Protect and Preserve the Natural Beauty of Travertine
Protect against stains, fading, and wear—without losing the natural look.
Travertine is one of the most elegant and timeless choices for pool decks, patios, and outdoor living areas. Its natural tones and smooth finish make it a popular option for Florida homeowners who want both style and sophistication. But as durable as travertine looks, it’s actually a highly porous stone—making it extremely vulnerable to stains, fading, and wear if left unsealed.
“I am shocked!!! My house looks brand new! They were so easy to deal with, quick with response, and the pictures do not show justice! I am so pleased with this company! Five stars!!!!!”
Stephanie Golden
Satisfied Customer
What is Travertine?
Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs and boiling springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. Travertine is formed by the rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot spring or in a limestone cave. In the latter, it can form stalactites, stalagmites, and other speleothems. It is frequently used in Italy and elsewhere as a building material. Below is sealed with an Enhanced Sealer.
Travertine is a terrestrial sedimentary rock formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from solutions in ground and surface waters and geothermal heated hot springs. Similar deposits (but softer and extremely porous) formed from ambient-temperature water are known as tufa.
When manufactured as tiles or slabs, Travertine is generally filled with cement and polished or honed with open pores and cravats left behind.
Why Seal Travertine?
Travertine is riddled with interconnected capillary channels that permit penetration by liquids. These porous channels act like a sponge, and capillary action draws in fluids over time, along with any dissolved salts and other solutes. Very porous stones, such as Travertine, absorb liquids relatively quickly. Properly sealing your travertine and shell lock paver tiles offers three primary benefits. First, it will help prevent the penetration of liquids, including oils, spilled drinks, and certain chemicals. Second, it deters mold buildup and staining from irrigation rust, patio furniture rust, and stains from other debris. Lastly, it will help prevent tiles from becoming loose, unsafe, and wobbly while creating a barrier for weed and mold growth. Additionally, our sealers increase tensile strength by up to 30%, retarding cracking or chipping, and enhance this excellent stone’s natural beauty.
Since Travertine is porous limestone, it is susceptible to staining and marking. Oil, grease, and rust are nearly impossible to remove because they are easily absorbed into the surface. Unsealed Travertine retains water for long periods, creating an ideal situation for mold and mildew to grow. Listed below are the benefits of sealing your Travertine with an Impregnator Sealer:
- Protects against the intense Florida sun and other natural elements
- It protects travertine tiles from body oils, lotions, rust, and other stains, giving you more time to clean up.
- Inhibits weed growth, insect intrusion, and mildew
- Enhances the look of the Travertine, adding both curb appeal and value to your home
- Provides structural integrity.
- 3-year limited warranty using ICT UreSeal impregnator Sealer.
- New or Unsealed Travertine or Natural Stone will be sealed with an Impregnating Sealer.
- You should never seal with a Film Forming Sealer
Our Travertine and Shellock Sealing Process
You will immediately notice the attention to detail our crews bring to every job, as well as our competitive pricing. We are one of the only companies in Central Florida that applies liberal coats of ICT travertine sealer on every job without diluting it. See our Process below:
- Thorough power washing
- Specially blended, cleaned sand, where applicable
- Friction joints dont require joint sand
- Liberal coat of ICT Ure-Seal Impregnating travertine sealer
- Retains the beautiful Natural look of your stone while maintaining the same slip-resistant finish.
- Our Process provides your Travertine with a slip-resistant finish
- 3-year limited warranty with years of life beyond durability when using Ureseal
- ALL IN 1 DAY PROCESS!
Why Choose Us Over a Competitor or Doing it Yourself?
The open pores and cravats that form naturally in Travertine can quickly fill with water or contaminants if not properly sealed by a company with extensive experience sealing Travertine. Once the coating dries, with those pits filled with sealer, you will be left with a surface that resembles someone filling all those little pits with Elmer’s glue. Even worse, this will often void the warranty from your supplier and leave you with a costly expense to strip that sealer, which is extremely difficult to do on Travertine without damaging the delicate substrate.
