Home Improvement Time

So is a travertine tile flooring marble or limestone? Well, both travertine and marble belong to the larger family of stone called limestone. Marble is a type of limestone that formed as the result of additional heat and pressure applied to it by the earth’s crust, whereas travertine is a sedimentary stone which was mostly formed in ancient hot springs or geysers.

(Note: You can view and order free Travertine samples here – no shipping fees at the time of writing!)

All travertine tile flooring have pitted holes, troughs and cavities in the surface. These holes formed because of gas bubbles which were present when the stone first took shape.

When travertine floor tiles are manufactured, some types will require these cavities to be filled with matching colored cement. When you buy travertine tiles, you may have the option of purchasing “filled” or “unfilled” tiles.

Travertine tile flooring is available in a variety of colors including ivory, beige, walnut, noce, and gold. Where does the color originate? The color of this stone product is the result of iron compounds or other organic impurities.

As an example, Oasis travertine is a premium first grade travertine with a high degree of color consistency, very limited amounts of fill, with no grey or black characters allowed. Colliseo, Mina, Denizli, and Navona are high quality travertine tile flooring offering a more rustic look when compared with Oasis. These travertine tiles have more color variation, and larger filled holes are permitted (free samples here when available; no shipping fees at the time of writing).

Travertine has been popular for ages. In fact, some great historical buildings were built with “travertine marble”. The colusseum in Rome is a prime example: it is the largest building in the world constructed mostly of travertine.

These popular tiles can be bought in four major finishes, polished (shiny), honed (matte), brushed and tumbled (textured surfaces).
Honed travertine has been the most popular in the marketplace, but tumbled travertine is also very sought after for certain applications as tumbled travertine tiles give a unique “old” appearance.