Travertine Install Protective Practices

Installing travertine involves a number of techniques and practices that are common to hard surfaces of differing types. Whether the material is a natural stone or a man made material the installation benefits from protecting it. This takes various techniques throughout the fabrication process. In the fabrication shop, on the road, during the install, and even after it, there are occasions where travertine be protected. In this article we will briefly look at some of these.

Install Protection for Travertine While Storing

It may not seem like the storage of travertine has anything to do with the installation and the protecting of that install. Yet, the two are connected very intimately and the storage of travertine is one of the first points where the install could be marred.

How travertine slabs are stored makes a difference in the install quality because blemishes can happen at that point. When a travertine surface gets scratched, chipped, or even cracked, it adds to the work that must be done to the material. The end result might be a perfect installation, but how much time and money was spent to produce that installation? It all starts with the storage methods. Using the proper storage equipment in the correct manner affects the countertop's installation quality.

Fabricating Travertine and Protecting Installations

Anytime during the fabrication process travertine can get damaged. Not all damage is the same and some is less serious than other damage. But any scratches or chips that occur during the process of cutting, shaping, and polishing a travertine countertop can show up in the final product.

The tools that are used for working travertine and the skill of the fabricator work together to protect the installation of the surface. Choosing tools like blades, granding wheels, and polishing pads that are designed to work travertine will yield the best results. Of course, even the best of tools requires the fabricator to be skilled at using them.

Installation Protection of Travertine Affected by Transport

As we have seen thus far, travertine installs must be protected every step of the way. The transporting of the material is no exception. Something as simple as moving travertine from one location to another can end up in a sub-par installation. So it is good to know how to protect the install during transport.

Properly maintained equipment and the correct sized racks are important to protecting the installation of travertine countertops. For example, if one rubber cap on a corner of a rack postis not in good condition, it could spell disaster in the way of a scratch that increases install time or even puts off the install. This equates to time and money for your business. Using racks that are in good shape and keeping them maintained surely plays a role in protecting the installation.

Protecting Your Travertine Installs

Protecting travertine countertop installs doesn't just happen in the previous stages of the process. Protecting countertop installations also occurs during the install process itself. Let's look at how this happens.

The install of travertine countertops takes equipment that is designed to prevent it from scratching or chipping. Vacuum cups help the installers to lift, handle, and position the material as they put it in place. Slab dollies and other specialized equipment also adds to the protection of the install during this part of the process.

Protecting Travertine Surfaces After They Are Done

Up to now all the protection of your travertine countertop install has been by your own hand (well the hand(s) of the employees working the project). But now that the job is done, it needs to be protected more than any other point up to now.

Keeping the travertine surface from becoming damaged now will require something more than proper tool usage and know-how. Other trades may come in behind your crew and they will see that nice open area differently than you and your crew does. To them it will look more like a travertine workbench. What is needed now is a way to communicate to everyone coming in behind you that the surface is not for use and that it must not be used for anything. Additionally, keeping it free from dust and other debris that will be stirred up in the air will help keep it from getting scratched.

In the end protecting travertine countertop installs is like other aspects of fabrication and installations of stone materials. It can be a relatively smooth task, or it can be a challenging one. However being familiar with the practices and techniuqes used before, during and after the installation has the potential to boost your shop's profitability.