Hi,
Just doing some reasearch on what to use on my patio floor whwn I came across this statement on a diy site, is it correct?
“The tiles for this project are travertine, a morphed limestone that can be used either indoors or outdoors. It’s twice as strong as concrete”
Mike
Replies
My vote is it's BS.
Travertine is soft and full of tiny gas pockets. My experience shows these gas pockets can be broken open from time to time when travertine is used as flooring by dog claws, high heels, and other sharp pointed things.
Travertine is cut into thin pieces. I fail to see how it could be depended upon to be structural.
It is a pretty colored stone that can be beautifully incorporated into comprehensive decorating designs.
Travertine can run the gamut from soft and brittle to fairly hard.
I built a house several years ago for which the customers bought 12" X 12" travertine for their master bath floors and walls. It was really a nightmare to work with: lots of pre-existing cracks (the tiles would fall apart sometimes when picking them up or they would fall apart on the saw).
Cutting the diagonals the customer wanted was nearly impossible because the corners would fracture.
Another issue was the extent of filling: Travertine, in it's natural state, can have holes, ranging from pinhole size to the size of a softball, which was the case with the material described above. The manufacturers use a filler made of travertine dust and a binder to fill the holes and, when the holes are small, it's not a real issue with strength or appearance. But filler in the larger holes can be unsightly and fragile.
Not all travertine is as I've described, but I bring all this up so you'll go to a reputable supplier and look at the stock before you take it home.
The statement that it's "twice as strong as concrete" may be misleading....depends on how strength is determined....concrete is strong in compression but it's tensile strength is pretty puny. Both materials, concrete and travertine, are relatively soft compared to, say, granite or marble.
I have tiled with travertine that was pretty nice to work with...hope you can have that experience.
It's twice as strong as concrete
Yes & no.
& you have to put it into context.
Travertine PSI is rated upwards of 7,500 pounds while concrete depending on the mix goes from 3,000 to 19,000.
But those are just compressive strengths.
Coliseum in Rome was built with travertine.
Be very careful, I have been researching travertine for several months for a pool deck rehab and I can tell you you will find a lot of misinformation. There are good ones but there are many poor ones. Ask for ASTM test data as it applies to the stone from the supplier you are choosing.