Travertine Edging - TilersForums.com

[DazJWood]

I am doing my bathroom in travertine and have read through the various posts about edging.

I don't like the idea of using plastic or chrome trims so I want to butt join the travertine on external corners (windows sills and the like).

I am trying to decide what would be the best finish and how to do it. I have seen that there are bull nose profile wheels available (mostly from the states) at a ridiculously high price. I have also read that bull nosing can be done with a suitable tile file though I am not convinced that my skills would give an acceptable result.

Having looked at the different finishes I like the idea of just leaving it butt jointed and maybe polishing (or is it honing) the edge. I presume I would fill the edge with grout to fill in any holes and then use a polishing technique. So my question is what is the best way to achieve a good looking edge? Could I use a normal sander with a very fine grit paper on it to achieve this? And would I polish the edge after fitting the tile or prior to fitting?

I'd appreciate any other further advice anyone has to offer.

Thanks in advance,

Daz

 

[david campbell]

you can use medium and fine grit wet sandpaper and do it by hand.i would do it after fitting

 

[Richard Edwards]

If you are aiming to install right-angle corners - say around a window reveal - I would mitre the corners on travertine leaving a 1/2 mm edge and a fine grout joint. - Looks much better than butt joints. Tile trims are a definate No-Go unless it was polish stainless for a design feature.

Bull nose can be done by hand - take off a couple of fine runs with a wet saw first and this will save time on hand file work.

 

[DazJWood]

If you are aiming to install right-angle corners - say around a window reveal - I would mitre the corners on travertine leaving a 1/2 mm edge and a fine grout joint. - Looks much better than butt joints. Tile trims are a definate No-Go unless it was polish stainless for a design feature.

Are you saying a full 45 degree mitre joint? I'm not convinced that it would look that good, but I'll see if I can find some pics on the web somewhere. Is that just done by using an electric tile saw set at 45 degrees?

Bull nose can be done by hand - take off a couple of fine runs with a wet saw first and this will save time on hand file work.

Does this look ok when done? Does it not take great skill to get it looking even throughout? So this would all need doing prior to fixing.

Thanks,

Daz

 

[DHTiling]

If you want to finish with a square edge then put a small chamfer on to remove the ariss of the tile edge and then fill the edge with grout and leave to dry.. then sand smooth with wet and dry paper.. starting at 100 grit then 200 grit and finish off to the honed finish of 400 grit..

That will leave an edge the same finish as Honed travertine normally is..

 

[DazJWood]

If you want to finish with a square edge then put a small chamfer on to remove the ariss of the tile edge and then fill the edge with grout and leave to dry.. then sand smooth with wet and dry paper.. starting at 100 grit then 200 grit and finish off to the honed finish of 400 grit..

That will leave an edge the same finish as Honed travertine normally is..

Hey thanks! Would you fix the tile first or profile and polish the tile before hand?

Thanks,

Daz

 

[DHTiling]

I normally bull nose before fixing and this would be the better method for you really then you will not risk marking the field tiles..

 

[DazJWood]

I normally bull nose before fixing and this would be the better method for you really then you will not risk marking the field tiles..

Thanks! What's your method for bull nosing? And how difficult is it to get it uniform across a run of tiles?

Thanks,

Daz

 

[Richard Edwards]

Are you saying a full 45 degree mitre joint? I'm not convinced that it would look that good, but I'll see if I can find some pics on the web somewhere. Is that just done by using an electric tile saw set at 45 degrees?



Does this look ok when done? Does it not take great skill to get it looking even throughout? So this would all need doing prior to fixing.

Thanks,

Daz

Yes its a question of setting your wet saw up for 45 deg mitre cutting. Take off enough from the internal side of each tile to leave only 1-2mm of original edge material. Then when you have finished the tiles you want to fix to the corners, fix in place as normal. This does not require ' great skill ' although some practice to get the saw set-up right on some scrap off cuts is essential. I have fixed Travertine using both methods and both have their merits. I prefer the mitre finish as it looks neat and shows care taken to achieve a craftsman finished piece of workmanship. After grouting you can still use some fine wet/dry paper to smooth the edges if you want.

I recently fitted a travertine wall and floor kitchen for a trade client and they were happy to have it butt-jointed and thats what they needed although I did offer to mitre the pieces (more time and hence more expensive) but unless your fixing thin - ie 5-8mm tumbled edge small ones - say 100 x 100mm, I would mitre 10-20mm thick honed / polished Travertine every time.

I have attached a porcelain tiled split level steps with a compound mitre which shows the result that can be achieved with a mitre finish. The same is possible on a 90 deg corner on any natural stone / tile / granite tile etc
Hope this helps

Richard

 

[DazJWood]

I have attached a porcelain tiled split level steps with a compound mitre which shows the result that can be achieved with a mitre finish. The same is possible on a 90 deg corner on any natural stone / tile / granite tile etc
Hope this helps

Richard

Thanks for the advice!

I'm not sure what I'm looking at with your photo though (excuse my ignorance!). Are the steps mitred? They look like have chrome edging strips on them.

Thanks,

Daz

 

[Richard Edwards]

Thanks for the advice!

I'm not sure what I'm looking at with your photo though (excuse my ignorance!). Are the steps mitred? They look like have chrome edging strips on them.

Thanks,

Daz

The horizontal edges are fitted with Stainless Steel Trims for strength. Its the verticals that are Mitred - Clear as mud ! :sick2:

Richard