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Travertine Installation

Article Number: 369 | Rating: Unrated | Last Updated: Wed, Aug 22, 2007 at 12:00 AM

Hi Maurizio, I've had travertine installed in the kitchen and foyer area. The problem is that the grout lines appear very wide (up to 1/4" in some areas) and makes the floor look like just regular ceramic tile. Is there an accepted standard for installing travertine to get that smooth, monolithic appearance? It's a buffed finish travertine but there are tiny scratched that are still visible, I believe it's because they used sanded grout to fill those wide gaps, is there a fix for this problem?

Dear Michael:

Industry standards??... In the stone industry???... Are you insane?!!... In the stone industry everything goes!! At best you can find some mild and toothless "recommendations"...

In your case the norm should have been to have a 1/16" grout gap filled with sand-less grout.

Is there a fix?

I believe so, but it's going to be very expensive. However, y our query is more complicated than usual. Please, understand that we're here to help, but there's only so much free time that we can allot to answer all the queries we receive. For complicated inquiries like yours we must ask you to use our convenient “1-on-1” consultation service that's available in the http://www.mbstone.com/training/training_&_consultation.htm. Bear in mind that by purchasing that service you will be supporting the cause of this site, which is your cause, because not a single penny of the consultation fee will end up in the pockets of any of the experts participating to this forum. All money will be reinvested for the promotion of the site, which represents your only possible tool to have your voice heard within the stone industry.

I hope you can appreciate that.

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Thank you

Ciao and good luck,

Maurizio Bertoli

www.marblecleaning.org – The only Consumers' Portal to the Stone Industry Establishment!