Is travertine really OK for showers??

[flemdog]

Hello!

Sorry if this is repeating ground already covered.

I really like the look of travertine and want to use it in my shower, however it seems madness to put a porous tile on a shower wall!

I understand that with the use of sealers etc they can be waterproofed, but is this not a pill for the headache?

Is anyone actually living with travertine in their shower?
Would you recommend it?

Is there a better natural stone for wet areas?

I am redoing my en-suite and have fitted Aquaboard in the shower area, a shower tray with upstands and am ready to buy the tiles, but cant decide!

I am seriously paranoid about the shower leaking.

Many thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Mike]

i've not done any travetine but if you tank the shower area this should stop any water ingress damaging the substrate. i know some travetine are very porous but if they're not prefilled the grout will fill the holes. defo tank the walls tho

 

[Scott]

Tank the walls and seal the tiles before grouting and after and its fine.

 

[Gazzer]

I have done many showers in travertine. Just seal them after and you are fine. Use the usual precautions such as tanking too of course.

 

[enduro]

Also if you live in a hard water area you may want to get your plumber to fit a water softner to you water system. As after a time limescale from your hard water will react with the travertine makiing it hard to clean. Do try and get good quality travertine with as little filler as possible, and once installed do not use a topical sealer as the stone needs to breathe, so use an impregnating sealer. Clean with a Natural stone cleaner only and wipe the tiles down with a cloth and leave the door ajar after showering to let the tiles dry.

 

[faithhealer]

buy a good quality trav and do the prep work and it'll look great for years

 

[Stewart]

Nothing wrong with using trav in a shower. Have done loads of installations without any problems. As said above, with the right preparation and aftercare, there's nothing better than natural stone.

 

[aph257]

as all above

 

[Ian]

The quality is important as already mentioned (not too much filler) but you will still find that the backs of the tiles still have lots of holes in, make sure that you back skim the tiles with the flat side of your trowel to fill all the holes as a bit if extra insurance, when you are fitting

 

[flemdog]

Thanks to all. I have to say I am very pleasantly surprised how helpful you guys are.

I will follow the advice and tank as an extra precaution.

I have one last question. I believe the convention is to fit the shower frame on the outside of the tiles, however as the travertine is porous, is there not a leak path?

If instead you attached the frame to the tanked substrate, in this case Aquaqpanel, would it not be better?

Is there something I am missing?

Many thanks again!

 

[Stewart]

Always install the shower screen after tiling, then follow the correct installation instructions for screen and it should never leak. Most screens leak due to bad installation.