Travertine tiles in a shower. Help needed.

[Kate the mate]

Help please, I'm hoping to use travertine tiles in my bathroom but after searching around on the internet I'm not sure if I'm using the right product and, more importantly, if I'm asking the right questions when asking someone to do the work for me.

I have seen one guy so far who is a wetroom specialist and he talks about sealing the tiles, yet on another site I read that travertine should not be sealed. I'm confused. I don't want to get this wrong, it's taken forever to afford to get the work done, could anyone outline exactly what I should be asking from my tiler/plumber? I would like the shower done, behind the bath and washbasin and the floor. What preparation should he be doing before commencing to ensure that the tiles don't leak. Any help/advice would be very much appreciated.

Oh, forgot to say I already bought the wall tiles in a sale. I hope it wasn't money down the drain.

[Sir Ramic]

I would be interested to read that site that does not reccomend sealing Travertine ????

[Carrie Bloomy]

hmm. They should be sealed.

[Alan.P]

Hi Kate, welcome to TilersForums,co.uk.

There is nothing wrong with using travertine in a shower as long as the preparation is right, the travertine should be sealed yes, depending on whether it is honed and filled or not would depend on when to seal the stone, if it is honed and filled then you can seal the stone before fixing and then again after grouting, if it's unfilled I always work clean whilst fixing, then grout and seal. Also, for piece of mind in wet areas you should be tanking the areas, tanking is a waterproof membrane that you can either paint onto the substrate or you can buy it on a roll. Substrate is another question, what are your walls at present as the weight of travertine requires a backerboard ... possibly.

EDIT: just re-read your post, what is your floor substrate at the moment, floorboards, concrete other ?

Let us know what you have and we can help you some more.

[Kate the mate]

Thanks for the welcome and your replies. This is where I read it should not be sealed Advice wanted - marble, granite, slate, sandstone, limestone, stains,care, repair, Bathroom - www.findstone.com

"If this were my bathroom I would insist with the installer not to have it sealed (not even with my own sealer!!). I don't believe in "Let's seal it regardless." The more you leave the stone in its natural state -- like Mother Nature intended -- the better it is for it. It's again a scientific fact, not this writer opinion."

Reading this put me in a panic this morning, hence my post, but your replies agree with the tiler who said he would be sealing the whole of the tile, and he would let the seal go off for 24 hours before working on them. (I'm pretty sure that's what he said)

The floor is floorboarded at the moment, he said he would be screwing down some board onto the floorboards and he would be lifting the loo and the washbasin to tile under. The bath has a shroud. He said the shower tray would need to be moved and that whoever had put it in had not done a good job because the tray butts up against the wall and I can see the logic in that.

The walls in the bathroom are all bare plaster at the moment but it was done a good 18 months ago and so is well and truly dried out. I am thinking of having travertine on the floor too, but would welcome any comments. After waiting all this time to have it done I don't want to mess up. When I went into the tile shop yesterday he said I must get the area tanked but I'm not sure what I should ask to know that this is being done properly.
Really appreciate your replies. Thanks.

[Alan.P]

The walls in the bathroom are all bare plaster at the moment but it was done a good 18 months ago and so is well and truly dried out. I am thinking of having travertine on the floor too, but would welcome any comments. After waiting all this time to have it done I don't want to mess up. When I went into the tile shop yesterday he said I must get the area tanked but I'm not sure what I should ask to know that this is being done properly.
Really appreciate your replies. Thanks.

Sounds like you have the job sorted between the tiler and the tile shop advising tanking, one point though is that a plastered wall won't take the weight of the travertine on it's own. If your having the shower tray moved can you make provision for the depth of a tile backerboard, your tiler will know what they are.

Here's a link to the different substrates and weights they can handle, also, what is he overboarding the floor with, if you having the toilet and basin removed it would be an option ( better depending on what he's doing ) to replace the floorboards with 18mm wbp min, 25mm would be preferable, prime the underside and sides of the wbp before fixing, not the top side though.

[Kate the mate]

Thanks for the suggestion of the tile backer board. Just googled it. Can I ask another question, please, how easy is it to suggest these things to the professional without appearing to be a complete PITA 'thinks she knows it all' customer? Can I ask that he does use these things or should I just ask if he does. It's sure not easy when you don't know what you're talking about but I'm learning! He's coming to see me again at the end of the week and I want to be armed with knowleagable questions and want to feel as sure as I can before going ahead. Of course he's not given a quote yet so that could put an end to it before we get started!

Really appreciate all the help from this site. Thanks.

[Sir Ramic]

Its your money so ask him anyway you like.

[Alan.P]

If he hasn't yet quoted it makes it easier for you, tell him the spec you want and for him to quote accordingly, give him the break down of what you want and the reasons behind it,if he ums and ars be firm, tell him that you won't accept anything less, see what he says and if he's not willing then there are plenty of great fixers dotted all around the country that are members of TF that would be willing and able to quote. Not touting for business, just a fall back for you.

Hope that helps.

[Dave]

Installing outside is different to inside Kate.. that info above is for a condo patio.. so just ignore that advice please..

You deffo need to seal travertine for domestic installs and inside use.. to ease cleaning and help prevent stains..

[Kate the mate]

Thank you for all your help, I'm putting together my list of questions for the end of the week when I see the original tiler again. I have another tiler coming today so I'll be interested to see what he says about it all. I definitely feel better informed since being on this site. I'll let you know what the today's man says.

