Travertine Tile Source

Thinking about purchasing travertine tile for your tiling project? Travertine is great to work with as it can be used indoors or out in a variety of ways. Some of the uses inside the home include floors, walls, countertops and even showers. Outside you might want to make walk paths, fireplace facings or even use it on the walls for a facing to set your home apart from others. The Roman Coliseum was made with this tile so need I say more!

Some of the reasons for choosing travertine tile are the various colors that you can choose from as well as a variety of finishes. The colors range from off-white to a red with brown undertones so you can match it to any decor. The surface finishes include matte, polished, tumbled and brushed. A matte finish leaves the most level surface with a low/matte sheen while the polished is also one of the more level finishes but with nice bit of shine to it; the brushed finish combines the need for a flat surface with a texture for character and the tumbled works great in larger areas with a lot of light as it has a textured flat finish so you don’t have the glare of a polished stone.

Another thing that makes it a great tile for not only professional installers, but homeowners as well, is that it is one of the easier tiles to cut for your angles and shapes.

Maintenance of your tile does require that you clean up spills right away as the tile is more porous then marble or granite and that you not use citrus or acidic based cleaning products, but the little bit of work is more than outweighed by the beauty of durability of the tile. One thing to remember is you may want to choose a more polished finish for areas that are frequently exposed to water or other liquids such as showers or countertops.

Now we get to the things you will need to complete your project and the actual installation:

• Tile (allow for a few extra for cut pieces and/or accidental breakage)
• Cement Backerboard (for floors and wet locations)
• Tile Saw
• Spacers
• Thin-Set Mortar
• Grout
• Tile Sealer
• Notched trowel
• Sponge

Here is a basic overview of the travertine tile installation process:

To begin your flooring project remove the existing floor covering and install cement backerboard; then using thin-set mortar place the tiles on a small area at a time. (Remember it is always best to measure twice and cut once) Once you have laid the floor and it is time to grout it is recommended that you pre-seal the tiles before grouting to prevent staining and seal again after the project is completed.