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travertine tile from Home Depot??

13 years ago

We're updating our master bath, and the porcelain tile I picked from the tile store is about twice as much as a travertine tile I just saw at Home Depot (on sale). Is there a reason I should avoid this material? I really like the looks of it, but don't want to spend all this money (tear-out and installation...yikes!) if the HD stuff is of such poor quality as to be a big mistake. So what do ya'll think?

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Comments (9)

bill_vincent
13 years ago
Is there a reason I should avoid this material?

be afraid. Be VERY afraid. Travertine is very easy to make look good enough for sale, and then months or even weeks down the road, it starts to crumble, or the fill starts coming out of all the holes.

Yeah, there's a real GOOD reason not to buy it. Ever hear the cliche anything too good to be true usually is? This is no exception.
cruisedirector
13 years ago
I went to pretty much every tile place in town looking for a filled, honed, medium shade travertine and couldn't find the right thing. I happened to be at my local Lowes and, low and behold, there it was. I needed 16x16 and they were 18x18, but since it was for a smallish bathroom floor, my contractor just cut them down.
I knew it was a risk, but they didn't have any trouble cutting them down (no fill coming out, chipping, etc.). I don't think that the price was half the other places, but it was what I was looking for and have been very happy with it the past 2 months it has been installed.
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I've bought a lot of items from both Home Depot and Lowe's over the years. I've found them to be customer oriented, easy to do business with, and they carry a wide assortment of products. I've had doors installed, carpet installed, bought appliances, tons of tools, hardware, you name it. I'm looking at vinyl tiles at both stores right now, and carpet at Lowe's. I pay close attention customer reviews. Other than that, I have noticed that they carry a wide price range of items within a product line, to suit what their customers want. In researching the vinyl tiles, I've noticed that H.D.'s store brand has a lot of excellent reviews. I have also noticed that both stores have the bottom of the line, inexpensive varieties that have problems. But I think that's more because of the PRICE and not because it's at H.D. or Lowe's. Some of the vinyl tiles have complaints that the top layer will scratch off, pieces not be squared, the tiles iwthin a box won't match in pattern, etc. So I think if you inspect in person, and buy something that is not the bottom of the line, it should be fine (paying attention to customer reviews). I don't know about ceramic tile, but for vinyl tile, I was able to buy a single tile, or pick up a sample, and take them home for color inspection, and scrape them with a knife to test for durability. The one thing that surprises me, but which I think is the case, is that if there is a manufacturing defect, and the tile has been installed, I'm not so sure the big box stores will credit you. They may serve only as an agent with the manufacturer for you. You'd have to check on that, since I'm not sure. But then all stores would be this way. I love the big box stores. So easy to do business with them.
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A rule of thumb is the price of the tile, the $2 a sq ft travertine I have seen from HD were not very good quality, some have huge voids in them only filled with cement. I am not sure if it is what you are looking at? As you go higher in price, the fill is better quality and less voids.
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If you buy exactly the same tile (manufacturer, model, color, etc.) from HD or from any other supplier, and it is not identified as a "second", it will be an identical product. The suggestion that manufacturers make a different quality product (with the identical model name/number) for the big box stores is basically an old wives tale. You will hear the same suggestion from plumbers who tell you that the only place to buy plumbing fixtures is from a plumbing supplier. However, what you may find is that Daltile makes "subway tile" in different grades/quality levels, and the tile you find in HD may not be identical to the Daltile product available from another supplier. In some cases the model number is almost a complete match, but there are one or two characters that are used to distinguish the quality and price point. What you need to decide is whether the quality difference is something you can see, and whether its worth it to you to move to that cheaper product. Bruce
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bill_vincent
13 years ago
You're the exception to the rule, then. Between here, the Kitchens Forum, John Bridge's, Floorstransformed, and HGTV (& HGTVPro), I've heard of so many horror stories originating from travertine from either HD or Lowes that there's no way in hell I'd even consider the idea.
jle
13 years ago
Oh, wow, so much to learn!

Okay, so what about the marble at HD and/or Lowes? They've got an octagon and dot 12 x 12 in a carrara marble that I was considering. Any thoughts/experience/etc on that?
bill_vincent
13 years ago
Is it a 12x12 tile or in a 12x12 SHEET of smaller mounted tiles?
jle
13 years ago
It's the 12 x 12 sheet of smaller mounted tiles (in an octagon and dot pattern, if I recall correctly). Prices out about $9.99/square foot, again, if I recall correctly.
User
13 years ago
May I ask if it is JUST the travertine which is a problem from these stores?

And when you say "fill"....what is the fill and where is it?

This thread is the first I've seen to bring up this issue, and it sure is getting my attention!
lindawink
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks so much for the responses. I think I'll steer clear of this product. I have too much tile to take that kind of risk! I did look at it again today, and the texture was weird to me...rough at the fill spots but very smooth everywhere else. I think I'll stay with the porcelain I picked out before, for peace of mind, and use natural stone for accent/trim.
kittenkat_2002
13 years ago
I just installed travertine from Lowes in our laundry room. We purchased all our other tile from a specialty store except for this one.

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