Q. Hi, We had travertine installed in our courtyard and for our pool (saltwater) deck about a year ago. We did not have the travertine sealed. Recently, the surfaces of ten or so tiles (out of 2000 sq. ft. of Versailles pattern tiles) have begun to erode with the pits in some of those tiles now deep and wide enough that it has become a safety hazard. Any idea why this might be occurring? Is some deterioration like I've described common in what our contractor assured us is "high quality" travertine? Is there anything we can do to prevent the damage from getting worse? Thanks for your help. Brad

 

A. Hi Brad- First off, it is probably better that the travertine wasn't sealed as it isn't all that porous in the first place. Remember, the Roman baths are travertine and I doubt they were ever sealed. There could be several reasons why this is occurring. It would be great if you could send some pics of the surface to my email address.

Please feel free to call me to discuss if you would like so I can get more details.

Stu Rosen