Travertine tile for garage floor?

[+Mindset]

New member here. Just started my garage reno. I inherited a slap together conversion of a carport to a garage from the previous owners. Im basically guttin it out and researching on finishing it out right (insulation, flooring, venting etc.)

Originally I bought 280 sqft of travertine for a in-house project that never came to fruition due to the complications of installing travertine in a house (my floors are not level etc..) So for the last 4 years I've had it stored in my garage. Now since im renovating the garage and I would have to move all this travertine somewhere else as its in the say, a thought crossed my mind of using the travertine for the garage floor. I see for tiling garages porceline and ceramic seem to be the consensus for potention garage floor tiles but what about travertine?

My current garage floor is asphalt that was done from the driveway right into the garage. (I assume it was done before the previous owners converted the carport to a garage. Its pretty beat up (typical ashphalt) so an epoxy route would probably be very tedious in the prep.

I would really like to use the travertine as it would kill 2 birds with one stone. I live in Toronto so the weather can go from very hot to very cold throughout the year. I've searched the forums for info on travertine by searching with that keyword but after 30 or so posts read im not really finding the answer.

Is it doable? Is it a bad idea? Any special consideration when installing it over asphalt?

Thanks.

 

[BRIANBB]

I think Travertine is pretty porous? You would have to fill the voids/dips with something as the freeze thaw cycle may get to it.

 

[Imcrazy]

cracks and chips easily too

 

[MDSPHOTO]

As mentioned it is very porous & brittle and would need to be sealed annually, it also stains very easily and with shop fluids getting spilled I could imagine it would look like kaka after just a few months.

 

[shoot summ]

Travertine(limestone) is relatively soft and porous, it would not be a good product for a garage floor, at all.

 

[gte718p]

Depend on how you use your garage. As mentioned above it is porous and needs to be sealed. Its not a good choice for a working garage. If you have a man cave or show garage it could be nice.

 

[boiler7904]

All of the above plus beat up asphalt would be a terrible substrate for tile since it flexes and moves with heavy traffic like your car. I'd be willing to guarantee that you don't have a frost wall to prevent the floor / former drive from moving due to frost in the winter too.

Tile installation can only be as good as the substrate it's installed over.

 

[bdamico]

Insane in the Membrane

 

[+Mindset]

I would be using it as a man cave/storing my motorcycle, no cars or heavy items (except the motorcycle) Is it still a bad idea if its sealed?

 

[bdamico]

I would be using it as a man cave/storing my motorcycle, no cars or heavy items (except the motorcycle) Is it still a bad idea if its sealed?

Dude. Travertine is a pain in the *** to keep clean in the house. Are you going to float tenax to fill every hole that will otherwise fill with dirt before you seal? I have Jerusalem stone throughout my house and it is nothing but a battle and I will have to go back and refill all the holes and then grind and polish whole floor just to keep the dirt from filling those holes. I can't even imagine a garage environment.

And what are you going to do about etching the floors? Or them getting dull? Gonna break out a swing machine every few years and go through multiple steps to polish it back up to hone or whatever level?

Everyone is trying to save you from yourself.

 

[Shea]

Is it still a bad idea if its sealed?

What everyone is trying to convey is that even if the tile is sealed, it will not physically hold up to a garage environment. Dropped tools and wrenches are almost guaranteed to crack and chip the tile, let alone a motorcycle falling over. Relative to porcelain or a good ceramic, travertine is like butter. Plus, sealers for stone are not going to hold up well to oil and other caustic chemicals that can leak from motorcycles such as gear oils and brake fluid. It's just a nightmare waiting to happen...

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I hope it helps you to understand why it's not a good idea.

 

[Steves32]

My entry is travertine.
It's total ****- even when sealed yearly. Everything stains it.
Last month- housekeeper sat a bucket of something on it & now I have a permanent bucket ring to live with.
It's all coming out when I get the energy.

Don't do it!

 

[xtremek]

Ok, I'll bite, What would everyone's suggestion be for our friend? I'm not in his boat, but you've got my curiosity up. Sorry Mindset if this is jacking your thread.

 

[Angelfire]

Ok, I'll bite, What would everyone's suggestion be for our friend? I'm not in his boat, but you've got my curiosity up. Sorry Mindset if this is jacking your thread.

Porcelain.

 

[C96]

I can’t imagine trying to put anything over the top of worn-out asphalt.

Tear out asphalt and pour a concrete slab.

 

[James-W]

I can’t imagine trying to put anything over the top of worn-out asphalt.

Tear out asphalt and pour a concrete slab.

I agree. At the risk of sounding like a jerk to the opening poster, realistically it costs quite a bit of money to do projects like this. If you decide to take "short cuts" and the final product turns out to be "less attractive" than what you would like, you will most likely end up ripping it out and doing it over again. If that turns out to be the case, odds are it will end up costing more money than if the job had been done right the first time.

 

[brownbagg]

you going need a concrete slab under the tile any way, and in a close area the asphalt going have an odor so it will have to be replace with concrete for a closed room

 

[xtremek]

I've read on here where a couple of people have put down wood floors over very imperfect concrete. Could this possibly be a path for our friend? I mean real wood, not laminate. I think I read where someone used boards from shipping pallets. Is this a possibility?

 

[+Mindset]

Wow.. okay so scratch the travertine.. but replacing the ashphalt with a concrete pad might be out of my current budget. What about the Allure vinyl planks over the ashphalt?

 

[Mandres]

I wouldn't put anything down on top of ragged asphalt, except maybe cardboard. Any kind of tile needs a smooth, flat, stable substrate. You'll just end up throwing good money after bad if you leave the asphalt in place

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[tcianci]

One thing that no one has mentioned is that in many areas, it's against code to have an asphalt floor in a garage, due to the flammable nature of the material. In the case of the OP, it's obvious that since the space was originally a carport, it would have an asphalt floor.

Depending on the drainage under that floor, it may be subject to seasonal movement from frost. Asphalt tolerates that movement pretty well, there's no tile in the world that will take that type of movement. And as already posted, Travertine is not the right material for a garage floor.