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Choosing Travertine Tiles To Decorate

Albarns | Dec 13, 2010 |

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Have you ever wanted to experience the feel of a Roman villa in your home? One of the classic aspects of this type of décor is the use of stone and stone tiles for functionality and appearance. There are many choices when is comes to the type of stone work you choose but one of the most popular is Travertine.

Travertine is a stone that was very common in ancient Roman construction. It was, in fact, the most used stone in the building of the Roman Coliseum. Travertine is a sedimentary rock which is formed over thousands of years by mineral action in hot springs. The minerals are laid down in layers which give the stone its many hued appearance. Travertine tiles are very popular because of the many colors which can be found in any single tile, these range from deep beige all the way to a royal gold.

Once the mineral deposit has formed, geological actions thrust the material deep underground where the structure is modified by heat and pressure. This is the same action that is required for the formation of marble stone. Marble, though, is usually kept at a higher pressure and temperature longer and thus becomes very dense and hard. One of the most appealing aspects of marble, besides its beauty, is the smoothness and hardness of the stone. When marble is quarried and sliced into slabs it makes a very good tile or worktop because it is so dense.

Since travertine is not acted upon as long as the marble and thus it tends to have voids and air pockets and is not as tough and durable as the marble is. For this reason, travertine works very well as a tile but it can not support itself in slab form. When travertine tiles are used they are applied to a rigid sub-surface for the support.

If travertine is going to be used on a wall then there is not much preparation of the tile that needs to be done. The surface will be honed at the factory and this gives a very natural looking result. If it is going to act as flooring then there are a couple of steps that need to be completed. Since the stone naturally has small holes from air pockets these need to be filled with a man made material. The coloring of this filler is matched closely to the tile color. It also needs to be sealed yearly to keep out dirt and stains.

Travertine stone tiles have been used for centuries and they can really add a great old world look to any home. Right now, travertine bathrooms are very popular for this reason.