Travertine or similar for a shower floor?

[Bruv Of E UK]

Hello, I'm new here.
A customer is talking about having resin filled and polished travertine in a bedroom and bathroom and would like the same to continue into the shower floor but this would be very slippery. What options are there?

 

[Gazzer]

Travertine etc is very popular for shower floors. Anything too slippy should be avoided though.

 

[beanz]

Yep that will be very slippery. I had a customer insist on it in a wetroom, and although she's never mentioned it, I know for a fact that its like an ice rink when wet! I wonder if there's a product that can be used on it, to make it less slippery... Something like a sealer with sand in it, or something!?!

 

[Chalker]

Why not change to 50x50 travertine mosaics. In the shower area?
the joints will give the grip.

 

[Old Mod]

Can you not Hone those in shower floor?

 

[Freeze]

It's a common misconception that all polished stones are slippery, most decent stone suppliers will be able to give you the slip resistance rating of their stones, on larger contracts I have had stone tested, you could do this if you have concerns. Their are also products on the market that will enhance the slip resistance of a stone, widely used over in the states, I haven't used them personally so can't vouch for how good these are.

 

[Stef]

Not used it personally but might be worth a try..

 

[Bruv Of E UK]

Travertine etc is very popular for shower floors. Anything too slippy should be avoided though.

Yep that will be very slippery. I had a customer insist on it in a wetroom, and although she's never mentioned it, I know for a fact that its like an ice rink when wet!

The resin filled and polished travertine that the customer wants are the same as some that I put in a shower room last year for another customer (but not in the actual shower itself). They are very smooth and do get quite slippery wen wet.

Why not change to 50x50 travertine mosaics. In the shower area?
the joints will give the grip.

They dont want grouted joints.These tiles butt up very nicely. The customers will only accept grout rubbed into the tiny gaps between butted up tiles in the shower ubicle floor.

Can you not Hone those in shower floor?

Do you mean rub off the shiny coat? I think they can do this at the place that supplies the stone. I dont know if it would stain easily though. Does anybody know?
I'm in Ibiza, Spain. My Spanish isnt great and I was running into trouble when trying to ask about this with the supplier. They kept telling me that they couldnt do any of their work at my customers house and I kept telling them that I didnt want them to come to the house and that I just wanted to buy the tiles already prepared with some sort of non slip.

It's a common misconception that all polished stones are slippery, most decent stone suppliers will be able to give you the slip resistance rating of their stones, on larger contracts I have had stone tested, you could do this if you have concerns. Their are also products on the market that will enhance the slip resistance of a stone, widely used over in the states, I haven't used them personally so can't vouch for how good these are.

I have seen some non slip products advertised but didn't know if they would be suitable and if they are really as good as they are cracked up to be. I am nowhere near as experienced in tiling as many of you fellas so I would be reluctant to try something that nobody on this forum has used. I also don't know if they are available down here in Spain anyway.

 

[Tony73]

why don't you just make one travertine slab as a shower tray? if they don't want grout joints

 

[Chalker]

Looks like they want a shower ice rink! You can't educate pork!

 

[White Room]

If there butted together theres very little chance of getting any kind of grout to stay there...

 

[Tony73]

so dished 30mm slab, would make great shower tray with no joints :hurray:
[video]http://www.stonevale.co.uk/category/50/stone-shower-trays?gclid=CP_v6cSM47wCFWoOwwodok4ABw[/video]

 

[Old Mod]

Do you mean rub off the shiny coat? I think they can do this at the place that supplies the stone. I dont know if it would stain easily though. Does anybody know

yes that's exactly it.
if they can do it in the store it's your best bet,esp if it's only handful of tiles, by the time u've got honing powder, pads and a machine to do it with. It won't be cost effective once u factor in labour as well.
U can still protect them against staining with a sealer

Stone Impregnator | Stone Sealer | Stain-Gard SB (Impregnator) | Stone Protection Products | From Nu-Life Stone Care

 

[Concrete guy]

Ask the supplier to "hone" the surface of the stone before delivery.

Alternatively, borrow a polisher and buy some Silicon Carbide pads and do it yourself.

You'd need something like 120 or 220 grit to get a decent matt surface.

 

[GMLpaul]

Take a look at our page here for some ideas - you could also use an R9 etching chemical. Their best option is to have a tray made out of slab as the honed finish is dealt with in the manufacturing process.

A fundo tray is another option...

 

[Bruv Of E UK]

Thanks for all the replies, lads. Some useful info here. If anyone else has anything to add then please do even if is to just agree with a previous post

 

[Bruv Of E UK]

A local supplier has shown me some non-slip travertine. This sample had like a chess board pattern etched into it. They said they can also do stripes, circles and text. It looked great.