Do filled travertine tiles need to be sealed?
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Answers:
Yes, you will need to seal it. Filled means the holes that are naturally present have been filled in (usually with resin). The stone is still very pourous, and absolutely needs to be sealed.
ALL natural stone, polished or not, (which travertine usually is not) needs to be sealed. A polished surface has nothing to do with how pourous it is.
Sealer is not cheap, but very worth the price. To keep your sealer working for a long time, you need to use the proper cleaners. You need a ph balance neutral natural stone cleaner. Other cleaners will strip the selaer off over time. The cleaners are usually right next to the selaers at the tile store.
My favorite brand of of selaers and cleaners is Stonetech. The bulletproof sealer, and stone cleaner is the best!
Enjoy your beautiful new floors.
I am not sure what filled is but my guess is that the voids normally present in travertine is what is filled, not pores. Sealing any natural floor and its grout is a good idea and is not difficult or expensive. Home centers sell penetrating sealers such as Impregnator 511 which do not change color or finish, but help prevent stains and make cleaning easier. A pint sells for about $15 but goes a long way. Follow the directions on the label.
Yes you are correct, many times Travertine marble is not sealed even though it has a filler. But the filler is just that a filler nothing else. I don,t know what the guy before me is talking about, when he said sealing is inexpensive, sealer is over priced. I've been laying tile, ceramic, porcelain and natural stone tile for seven years now and I don't use sealer on my personal floors. I believe that people have a misconception about sealer, which is that just because they have a sealer on their floors, their floors are protected against stains and having to clean it as often. BS. I dislike sealer, if your doingn the sealer for the stain free purpose, why not acid wash from time to time, it comes out looking far better than a sealed floor. Promise. Your money and time, do what you want to do. Good luck.
When it comes to anything you are going to walk on, or get wet...make sure it is sealed.that goes for tiles and grout
Be very careful. If the travertine you own is polished the sealer will probably not penetrate through it, the grout however is another story. The grout with polished tile should be unsanded( very smooth). Sealing this is usually a good idea. Unpolished or "natural" travertine usually will require sealing especially if it has direct contact with an exterior door. I have been recommending that my customers maintain there natural stone floors with a good quality oil based cleaner such as Murphy's oil soap, lestoil, etc. This will develop a stain patina my customers seem to like.
One thing to be careful about sealers though. Some will almost act as a wax, which can lead to a "path" like wear look. So be careful when you purchase a sealer.
Good Luck
If you have further questions e-mail me at jimbothecarpenter@yahoo.com
You shopuld always seal when you do tile work, the grout isnt going to be protected in any way, and over time will deteriorate. Look for a tile sealer in the hardware section, this will also waterproof the grout.
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