Travertine

TRAVERTINE

Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot spring or in a limestone cave.

Travertines are classified into four groups according to their area of usage; block stones, pebbles (river stones), cut and finished stones and natural cleft stones. Block stones have been used in buildings and exterior areas as paving stone, border stone and cut and finished stone.

TRAVERTINE QUARRIES

Travertine comes from quarries all over the world, including some of the largest quarries in Turkey, Italy, and Mexico. n the 1980s, travertine came from only Italy but now Turkey,  Iran, Peru, and Mexico are frequent exporters.

The natural stone products such as marble, travertine, granite, andesite, basalt and tuff have often used in buildings. They have been used successfully in both interior and exterior works in flooring, veneering, landscaping and walkway laying.

TRAVERTINE USED FOR

Travertine has a porous structure and is often used in construction as a building material for houses, offices, hospitals, temples, shrines, swimming pools and bath complexes. It is mostly used indoors i.e. wall coverings, countertops, backsplashes, floorings, but can also be used outdoors due to the stone’s great quality to endure harsh weather conditions. It can be found in many forms i.e. tile, paver, slab and mosaic. Travertine is especially good for building stone, sinks, monuments, pool coping, sills, ornamental stone, interior, exterior, wall, floor , paving and other design projects.

TRAVERTINE FINISHES

Travertine is a versatile product choice as it has many different finishes to help you achieve the look you are going for.

Polished: Create a look of luxury with the high shine from polished travertine. Polished travertine is smoothed and glossed over to get a shiny reflective surface.

Honed: Honed finishes provide a smooth yet matte finish without any shine. Honed travertine can either be filled or unfilled. A honed look and texture is achieved by grinding and buffing one side of the unfinished stone.

Brushed: Utilize the natural look of travertine with a brushed finish. This textured finish features an unfilled exterior and provides a rustic yet sophisticated look. This look is obtained by brushing the surface of the stone with a brush or wire wheel until the preferred texture is achieved.

Tumbled: To create tumbled travertine, pieces of stone are cut, sized and placed in a rubber coated or plastic barrel with an abrasive grit and water. Sometimes a small amount of acid is mixed in. The tub/barrel is turned over and over again, allowing for the stones to rub against each other. The edges of the travertine are softened and worn down.

COLORS OF TRAVERTINE

Travertine offers a stunning variety of natural colors. The colors include variations of beige, brown, taupe and even lustrous silver grey. The stunning variety of color options prove that this stone dominates with versatility in the world of design.

TRAVERTINE TYPE OF CUT

Travertine has variation even in pattern depending on the type of cut used on the stone. In cross-cut, the surface is composed of different tones of the same color due to evasion of the tile’s vein during the cutting process.Travertines in vein-cut, the slabs are cut in a way that results in in a sharp parallel vein with holes and alternating tones throughout the surface.

COST OF TRAVERTINE

The price of travertine depends on the type you choose. Travertine can be one of the more reasonably priced stone options. Its reasonable price and rich look make travertine an affordable luxury.