Travertine is a beautiful natural stone that comes in many different shades and styles. It is made from terrestrial deposits of limestone that were formed when cooling, carbonated groundwater was exposed to the air. The air pockets that were inside of the limestone deposits will make the travertine have many voids and holes and these are typically filled in before the travertine is installed.
Travertine is a dense natural stone but it will still scratch and over time look dull and lifeless. Typically the voids in the travertine are filled up before the travertine is installed and this fill material can also scratch due to normal wear and tear on the travertine. If the travertine is installed in a shower then the constant exposure to water and especially hard water and soap scum can also cause the travertine to loose its original polished appearance it had when it was originally installed.
Polishing a travertine tile installation is not a simple task. When travertine tiles were first installed there will always be some lippage between the adjacent tiles. Lippage is where adjacent tiles are higher or lower then the tiles adjacent to them. This lippage needs to be removed before any kind of travertine restoration procedure can begin. If the lippage is not removed from the travertine tile installation then when the travertine tiles are polished "picture framing" can occur. Picture framing is when the edges of the tiles get polished while the center of the tiles do not get polished. Essentially a picture framing effect can take place on the travertine tiles and you can see why it is essential to remove the lippage on the travertine tiles before they can be polished.
Removing lippage from a travertine tile installation involves the use of diamond pads on a floor machine. On vertical tile walls a hand held grinder with a diamond pad is used to remove all of the lippage on the travertine tile installation. Removing lippage and grinding flat a travertine tile installation may sound extremely difficult and costly but stone restoration professionals have the proper equipment and training to do these types of jobs. Also when polishing and restoring travertine tile holes in the travertine may develop or these holes and voids may be present even before the travertine polishing process begins. It is important to fill the holes in the travertine tiles before polishing the travertine tiles. New holes developing while polishing travertine tiles is a normal aspect of polishing travertine tiles. Filling holes in travertine and polishing these filled holes takes the skill of a stone restoration contractor.
Typically removing the lippage from a travertine tile installation is the most difficult aspect involved in polishing travertine tiles. After all the lippage has been removed subsequent travertine polishing procedures will be a lot simpler and less costly to perform.
After all the lippage has been removed the travertine has to be polished with progressive levels of diamond grit pads to achieve the desired polishing level. Starting at the rougher grit diamond pads and progressing up the finer grit diamond pads will ensure that the travertine polishing procedure achieves the desired results. Typically it takes a progression of polishing pads from 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600 diamond grit pads to achieve a highly polished finish on the travertine tiles. So essentially the travertine tile installation needs to be polished five (5) times after the lippage has been removed to achieve a highly polished appearance..
When you get your travertine polished or honed it is extremely important to understand the desired results before you commit to having your travertine tiles polished. Some people like the look of travertine when it is highly polished while others want the natural beauty of the travertine stone to show with a honing procedure. Therefore there will be various finish options available to you for having your travertine tiles polished. Typically there are at least four (4) options available to you for polishing or honing your travertine tiles.
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High polished finish. A High polished finish will give you the maximum polished look that will reflect light and images off of the travertine. This high polished look will give you a polished that many people desire but it will also take away some of the natural look of the travetine tiles. This polished look is achieved when the travertine tiles are polished up to the 1600 grit level and even sometimes up to higher grits for even more of a polished look. It is important to understand that travertine is not like granite in that it has its limits and limitations as to just how much of a polished look is possible with travertine. Also it is important to understand that when you polish the travertine tiles the fill material will not be able to be polished as much as the travertine tiles themselves. Therefore the look you will achieve is one of highly polished travertine and lesser polished fill areas.
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Low polished finish. Low polished travertine is done just like high polished travertine except that the finer grit diamond pads are not used and the travertine is typically only polished up to the 800 grit level. With low polished travertine tiles there will not be as much of a reflective polished look to the travertine but the fill areas will become less apparent and blend in more with the rest of the actual travertine tiles.
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High honed finish. A high honed travertine polishing procedure will give you a honed or matte look to the travertine tile installation. With a high honed travertine tile polishing procedure the travertine is only polished up to the 400 grit level. This type of procedure will bring out much of the natural look of the travertine stone but still retain some level of reflection to the travertine tiles. Also with a high honed finish the travertine tiles and the fill material will blend in much more and become almost indistinguishable between the two.
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Low honed finish. A low honed travertine polishing procedure will essentially take out all the reflective properties of the travertine tile installation. The travertine tile will show its most natural state and the fill material will blend in with the travertine tiles. With this type of travertine polishing procedure only the 200 or 100 grit diamond pads are used to get this type of low honed finish effect.
It is important to discuss what type of finish you desire and the cost of doing the restoration procedure with any stone restoration professional before you hire them.& Getting a high polished finish will typically cost more to perform and will be the most costly procedure to have done. It may be impossible to visualize what the travertine tile installation will look like with the desired finish. You may be able to request a honed finish initially and see how it looks and if you are not happy with the finish the stone restoration company may be able to provide additional polishing levels to get the polished look you desire.
Travertine tiles are dense but they will still absorb water and oil based contaminates so it is important to seal the travertine tiles after they have been polished. You do not want to have your beautiful newly polished travertine tiles to become stained after they have been polished. It is especially important to seal any travertine shower tiles after they have polished. You want to protect the natural travertine stone as much as possible from the damaging effects of hard water, soap scum, mold and mildew that can be present in a travertine tile shower installation.
Polishing and honing travertine can be a difficult and laborious task. It takes specialized equipment and training to polish travertine and should only be done by qualified stone restoration professionals.
You can read some valuable information and tips on how to hire a tile, grout and stone cleaning and restoration contractor at our contractor information page here. Travertine Tile Polishing.