Grading of Travertine

[topaz]

Can anyone advise me as to whether there is, in fact, a grading system for Travertine? I'm about to fork out a hell of a lot of money to get my bathroom done & one tiler's saying they're graded from 1-5 (5 being the best). He's saying he sells grade 3/4 for £30 m2, then another tiler's selling them at £26m2 but says they aren't graded - the best quality tiles are just selected. Can anyone shed any light on this for me before I potentially waste £600? Thanks

[Dave]

First/Export Grade/Oasis/Selendi:


Best color selection, without any gray or black colors in the tiles.
The tiles will be selected crate by crate to be consistent in color.
Tiles are double filled. The first filling is by machinery after the honing process. The tiles are then checked and any holes that still exist are filled by hand.
No large filled holes are allowed. Chipped and broken edges are not allowed.
The sizes and the edge bevel are machined to strict tolerances.

Colliseo Grade:
Best color selection, without any dark gray or black colors in the tiles.
The tiles will be selected crate by crate to be consistent in color.
Tiles are double filled.
Large filled holes are allowed. Some filled holes through full thickness allowed.
May contain swirls or long striations (lines).
Chipped and broken edges are not allowed.
The sizes and the edge bevel are machined to strict tolerances.

Second/Commercial Grade:
Wide light/dark color variation, with gray or black inclusions allowed.
Defects in honing and sizing allowed. Small unfilled holes allowed.
No hand filling, large filled voids allowed , non-stop holes allowed (from the bottom to surface).
Cracked and broken edges permitted.
Delivered without any color selection or sorting.
----
So grade 1( first grade) is the best from 3 grades.......not 5.......

[CTD Marie]

Hello there.

just spoken to our branch in Manchester and yes travertine does have a gradeing system

5 being the best.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.