Travertine Tile Production

Travertine tile production information:

Travertine tile production has been one of the pillars of historical construction. Italians have been quarrying travertine such as Roman Travertine, or Navona Travertine for a long time around Rome and Sienna. Durango Travertine comes from Mexico and Ivory from Turkey. There are also American quarries around New Mexico, Idaho, and Colorado.

Traditional travertine quarries had some metal tools and primitive methods of splitting blocks and shaping them. Ancient quarriers called them Dressing the Blocks. Travertine slab production these days is very different. A modern travertine quarry has multiple loaders ( large earthmovers ) excavators ( large rock splitters ) and mechanized wire saws that loop around the mountain and cut gigantic blocks.

Manufacturing process:

Sawmills cut giant blocks into the most popular shapes and then process them with multiple polishing or honing machines. These tile production lines start with a large grid and end up with the finest polishing grid to give it a uniform surface. Travertine tiles are filled depending on the need.

Natural travertine scraps are ground to an acceptable degree; a chemical color dye is added to match the surface color of the stone. Filling machines use multiple blades to fill all the holes inside, and then it is set to dry naturally. If travertine fill is not cured properly, it may crack or discolor.

All the broken pieces from production are cut into smaller pieces for mosaic production or subway tile production. This is one of the reasons travertine is affordable.

These modern production methods decreased production costs tremendously and made travertine tile affordable. Today Travertine tile is the mainstay of everyday functional building material. Large-scale applications of pool deck tiling, pool coping, and deck flooring mostly use travertine tiles.

Travertine tile is easy to install and maintain. It develops a nice patina after decades of wear and tear. Travertine comes in honed and filled, honed, unfilled, tumbled, and antiqued. These new distressed finishes make travertine tile the ideal material for use in most residential and commercial buildings.

What are the types?

Honed travertine tile production is done with a better quality selection of blocks. These blocks should have smaller holes. It is more difficult to fill bigger holes, and then fill in these holes may come out. Tumbled travertine, on the other hand, can be done with the more classic types of materials. Bigger holes in these blocks create a more natural look.

The honed and brushed finish is another popular type of travertine. These tiles can be filled or unfilled. It is more practical to have unfilled brushed tiles. The brushing process exposes uneven hard and soft spots and gives it perfect patina floors.

Furthermore, a brushed finish makes the tiles as if they have been used for centuries. This particular finish does not show wear and tear as much. Travertine is the perfect natural stone tile. It lasts for centuries. Due to its various block dimensions, tile sizes go from very small to very large.

What are the best forms?

Travertine floor tile is best in large format tiles like 24×24 tiles or 18×18 tiles. Travertine blocks are not very large. Therefore, these sizes are the most optimal sizes for floor and wall tile combinations.

As for bathroom walls, you can use many types of wall tiles or mosaics. Some of the most popular mosaics include 1×1, 2×2, basketweave mosaics, hexagon mosaics, and herringbone.

Travertine pavers are also very popular because they are economical. French pattern pavers or versatile patterns is a combination of small and large sizes to utilize waste. When factories process these blocks, large sizes like 16×24 have a lot of by-products in 8x and 8×16. These sizes make the patterns.

Pool coping, shower tub surrounds, corner shelves, and thresholds are all available in most of our travertine products. Large pool deck areas, especially in warm climates

Travertine is a natural stone, and it is best if it is used in more rustic areas. Stone flooring with travertine is economical and practical.

Travertine tile flooring is easy to maintain, and it is an excellent tile option for many resorts and hospitality outside deck areas.

Is Travertine tile durable?

It is one of the most durable flooring products in the World.  It is one of the hardest natural stones, and it wears traffic well. What that means is that it does not show scratches and stains as much as other types of flooring materials.  In addition, it is a popular product in warm climates, and it remains colder and does not heat up as much.

Do travertine tiles need to be sealed?

Yes, like all other natural stones, it needs to be sealed.  There are various types of sealers, like color-enhancing or natural sealers. Some of these bring out the color. It is like when you wet stone, it will look darker with deeper colors.  Color enhancer accomplishes this purpose.

Travertine is one of the least expensive types of stone. It is abundant, and its natural form enables the factories to use most of the product that comes out of the quarry.  Furthermore, factories use various sizes and forms to maximize production.

See our stone collections. This is where you can get the best price and in stock.