Travertine Tiles
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Have you been considering travertine as a remodeling option? If not, you might want to put it on your list. It's been used for thousands of years but not many people are as familiar with it as they should be. Travertine is in the marble family and it's incredibly durable -- in fact, the Coliseum in Rome has travertine as part of its building materials.It's great for use in flooring and as a wall tile. It has a hard, smooth finish with a porous surface. It's so durable it can be used not only in residential indoor settings but is perfect for commercial applications and even outdoor use. Travertine has an old world look caused by creamy color in all the pores on the surface. The pores are caused by gases escaping as the travertine is formed in underground springs and rivers (usually in and around Italy and Turkey.)
Many have been using travertine as a complete flooring system in living spaces, such as family rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and even as outdoor patios. It's also being used as tiles for bathroom walls and showers. It can also be applied as a kitchen backsplash.
Keep in mind that, like most natural stones, it requires an aggregate sealer to protect against stains and spillage. Also, there can be big color variances for you batch because of the varying degree of mineral deposits in the stone material. And travertine is not inexpensive. Finally, travertine can scratch easily. Despite these disadvantages, it's a very rich and beautiful tile material that will last a very long time in your bathroom or kitchen... and it could even increase your homes value.
If you're going to go with travertine tiles in your home, do not use polished travertine on the floors. Using honed travertine is the best option to avoid scratches. And, the polished material would be too slippery for areas of heavy traffic.To save time, post your travertine project with us. You'll get calls directly from tile installers instead of calling someone at random from the yellow pages. And, as always, it's free to find a local travertine tile company when you're ready to remodel your kitchen or bathroom.
