TRAVERTINE TILE

For atruly imperial choice in natural stone tile, travertine tile is bilding material fit for Caesar himself The use of travertine tile in the ancient world, fron the Greeks to Roman Empire, is renowned. This is true particularly in the building of the famous Roman Coliseum, among other noted monuments to the reliability  of this dirable , decorative stone. Travertine is used as excellent flooring tile as wall cladding and pavement , noted for both durability and understated aesthetic influence in all manner of interiors. Travertine belongs to the larger family of stone called limestone also known as Calcium Carbonate. It is formed when subterranean water sources collect various mineral for indoor and outdoor use. Travertine stones result from hot spring water penetrating up through underground limestone. When the water evaporates, it leaves behind layers of dissolved limestone and other minerals, giving it its banded appearance . The presence of travertine tiles lends every natural stone tile project an air of class, tying it to architectural that is thousands of year old .

Travertine can have four major finishes, polished {shiny}, honed {matte}, brushed and tumbled {tuextured surfaces . The type of finish given th the travertine will determine how shiny the surface will be. The polished and honed surfaces are flat and smooth, while the brushed and tumbled surfaces are flat textured. The Pplished surface is the shiniest , while the tumbled surface reflects the least amount of light . The most common finish for travertine is honed .

Travertine is generally fillrf with grout it is honed or polished , which prodeces a uniform surface more like other marbles.Unfilled travertine is also Quite beatiful, and is often seen as exterior surfaces of bildings. Travertine stones are generally light-colored beiges and but have many other colors. The color of travertine is the rusult of iron compounds orother organic impurities

Travertine is one of few stone that are less slippery when its wet.Therea number of factor that should help explain thenatural of "static co-efficient of friction"{SCOF}, whichin layman term is a description of the force reguired to move a stationary object in relation to the condition of the surface on which that object stands. The SCOF tests have been traditionally done on dry surfaces becouse it was assumed that all flooring surfaces, when wet, would be significantly below the minimum suggested SCOF of .50. But, one of the environmental that can influence SCOF is most common of this veing water .Just as source of wetness can decrease an SCOF rating some sealer can increase the SCOF rating ,some sealer can increase the SCOF rating of tile flooring . There are many "non-slip" coatings which can be applied to natural stone tiles that will increase itsSCOF rating Applying "Non-slip " coating or sealer can raise the SCOF by .10 to.30 depending on the product . Regardless of the type ofsurface to be maintained, all travertine tiles should be protected with a sealer Consult your local retailer to help you judge which types of sealer are most appropriate to your choice of travertine tiles. Sealer will provide some protection to the stone no matter that the environment, but knowing what it will be exposed to will help you decide whether travertine is a good fit fot your project.

When considering travertine tiles for your project, keep in mind that many hotels, casinos ans shooping malls successfully use travertine in many different types of finishes. Given that the safety of their customers is of great concern to the owners and planners of these locations, their choice of travertine tiles  high traffic areas is a testament to how trustworthy travertine tiles are.