I just had new honed and chisled travertine pavers installed in my backyard (sand set) along with slate, poured and grouted, on concrete. I live in Arizona. I have been told to seal and not to seal, especially around the spa. I was going to use an impregnator seal on the slate and travertine. Is this wise, especially in the Arizona heat?

 

Regardless of the geographical area, it is never a good idea to apply an impregnator (or any other sealer, for that matter) to stone installed outdoors.

Although most impregnators promise that the stone will be still be able to "breathe" up to 95%, an impregnator will slow down the natural osmosis of the stone, and even stones that are appropriate for outdoors may develop unforeseen and difficult to solve problems.

Ciao and good luck,

Maurizio Bertoli