Hi Tom,
We have grease spots on the travertine tiles in the kitchen. and we have some holes were the “fill” is gone. The 18″-tile floor is three years old.

Thanks,
Erika

Hello Erika,

There are several responses on the website about cleaning grease spots but if they have been there for a while on travertine, I afraid you are out of luck. You can try a poultice solution with some bleach to lesson the intensity but you will not be able to remove the stain. For a poultice solution, find you local tile store and ask them for a product. Also, any treatment you do will most likely be noticeable in comparison to the rest of the tile. It has the same affect as cleaning pen off of leather or vinyl. So, you will have to replace the tiles if you want the stains completely gone.

For the holes, just buy some non-sanded hydraulic white cement and fill the voids. You could use a non-sanded grout but it will crack and sag a little if the voids are over 1/8″ wide. Non-sanded grout is an ok solution if you are not a perfectionist.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova

Can travertine tile be butted up tight with each other and grout applied thus not having any or very little grout showing? Thank you.

Ed

Hello Ed,

The short answer is, “No”. Furthermore, I never recommend butting Travertine tile for several reasons. First, the travertine tiles are never cut perfectly and require a joint in order to maintain a steady module across the floor. Second, you can’t put grout into a joint that does not exist. If you do not open up the joint to 1/16″ minimum the grout will not bond to itself and the tile; therefore, it will fail. Third, it is almost impossible to eliminate lips from tile to tile with butted joints, unless you grind down the floor after installation.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova

Thanks for responding to question about travertine tile being butted up. Can travertine tiles be laid in a staggering pattern or is it best to lay in the traditional pattern so the grout can have more bonding authority?

Ed

Hello Ed,

It is quite nice to run travertine in a staggering pattern, otherwise known as a ‘running bond’. I highly recommend this look because it adds a bit of customization to an otherwise typical looking ’square pattern’ floor. In this case you would eliminate the first problems I mentioned with butting the tiles, but the other two issues still exist.

Best regards,
Tom Cordova

Tom

I have seen travertine installed using two different installation methods. One was a full spread of mortar/thinset on the floor & back buttering of the tile, the other was 6-8 dobs or piles of mortar/thinset on ths back of the tile. Which one is the preferred method of installation, & what are the advantages or disadvantages of one over the other if there are any?

Thanks
Dan

Hello Dan,

I have not seen a certified installation method for floors that stipulates using drops or piles of mortar on the back of the stone tile.

There are some pretty strong adhesives in the marketplace, but the problem is that doing this will create hollow sounding tiles. For wall installations, this might be adequate and sufficient under the right circumstances.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova

Hi,

I am going to install travertine floor in my kitchen. I have installed ceramic tile before but not any natural flooring. Could you give me any helpful advice on the sealant process, etc?

Thanks!
Doug

Hello Doug

The short answer is don’t try it and let someone with experience install the travertine. I only say that because most people really mess up travertine installations the first time. You will learn a lot from what you do wrong but then it will be too late.

Ceramic Tile has factory edges and is more forgiving; however, travertine does not and you will probably have lips that you can feel and will cast shadows. To make matter worse, travertine likes to de-bound from the substrate in time unless it is properly back scratched with latex-modified thinsets. The corners of travertine are also very susceptible to cracking after installation due to extreme pressure from high heals and other forces. Be sure to put extra thinset under all the corners. I would use a 3/8″ square notch trowel for spreading the thinset on the concrete floor. Expect a bag to cover about 30 square feet.

Basically, if you can afford a few more dollars per square foot, hire an experienced installer. After installation and grouting, wait 36 hours before applying two coats of premium penetrating stone sealer (follow manufactures instructions).

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova

Hi Tom,

I was called by a client to examine a job and to figure out why her travertine floor came up its third year post installation.
From what I’ve seen in the installion process, the installer used first a mixture of cement, sand, mortor mix and thinset combine.
This he first set on the sub-floor followed by the travetine which the installer placed thinset on the back. This seemed pretty sound yet I’m confused.

