Sorry I can not help with your installation question. We are using stone on the bottom of our porch and we are looking for something for the top (floor) of the porch. We have a lot of porch...how does tavertine compare to other products that you considered? What made you decide to use tavertine? Thanks!

The John Bridge Tile Forum (use google) is a great place for tile info. With a concrete floor, and a part of the country with little or no freezing, you should be alright to set the tile without any uncoupling membrane. Most of the mortar manufacturers want a modified thin set for an exterior tile.

We've used honed and unfilled travertine ourselves. We get unfilled so our grout color will fill those holes.

Using a natural stone, for a DIYer, I'd suggest using a broken bond pattern (basically, you don't end up with 4 tile corners meeting together). It helps hide the irregularity in the square tiles.

And last but not least... spend money and time on a good sealer, rated for exterior. Put down several coats, per the instructions. This will protect the stone from staining and mildew/mold.

For the second post'er, to use natural tile on a wood framed porch or deck, you'll need to make sure the floor is very sturdy. The tile forum above can get you the info on that.

Thanks for the help. I talked to the dealer again yesterday. He agrees that the membrane should not be necessary as we never get a hard freeze here and our concrete was poured almost a year ago so any settling has probably already occurred. On grouting he did say that some people prefer not to fill the holes with grout and just hose down the porch when they fill up with the local sandy dirt. On the other hand he said that in picking a grout color we might consider getting something that blends with the local dirt as well as with the travertine. That way, in his opinion, the holes won't fill up with dirt and the grout will never look dirty. At first I thought he was kidding but he was serious. What do you think of this idea?

SALLEN, I should have mentioned that the tile is 1/2" thick and I was calling it tile to distinguish it from the travertine pavers I've seen that are much thicker. We looked at everything from ceramic and porcelain tile, to slate, to Pennsylvania bluestone and even considered just painting the concrete. What finally pushed us completely to the travertine was the natural beauty of the stone and how cool it feels underfoot. (I actually took off my shoes and walked on a sample patch that was sitting in the sun). It was also in our price range---around $4 sf. Hope this helps.

I'm sorry, I only have a question and no answers. Isn't marble very porous? Isn't it unusual to use a material that has to be sealed out of doors? (I even chose a granite that doesn't need selaing for my kitchen.) We have a marble tile floor in a guest bathroom; it's sealed.

All natural stone is porous, even your granite. Travertine is more prone to cracking in a freeze/thaw cycle due to moisture and has more natural flaws that can lead to cracks. So travertine usually needs a crack isolation membrane and sealing, regardless of where it's installed.