Marble is a glorious living finish. In our kitchen, he brought back to life my Black and Gold Italian Marble counters. After 30 years of cooking and eating meals and partying, the Marble was solid flat black surfaces that absorbed light and were full of even duller acid, water, and oil stains of various sizes and shapes. For a long time, I had convinced myself the marble looked “honed” with an antique well-worn look. But actually, it was more forlorn, colorless, unappreciated, neglected—dead.
As a professional interior designer, I had custom renovated our kitchen in my 1923 house. In those years, stone counter tops were just coming into vogue. I hunted down Black and Gold Italian Marble to match the fireplace faces in the rest of the house. I had to have it brought from Italy and it was very expensive. It has actual gold in its veins and easily cracks along those veins. Now, it was the last thing to be refurbished in this 30 year old perfect-for-this-house kitchen and it was to be the topping on the cake.
I had worked successfully with many contractors over the years in my work but tolerated them inside my own house. I saw a couple stone installers—“installers,” fabricators, not “refurbishers”—who did not hide their inexperience or lack of know how to exactly bring back” my marble. Frankly, no one was excited to do my marble counters. It was easier to install new stone I was told. Zig Oskwarek was recommended by one of the stone installers who knew Zig was special but did not really know how much. When I met Zig, I was so impressed with discussion of his projects and that he really had “refurbished” a lot of marble, not just granite or other stone. So, I verified my feelings and called his references. Wow! Woman in NYC with marble floors, baths, everywhere in her apartment, badly damaged by former contractors–a lawsuit was involved. To do the job, Zig LIVED at the woman’s apartment, while she travelled outside the country! He “righted” the whole thing. He was a god to this woman. That was it. Zig has a warm personality and I liked him immediately and so did my husband who is Polish also, like Zig.
Zig “facelifted” our old Marble with love and attention that highlighted its gorgeous veins of gold and white. Contrary to those lacking expertise, he convinced me it had to be highly polished as it was originally. It is the eye catching star of the room to impress guests. It is equal or better in design and patina to my hand made ebony and brass Italian Empire commode in the foyer. It is like furniture in the room. The mirrored shine reflects hand sanding so unique it is puzzling to stone installers who use mechanical means. All the stains, especially the whitish calcifications around the sink are magically gone. Zig also did a few repairs as possible, as they were delicate and tricky.
Our special, so very expensive (and rare today) Black and Gold Italian Marble lives and reigns again in our kitchen.
Zig is the nicest man in the world. He was a love to work with, very respectful and protective of our things, especially as he had to use other contractors to remove and re-install cabinet doors, etc. He was as neat and clean as possible in a very, very dirty type process. He followed through completely as promised from before our contract. He worked so painstakingly and lovingly with this material. It had turned out to be much harder and more difficult than anticipated–likely because it had set there as counter for 30+ years in solitary confinement, outside its living quarry context. So Zig had to put more time in to accomplish the goal and wasted more diamond discs than planned. Yet, he remained on course, all as agreed. But most awesome was how much he enjoyed working with the Marble, a true artistic and spiritual endeavor which as a designer, I adored sharing with him. And best, the Marble was ours!
Zig, the Stone Whisperer, is one of a kind, and as I have later run into others in my industry, found he is highly respected because he is accruing a reputation as being so special. Rozanne N.
The work that you accomplished at my client’s home could not have been better. The final polish is superb and has elicited nothing but praise. Thank you for your expertise. Peter O.
Stone and Tile Services did a phenomenal job. What a transformation – our tile floors are bright and look better than the day they were installed Nice people, exceptional service, quality and cleanliness. Ziggy and his team were wonderful.
Bette H. in CantonJuly 22, 2016
I am writing to thank you for the truly splendid job you did for Jocelyn and myself in restoring our limestone kitchen countertops. As you will recall they were in terrible shape – extensively pitted and irregular with no shine left. Installed over 15 years ago, the surface had become disturbingly difficult to keep clean – a function of the poor status of the surface. After having interviewed two other local tile restorers – both of whom said that it was not worth repairing – we put our trust in your advice and reputation. The results couldn’t have been better. You saved us a minimum of $10,000 – the cost to replace the countertops! It is also worth noting how extremely pleasant it was to work with you – always obliging our questions and schedule. We highly recommend you and your work to any and all.
David and Jocelyn in N. Falls Village, CTThe marble vanity countertop in my bathroom was dull from years of use and etched with stains from contact lens solutions and various cleansers. I had been told for years that the only solution was replacement. Then I heard about Ziggy. He did a fantastic job refurbishing and polishing the marble to its original gleaming and smooth surface. It now looks terrific.
I highly recommend Ziggy – he is very friendly, returned my phone calls and emails promptly, was efficient and neat, and did a truly superb job. I just wish I had heard about him years ago!
