Sal Banchitta’s hands-on knowledge and expertise of natural stone have earned him the respect of stone workers, homeowners and colleagues, as well as his competitors. Banchitta has a degree in geology from Hunter College in New York City and he studied restoration and protection of stone as an apprentice to Italian master stone workers in Italy. He is currently manufacturing a full range of his own branded line of Simple Stone Care products for the care, maintenance, restoration and protection of natural stone. It is not uncommon to find Banchitta in the field consulting with building owners, maintenance crews in Manhattan or in a home advising his clients on how to identify and properly remove stains, efflorescence, etching and other issues using his own products engineered specifically for this purpose.
Because of its structural integrity and its diversity of color and texture, natural stone has been popular as a building material for centuries. To understand the natural attributes of stone, it is important to have some understanding of stone’s geological background.
