Meeting Stringent Prerequisites for Sealing Travertine

Nicknamed the “Schu,” the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center in Dayton, OH, is home to the Dayton Opera and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra as well as the latest Broadway shows. At the heart of the performance center lies the Wintergarden, which is set back in a convex sweep from the street. The spectacular glass atrium accommodates more than 1,000 people and provides a beautiful backdrop for events with its magnificent grove of palm trees. To protect the 15,000 square feet of Roman travertine flooring that flows throughout the atrium, Stain-proof™from Dry-Treat of St. Leonards, Australia, was applied to seal the stone. The product was distributed by Stone Design and professionally applied by Pro Top Design of Eaton, OH.

The travertine, which was employed for curved balconies and stairways throughout the main lobby, restaurant forecourt and ticket office, combines beauty and durability. As the Schuster building is a high-traffic area, it was of particular importance that the sealer did not change the slip resistance of the floor. The specially engineered sealing molecules in Stain-Proof are more than 300 times smaller than some impregnators, and they penetrate deep into the pore structure instead of sitting on the surface, so they do not significantly affect the slip resistance of the surface, according to Dry-Treat.

In addition to not affecting the slip resistance of the stone, there were a number of other stringent prerequisites for choosing the sealer for this project. They included:

• Longevity - so regular costly and disruptive re-application is not required

• Sealed surfaces should be easier to maintain and clean - withstanding commercial cleaning processes and alkaline cleaning chemicals

• Superior water and oil stain repellency

• The look and finish of the surfaces had to be retained

Using a sealer with the longest possible lifespan was to minimize disruptions to daily business resulting from resealing. Stain-Proof bonds permanently inside the pores by a process of chemical reaction - actually becoming part of the molecular structure of the treated tile. As a result, Dry-Treat Stain-Proof does not have to be re-applied regularly.

Stain-Proof also offered long-term savings in maintenance costs. Because the sealer bonds permanently deep inside the pores, Dry-Treat reports that it is not damaged by standard commercial cleaning techniques or heavy-duty alkaline cleaners. Expensive proprietary cleaning chemicals and special complex cleaning techniques are not necessary to preserve the sealer.