Travertine filling

[pramonde]

Hi all,
We're remodeling and need to expand a room that has a travertine stone floor. When the original floor was installed we selected the "best" (smoothest) stones and saved the rest. Originally, the spaces between the stones and the "holes" in the stones were filled with sanded grout and then sealed. Over the years we have been disappointed with how fast the floors got dirty and how much "elbow" grease was needed to clean them. We feel that the sanded grout has been a source of the problem. Is there a product that can be used to fill in the travatine holes of the remaining tiles BEFORE they are installed, that would be more resistant to dirt/grime collection. I was thinking of something that presented a hard, smoother surface that was less prone to dirt collection. (E.g., unsanded grout, additives, special commercial fillers, ...)
Thanks, paul (aka "pramonde")

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[Davestone]

Depending on the size of the holes you could use unsanded,and if they're large, sanded first,leaving it low, then unsanded. i can't recommend you using a filler like Akemi, cause you'll have to razor blade,and sand it down perfectly,and that takes a lot of expertise.

[doitright]

Hi Paul, Welcome! :)

As Dave mentioned unsanded grout can work well (depending on the size).

Polyester fillers are available, but you better practice on a tile that wasn't installed yet. Grout is much faster. It's also better to leave the grout a little high, or else you'll end up with a divit.

[Steven Hauser]

Hi there,

I'd add that it is a good practice for the purpose of filling holes to mix the grout with latex instead of water. As John said "mound the unsanded up.

:)

[Jim Cuviello]

Use Latex Modified. If you ever gp back and polish the stone the sanded grout will give you problems.