Since Travertine is not as common as brick pavers, most local paver sealing companies lack extensive experience sealing this complex surface. Most companies use the same products they use on pavers, which is incorrect; travertine requires a different sealer from the start. Over the years, we have sealed many travertine pavers in commercial and residential applications. As you can imagine, we had mastered the technique of correctly applying various travertine sealants. We also strongly discourage homeowners from attempting to seal travertine surfaces to avoid potential damage and injury.
Can Travertine Become Slippery Once Sealed?
The simple answer is yes.
A common question those interested in travertine pavers ask is, “How slippery is travertine tile?” This question is open to interpretation and opinion, and can affect several factors.
Some general rules can be applied to how slippery different travertine finishes are in relation to one another. Considering the “static coefficient of friction” (SCOF), which in layman’s terms is a description of the force required to move a stationary object about the condition of the surface on which that object stands, will help inform you of the slipperiness of a travertine tile.
Since force, footwear, and surface condition impact SCOF ratings, it’s essential to consider each factor when deciding who to hire and ensure they apply grip. In addition, we highly recommend using a penetrating sealer on new or unsealed Travertine. This doesn’t change the look or enhance shine or sheen, but it protects the Travertine significantly and is slip-resistant.
When manufactured as tiles or slabs, Travertine is generally filled with cement and polished or honed with open pores and cravats left behind.
Judging a Surface for Slip Potential on Unsealed Surfaces
Architects, contractors, builders, and anyone needing to specify a certain level of friction in building materials for legal reasons must use several scientific tests to determine a SCOF value. A minimum value of .50 is generally considered the minimum safety requirement for slip resistance. It is the recognized minimum standard for slip-resistant tiles in courts of law in the United States.
Different Travertine tile finishes will have different coefficients of friction, making them more or less slippery:
Unsealed Polished Travertine tiles have the most slippery finish and provide the lowest SCOF value, generally in the .40 to .50 range.
Honed Travertine tiles are less slippery and offer the next highest SCOF rating, ranging from .40 to .60. However, a finely honed finish will approach the SCOF of polished travertine tiles.
Textured finishes like tumbled and brushed are the least slippery, with a SCOF rating in the .50 to .70 range.
While these are general rules, they should only be treated as guidelines. SCOF measurement is not an exact science – the same test methods on the same tiles often do not produce the same actual numbers. Also, different testing methods on the same tiles can usually have different coefficient of friction numbers. Despite all of this, progress is being made in refining and inventing better ways of measuring the coefficient of friction for other floor tiles.
Slippery When Wet
The SCOF tests have traditionally been done on dry surfaces because it was assumed that all flooring surfaces, when wet, would be significantly below the minimum suggested SCOF of .50. However, one environmental factor that can influence SCOF is wetness, the most common source of which is water. Travertine tiles and most glazed ceramic, porcelain, marble, and granite tiles are slippery when wet.
Just as a source of wetness can decrease a SCOF rating, some sealers can increase the SCOF rating of tile flooring. In addition, many “non-slip” coatings can be applied to natural stone tiles to improve their SCOF rating. Depending on the product used, a Non-slip coating or sealer can raise the SCOF by .10 to .30.
Our Slip-Resistant Additive is a micronized polymer with a finished texture comparable to fine-grit sandpaper. It allows your bare feet to grip without slipping or scuffing the bottoms of your feet! For surfaces that have been previously sealed with a film-forming sealer. We strongly advise using an Impregnator Sealer on natural stone.
If you had someone initially apply a film-forming sealer, it should be removed and correctly sealed with an impregnating Sealer, which is slip-resistant without any additives. We can help with this.
Our Estimate Process
Nearly 90% of our estimates can be given based on a satellite imagery program, which allows us to take near-exact square footage measurements of your driveways, pool decks, and patios. This lowers our overhead expenses, as we can give quotes with this program, saving you time and money. Additionally, most quotes will be emailed to our customers the same day as the request, along with a detailed description of our process and links to all the products we will be using.
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