What kind of grout for travertine

Under the right or wrong conditions they could fail in the future. The industry standards are established by volunteered consensus groups of tile installers, tile manufacturers, stone processors, installation product manufacturers, consultants, including many scientists and engineers. Standards are recommendations and not mandatory, but they are established to prevent reoccurring problems and failures. They are placed beside each other with no grout. Whether it is a natural stone tile like Travertine or a ceramic tile like a porcelain tile, all have to have a grout joint for two reasons.

One is that there are tolerances for size variation as each tile is not always exactly the same size. The width of the grout joint is dictated by how much variation in sizing the tile as so it can compensate for the variation.

Hi, I have been reading the above and still have some uncertainty about how to tile my living room. I am wanting to replicate a floor seen in a midcentury house in Connecticut designed by Philip Johnson in the 70s. It has unfilled vein cut travertine tiles that are grout-less.

Keep in mind that unfilled travertine has holes in it that collect dirt and are difficult to clean. Not very practical for floor applications. Grout joints have two basic purposes, one to compensate for the sizing irregularities of the stone and in a micro respect to add some resiliency to mitigate expect stress from the stone as the grout is less dense than the stone. I have seen butted stone installations that did not seem to have any problems, and I have seen butted installations that did have problems.

A common problem is edge chatter where the edge of the stone chips from the stone expanding. The stone will expand as it heats up and when absorbing moisture or humidity. Another problem is the stone tiles debonding and tenting particularly if there were no movement joints installed at the perimeters and within the field of stone.

Don Just finding this posting though I hope I am not too late Travertine rough tile floor installed in Grouted on edges but it appears no gap was used in some joints.

The issue I have is the grout keeps popping out. Behind the missing grout is the butted joint. I can fix this with a diamond oscillating tool by opening a gap between the tiles. Those with issues all have cracks in the grout. No cracks in the tile.

And it appears there is no grout between the joint and the sub floor. My question is if I do the work and grout it properly, do you think the grout will stay in place. It was repaired once by the installer but it looks like they just applied the grout on top of The cracks. The issue is the grout. Tiles should never be butted together per the standards.

The grout should fill the grout joint full. That is assuming you do have adequate movement joints at the perimeters and within the field of tile meeting TCNA EJ requirements. Hi There Donato, the scenario i have is that I am using travertine tiles for wall application. Due to the nature of the tiles having holes, the tile installer recommended not to use grouting but to spaced the tiles 3mm apart.

After 10 long months, I am finally reaching the final stages of my master bath remodel. One of my final tasks is selecting a grout for my travertine shower. I could really use some feedback on selecting the best grout. I am not that happy with the grout I selected for the travertine floor and after the hundred or so hours spent setting the shower tile, I am mortified at the thought of making a bad choice. The mosaic and chair rail is honed but NOT filled. I know the basic rule Trouble is, I used unsanded grout on the floor and like I said, not too happy with it.

I get the feeling it won't wear well, more so in a wet area. Also don't like the color I chose on the floor, but that's another discussion. Sanded or Unsanded? Will sanded grout scratch my travertine? It is honed, not polished, so am I safe on the abrasive aspect of sanded grout? What is the best brand and type of grout for honed and filled travertine?

What is cement-based grout? Sanded would definately be better for these two wider grout lines. The travertine mosaic and chair rail is honed but NOT filled. There are many very small holes that I need to fill with grout. Can I get sanded grout in these small holes and have it stay? Any help and advice would be appreciated. I am going to try and post some pictures below. Sponsored Links. You can get the sanded grout into the tiny holes and pits. I hesitate to recommend sanded grout on travertine.

The honed surface should hide any scratches from normal grouting technique, but since you will be forcing grout into the tiny spaces, your extra efforts may cause scratching that the honed finish won't hide. Or not. Try a sample board with your sanded grout. See how it works and if you like how it looks.

Using unsanded grout on wider areas will work, but you may have to re-grout to fill any shrinkage cracks that may develop. All grout, except the premixed kind in a bucket and epoxy, are cement based. Here are some pictures of my travertine shower tile job. You can see the small pits and the wider grout line above and below that one row of mosaic. Attached Images. Bob - Thanks for the reply.

Sounds like you would go unsanded? Is there any other reason besides the potential for scratching using sanded? I had thought of using a test board to try out the grout I choose. More work of course and the wife is getting anxious, probably worth the extra effort though.

The only tiles where I would have to "force" the grout into tiny pits and holes would be in the mosaic and chair rail. These represent a very small portion of the overall tile job. See pictures. If the honed and filled field tiles don't show scratches with the sanded grout, I can be carefull on the mosaic. If you found this article helpful, let us know in the comment section below.

Also, feel free to share it by clicking the share buttons below. Want us to cover another topic related to grouting products and techniques? Travertine: The overwhelming choice among homeowners, both for its beauty and its versatility, is travertine stone. Today, this natural stone is popular for indoor and outdoor projects. Travertine tiles are used indoors, while travertine pavers are useful for driveways, pool decks, patios, walkways and other outdoor applications.

Travertine has naturally-occurring pits and dents, and some installers choose to use travertine grout to fill these in, though you can also purchase travertine unfilled. Other natural stone choices include: Slate: Often used as roofing tile, slate is durable and easily split into tiles.