Greetings;
We would like to put travertine tiles on our bathroom floor, and we
have the following questions:

- How strong is it? (It is, after all, full of holes....)
- Should we fill the holes? With what?
- How slippery is it?
- Are there different qualities (grades) of travertine? How to
judge?
- Would travertine be a good candidate for electric radiant heating?
- Any other particulars that we should be aware of?

TIA

LD

- How strong is it? (It is, after all, full of holes....)
- Should we fill the holes? With what?
- How slippery is it?
- Are there different qualities (grades) of travertine? How to
judge?
- Would travertine be a good candidate for electric radiant heating?
- Any other particulars that we should be aware of?

Not very strong, has to be laid by an expert for full support, to prevent
cracking. Porous, attracts mould, soft, scratches easily. Basically a
calcite/gypsum hot spring or cave deposit. I would suggest another material
for areas that get wet. Travertine can be a beautiful floor, but would
rather see it in hallways or away from heavy traffic and moisture.
Have you considered cork? Not a good conductor, for radiant heating, but
very good for the warm springy feel under bare feet.
If you go with stone or tile, marble is a bit more durable than travertine,
and things like granite and gneiss are super hard and waterproof.

"Roger" wrote in message news:PmcUb.175959$5V2.876709@attbi_s53...

Have you considered cork? Not a good conductor, for radiant heating, but
very good for the warm springy feel under bare feet.

Cork, mmh? That's worth considering....

How would cork compare to ceramic tile, in terms of durability?
Maintainance? Would our pet (a husky) damage it? Would a cork floor
require an underlayment ? If so, what type? Since cork is a natural
insulator, should we forget about radiant heating and revert back to
forced air (which is what we currently have)?

TIA

LD

Hallo everybody,

Roger schrieb:
- How strong is it? (It is, after all, full of holes....)
- Should we fill the holes? With what?
- How slippery is it?
- Are there different qualities (grades) of travertine? How to
judge?
- Would travertine be a good candidate for electric radiant heating?
- Any other particulars that we should be aware of?


Not very strong, has to be laid by an expert for full support, to prevent
cracking. Porous, attracts mould, soft, scratches easily. Basically a
calcite/gypsum hot spring or cave deposit. I would suggest another material
for areas that get wet. Travertine can be a beautiful floor, but would
rather see it in hallways or away from heavy traffic and moisture.
Have you considered cork? Not a good conductor, for radiant heating, but
very good for the warm springy feel under bare feet.
If you go with stone or tile, marble is a bit more durable than travertine,
and things like granite and gneiss are super hard and waterproof.



We choose tiles in "cream" for our house, "Feinsteinzeug" from Cotto
D´Este (www.cottodeste.it). The tiles are calibrated, which means they
are cut again after burning for exact fitting. You can place them with
almost no space between the rows, so it looks similar to real stonefloors.
We are very happy with that decision.

Excuse pidging-english

Karin

LD writes:

- How strong is it? (It is, after all, full of holes....)

Very soft.

- How slippery is it?

Look at the CF spec. No CF spec? Cheap junk.

- Are there different qualities (grades) of travertine?

There are many variations of this soft, low-grade natural stone.

Think of it as a poorly finished concrete.

(LD) wrote:
Greetings;
We would like to put travertine tiles on our bathroom floor, and we
have the following questions:

- How strong is it? (It is, after all, full of holes....)
- Should we fill the holes? With what?
- How slippery is it?
- Are there different qualities (grades) of travertine? How to
judge?
- Would travertine be a good candidate for electric radiant heating?
- Any other particulars that we should be aware of?

Typically, you fill the holes with the same grout you're using in between the
tiles. Travertine is pretty fragile...looks killer on the walls, but I think
twice about putting it on the bathroom floor. It's as good a candidate as any
other rock or tile for radiant. As with any natural product, there's infinite
variation in quality...you really need someone who knows rock to work through
the possibilities.

We have travertine in our bathroom/shower walls and floor...love it.
Holes filled with grout. We use miraclesealants impregnating sealer
once a year, and it has looked great for 3 years. We get great
compliments on it, and have had not wear/damage issues at all.

Andy Hill wrote in message . ..
(LD) wrote:
Greetings;
We would like to put travertine tiles on our bathroom floor, and we
have the following questions:

- How strong is it? (It is, after all, full of holes....)
- Should we fill the holes? With what?
- How slippery is it?
- Are there different qualities (grades) of travertine? How to
judge?
- Would travertine be a good candidate for electric radiant heating?
- Any other particulars that we should be aware of?

Typically, you fill the holes with the same grout you're using in between the
tiles. Travertine is pretty fragile...looks killer on the walls, but I think
twice about putting it on the bathroom floor. It's as good a candidate as any
other rock or tile for radiant. As with any natural product, there's infinite
variation in quality...you really need someone who knows rock to work through
the possibilities.

(db) wrote in message . com...
We have travertine in our bathroom/shower walls and floor...love it.
Holes filled with grout. We use miraclesealants impregnating sealer
once a year, and it has looked great for 3 years. We get great
compliments on it, and have had not wear/damage issues at all.

DB, yours is the first positive post I got! The fact that you have
actually *lived* with travertine floors for 3 years with no problems
is reassuring. What "miraclesealant impregnating sealer" do you use?
Do you need to strip the floor first? Any and all information you can
provide me with will be appreciated.

Thanks.

LD

(LD) wrote in message
What "miraclesealant impregnating sealer" do you use?
Do you need to strip the floor first? Any and all information you can
provide me with will be appreciated.

I suppose I should be careful about a commercial posting, but on my
travertine, I used the product I sell that will prevent stains for AT
LEAST 15 years and I can use any non-acidic cleaner to clean the stone
without hurting the seal. It has been around in Australia for 10 years
and has just come to the United States.

My neighbor used it on his travertine bathroom floor, travertine
counter, and travertine shower and he loves it. In reality, it may
NEVER need to be resealed.

It is invisible.

My coworker has travertine on the floor in her kitchen and living room. It
looks nice and seems durable enough. If you like it, install it. If you
don't like it, then don't. Flooring is a legitimate use of travertine.


Dimitri

LD,

Do yourself a favor and post this at the forum at
"www.johnbridge.com". It is a great site where tile experts and DYIers
share information. I guarantee they will answer all your questions
(even the dunb ones, I know from experience) about tile and radient
heat.

Philip

(LD) wrote in message . com...
Greetings;
We would like to put travertine tiles on our bathroom floor, and we
have the following questions:

- How strong is it? (It is, after all, full of holes....)
- Should we fill the holes? With what?
- How slippery is it?
- Are there different qualities (grades) of travertine? How to
judge?
- Would travertine be a good candidate for electric radiant heating?
- Any other particulars that we should be aware of?

TIA

LD