Are you thinking about a travertine tile installation? Good. This is a wonderful floor for your home, office or business. It exudes sophistication and is a very durable floor. The Roman Coliseum was constructed with this stone and it still standing after all of these years. I am sure it will do well wherever you are planning on installing it.
Are you thinking about installing it yourself? If you are particularly handy you can do it. However, it might be best left to the professionals who do it on a daily basis. If installed incorrectly it can take years off the life of your travertine floors. If you want to save a few bucks here are some tips on how to install travertine flooring:
What you need
- travertine tiles
- rubber gloves
- rubber mallet
- electric chisel
- travertine tiles
- level
- thin set mortar
- grout
- caulk
- rubber grout float
- sealer
- roller
Travertine Tile Installation
Step 1 – Preparing the floor
You need a clean slate so it is necessary to remove existing flooring. Use a hammer and chisel to get up existing tile. If you have one use an electric chisel as it will save you time and energy. Take off the baseboards. If you have carpet, remove it as well as tack strips and nails. Once everything is removed you need to clean and vacuum the floor whether it be concrete or wood.
Step 2 – Underlayment
Whatever your sub flooring is you need to now install the underlayment. Follow the manufacturers recommendations
Step 3 – Planning
This is the time to plan your travertine floor without actually installing it. Don’t use mortar at this stage of the game. Start in the middle of the room, lay the travertine tiles down until you get to the walls. You should leave 1/8 of an inch of space between the tiles for the grout. Since all travertine tiles are different you may want to arrange them in a certain fashion. Take your time here as you may want to position certain tiles away from each other or together depending on color. You can also number the tiles on the back for organization. Leave 1/2 of an inch between the perimeter of your travertine floor and the walls for expansion.
Step 4 – Laying Tiles
Manufacture the mortar according to the instructions. Start in the middle of the room and works towards the walls. Use your trowel and spread some thin-set mortar on roughly a 4 foot square area of underlayment. Manipulate the mortar with your trowel until it spread equally and evenly. Lay the tiles onto the mortar leaving 1/8 of an inch of space between the tiles for the grout.
Mix the mortar in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Begin in the middle of the room, and work towards the walls. Use a trowel to spread some thin-set mortar onto a 4-6 foot square area of the underlayment. Work the mortar with the trowel until the mortar is spread evenly. Lay the new, numbered tiles onto the mortar leaving 1/8 inch of space between the tiles for the grout.
Keep doing this until all of tiles have been laid into the mortar. Let the mortar cure.
Step 5 – Grouting
Follow the manufacturers specific instructions on producing the grout. Start in the corner of your room. Use a rubber grout flat or squeegee to evenly spread the grout onto the tiles and into the joints. For those joints larger than 1/8 of an inch use sounds grout. Joints smaller than 1/8 of an inch use unsanded grout.
Step 6 – Clean up grout
Let the grout stand set. This should take roughly 20 minutes. Gently clean the excess grout from the top of the travertine tiles and around the edges of the joints with a clean sponge and water.
Step 7 – Seal
You should seal your floor to prevent stains. Let your floor cure for 72 hours before applying the sealer. Sealing it will help protect your floor and make it last for decades.
Step 8 -Finishing up
Re-install your baseboards and clean up.
