Travertine Pavers – Benefits of Travertine Stones for Outdoors Uses
Mar 27, 2023
Do you think your gorgeous interior design is enough to impress your guest or potential buyers of your property? It may be, but what about exterior spaces where your guests, family members, and seldom your property buyers pass through before getting entry into interior places?
The exterior elements of your property such as hardscape, walkway, driveway, sidewalk, garden paths, patio, patio paths, swimming pool, siding, exterior walls, and porch are cumulatively responsible for creating the first impression.
However, a variety of factors involved in the development of overall curb appeal, but the paving or flooring becomes the focal point. If you think of augmentation of paving, the material of your exterior surfaces has prime importance to manage the rest of the aspects of beautification of your hardscape.
Today, various materials used for paving, but natural stone is a luxurious choice thanks to its added advantages. Recent advancements in quarrying technologies and shipping have made natural stones affordable selection. Therefore, we have extended options to select our pavers in the natural stone category.
For instance, sandstone, limestone, flagstone, bluestone, slate, granite, quartzite, marble, and travertine are commonly used natural stones for exterior paving. Each stone type has distinct characteristics. You have to weigh the pros and cons of your stone selection within your contexts. Today, let’s check the pros and cons of travertine stones for your exterior paving requirements in detail.
What Is Travertine & How It Originates?
It is a sedimentary rock falling into limestone categories. However, the formation of travertine differs a lot from the common limestone rocks found in the crust of the earth or sub-marine surfaces. Travertine chiefly contains precipitates of calcium carbonate compounds.
The precipitation of travertine takes place in areas of hot springs found in volcanic regions, and carry lots of mineral with it from the underground reservoirs. Travertine formation also takes place in the caves where groundwater leaching happens.
During the formation of travertine rocks, a variety of minerals and other substances also depositing, which are become the cause of colors, textures, patterns, and style variations in the rocks. Due to water seepage. Travertine has spongy nature and porosity becomes obvious on the surfaces.
When deposition becomes huge overtime, pressure, heat, and other factors of sedimentation act on the rock and transforms the original nature of travertine a lot. However, it is not pure metamorphism, but similar impacts become evident in the formation, such as veins, grains, colors, and patterns.
Travertine Finishing
A deep understanding of a rock formation helps us to know its properties and what we can expect from it in our projects. Now, natural rocks mostly used in the form of stone veneers or tiles sliced from the rock cubes. So, travertine stone veneer are available with different surface treatments, such as
Tumbled Travertine Tiles
If you opt for a rustic look, the tumbling process with rocks, sands, and water can enhance the natural feel of the travertine stone surfaces. You can get textured surfaces with holes/pores, which makes them non-slippery for exterior use. Proper sealing can extend the life of stones and makes maintenance easy besides keeping textures on the surface intact.
Polished Travertine Tiles
It gives a smooth, glossy, and slippery finish. The smooth matte finish gives shining surfaces, which are easy to clean and highly resistant to stains. Adequate sealing lower porosity effects and prevent water absorption.
Chiseled Travertine Tiles
It is not a surface treatment; rather it is edge treatment only. The chiseled edge has a V-shaped indentation toward the back-side surface, and the front surface forms a ragged bevel. It allows more space to grout material and gives strong bonding to tiles.
Filled & Honed Travertine Tiles
In the process, pitted (with pits) surfaces filled with an epoxy resin material and sanded down means honed to get natural texture with smooth surfaces. It makes lower-grade travertine with lots of pits usable and proves cost-effective.
Pros of Travertine Stones in Outdoor Paving Applications
Travertine has several benefits, which renders it an excellent choice for outdoor paving. Let’s see in brief.
Travertine a Cheaper Alternative to Marble, Granite, Quartzite, and Others
Siliceous stones like granite and quartzite are solid candidates for external applications where wear and tears due to natural and human origin factors are impacting high. Marbles are great to create a gorgeous look-n-feel.
Unfortunately, those deluxe options are pricy and out of reach for households from lower to middle economic classes. Despite being originally limestone, travertine enjoys equivalent look-n-feel to marble and quartzite. Abundant resources are present for travertine stones, so it is available at comparatively lower prices.
