Installing Travertine Tile Without Grout Lines

Set the next piece of tile adjacent to the first piece being sure to repeat steps 2 and 3 for every marble or travertine tile you install.

Installing travertine tile without grout lines.

Don t do a groutless tile installation. Grout is a necessary and integral part of many tile jobs for several reasons. Yes you can install the travertine without a grout joint. The most common tools used to install travertine tile or most tile for that matter include a tape measure a rubber mallet a power drill and mixing paddle a marker or wax pencil a level a tapping block a torpedo level a chalk line tile spacers a margin trowel a notched trowel and a wet saw.

As long as the travertine tiles are well bonded to the substrate that you cut open the joints so they are about 1 8 inch wide that you clean the joints thoroughly and let them dry and then if you install a polymer modified cementitious grout meeting ansi a118 7 per the manufacturer s directions it should perform well. Here s why you need grout. Still experienced contractors will tell you that this isn t a good option and even the thinnest of grout lines can make a big difference. He said that it is no issue and is a cleaner look less of a chance for crap to get in the grout line and discolor.

Make sure you still grout it to fill all of the voids. Travertine is an outstanding example of tile that can be installed without grout lines. How to lay tile without grout lines. I try to use the smallest grout lines the tile will allow.

Do not use tile spacers. Instead line up the corners of the tiles and use your rubber mallet to gently tap the surface of the marble or travertine until it is butted up tightly against the adjacent piece. Even though you butt the tile together it will still create a very small grout joint. There is also the argument that groutless tile installation simply looks better and makes the work seem more compact or put together.

I looked up the idea of no grout lines using travertine and someone said you must have a grout line at least a penny wide. For most granite and marble tile i install i use either 1 32 or 1 16 inch grout lines. The best thing to do is use the smallest grout line your particular tile will allow and get a grout that closely matches the tile. It is breath taking when you see the natural beauty of a joint less counter top or shower produced with this veined stone.

In most other tile i will use 1 16 or 1 8 inch lines.