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Travertine Tile Reviews

Travertine Tile Reviews

by Dylan Johnson

Have you been looking for a great way to change the look of your room yet you don’t find it? Why don’t you try with the stone tiles? In our travertine tile reviews, you will find stone tiles prefect to change the look of space in your home. Truly, there are definitely some styles of tile that you can use on the walls or floors. Travertine is just one of the choices.

In the past, people use sedimentary rocks in an ancient temple before modern tile was invented. This means that using stone and tile either for walls or flooring have been common for home.

However, before you feel being directed to pick up Travertine tile, there are several things you need to know about this material.

What Is Travertine Tile?

What is Travertine tile?

This is the first question that lead you to find what kind of tie we are going to talk about. If you are just new to stone tile flooring, you must feel being tricked. Travertine marble and limestone travertine are somehow confusing.

Travertine is a form of limestone that is usually found near the mineral spring. It requires the same harvesting process just like many other natural stones. Travertine comes from Mexico, Peru, Turkey and China.

Travertine is delivered to the manufacturer in form of slab. In the process, it is usually cut down to size and made into tiles. There is a treatment done on the surface along with the various finishing depending on the look you would like to have.

However, the whole process is just the same. In this case, travertine is not processed through the press or extrude way like creating ceramic tiles. Instead, producing travertine tiles involves the labor, making the cost increasing.

Travertine Tiles Pros and Cons

We include the pros and cons in this travertine tile reviews in order that you can completely know everything about travertine tile, thus, you have more considerations whether you keep going to buy or have other option.

Travertine Tile Pros

Believe it or not, travertine tile will transform your old look space into a modern-look room even you can add some class to your patio.

Travertine tile is a natural product so that it is more eco-friendly than the laminate or engineered flooring. This makes them often recycled and repurposed.

Travertine tile is best described to be easy to replace.

Do you know something?

Replacing a 6” x 6” travertine tile is much easier than removing a 30-year linoleum. Further, travertine tile is a kind of limestone that naturally stands out the weather over time. As long as you keep it maintained, travertine tile can surely outlast other harder stones around.

Having ceramic tiles for your kitchen or luxury vinyl for your bathroom is a good idea, however, installing travertine tile all over your home can cost higher.

Read Also: Decorative Ceiling Tiles Reviews

Travertine Tile Cons

Due to the fact that travertine is a porous stone, the major downside rally depends on where you are going to install it.

While sealing it can be a good idea to prevent stains, it can absorb liquids more quickly in its natural form including grit and grim along with the acidic drinks such as orange juice.

Travertine tile arises the issue on maintenance particularly if you like flooring with less care. This is because travertine tile needs sealing every 6 to 12 months if you want the floor free from the stains.

Though this tile can greatly handle foot traffic, it doesn’t rate on the top on the hardness scale. Moreover, it is cold enough beneath your feet.

Due to the heaviness, travertine tile costs lots for shipping. In the other words, you may be required to pay more as because of the shipping weight.

Further, it would be tougher to install the tile yourself. Other downside of travertine tile is the slick and wet characteristic that can also be an issue.

Well, these travertine tile pros and cons will add a background information so that you can determine whether or not you are going to purchase it.

Travertine Vs Marble

Marble is one of the best competitors to travertine. When the tile is polished well, it can look like marble. You will not be able to find their difference unless you look close enough at both of them.

This way, marble usually comes in various colors such as black, grey, white and black as well as pink, green and blue. These colors are created through the impurities within the stone so that they completely looks fashionably.

Through the heat and pressure, marble is created over time. It need mining more carefully than the travertine tile.

Marble also faces difficulties like limestone and travertine tile when it is much exposed to particular substance.

Both marble and travertine tile are heavy, making them harder to work with. Further, both of them need to be sealed every period of time.

There are more grip provided by travertine tile than that provided by marble. In addition, travertine tile colors are also offered in more varieties.

In residential and commercial properties, you will find travertine tile more than the marble.

By comparison, natural travertine can be less expensive than the natural marble. However, it can be more expensive if compared to cultured marble.

Travertine Tile Buying Guide

In the next session of our travertine tile reviews, this is how you will also learn the travertine tile buying guide that will specifically discuss the critical areas to help you with the easy shopping experience.

Where Will You Install Travertine Tile?

Where you install travertine tile is also an important information to check out. In this case, travertine works better in some areas than others though you can also use it almost in any part of your home.

Clearly, there are travertine bathroom and travertine kitchen options, meaning that the tile is suitable for bathroom and kitchen.

Before getting start installing the travertine tile, it is really necessary to look over your home condition.

Do you have already a solid foundation?

Or do you have any cracks over the doorways?

In older homes, settlings can be an issue. Thus, make sure that you have a solid foundation. If it is said that you have radiant heating in your house, well, it is good to know that travertine tile will work better with it.

Due to the fact that travertine tiles can be used as accent pieces outdoor, let’s conclude that outdoor travertine tile is available.

