What is Travertine?

Travertine is a Sedimentary calciferous stone that belongs to the larger group of stone called limestone also know as Calcium Carbonate. This beautiful stone has been gracing many homes since ancient time. The Greeks used to install them on the outside walls of their homes to make houses beautiful. It is formed in hot springs by minerals dissolving in ground water and then being deposited on the earth’s surface by rivers or glaciers. Travertines are found in different colors and shades such as gold, ivory, beige and many more. This makes the stone highly valuable as a decorative material that comes in white, tan or cream colored. This fairly stone that consists largely of calcite and aragonite. It can be cut on either a "vein" cut or a "fleuri" cut. The vein cut is against the bedding that reveals the bedding planes and the fleur cutis along the bedding plane and reveals a flowery, often circular pattern.Travertine can have four major finishes, polished (shiny, brushed, tumbled (textured surfaces) and honed (matte). The type of finish given to the travertine will determine how smooth and glossy the surface will be. The minerals, which are found in travertine, are highly reactive with acidic solutions. So it is highly essential to select the right place to install the travertine.

Common Features of Travertine:


GROUP TYPESedimentary
COMMON MINERAL GROUP Calcareous
COMPOSITION Calcite, Calcium Carbonate, other materials and organic matter, which act as coloring agents
POROSITY 5.0-12.0%
ABSORPTION 2.0-5.0%
WEATHERING EFFECT Direct sunlight causes it to loose color over a period of time
TENDENCIES Due to high porosity absorb oil and other liquid substances, acid sensitive
and get easily scratched
COLOR TYPE Can be found in many colors
FINISHING Hone/polished/filled/unfilled