When choosing tiles for your home or workplace it is important to consider the different type of tiles that there are available, and also the different finishes.

Travertine Tiles

One of the options is travertine. Travertine tiles are a beautiful addition to any room or space.

When selecting a natural stone like travertine you need to think about the finishes that are available to you. These include polished travertine, tumbled tumbled travertine and honed travertine stone. The more you know about the available finishes the more informed your choice is going to be.

Types of Travertine Tiles

Most people owning a home and thinking about any work involving new tiles will know some of the terms relating to tiles, such as ‘tumbled stone’, ‘polished stone’ or ‘honed stone’. There are also finishes named ‘hand chiselled’ and ‘antiqued’.

Polished Stone Tiles

The majority of people will know that polished stone means a stone with a high gloss and that tumbled stones tend to have a more rustic appearance. There is slightly more to the finish of tiles than this though.

Polished stones have to be denser and harder than many of their counterpart stones so that they can take a polish. Any tile that is made from polished stone will have straight edges that often have slightly bevelled edges, perfect square corners, as well as a finish that has been ground to create a high sheen. Stone tiles that are polished will fit together tightly, needing little grout between them. They can be used for any wall or floor application. You need to take care with polished stone to make sure that the finish does not dull or etch over time.

Honed Stone Tiles

Stone that is honed shares many of the same characteristics as stone that is polished.  Stone that is honed will also have edges that are straight and slightly bevelled, again meaning that the honed stone tiles can be fitted closely together. Honed stone does not have a high gloss finish like polished stone: it has more of a flat or matte finish.

Limestone Tiles

Many limestone tiles and softer stones, including travertine, are available in a honed finish.

Tumbled Stone Tiles

Tumbled stone tiles have quite literally been tumbled. Tumbled stone tiles have been placed into a large drum, which often has some kind of debris in it, such as rocks, and is tumbled.  The results of this process are chips, missing corners, worn edges and a soft surface to the tiles. This produces a more rustic look. Tumbled stone tiles then have their backs ground down to allow for an easier application. When they are installed they need a wide grout joint to allow for their uneven edges to be accommodated.