The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Sat May 27, 2006 7:03 pm**

Hi

I have just completed a big landscape for a customer, who works for a reputable builders merchants, and he supplied all the materials
I have laid around 70 SQM of Bradstone Travertine.
This is the first time I have come across this slab, and I have o say it was really easy to lay. Not only that, The sizes were a little different. I used a random pattern, 600x400, 400x400,200x400 and 200x200. Bradstone seem to have allowed for joints, as I had no trouble keeping to within the lines
My main crticism would be that because they are so white, in bright sunshine, you need sunglasses to look at them!
They recommended a 6mm joint, but because it would have made it difficult to point, I expanded them a little. I had to use a mortar gun mind in order to speed up the process.
Has anyone else laid any bradstone travetine and how did they find it?

Edited By dig dug dan on 1148753063

Posted: **Sat Jun 03, 2006 5:24 pm**

Someone else emailed me while I was away regarding the laying of Bradstone (or was it Brett??) Travertine. Like you, they found it very easy to lay, but are disappointed at how quickly the algae have moved in and turned it green.

I think Travertine is not the best paving material for these islands. We're too cold and wet for it to flourish, and a huge part of me believes that clients buy the travertine in the belief that they can re-create their holiday in, say, Xanthos or Ayia Napa, by using that type of stone. Well: the stone may be the same, but the climate bloody well ain't!

It's like the obsession to use orangey-terracotta paving by those who've holidayed at the western end of the Med. That terracotta effect and rendered walls with hot-and-miss painting looks great on sun-scorched terrace overlooking the Cafe Del Mar, but it looks stupid in damp back yard in downtown Doncaster.

I predict many complaints regarding the travertine in the next couple of years. The cheaper stuff is heavily pitted and those voids will collect all sorts of crap, which will only serve to exacerbate the weed problem. Yes, it's easy to lay, and it looks smart foir a few weeks, but I've yet to see an unmaintained Trav patio that looked good after a couple of years of neglect.

Posted: **Sat Jun 03, 2006 7:54 pm**

I har where you are coming from tony, but these are replicas, i.e. precast concrete, not a natural stone.
Time will tell if they do algae badly, but then all slabs will do that in time so a good pressure wash will sort it.
Hope to have some pictures of the finished garden soon, and in fact, the guy we dod the job for tells me it will be in some magazines, or brochures at some point. watch this space

Posted: **Fri Jun 09, 2006 12:55 pm**

OOh, No!

Pressure washing is a big no-no - I think you'll find Bradstone advise against it (all manufacturers do) and in all likelihood it will invalidate any warranty. Pressure washing damages the top surface of the slab (any concrete slab) and makes it much more prone to dusting and frost damage.

The Brew Cabin

Bradstone travertine - New slab, any others laid it?