Author: landscapeexpertSubject: travertine best stone for pool deck?Posted: 19 Jan 2010 at 1:10amBest value/quality travertine is from Turkey. Italian travertine is similar quality to Turkish travertine but it is way more expensive. Peruvian travertine looks great but it is still early on its evolution process and not extremely durable and also it is more expensive than Turkish travertine.
Travertine is porous by nature. You have to finish the stone after you cut to size. For outdoors, you will either tumbled the stone or hone it. If you have it the travertine will be slippery because honing is a mild polish application. Whereas tumbling allows to pores to open more thus allowing the water to be absorbed. So yes tumbled travertine should be used for pool decks. One other application is brushing the honed tile.
You need to use honed pavers for a driveway to prevent oil spills to be absorbed. Since honing is a mild polish you are limiting the number of pores available on the surface of the pavers. You want the tires of the car to grab on the chiseled edges because the surface is honed. If the tires can not grab on to something solid the tires would spin. Why do you think the edges are chiseled, just for aesthetics?