Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The only problem that I can think of when using travertine as a patio is that it can't be set with mortar very well. Being a porous stone, the water gets trapped at the bottom with nowhere to go when it freezes. When it does freeze, quite often what happens is that the stone pops free of the mortar as the water expands. I am a landscape construction foreman in New England and have constructed several travertine pool patios but that is the one problem that seems to keep coming up. There is a product that is made in Germany called TROBA that allows the water under the stone to drain off and therefore the freeze/thaw process is not as much of a problem.
Well, we ended up installing one, but it was dry-set on a concrete slab. We didn't wet-set it b/c of the cost factor. We figured if there was an issue with it being dry set, we at least had the material and could wet-set it down the road.
Based on my research, I was under the impression that travertine wasn't very porous at all. In fact, we did our master bath in travertine with the shower being completely tiled in it (shower base, walls & ceiling.)
Attached are some photos of the completed patio. Forgive me...the patio is a bit dirty from some regrading & current landscaping projects.
Last edited by TheImportersWife; 11-29-2008 at 07:01 PM..
There is a product that is made in Germany called TROBA that allows the water under the stone to drain off and therefore the freeze/thaw process is not as much of a problem.
Wanted to add that we used the Schluter-KERDI system in our master bath shower.
If you have one, where are you located?
What's your opinion on it?
I'm on Long Island (NY) and travertine patios don't seem to be very common around here. I've fallen in love with the material and it seems ideal for the area. I'm just wondering why it isn't more commonly used in these parts considering it can be had for the same cost as other pavers.
Did you find a distributor of travertine? State Material in Westbury, LI can help out.
Your patio photos don't appear anymore but I'm curious of the size and total cost of this project? I've seen pool patios using travertine and they look very nice.
Your patio photos don't appear anymore but I'm curious of the size and total cost of this project? I've seen pool patios using travertine and they look very nice.
In case you're still interested, our patio is about 1600 sq ft and I believe the total cost was around 20K.
Attached is a couple quick pics I took yesterday with my phone. They only show part of the patio.
The 3rd photo is from last year during regrading (hence the dirt all over the patio.)
Last edited by TheImportersWife; 11-03-2009 at 08:13 PM..
use a sand set system of compacted dirt, 4" thick compacted stone base, and 1" of rock dust, granite fines, concrete sand, or other suitable leveling course. Install travertine over sand. Use metal, plastic, or concrete edge restraint where pavers do not abut a structure. Sweep extra bedding sand into joints to levele full, then use leaf blower to remove sand from cavities. Use rubber mallet to "seat" pavers in sand bed.To improve slip resistance, apply a sealer with embedded grit and let dry.
What boudwit295 mentioned is a problem. However there are ways to go about it using travertine pavers. As he mentioned travertine pavers are porous so the trapped water will have nowhere to go if mortared in. Best way to go about this is to install them dry set with sand and gravel. This way there will be no problems because travertine pavers are freeze/thaw cycle tested. The other alternative is using FlexBond, it is a mortar which expands. I am not familiar with the German product described, but I will check on it. We have installed numerous jobs with tumbled travertine pavers in New York and New Jersey area without a problem in the past 2 years.
At southampton tile and stone they sell a frech cut kit of travertine that sits in sand. a best bet for the area and one we are considering. alos saves on price. We also dont like the concrete pavers and dont get the bluestone popularity since it gets so hot! but bluestone and pavers are much stronger than travertine.
We are currently looking at the best of pavers- unilock, Nava? some of the big brands like hp are not popular out here.
Can anyone receomend a best in concrete pavers witha smooth real stone look? not too sparkly or obviously fake?
Good luck. MH
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
