laying unfilled travertine tiles

[Ash]

Hello all,
This is the first time I have used this forum, and after some advice... bare with me....

I am about to lay 40m2 of natural unfilled travertine tiles 12mm thick on top of electric underfloor heating and a 60mm tilers screed. I have a few questions on the best way to go about this:

1a. some of the tiles have quiet big holes (none of which go all the way through), and some are not so big- (it is supposed to be class A quality- but not all are of such great quality). I want to fill the tile, but not lose the organic look- what would be the best product to use across the whole floor? And should I fill before I lay the tiles down? Or is it ok to lay the tile down and then fill in after?
1b. What are peoples opinions of leaving some holes, filling in others/ or filling all holes, in respect to longevity and tile wear n' tear/ maintenance ?

2. grout- any advice on a good grout to use with natural travertine tiles?The tiles are light ivory in colour- any good recommendations for a grout colour?

3. any advice on cutting? best way to go about it?

4. any advice on finishing products such as waterproofers/sealants etc- I want to keep it matt/ looking as organic as possible?

4. any advice on what to avoid.. and/or what to ensure I do in the process would be much appreciated!

Yes, I'm laying it myself- have put down a tile floor in the past, but first time using natural stone!

Thank you!!!
kind regards
Ash

 

[Concrete guy]

Before you start, the reality is that unfilled travertine really isn't a suitable product for flooring. It's a decorative product more in keeping with feature walls etc.

Considering the list of questions above I'd suggest you buy a filled travertine or limestone/marble that will give you the look you're trying to achieve without a whole load of problems and extensive future maintenance.

Reading between the lines you're looking for an aged finish and I'd suggest you'd be better of looking for an "Antique" finish limestone, or brushed with chipped edges.

Unfilled travertine on a floor = can of worms unless it's going to be fully resin filled and honed in place.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

You’ve not mentioned an uncoupling membrane!
In essence this is NOT a DIY project.

 

[Flintstone]

Is this a project for your own home ? Personally I don't think travertine to the quality your describing is really suitable over underfloor heating as it's incredibly weak and soft !

 

[Ash]

hi folks, yikes. My problem now is that I have already purchased the tiles, they were sold to me here in France as natural flooring tiles from Turkey. Here is a link to the product
Travertin Opus Romain 4T Paloma Ultra Light 1er Choix - Espace Travertin - https://www.espace-travertin.fr/Travertin/travertin-opus-romain-4t-paloma-ultra-light-1er-choix/

Yes, this is for my own house in France. To go down in a small kitchen and lounge area. A concrete screed has been put down over the top of the UF heating (by local building company) and has a metal wire mesh through it. Does this help matters?

I have just looked at the uncoupling membrane- and this look like a good bet. I had looked at a flexible tile adhesive for UF heating. What are your thoughts on that?

Resin filling- this sounds like my only option. What should I look for? Is this a clear resin filling or is there other options? And would this be done before laying the tile...?

Thanks so far...

 

[Concrete guy]

 

[Concrete guy]

As the link to your supplier suggests (Cut and Paste after translating):-

"The Travertine in natural stone is often used in soil, pool , staircase , veneer, kitchen and bathroom . Unlike tiled and reconstituted stone , travertine is hard wearing material. Its lifespan is unlimited and, on the contrary, it is embellished when others wear out and tarnish. Just look at our heritage of monuments and old buildings."

It's correct to the point that it's been used in this manner for centuries. Just not at 12mm thick for flooring or monuments. Before I did diamond tooling I was a stone importer and we always recommended 20mm (or at the very least 15mm on a solid substrate) thick travertine for internal flooring and 30mm for external pool surrounds. So it's a combination of thickness (or thinness more accurately) combined with having to fill it post fitting that's starting to make this job look more effort that it's worth.

You can make this work but you're starting with a compromised product that's going to require a very high level of preparation before it can be successfully fitted, it's then going to require resin filling and refinishing. The prep and finishing costs could probably be more appropriate spent buying a more suitable stone to start with. That will then require less prep and finishing and likely be a better long term solution.

Are there any other areas of the house these could be used in if they can't be returned? Maybe bathroom walls or similar?

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Ok - we did a Fired Earth unfilled/honed Travertine floor in a garden room many years ago and was stopped from grouting it by the client who wanted the organic look!
I would have used a cement based grout in a mix of ivory/beige/sandstone to fill the voids (my colour choice for mid shade travertine) . I would not impregnate/seal the stone until after grouting to ensure the grout held in the pores. But make sure it’s completely clean before sealing.
In your case I’d 100% uncouple the screed.
Other methods are available.

 

[Blunt Tool]

Done a similar job in similar situations good few years back. Customer had already bought travertine and had it stored for good few months aswell as electric UFH. He agreed that as long as I did my best no comebacks. I cleaned, primed floors. I went thru all the pallets of tiles and sorted into piles, worst pitted and holed ones would be used for cuts hoping that most of them you are cutting the bad bits off. Then sorted thru shades etc. I laid the electric UFH, then mixed and poured slc over cables. Once dry I primed slc floor and laid a thin uncoupling mat with flexible fast set adhesive. I then set out and installed travertine trying to use the best ones in the most common and noticeable areas using a flexible white adhesive. Once all tiled and dried I grouted with Mapei Jasmine UCP filling all joints, voids and holes. Once all dried after a few days and making sure it was totally clean I sealed the floor with a couple of coats of mat finish sealer. I’ve done other work for same customer over the years and bar cleaning and resealing it still looks good.
All cuts were done on a wet saw with a good blade, travertine creates too much dust even outside cutting dry!

 

[Ash]

Thanks for all of your advice! Really helpful and has pointed me in the right direction. Am sticking with the stone tiles... and going to give the above advice a go. Cheers

 

[bsc ceramics]

a mate of mine fitted some trav from turkey said it was so bad he
refused to lay it but customer pleaded with him so he did it but got it
in writing he would not guarantee the works about 3 months later
got a call to say the woman's stiletto heal had gone through a tile.

 

[Unused Account 1]

Be careful with unfilled on ufh,make sure get the best coverage you can when back buttering ,check you dont need ditra with it being ufh ,good look