Travertine Installation

Does travertine need to be sealed before grouting? We are installing 18x18 filled & honed travertine on our kitchen floor. This is new construction. We've fired the first tile setter for excessive lippage and using a dark colored thinset. Now the second tile setter wants to grind down the edges of the lipped corners with his belt sander. Is this a feasible solution? We do not want to make any more mistakes. Thanks.

 

Dear JD:

 

“ Does travertine need to be sealed before grouting? ”

 

No; only very absorbent stones could benefit from that, and travertine is certainly not among them.

 

“ Now the second tile setter wants to grind down the edges of the lipped corners with his belt sander. Is this a feasible solution? ”

 

Absolutely not!

 

Don't let that man come even close to your driveway: You had enough of “Michelangelo”; you don't need his brother now!!

To be certain, you will need to have your floor ground, re-filled (the grinding will open many holes) and re-honed. This is certainly not the job for a tile setter!

The use of gray thin set is inconsequential with travertine. I wouldn't worry about it.

Your only option is to hire a bona fide stone restoration contractor.

Now, you'd better watch out! I consider stone refinishing as the very pinnacle of all the activities related to stone from a professional point of view. Unfortunately, there are a lot of quacks on the loose out there! You get one of those, and you may even have to kiss your stone bye-bye!

How could you tell a champ from a chomp? Could you trust the recommendation of your local stone distributor, or contractor, or your interior decorator? Hardly!

We have available a very comprehensive article on how to select a bona fide stone restoration contractor, which will give you all the intelligence you need to make a competent choice. It does carry a small price tag, and you can order it by logging on the Educational Literature section 0f our website at:   http://www.mbstone.com/literature/literature.htm. It's available in pay-per-download format and I consider it a cheap “insurance premium” to pay when there are thousands of $ involved! Not to mention the little and much needed support you'd be giving to the cause – YOUR cause, since every single penny of the cost of the article will be used to support it.

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Thank you.

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri z io Bertoli

 

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