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 Please click on the link to download travertine filling video |
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Basic principles of sealing limestone/travertine tiles |
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Featured stone: Lydia Classico |
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Natural stone training |
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New products |
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Special deals |
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 Basic principles of sealing limestone/travertine tiles |
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Most natural stone tiles require some form of sealing to resist staining and ease of maintenance.
Generally speaking, the more porous the tile, the greater the number of coats of sealant required. It is always advisable, before general application to test the chosen sealer on a sample tile to ensure that you are happy with the finish and fully understand the methods of use.
Stone tiles have small pin-holes and open fissures as part of its natural texture. This texture will tend to accumulate grit as part of the natural wearing process and unless they are impregnated will cause the floor to stain. |
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open pores and fissures |
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There are normally either one or two stages to sealing stone; the first is that of ‘impregnation’. The pores of the tile should be completely saturated with a liquid which then hardens and occupies all the spaces within the stone thereby reducing the degree of absorbency. Some impregnating sealers like LTP Mattstone are sufficient for tile protection on their own and do not require finishing with a surface seal. |
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Impregnating seal fills the open pores |
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In some cases a secondary surface seal is required to protect the surface to give a gloss or satin finish. On less absorbent, denser materials such as slate a surface sealant can be used without the use of an impregnator. |
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Surface Seal |
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Finally, no sealer lasts forever however, provided the floor has been correctly sealed and is properly maintained, it should remain protected for many years. For further information regarding the sealing care and maintenance of natural stone floors contact the LTP help line on 01823 666213 |
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| Featured stone: Lydia Classico |
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Turkey is one of the largest travertine producers in the world. The green movement in Italy has seen many travertine quarries closed down, even Italians now are buying from Turkey either raw material or finished travertine goods to sell under Italian names to different markets around the world. Like all other travertine quarries, Lydia quarry is in the south-west region of Turkey, in Denizli and the surrounding areas.
The production term for Lydia Classico is medium light. Like all our travertine products, it is a hard/dense type of travertine. This means that unlike soft/sparse types, which are very cheap to buy but in essence not suitable as a flooring material, when it is on the floor, it will not open up high number of holes therefore, it could be very easily rectified with further application of grout. It has a limited variation with the background colour between ivory and medium light. So far, we have managed to move more Lydia classico than any other products put together. Like all other travertine products, Lydia Classico is not suitable for high usage commercial projects as a flooring material. Its supply is continuous therefore no problem with production of special sizes. Below are some technical values for our travertine. |
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Property |
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Value |
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Hardness |
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Mohs |
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3.4 |
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Specific Weight |
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Gr/cm3 |
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2.477 |
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Water absorption in atmospheric pressure by weight |
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% |
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0.949 |
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Water absorption in atmospheric pressure by volume |
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% |
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2.350 |
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Apparent Porosity |
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% |
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2.350 |
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Fullness Ratio |
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% |
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95.09 |
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| Stone training - 1 |
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We come across many types of stone every day. The constantly asked question to us is “how do you identify between the stones”. We will try to cover the general characteristics of stones so that they are easy to identify between them. 3 types of natural stone are commercially available as stone tiles in the market: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic. |
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Igneous |
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- Formed by hot, molten magma in the Earth's core, cooling and solidifyin on its surface.
- The hardest wearing of the stone types
- Quartz minerals contained in the rock gives igneous stones their characteristic sparkle
- Granite and Quartz are igneous stones
- Metaphorically resembles soup i.e. numerous substances of the earth mixed together
- No lateral veins can be seen in a piece of granite
- It is usually polished and can be used in high hygienic areas
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Sedimentary |
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- Produced through build up of eroded rocks and shells from animal, marine and plant life spanning billions of years
- The softest wearing of the stone types
- Limestone and Sandstone are sedimentary stones
- Generally speaking they are most porous
- Not suitable for heavy traffic areas, high hygienic places, and very prone to get stained
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Metamorphic |
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- Formed during a change from one type of stone to another, resulting from intense pressure, heat and/or chemical reactions
- Develops crystalline formation, a texture change, or a colour change resulting in spectacular appearances
- Marble, Slate and travertine are metamorphic stones.
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Travertine |
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- Cavities, which is the most significant characteristics of travertine, are found in it.
- Some other substances (i.e. onyx and oxides) are mixed in its structure
- Could be left unfilled, or be pre-filled at the factory with a special resin-cement mixture
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Marble |
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- Has lateral veins
- Sometimes different coloured areas & substances on the surface
- Mostly polished
- Slightly harder than travertine but a bit softer than granite
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Next issue: Finishes |
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| New products |
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| Special deals |
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| Product: |
Lydia Ivory honed & filled |
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| Description: |
The lightest coloured range of the Lydia family. It is a very exclusive product and normally not always available. Very dense/hard travertine. |
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| Quality: |
Premium |
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| Production term: |
Light |
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| Size available: |
40x40x1.2 cm |
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| Validity: |
Until end of October, while stocks last. |
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| Conditions: |
Crate purchases only. A crate consists of 146 tiles (23.36 sqm) |
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