Beautiful Travertine Tiles

Travertine tiles trace their history to Tivoli, Italy near Rome, known as Tibur in ancient times which eventually became "Travertine". A sedimentary rock formed by geothermally heated hot springs, Travertine has been prized as a housing building material since the 14th century. The largest building in the world, the Roman Collesium, was constructed primarily of Travertine, sometimes referred to as travertine marble or travertine limestone.

A key characteristic of Travertine stone is its pitted surface that almost looks like something exotic dug up on the surface of the moon. The stone can be used with these natural troughs left open or they can be filled with grout depending upon your design preference. Whether you purchase Travertine filled or unfilled, this stone polishes beautifully to a stunning smooth and shiny surface that is popularly used in garden and patio walkways, flooring, as kitchen backsplashes and for countertops as well as for facades.

With demand for Travertine in the construction trade in America alone reaching almost a million tons annually, Italy no longer is the sole supplier for this sought-after stone. Peru, Turkey and Mexico now mine Travertine, usually available in tile sizes for use in flooring in colors ranging from creamy white to brown, rust and deep red.
With a nice variety of available colors, it is easy to find a shade of Travertine to match your existing decor, one of the best reasons for selecting it for walls or flooring.

Travertine's breathtaking beauty is certainly a large part of its appeal in decorating projects, but it's important to realize that natural Travertine is a very high maintenance building material. Daily cleaning of floors featuring Travertine is essential to prevent dirt, grime and moisture from building up in the natural troughs and dulling the stone's attractive appearance.

Annual flooring maintenance includes removing any existing sealant on the tiles, cleaning the tiles, and then applying several coats of new sealant. During this process, the floor will not be accessible for walking on for more than 24 hours to allow for proper drying. Also, because of its porous nature, Travertine can stain easily if something is spilled on it and not promptly mopped up.

Travertine is easy to cut and is favored to use in places where other stone might be hard to install. Its beauty and durability always seem to trump the extra time and elbow grease it takes to maintain its gorgeous appearance.