The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:33 pm**

I am a stone importer based in New England in the USA. I can tell you we sorely need folks like Messers McCormack & Sons over here because most retailers and installers are woefully inexperienced. Me too!

Anyway, I am getting frequent requests to supply Travertine
for patios. People love the pale off-white color. It is heavily used as pool decking in Florida, but here in New England it has a bad reputation.

However, everyone seems to have a different reason for WHY its bad. I know the material is very dense, and I understand that being calcium carbonate it may "etch" with our acid rain, but travertine is supplied usually in a "rustic" finish so who cares if its etches? Of course, if it etches AND stains, for instance from oak leaves leaching tannin, that would be a bad thing.

Other reasons I have heard why Travertine exterior paving is a bad idea are that water will get in the numerous unfilled holes, freeze and crack it up, or that the stone has a tendancy to spall during freeze thaw cycles because it is so
laminar.

I've also been told that algae/moss/mold loves limestone as a growth medium in our cold wet climate, and that bleach, the traditional fix for this with our indigenous Pennsylvania Bluestone (a quartzitic argillite sandstone), will dissolve your travertine patio before your eyes.

What do you think of these various arguments against Travertine?

Thanks for any advice you can provide.
Robert Andrews
Stonetrade
www.stonetrade.com

Posted: **Wed Jun 29, 2005 1:03 am**

There is an alternative to Travertine that's doing extremely well in Az and the west coast at the moment, not only for pool surrounds but indoors in upmarket remodelling projects - reproduction antique Dalle de Bourgogne limestone. Contact Monarch Stone and tell them Mike from England sent you!

Posted: **Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:25 pm**

Travertine is a lovely stone, but I have reservations about its use outdoors in Britain and Ireland because of our damp climate. In New England, I guess freeze-thaw would be a bigger concern, something those lucky sods in Florida don't have to fret about!

It is prone to dissolution in acidic rain and discolouration from tannins, but the dissolution takes many years and the tannins can be avoided by simple sweeping on a regular basis. If either are a real concern, the various waxes and sealants that are available will be able to minimise any damage.

Freeze/thaw is a problem, but it moight be possible to minimise any risk by careful laying and provision of movement joints. I'm not sure just how much freeze heave is experienced in your part of the world, so you'd be better off getting advice fromm a local laying contractor.

Algae and other vegetation do enjoy a nice bit of limestone for lunch, and Travertine in shady, damp places is a particular favourite, but I'm not aware of any problems with bleach - sodium hypochlorite - as long as it's not overly 'strong'. Acid-based cleaners, what's known as "Muriatic Acid" in the USA, are to be avoided at all costs.

I'd suggest there would be 'applications' for Travertines in your neck of the woods, but they might not be particularly as an external stone. Indoors, for conservatories and orangeries, would be a safer bet, and, of course, there's always the swimming pools.

The Brew Cabin

Travertine (these dtravertine in cold wet climates - Question about stone suitability