…What is Travertine?

Simply put, travertine is a kind of stone.

In its natural state, it is a sedimentary rock, dense yet very porous, comprised of carbonate minerals such as aragonite and calcite, the residue left behind by the calcium bicarbonate in mineral water, which solidifies into calcium carbonate deposits.

When you look at unpolished, untreated or “raw” travertine you’ll see it’s very porous, almost as if soda fizz had been trapped in stone. It looks that way because that’s exactly what it is. Carbonated water permeated limestone, and then with a change of temperature and a release of carbon gas, the bubbles crystallized.

Since travertine is part of the limestone family (and marble is also a highly pressurized version of limestone converted to granite), sometimes travertine is referred to as Travertine Marble, although in fact not marble at all.

Where Does Travertine Come From?

Travertine deposits are primarily found in Tivoli, Italy.

Ancient Romans mined the region of Tivoli, then known as Tibur, and the stone was called lapis tiburtinus or tibur stone. Over time the name was altered to travertine. Italy monopolized the travertine market up until about 10 years ago, now travertine is exported from deposits in Afghanistan, Turkey, Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru.

Some Famous Buildings Made of Travertine

Travertine has been utilized in home construction since the middle ages, but the most famous edifice ever to be constructed almost entirely from travertine is the Roman Coliseum. The Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Paris, the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the lobby of the Willis Tower in Chicago, the first floor of the UCLA Medical Center (designed by the famous architect Welton Becket who uses travertine wall tiles in nearly all his designs)are examples of the extensive use of travertine in modern construction.

Travertine Tile Color

Pure travertine rock is naturally white. Due to organic contamination during its formation, it can take on a yellow or brown tone. Refined travertine tile comes in a variety of colors, from ivory white, tan, creamy beige and grey to rosy coral reds, auburn, deep chocolate, walnut and gold (which occurs when there is iron in the stone). Cutting travertine and laying travertine tile or wall tiles correctly can enhance the pronounced grain or veins so as to create a pattern that is unique for every area in which it is used.

Follow the series of articles here at Buy Travertine Tile which will include some lists of products, where to buy the best travertine, as well as helpful tips on travertine tile care and cleaning so it lasts a s long as the coliseum!

Let’s get started.

• Say you have the 18″ x 18″/ ½ inch thick travertine tile and a wet tile saw all ready.
• You’re ready to cut if you’ve marked your pattern, design or straight line where it needs to be cut.
• Now, you want to cut a few inches on one side and then turn the tile over and finish on the other side to avoid break-out on the edge, what in wood might be splinters or jagged edges.
• Pick a trowel. The best will be a 3/8″ x 3/8″.
• Now use medium bed Thinset, which is what holds the tile in place. Be careful not to use the wrong consistency of Thinset because you may get shrinkage which produces cracks.
• Use a wet sponge to wipe powder from the reverse side of the tiles. They must be clean.
• When the tiles are clean, add a small coat of mortar onto the flat side of the trowel. It sounds simple but this is a technique with a special name: burning or keying in.
• Now you’re ready to scrape away most of what you just put onto the tile. All that should remain is a film of mortar.
• Add more mortar and comb it with the teeth on your trowel. That’s what they’re for if you were wondering. Oh, and try to spread the mortar in only one direction.

You’re almost ready to place the tile….but just a sec.

• First take another tile to make slight groves in the opposite direction of how you placed the mortar. This just helps to avoid air pockets later.
• Now set the tile in place!

It’s important to keep your tiling area clean and to wipe away excess material because mortar when dry is very difficult to remove.

If you are following a pattern, which you should be, draw or use a chalk outline before mixing your mortar or placing a single tile. This s called dry lay.

Travertine tile installation is a long process and requires patience. But if you’ve just spent a small fortune on polished travertine tile don’t rush the process. Take it nice and slow.