Travertine a Durable Natural Stone for Exteriors
We have seen the origin and formation process of travertine. If polished and coated, it is a better option for external uses than marbles and limestone. Due to the absence of organic matters like fossils, shells, and skeletons of living organisms, it is tougher and long-lasting than marbles and limestone. We can seal the porosity of travertine with proper sealant material and get similar usability that granite and another alternative offer for outdoor applications in open to sky or wet places.
Travertine Stones Are Eco-friendly
Travertine is a kind of natural stones and found in nature. Moreover, its quarrying and finishing process is eco-friendly. Manufactured tiles like porcelain or ceramic are somewhat hazardous to our green environment.
Maintenance of Travertine Tiles Is Easy
In most cases, we use polished travertine with the desired coating and sealing applications. It hides its porous texture behind a layer and prevent penetration of water, fluids, and other damaging or stain developing materials into the mass of stones.
We can easily wipe off spills or dirt with a wet mop, remove stains with simple detergent soap solutions. If acidic solutions like lemon juice or vinegar spill over the travertine surfaces, cleaning is easy and damage-free.
If a breakage or crack occurs, you can easily replace the damaged piece of travertine with a matched shape, size, pattern, or style.
Travertine Stones Are Versatile
The applications of travertine tiles are in a wide range for interior as well as exterior. Apart from the flooring, it is the best choice for wall cladding, siding, countertops, and splash walls.
It can bear a load of the vehicle and heavy foot traffic so walkways, paths, and driveways can decorate with specially cut & treated travertine stones.
Travertine Stones Are Available As Per Needs
Availability of travertine stones are in a variety of colors, shades, shapes, sizes, patterns, and styles to meet your standard to bespoke requirements.
You can create a theme with travertine stones in the interior & exterior decorations of your building and match it with your hardscapes and landscapes easily. You can get the rustic or classic look and texture from travertine with natural beauty.
Travertine Stone Tiles or Slabs Allow Creation of Non-Slip Surfaces
We have seen, apart from polished travertine stone slabs or tiles, the rest of the finishes are slip resistance to a greater degree.
You can use tumbled, honed, or other finishes for your travertine stones in the construction of pool decks, patios, paths, and other exterior spaces where rains and frost are a possibility. For interior applications like baths and toilets or kitchen, it is a good choice.
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Cons of Travertine Stones in Outdoor Paving Applications
Travertine stones have some cons too. Let’s check some significant ones.
Travertine Has Porous Structure
We are accustomed to the formation process of travertine where deposition takes place in hot water springs after evaporation of water molecules in the air. It leaves sieves and holes in the mass and surfaces of the rocks.
When travertine stones cut into slabs or tiles, the porous structure remains intact to give it a decent texture and rustic look. Unfortunately, holes become a passage for water, vapor, and other liquids when spills occur on the surfaces of tiles. It absorbs the staining material easily if left open without applying a sealant material to cover it and protect it.
Moreover, the porous structure becomes weak after wears and tears of weather effects like heat and cold as well as rains and frost. Mildew, bacterial, and other chemicals penetrating easily into the holes of travertine stones and deteriorate them rapidly.
Travertine Prone to Damage Due to Acids and Salts
Travertine is a calcareous stone and reacts with high or low pH solutions, such as acids or salts.
Therefore, washing with vinegar or spill of lemon juice can damage the calcium carbonate structure within the travertine.
Travertine Demand Regular Maintenance
To overcome porosity and other cons described before, we used to apply coating chemicals or sealant solutions. Such treatments prevent absorptions of liquids and penetrations of hazardous substances into the surfaces of the porous structure of travertine stones. Sealants prevent the occurrence of stains from a variety of factors.
Some coating chemicals or sealant solutions require annual or biannual reapplication, and it costs some maintenance.
Conclusion
Where to Get the Best Travertine Pavers in the USA?
Do you imagine high-quality travertine stones at cheaper rates? Yes, World of Stones USA is the best destination to get a big inventory of natural stones including travertine at competitive market rates.
