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Natural Stone Resources and Travertine For Floors

Tom,

I am a commercial interior designer. I think we need a reference book. Is there a book or publication that succinctly provides information on the advantages and disadvantages of each type of stone – plus it’s correct installation method (grout line size, type of grout, sealing, maintenance etc.

Regarding Travertine – what are the disadvantages to using travertine (on the floor in a residence hall lounge – to be precise…) Thank you for your help.

Linda Kress, ASID

Hi Linda,

The Marble Institute of America has all the information guidelines that you needed. Check their bookstore and
consumer resources pages.

Regarding travertine on floors, it is widely used but there are some important considerations. For example, if the travertine is not properly filled, then high heel shoes can literally pop the fill right through the travertine, thus leaving pits randomly throughout the floor. To avoid this, you should specify “travertine which has minimal fill and all holes are adequate filled to avoid damage from foot traffic”.

Joints are important. The tightest reasonable joint should be 1/8″. However, if your tiles are quite large, then 3/16″ is reasonable as well. Grout at this width should be non-sanded and filled flush to surface. Grout and thinset should have a dry-polymer additive to increase strength. There are brands like Merkrete or Laticrete that are well known of strength and quality.

Best wishes!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 at 10:00 am and is filed under Answers to Granite Questions..., Answers to Other Questions, Answers to Travertine Questions..., Installation Issues, Other Issues, Other Topics, Regarding Other Kinds Of Stone..., Sealant Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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4 Questions Recently Posted:


  1. July 10th, 2008 at 3:50 pm

    I am looking at building a home and I know that certain stones are ok for inside use such as countertops and fireplaces, but can they be used for things other than that? I was also wondering if you could give me some pros and cons of using stone in an interior space?


  2. September 7th, 2008 at 10:34 pm

    please tell me how to send you a picture along with my question. thanks,
    Judy


  3. October 17th, 2008 at 10:02 am

    Hi Tom, I have a bathroom with dark blue pearl granite counters and white cabinets,and beige porcelain 12×12 floor tiles. The fixtures are polished brass, the tile around the tub are 6×6 white ceramic (yuck I know).I will change the tile around the tub oneday but for now what color walls should I do. It’s a jack and jill style bath .I would really appreciate your help.Thanks,Lisa


  4. July 1st, 2010 at 9:08 pm

    we also have different kinds of stone which suitable for clean.
    Welcome to contact us at your convenience.

    polished tiles supplier