Outdoor Patio: If it is a patio, the main concern will be to ensure the ground beneath the patio is level. Garden walkways and Paths: For garden paths, travertine tile installation is especially simple because the tiles may be placed directly into the leveled soil wherever you desire the path. You can create a path using the travertine tiles as stepping stones or you can join them together as a solid walkway or stagger them around flowerbeds and shrubbery to make your own unique pattern.

If however you are going to use travertine floor tile indoors for a kitchen or bathroom, and especially if it may be a travertine shower project you are wishing to create, or if it is a travertine wall tile project…..then it is much more difficult for a novice to do.

I can recommend using a professional tile layer for such complicated projects unless you are a semi-professional or a jack of all trades who knows a thing or two about mixing mortar, grouting, sealing and finishing tile surfaces. In bathrooms and kitchens there are so many corners and crevices and perhaps small steps or slanting drainage areas that must be calculated and taken into account when cutting travertine, that may cause you to waste a lot of tile. If you have undergone the considerable expense to buy travertine tile, why not do it right all the way and have professionals install them so there will be no leaks or cracks and everything will be level.

If you still want to give it a try then….okay…… after deciding on the exact tile you want and the general layout and design, and after you’ve measured and leveled the floor or ascertained that the wall is straight, here are the things you will need to do your own travertine tile installation:

Tools:

• A wet saw
• A pair of nippers
• A trowel with ½ inch teeth

Materials:

• Thinset – a glue for fixing tiles in place
• Sanded Grout –fills the gaps between tiles (comes in colors to match your tile)
• Sealer – use only a travertine specific sealer. *Aldon Sealers are highly recommended by many professionals.

*Aldon also carries a complete line of cleaners and after installation care products specific to travertine tile. Here are a few of the products: Insta-Clean, Maintain, Dust Whiz and Aldon Lifeguard which will add more gloss to sealed surfaces and prevent wear on previously sealed surfaces.

…I ordered a pallet of travertine floor tile from a dealer about 3 hours away from the house, in Malaga. When the order arrived, they telephoned me that I could pick it up. I took my husband’s SUV and off I went.

When I pulled up to the pick-up area, with the nice cherry red SUV, the men who worked at the tile center began to laugh.

I couldn’t see what was so funny…

They brought out the pallet of floor tiles on a small tractor with a little fork lift on the front. I took a look and sized up the number of boxes and the space in the back of the SUV. It will fit nicely! I thought to myself as I paid the balance of the order and began to untwine the tape that held the boxes together. The men continued laughing until finally one of them came up to me and said, “Señora, Are you planning to take the tiles in THAT vehicle?”

“Si,” I replied. “It won’t even be a quarter full!”

“But the weight of all the boxes on the palette is more than a ton. Not a figurative ton but a REAL TON OF WEIGHT. I think you’ll break the suspension on the vehicle before you even leave the warehouse!”

And he was right. I had not even considered the weight. It all looked so compact, hundreds of travertine tiles in their boxes bound with cellophane and heavy plastic straps, yet I could barely pick up one box.
So, with some help from the laughing men, we loaded a few boxes and I made several trips.

The moral to the story: have a truck deliver your travertine tile. Remember: it’s made of STONE!

*The Weight of Travertine Tile is about 1,950 lbs. per Pallet of 360 square feet.

Don’t forget to calculate that travertine tile, although made of stone, does break more than you think.

You should count on 2% -10% breakage for each shipment or order.

This percentage includes tiles with hairline cracks, chipped edges and scratched surfaces. Don’t despair. Partially broken, cracked or scratched travertine flooring can still be used since cutting travertine tiles will be required to fit corners, crevices or odd shaped spaces that would otherwise mean cutting a whole tile.

Travertine Tile Uses

Travertine is used primarily in residential homes for floor tile, but also for cladding on buildings, bathroom showers, kitchen backsplashes and countertops, indoor and outdoor walls, paving patios and making garden paths. It’s a versatile tile!