[david campbell]

to the forum
let us know how you get on

[Kate the mate]

Hello again

This is why I get confused. The second tiler came today to quote. I was a little better with my questions this time. I showed him the travertine and asked how he would fix them, would he tank the area, use backerboard, seal the tiles. How thick would the ply be on the floor. What would he use for grout etc.

Firstly he said personally he would never use travertine in a shower as it's too porous. I asked him about tanking and he said it wasn't necessary. He said he would seal around the bottom of the shower before tiling and after and he could guarantee it wouldn't leak. I said tanking had been recommended, as had backerboard and he said it was a con to get me to spend more money and that a good tiler wouldn't need to use either. He said the most important thing about travertine was making sure the grouting was done very carefully and he had had many years' experience. (He showed me photographs of his work and it looked impressive) He said he would use 18mm ply screwed at 6-9 inches on the floor and he would use a two part floor adhesive which would fix like rubber.

He said he would use stonegum adhesive on the walls (He said it was a swimming pool grout or that type of grade) and would not seal the tiles but would go over with wax. (I was making notes this time).

He said that the loo and the washbasin would need to be moved but he couldn't do it because he's a tiler not a plumber. He said never go for a man who says he can do both, it's rare that a plumber can tile well and vice versa.

The first man is coming back to see me this afternoon, and guess what... he's a plumber and tiler. I'll go over the same questions and see how we do. He's working across the road from me and I have asked to see his finished work.

I have two friends both looking for bathroom tilers so potentially I have three jobs going begging. I'll let you know how I get on with the man this afternoon.

[Sir Ramic]

Thanks for the follow up...interesting reading !

[Dave]

He would go over with wax..?... LOL sorry to laff but that is mental ..

[lol knowles]

hi kate use a product called seal guard i just finnished my bathroom in travertine i tanked the wall to be safe also make sure the tiles are very clean before you seal them seal guard also protects the grout so go over the grout after as well

[doug boardley]

Seal Guard is a topical sealer isn't it??

[doug boardley]

Seal Guard is a topical sealer isn't it??

I take that back, just googled it and it says it's an impregnating sealer. For some reason I thought it was topical beause it was aerosol

[lol knowles]

ive been a plumber for 27 years and a tiler for 15 so we are about. every bathroom i did they asked me if i knew a tiler so i thought why not

[kilty55]

i knew this would happen,there are many many tilers out there who give totally conflicting advice,,if you want my opinion kate post the jobs on here and you wil get a better standard of quote

[kilty55]

wax on wax off? is he a chinese tiler

[Alan.P]

Well you have the opinions of a fair few fixers and 2 of your local guys Kate, what to do next ?

[Kate the mate]

The latest update. Forgive me if I'm boring you with this.

Plumber number one came back yesterday. He said he would take out the shower, cut out some of the plaster to set the tray back into the wall. He would use undiluted Unibond on the walls behind the tiles. He said the walls were sound and would take the weight of the tiles no problem. He would screw down all the floor boards and use Nomoreply on the floor which is thinner than ply and he would use the two part adhesive which is flexible.

The one questionable part was my bath which is a big thing with a shroud and it was a devil to put in. He thought it would be fine to tile around it as it would be unlikely that it would ever have to come out. I was worried that tiling-in the surround would be a big problem if we can't get underneath the bath in case of emergency although the oulet goes through the outside wall which the bath is against. Is it acceptable to tile in a bath so you can't get under it?

Number two tiler has been discounted because, apart from the information you've given me on here, he's left a big oil patch on my drive!!

Has anyone got any thoughts on whether it's okay to tile the bath in? What about the Nomoreply? No-one has mentioned this on this thread so I'm not sure. Thanks for your help.

[RubiUK]

Hi kate Gary from Rubi tools here, I have been a tiler for 28 years know and just to give you a little bit of advise about unibonding a wall. If the wall is sound you dont need to put a neat coat of unibond on the wall just a wash because (a) Unibond is water based and the adhesive is full of water so the unibond just turns back to liquid like in the tub, and (b) if the unibond does stay solid your tiles arnt sticking to the wall there sticking to the unibond and not the substrate and your adhesive to work best needs to grab the substrate so thick unibond does not always mean good adhesion. If the unibond is just for waterproofing you are much better of with a tanking system.The idea of tiling in the bath is sheer folly because say you get a leak the bath panel would have to be wreaked and while you might not get a leak ever you may be unlucky and get two in a month? very exspensive maybe.

[Kate the mate]

Exactly what was worrying me, Gary. Sod's law as soon as it was tiled in we'd have a leak. Thanks also for the unibond info.

Out of interest, whereabouts on this site do I post a job? It seems it might be the best way for me to proceed although I did really like the idea of someone being able to do the whole job, plumbing and tiling.

[Alan.P]

Here's where you can post up for looking for a tiler, post some details of where you are etc

[Alan.P]

And as Gary says, sheer madness to tile in a panel, for obvious reasons, I've never used no more ply so can't comment on that, someone else will though, no doubt.

[Kate the mate]

Thanks Alan. I'll hop over there and post something.

[RubiUK]

Hi Kate it is aukward putting all your faith in one person to do all trades but there are some very good trades out there so why dont you see if anybody has qualifications in both trades like i have,Although that does not gaurentee a good trade it is a safer way than leaving it to chance.

[lol knowles]

hi kate no more ply is the same as hardibacker boards there fine you can make the bath panal so it comes off with mirror screws for access did that on my last job he had decking lights in the panal looked good bit tricky to do though