. When marble has etch marks from citrus or cleaners, stains that won't lift, hairline cracks, chipped edges, or lippage from years of settling, no amount of polishing is going to put that stone back into its original state. The surface needs to be rebuilt, layer by layer.
I've spent more than 20 years on marble restoration in Montreal and across the South Shore, and most of the floors my clients tell me they're ready to tear out can be saved. A full marble restoration costs a fraction of replacement, keeps the original stone in the home, and usually wraps in days rather than weeks. This page walks through exactly what I do, the surfaces I cover, and what the project will look like from estimate to final seal.
Honed, semi-polished, or high-gloss finishes for floors, counters, stairs, and vanities.
Grinding, repair, polishing, and sealing for worn, etched, or stained marble surfaces.
Chips, cracks, etching, stains, and countertop edges repaired on site with matched resin.
Travertine, terrazzo, limestone, slate, and adjacent stone restored with the right process.
Restoration is a multi-stage recovery process, not a deeper cleaning. Four pillars anchor every project I run.
1. Damage repair. I fill cracks and chips with a colour-matched two-part resin system selected to match the stone's base tone and veining. Edges get rebuilt, missing fragments get replaced, and each fill is shaved flush before any further work.
2. Deep grinding. Using progressively finer industrial diamond abrasives, I remove etches, deep scratches, and level any lippage (the tile-edge unevenness that appears as settlement shifts grout lines over the years). This stage takes off a thin layer of stone to expose a fresh, flat surface.
3. Progressive honing and polishing. From coarse diamonds up through high-grit resin pads, I rebuild the finish stage by stage, either to a low-sheen honed look or a full high-gloss polish, depending on the stone and the aesthetic you want.
4. Premium sealing. A penetrating impregnator goes on last, sealing the pore structure against water, oil, and acids without changing the look of the finish. That seal is the reason a properly restored floor or counter stays protected for years, not months.
The difference between restoration and a surface cleaning is the difference between a rebuild and a wipe-down.
Every project follows the same protocol, scaled to the scope of the job.
Step 1: Diagnostic assessment. On the first visit I identify the stone (Carrara, Calacatta, Statuario, Crema Marfil, Emperador, Nero Marquina), map every area of damage, read the existing finish, and confirm your target finish (honed, semi-polished, or full gloss). I also check the substrate, because a moving subfloor or failed waterproofing has to be addressed before restoration begins. You receive a written, fixed-scope estimate within 24 hours.
Step 2: Crack and chip repair. Using a colour-matched epoxy or polyester resin, I fill every crack and rebuild chipped corners, matching base colour and veining. The resin cures, gets shaved flush, and the stone is prepared for grinding. The damage visibly disappears into the surrounding stone.
Step 3: Multi-stage diamond grinding and honing. Industrial diamond pads work from coarse to fine, removing etches, deep scratches, and lippage. Water suppression and HEPA-vacuum shrouds keep dust out of occupied homes. By the end of this stage the marble is flat, clean, and even in colour.
Step 4: Progressive polishing and penetrating seal. Resin-bond pads build the finish from a soft hone up to your target gloss. Once the finish is locked in, a premium penetrating sealer closes the stone's pores against stains and etching. You see crisp reflections on a polished floor, a soft even sheen on a honed one, and protection that lasts years.
Floors absorb the most damage. Foyers, lobbies, heritage hallways, kitchen floors, and open-plan main levels all take heavy foot traffic, winter salt, water at door thresholds, and thousands of small surface hits over time. The two patterns I see most often are localized traffic paths (dull runners where the shine has been walked off) and whole-floor lippage as settlement moves grout lines up or down.
I restore every common marble variety: Carrara, Calacatta, Statuario, Crema Marfil, Nero Marquina, and Emperador, plus the mixed-stone veneers common in 1990s and 2000s South Shore builds. For a Brossard kitchen floor, a Saint-Lambert foyer, or a heritage hallway in a Westmount brownstone, the approach is the same four-stage protocol, tuned to the stone and damage pattern.
Most residential floors finish in one to three days. Full heritage whole-house projects run three to five. Commercial lobbies are handled by phase and overnight so tenants aren't disrupted. For long-term results on any floor, I recommend a maintenance polish every 18 to 24 months (see my marble polishing service for that work).
Kitchen and vanity tops take the worst chemical abuse in the house. Citrus, wine, tomato sauce, coffee, and most household cleaners carry enough acid to etch a polished marble surface on contact, leaving dull rings and blotches. Hot pots leave heat marks, glassware leaves ghost stains, and corners chip under dropped cookware.
I restore countertops in place. No removal, no plumbing disconnect, no installer required. A full kitchen island typically finishes within one day, with dust containment around the workspace so the rest of the kitchen stays usable. The result: a counter that looks like the day it was installed, etch-free, chip-free, with a fresh penetrating seal that buys years of protection against the next citrus spill. If damage is localized to one chip or one stain, that's usually a better fit for marble repair.
