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Bill V, Mongo, other tile experts...travertine question

13 years ago

we are looking to do travertine on our fireplace up to the ceiling. we only have about a 1" return on the sides. the travertine we're using is vein cut honed & filled. the tile setter says that he doesn't think he can miter the corners because travertine chips & cracks. is this true or should he be able to do it and i should find someone else?

Comments (7)

bill_vincent
13 years ago
It depends on the quality of the travertine. If it's anything less than top quality travertine, it'll be next to impossible to miter cleanly. Even for top quality stone, it's tough. I think you'd be much better off to cut the pieces square, and get them bullnosed.
johnfrwhipple
13 years ago
I agree.

This slab install we polished the ends as well - don't you love the clear look trim on this fireplace! This install was 6 pieces of tarvertine installed onsite.

{{gwi:1401148}}

If you look close at the fireplace in this picture you will see we polished the top stone to lap the skinny piece.

{{gwi:1401147}}

Travertine is soft and the quality of the sealers and filler varies.

{{gwi:1448234}}

The look of this install was enhanced because we ordered a 40% waste factor. We Cherry picked the stone and spent 4 hours doing layout.

The extra waste stone will become a laundry room floor.

What type of fireplace is it?

Make sure to test the effects of heat on your tile. Place a few in front and bring the fire up to full heat for a number of burn cycles. Get one tile set loosely above the fireplace for the same test. Test with the sealer as well.

I case you didn't know - I build a lot of fireplaces - I just don't talk about it.

I hear Mike Holmes next issue will talk about fireplace renovations.

Lets see what the "Experts" have to say...

;)
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Bill V - I found one of your comments in an old GW post from 2008. I copied and pasted below. So I'm thinking unsanded. If I am wrong, please let me know! Thank you so much for all of your help! As for the explanation of the different grouts, I just posted this in an FAQ thread on the gallery side of the bathrooms forum. Here it is, copied and pasted: Although there are others, for all intents and purposes, there are two kinds of grout-- portland cement based, and epoxy. The portland cement based grouts are the conventional grouts that have been around for millenniums. Although in the last few decades, they've been modified with latex and other polymers to make them stronger and more resistant to mold and mildew, they're basically the very same grouts that have been used since Greek and Roman days. There are two kinds of portland cement based grouts. One is sanded, and the other unsanded. The only difference between the two is, as their names imply, the sand. The ONLY thing that determines which grout should be used is the joint size. NOT the glaze, NOT aesthetics, NOT the material (ceramic vs. glass or polished marble), NONE of those. I'll repeat-- the ONLY thing that determines which is used, is the joint size. Anything under an 1/8" takes unsanded grout. Anything 1/8" or bigger, you use sanded grout. If you use unsanded grout in larger joints, the cement in the grout will shrink way too much as the water evaporates out of it, and the joints will end up shrinking and cracking bigtime. If you try using sanded grout in smaller joints, the grains of sand will literally clog the top of the joint, and not allow the grout to get down INTO the joint, and the grout will flake off in a matter of days.
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It's important enough that you try and get in touch with your installer and find out what he used. if you can't, then I'll recommend one of the others.
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shaughnn
13 years ago
I cut this using a hand-held 4" circular saw and a straight edge. It's 3/8"-thick travertine and the wedge is 30"-long.

Here's a picture of me making another cut using the same method.

And here's the sliver installed in the finished wainscott before the painters arrived for the walls.

Shaughnn
User
13 years ago
Shaughnn - WOW!
johnfrwhipple
13 years ago
Are we in for some choice work shots? Love it.

Like the Thick Bed mix.

I took your advice and have been using the Laticrete Thick Bed since we meet.

JW
Suzy
Original Author
13 years ago
johnfrwhipple...that first picture of the slab install, that's the exact travertine i'm looking to use on my fireplace. how did you do the corners (front to sides of fireplace)? obviously i'm a layperson, no experience with this stuff at all. here's a pic of the area we're going to do, but we'll be putting on a mantel that matches the built-ins, doing slab travertine inside the mantel and 12x24 travertine up the rest of the wall.
MongoCT
13 years ago
srg, I was out of town for a few days, looks like you got your question answered.

shaughnn, nice slice!

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