So you can expect to install the tile in your terrace, around pool or in your garden areas. It will just look good there.

Durability

In fact, almost every type of flooring comes with the grading systems in place. Simply put, customers need to know whether the product is a green product or in-depth scale for slip resistance.

It is important to let the customers know about the resistant minerals contained in a flooring product.

Based on the Scratch Test, travertine tile comes in between 4-5, making it comparable to fluorite. This means that the tile can be scratched by materials which are rated higher than a 4 such as knife blades, sand or window glass.

In comparison, granite is considerably harder since it has around 6- 7 scale.

Slip Resistance

Installing a large travertine tile may arise no problem in wall but it can be an issue for kitchens and bathrooms. Truly, slippage usually occurs in the kitchens and bathrooms.

To measure the slippage in tile floors, DCOF (Dynamic Coefficient of Friction) is usually used. This DCOF will tell you how much force needed to keep someone on his feet while stepping on the wet tile.

The newest standard of DCOF for interior travertine tile floors is 0.42 DCOF. So, the wet tile will be in trouble with anything with the lower ranking.

There are also many kinds of test available to find more information about the standard through the National Floor Safety Institute.

Finishes

There are extremely big varieties of finishes offered by travertine tile reviews. Though you may not find glazing on travertine, you’ll still have some of these terms.

Honed

Honed finish of travertine is designed at which one side has been sanded to give a nice look while the surface is not made too shiny. This is because tiles with honed finish are prone to scratches and stains.

Big variants are also available. One of which is the filled honey travertine tile that comes with the surface imperfections filled in while the unfilled one looks more natural in texture. In residential use, this variant of style is popularly used.

Polished

This travertine tile reviews also include the information dealing with the tile’s polish. As the name implies, a polished travertine tile is designed with the slick surface and shiner than the other finishes.

This makes the tile looks the same with marble. It also makes the tile easy to clean and solid resistant to fight against stain and scratches.

Polished travertine is safe to use in the kitchen where dirt and occasional spill occur. To maintain the tile’s luster, you need only to polish the tile regularly.

However, it is not a good idea to install polished travertine tile in wet areas because of the slick top.

Tumbled

Tumbled tiles can be the only best option if you are searching for wall or floor tiles with the character. This tumbled tile comes with the textured surface added by a rustic charm, increasing the traction.

One thing that makes tumbled tiles unsuitable to use is the fact that it is more porous than other styles. This way, water and dirt can be such issues, requiring you to seal the tile and fill the imperfections with the grout.

Brushed

Brushed is a finish travertine tiles which are shared with both engineered and hardwood flooring. This type of travertine tile is not hand-scarped.

Instead, it is finished with the rougher and porous surface compared to the honed and polished finish travertine. Further, there are a few edge profiles at which the tiles are cut from a slab and left unfinished.

If you prefer a weathered look of a tile flooring, you may consider Chiseled edge tiles. This type of tile is designed with the uneven edge and wider grout joints.

Travertine Tile Dimensions

A few size of travertine tiles are the smallest square which is 4” x 4” and the largest top outwhich is around 24” x 24”.

If you are purchasing a patterned set, the size can increase 2-inch more or less depending on the package. In this case, the popular options are Antique and French Villa patterns.

For residential tiles, the travertine tile is also available in 3/8” or 5/8” widths though the paver and some outdoor tiles options are thicker.

DIY Installation or Hire A Professional?

Once you decide to purchase travertine tile for your home flooring, the next thing that may be spring up your mind is the installation. Determine whether you prefer DIY installation of hire a professional.

Due to the fact that travertine tile is generally difficult to install, you must need a help of someone to move the heavy materials around the job site. And you had better hire a professional than just installing it by yourself unless you have already experience working with stone.

Travertine Tile Cost

Believe it or not, travertine tile is much more expensive than ceramic. However, the high-end porcelain comes with the same price.

Basically, how much you will pay for the tile will depend much on the manufacturer, grade, size and type of finish you select.

In our travertine tile reviews, we state that a 24” x 24” honed and filled tile costs around $23 – $40.00 and less if you the quality isn’t your primary concern. A tumbled tile is also less expensive. On the other hand, polished tiles are more expensive.

Read Also: Metal Ceiling Tiles Reviews

Qualified Installer for Travertine Tile

There are some complaints expressed by some readers that they cannot find a qualified local installer. Though they can overpay the travertine tile flooring installation, they cannot find anyone with the qualification.

Final Words

Overall, our travertine tile reviews has given you enough information about the tile, its cost, durability and resistance.

Whether you are going to purchase the tile or not, you could always refer to the pros and cons of the flowing product that we have already included in the post.

FAQ

Can I install travertine tile in children’s bedroom?

Yes, you can. It is because travertine tile can handle foot traffic. However, make sure that you look over the situation every time your children spill milk or other liquid.

What is the bigger downside of purchasing travertine tile?

The bigger downside is the shipping weight that may costs lot due to heavy weight of the tile.

What is the primary concern before starting the installation?

Make sure you have a solid foundation.