Jane in Glastonbury, CT - November 19, 2017They have completed two different jobs at my house. Their work is impeccable. The team is great, professional and the work area was clean.
I should mention again how amazing the quality of the work is!
Kathy L. in West Hartford, CT - December 13, 2017Ziggy impressed me immediately with his knowledge of stone and the different substances that might be on my floors. He clearly had a wealth of knowledge and knew what he was doing. After he did a test to determine what the residue on the floor was, he proceeded to strip it off. Ziggy took care of everything, painstakingly scrubbing areas that needed to be done by hand, and using floor machines for the rest. Because of his years of experience, he knew which products worked on different problems, and he had his own way of applying the products to produce the most efficient cleaning.
In just 4 days of work, Ziggy had stripped, cleaned and sealed my floors. They look great in my beautiful new kitchen! In the beginning, all I thought I needed was whiter grout lines… boy was I wrong! Now, the grout looks almost new and the slates have their color back which matches so much better with my gray lower cabinets.
Ziggy, thank you for your professionalism, enthusiasm towards your work, knowledge of all stone and grout, and expertise in using a myriad of products. I whole heartedly would recommend Ziggy to anyone who needs stone/tile cleaning!
Joan and Rich in Meriden, CT - January 17, 2018
Ziggy and Nick were simply the best.
Our countertops haven’t looked this good since we had them installed 17 years ago. We couldn’t be more pleased.
Rich and Dotty in Avon, CTZiggy and his team were great! They were very professional, clean and a pleasure to deal with. My tile shower needed some major help and I wasn’t sure it could be cleaned. It came out beautiful, like a brand new shower. I couldn’t have been happier! I would highly recommend Ziggy and the Stone and Tile Services crew.
Jen from Millerton, NYMy limestone kitchen counters were a mess. The soft stone is beautiful but also very fragile. After 20 years of use we were looking at pits, water marks and chips. Replacement seemed the only option.
Then I met Ziggy. His website showed many amazing projects but I was sure mine would be hopeless. Wrong. He gave me an honest evaluation and explained his process in detail. The final result was beyond my expectations. My counters look like they were newly installed. His team was extremely professional. They are experts in what they do. And I also felt confident in leaving the house in their hands while they completed their work. (unusual to say the least).
Ziggy answered all questions along the way, returned all my phone calls quickly and made the whole process painless. He left me wishing I had more projects to hand over to this exceptional team.
Judith B. from Farmington, CT - April 15, 2021When building our home in 2002 we loved the look of stone floors for the bathrooms. After nearly 20 years the stone really started to show wear and ground in dirt. Ziggy came highly recommended. After having additional estimates and assessments, we decided to put our trust in Ziggy.
Ziggy and his team, Nick and Matt, were professional, considerate, extremely polite in addition to providing an amazing transformation on our floors and countertops. The floors look as they did on the initial installation. We couldn’t be more pleased.
Thank you Ziggy, Nick and Matt for helping us with our project.
Sally B. from Colebrook, CT - June 11, 2021Zig’s Stone & Tile Services is the best at what it does while also providing an unparalleled customer experience. Last week, we had severe staining on our granite terraces caused by runoff from a recently-applied, oil-based roof sealant. Recognizing that with the passage of time the staining would be absorbed more deeply—and permanently—into the stone, Ziggy re-cast his schedule.
Within a couple of days of my initial call, he arrived at our house with his two outstanding colleagues, Nick and Matt, as well as an arsenal of sophisticated cleaning equipment. The fact that we live almost two hours away did not prevent the men from arriving here at 8:15 a.m., nor did the near-100 degree heat prevent them from working non-stop in the direct sun for two full days on a hot terrace.
As you can see from the attached before-and-after picture of the worst stain (4′ wide x 17′ long), Ziggy, Nick and Matt are miracle workers. Their professionalism, courteous and calm demeanors, exceptional knowledge of stone care, and unwavering commitment to do everything possible to remove the staining were a potent and most welcome combination of qualities.
On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, Ziggy, Nick and Matt each earned a full 10 stars, which is particularly meaningful given the challenges around this particular project. If you want the best stone restoration work, then use the best stone restoration company: Zig’s Stone & Tile Services.
Jim D. from New Canaan, CT - July 2, 2021Ziggy and his crew are the best!! From the very first call, Ziggy was very professional, polite and easy to deal with.
I had Ziggy refinish my marble island and his team did an amazing job, It looked as good, if not better than the day it was installed!! They were very punctual, showing up exactly when they said they would. They worked on the island all day and you would never know they were there.
They also did a great job cleaning up before they left. I would have to say that this was one of the best experiences I have had with someone doing work in my home, and I would not hesitate to recommend Ziggy and his crew to anyone needing stone work done. He is a professional who truly cares about the work he does and the customer experience. Qualities that are hard to find these days ………. call Ziggy, you won’t be sorry.
Sue from Glastonbury, CT - July 15, 2021