Marble bathrooms in Montreal and on the South Shore face problems no kitchen ever sees: hard-water etching on shower walls, grout erosion around drains, soap-scum films that dull the polish, and hairline cracks from substrate shifting around shower pans. I see a lot of 1990s and 2000s marble vanities and shower surrounds in Brossard and Boucherville homes that have never been resealed since install.
I restore marble vanities, shower walls, shower floors, tub surrounds, and accent inlays. The process follows the same four stages, but the sealer changes: I use a mildew-resistant penetrating impregnator rated for continuous wet exposure, which also repels soap buildup and makes the shower easier to clean. For bathrooms with failed grout I coordinate grout replacement before the final seal, because a proper wet-room restoration has to include the joints, not just the stone.
The heritage housing stock of Greater Montreal includes some of the finest marble work in the country: Westmount brownstones, Outremont townhouses, Old Montreal institutional buildings, Mount Royal-area estates, and early 20th century civic interiors. On the South Shore, Saint-Lambert's older stock holds period marble that deserves the same care. Many of those floors, staircases, and fireplaces are original to the building and need conservation rather than a rebuild.
On heritage work I favour a non-invasive approach: lighter grinding where possible, sympathetic fills that respect original tool marks, and selective polishing that preserves the patina the owner wants to keep. I avoid aggressive resurfacing on hand-laid mosaic or period tile unless the damage truly requires it. The goal is the finish that suits the building's era, not a uniform modern gloss that erases its history.
Commercial marble restoration runs on different rules than a kitchen floor. Lobbies can't close, hotels can't disrupt guests, and restaurants lose revenue for every hour the floor is out of service. I schedule commercial work in phases, off-hours or overnight, with containment that keeps the rest of the building clean.
I work with property managers, building engineers, and general contractors across Montreal and the South Shore on hotel lobbies, bank branches, retail flagships, restaurant dining rooms, condo entrances, and office tower lobbies. I carry full commercial liability coverage, provide certificate-of-insurance letters on request, and supply written scopes that fit procurement workflows. For large-floor properties I can also set a maintenance cadence so the marble stays in polished condition year after year without another full restoration becoming necessary.
Replacement makes sense in two scenarios only: the substrate has failed (active cracking, moisture intrusion, structural movement), or the owner genuinely wants a different stone. In every other case, restoration is the better call.
Restoration typically costs 20 to 40 percent of a full replacement. It keeps the original stone, which matters on heritage marble, on Calacatta and Statuario (harder to source than ever), and on matched slab runs. It avoids the four to eight week disruption of demolition, subfloor work, new install, and grouting. And it delivers a finish equivalent to new, because the surface is genuinely rebuilt rather than patched. If you're not sure which route fits your project, book an estimate and I'll tell you honestly.
I serve the South Shore and Greater Montreal.
Outside these zones, reach out anyway. I travel for larger residential and commercial projects across the region.
A few recent restoration projects:
See more projects in the full portfolio.
Your marble doesn't have to be replaced. Most of the damage you're looking at right now can be restored, and I'd rather prove that on a free estimate than argue it on a website.
Book your restoration consultation and I'll visit the property, identify the stone, map the damage, and send a fixed scope and timeline within 24 hours.
Call me directly at 438-887-2356 or request an estimate online. For localized damage only, see marble repair. To restore travertine, terrazzo, limestone, slate, or secondary materials like granite and quartzite, see stone repair. For routine maintenance shine, see marble polishing.
Yes. Acid etching is a microscopic layer of stone that has been chemically burned. I remove it with diamond abrasives and rebuild the polished or honed finish underneath. Localized etches can sometimes be handled with a spot polish; deeper or widespread etching calls for a full-surface restoration so the finish stays uniform across the counter or floor. In most cases the surface ends up looking like the day it was installed.
Restoration typically runs 20 to 40 percent of a full replacement, once you factor in demolition, new stone, installer labour, substrate prep, and grouting. It's also dramatically less disruptive: days instead of weeks, with no plumbing or kitchen shutdown on countertop work. Send me photos and I can give you a rough range before the on-site estimate. Recent projects are in my portfolio.
No. I run water suppression and HEPA-vacuum dust shrouds on every grinding stage, and I build a physical containment barrier around the work area. Occupied homes stay clean. You can be in the kitchen while I work on the living-room floor, and the rest of the house stays dust-free.
Yes, in most cases. Surface water stains lift during grinding. Deep penetrating stains (oil, rust, organic matter) require a poultice treatment before grinding, sometimes in multiple passes over several days, to draw the stain back out of the stone's pore structure. I assess during the estimate and tell you honestly whether a particular stain can be fully lifted.
Yes. Heritage and antique marble restoration is a specialty of my workshop. I use a conservation-first approach: non-invasive where possible, sympathetic fills, and selective polishing that respects the stone's age. I've restored heritage marble across Westmount, Outremont, Old Montreal, and the older pockets of Saint-Lambert.
A standard residential room or foyer runs one to three days. A full main floor runs three to five. Whole-house heritage projects run five to seven. Commercial lobbies are scheduled by phase and typically run across three to six overnight sessions so the space stays open during the day. You get a fixed timeline in the written estimate.
I offer a free on-site estimate and usually respond within 24 hours.