Any ideas to this problem would be highly valued.

Thank you for your time
Romel

Hello Romel,

Yes, this does sound like a good installation process for floor tile preparation and follows in line with TCA standards. The one part which you did not mention was whether any thinset was stuck to the back of the travertine when the tile came up. During travertine tile installation, the bottom of the tiles should be wiped with a wet sponge and then a scratch coat (back-butter) of the thinset put on them. The corners should be buttered a little thicker. If you do not see thinset on the back of the travertine when the tiles came up, then this step was skipped. This means the tile was dusty with calcium residue from the original fabrication process, which creates a possible bond-break situation.

Why is this step skipped sometimes? There are two reasons. First, there are some very good latex modified thinsets in the marketplace that will create a strong bond even if the tile is not washed and scratched. Still, I would recommend that at least the corners are back-buttered. Second, the wash and back-butter take more time so some installers just skip it.

Try to find the brand of the thinset that was used to adhere the tile. The problem lies in that product and the application of it.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova

Hi Tom! We just moved into a house with a fireplace in the family room. It has travertine surrounding the fireplace on all sides and a wooden mantle (60″ long) over the top travertine. We would like to add wooden legs (40″) to match the wooden mantle but we’re not sure how to install it. The travertine length also covers 60″ X 40″.

Do we drill holes on the travertine to install the legs or do we have to buy a longer mantle (possibly 72″) and install the legs outside of the travertine area? Thanks for your help.

Hazelle

Hello Hazelle,

I suggest the following. For the bottom, drill a 5/16″ diameter hole in the travertine so that it is 3/4″ deep. Then drill a hole at the center of the bottom of the wood column that is 2 1/2″ deep (same 5/16″ diameter). Use a masonry drill bit for the travertine and a wood bit for the column.

Then cut a 1/4″ diameter steel dowel pin about 2″ long. Slide a 1/4″ steel dowel up in the wood hole. This way, when you set the column in place, it will drop down 3/4″ into the travertine hole and still be 1 1/4″ up in the wood hole. For the top, do the same concept, making the mantle hole deep enough to receive the steel dowel and then it should drop partially into the column when you set it in place. Use clear silicone caulking at the top and bottom of the column for adhesive support.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova

Hey Tom -

We are having travertine installed for the first time, and are not 100% sure that the job is a good one. What are industry accepted tolerances for travertine installation? In other words, nothing can be perfect, but how much variance in the hight of one tile to the next is considered acceptable? These are 18? tiles, honed and filled.

Thanks in advance,

Tom

Hi Tom,

The actual industry standard is vague because of the lack of definition between “marble” and “tile”. In other words, travertine tile falls into both categories and “tile” give allow to much variation for the stone tile because the edges are not factory rounded.

The unwritten ‘Quality Standard’ for Travertine stone flooring is that it should feeling smooth across the joints. You should not feel or see ridges. That being said, variations in heights between tiles can sometimes be considered acceptable if the joint width is wide enough to make the transitions smooth (within reason).

If the tiles installed are smooth finish and without tumbled edges, then the joints should not be wider that 3/16″ (assuming an interior installation). If the joint is wider, then the non-sanded grout will eventually crack. Technically, it should be 1/8″ maximum but I know that 3/16″ is adequate for sanded grout if the proper amount was pushed down into the joint.

Since you have a concern, I’m going to guess that you have approximately 1/8″ wide joints with height variations 1/16″ to 3/32″ in some areas. I say this because if an installer that is used to setting ceramic tile (with factory rounded edged) tries to install travertine, then this is the common result. You should also take the back of a broom and knock on the floor in many places (especially the corners of the tiles). If it sounds hollow, then the grout will come loose at that location in the near future. Many homeowners accept this situation because of lack of knowledge or “they got what they paid for” feeling. That part is up to you.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova