For thousands of years, travertine has been used for outdoor building because of its durability and ease of maintenance. Ancient structures—from centuries-old fountains to the Colosseum in Rome—have been built with travertine. If you are looking for the perfect material for your patio, then travertine is the way to go. A travertine patio will resist fading and will be slow to erode, if at all.
Creating the perfect patio with travertine is a pretty simple process and you can actually do it yourself. Here are the steps and tips that you have to follow:
- Before you start laying anything, you should first make sure that the soil is compacted and that its moisture content is just right. The soil may not properly compact if it is too dry or too damp.
- Once you have done this, use 6×12 travertine pavers to create a border around the edges of the area where you want your patio to be. Dry-set travertine pavers are recommended for easy installation. It is ideal that you use a thin-set mortar to secure the border, especially in cold weather climates. This will let the travertine expand and contract safely during the freeze-thaw cycle.
- Once you already have a compacted soil sub-base, put 6”-8” of crushed limestone on the top and compact layers of it as you go. The purpose of limestone is to provide the travertine with a solid base. This will keep the travertine in place and allow for proper drainage. Use a compactor to compact the limestone. Once you’ve done that, finish with ½”sand. After finishing with sand, you can already lay the travertine pavers.
- Once you’re done putting everything in place, you may sweep polymeric sand into the joints of the pavers. You may also use grout, or use nothing at all. If you want to create a travertine patio on top of an existing concrete surface, you may also do so by using mud-set pavers.