About Our Travertine Tiles and Travertine Flooring:

There are many qualities of travertine tiles, and the industry does not practice a uniform grading system.  Smaller quarries sometimes produce travertine tiles with a poor quality while other quarries produce travertine tiles in large reliable factories.  Travertine tiles from stonetiledepot.com are supplied by the world’s best quarries.  

What Should One Look for When Buying Travertine Tiles? 

When buying travertine tiles, one should look at the amount of holes, the size of the holes, the percentage of holes as well as for a uniform and even honing (which is similar to a fine sanding process).  All of the travertine tiles carried by stonetiledepot.com meet these quality standards, and all of our travertine tiles are properly graded and quality controlled.  One should also look for uniformity in veining and consistency in the background color.  Finally, the fill color (which is white cement with a special epoxy mix and color dye) must match the background color and must be dried properly to make sure the fill color and the tile color match.  We ship our travertine tiles to all major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Francisco and Chicago.

Where Can One Use Travertine Tiles?  

Travertine tiles can be used in a variety of residential and commercial applications, such as for kitchen walls and flooring, bathroom walls and flooring, as well as for backsplashes, countertops,  countertop edge trim,  and entrance flooring.  Travertine tiles can also be used for commercial applications such as hotel flooring, hotel bathroom tiling, and hotel bathroom stone countertops.  Natural stone flooring can be used in even the most demanding applications as long as proper stone flooring material is selected and applied.

What Should One Look for in Quality Travertine Tiles? 

Travertine tile and travertine flooring should have the following characteristics:

• A good uniform color selection of travertine flooring material should be used.  It is important to dry lay the whole shipment to achieve a uniform consistency and blend of colors throughout the entire floor prior to installation. This will prevent unattractive or unwanted pieces although less desirable pieces can be used for cuts and in less visible areas of the application. 

• Pieces should be free of visual defects such as pits (except in some stones where pitting is considered natural and must be properly filled), major cracks, and major open veins (i.e. a natural vein that is not filled).

• If the travertine tiling is filled, one should achieve a good color for the fill that matches the background tile color.

• The amount and size of natural cavities in travertine tiling is important. In general, top quality travertine tile should not make up more than 30% of the tile surface.  Also, the size of the holes should not be larger than a quarter.

• Travertine tiles must have a uniform, even surface as a result of professional honing (which is similar to machine sanding), and all of the tiles must have the same thickness and sizing.  All of stone tiles we carry are manufactured at first grade factories with proper processing machinery.

• Professional packing should be used so that pieces are stacked with polished face to polished face to prevent scratching.  The pieces should not be laid flat.  In general, all stone flooring shipments must be prepared so that the natural stone tiles and travertine flooring stand up on a pallet.  The shipping pallet must be of good quality, and the travertine flooring must be securely strapped to the pallet in a perpendicular fashion.  All of the natural stone tile and countertop pieces sold by stonetiledepot.com meet these requirements.

Care and Maintenance for Travertine Tiles and Travertine Flooring:

It is extremely easy to care for and maintain travertine flooring.   We recommend taking the following simple precautions:

1.       Be sure to select the right type of natural stone for your home.

2.        Be sure to follow instructions by your stone care provider.   We recommend Miracle Sealants, which provides excellent help and support through its web site:  www.miraclesealants.com.

3.       We recommend all natural stone to be sealed immediately after installation and initial cleaning.

4.       For your everyday residential use, basic cleaning with warm water and cloth should be more than enough to maintain your travertine tile and travertine flooring.  Spills should be wiped off quickly, and heavy staining can be treated by using professional cleaning products available from Miracle Sealants.

5.       Enjoy the investment in natural stone for many years to come!

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