Identifiying different types of travertine?

[meansmee]

I took delivery today of 40sqm travertine, however it seems a lot darker than the tiles that were on display in the showroom from where i purchased the tiles.

Is it possible to identifiy different types of travertine so i can see if i have been supplied a different type than i ordered?

 

[DHTiling]

Displays are deceiving .. Stone is a natural product, hence it can be a different shade / colour to displays.. each tile can differ in shade to the next one..

 

[kilty55]

you can get lighter and darker stones yes but as said all stones are different and unique,maybe contact your tile supplier

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

Natural stone can vary dramatically in shade, even when sourced from the same quarry.

 

[DHTiling]

Just to add, Travertine will go from dark walnut to light walnut then to shades of ivory to lightest Light ivory,, inbetweens include wooden travertine.. loads of variations but it will be between dark walnut and light ivory,,

 

[peckers]

sound advice with all of the above...

 

[Daz]

When were they quarried?
Are they dark because they are still very wet?
What finish do you have? Matt, honed, polished etc.. Is the finish different from the display as that will affect the appearance.
Sealers will also affect the colour, although this is more likely to darken the tile rather than make it lighter.

 

[Scott]

You really need to pick what you want from a crate rather than a sample board.

 

[meansmee]

Thanks for all the replies.
The travertine is honed and polished. I was expecting there to be variations in the shade from tile to tile as it is a natural stone but was not expecting the whole batch to be so much darker. The display was a light ivory colour where as all of the ones i now have are very brown/orange. as for when they were quarried i could not say. I have separated one from the pack and put it in front of the radiator to see if it does need drying out but it has been there all night and still looks the same shade. If the stone is wet would this not be the colour once sealed?

 

[Alan.P]

If it hasn't dried overnight with heat it won't be damp imho, try taking one or two tiles back to the showroom and compare, if the differences are too much for you, try talking with the manager to see if they will swap, but as has been said, depends on a lot of different variables.

 

[meansmee]

Will give the supplier a ring and see what they say. Thanks again for the help

 

[DHTiling]

Any news..?

 

[meansmee]

Yep took a few tiles in for them to have a look at and they said the quality of them was very poor. They were most apologetic and took us to their warehouse and let us pick a new pallet which you cold see was far better quality as was loads lighter and loads less filler, so all sorted (well just about still have to take back 40sqm of trav to swap which int the lightest thing ever but better than having a bathroom I don't like

Cheers for all your input

 

[Larkspur]

Agree with Scottley always pick from stock not display.

 

[Dan]

Yep took a few tiles in for them to have a look at and they said the quality of them was very poor. They were most apologetic and took us to their warehouse and let us pick a new pallet which you cold see was far better quality as was loads lighter and loads less filler, so all sorted (well just about still have to take back 40sqm of trav to swap which int the lightest thing ever but better than having a bathroom I don't like

Cheers for all your input

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