Travertine Tile: What is it?

Recently, we had a customer come into the store and ask about travertine tile. She had older ceramic tile down and was hating it. After listening to her questions, we realized that she misunderstood just what travertine was. According to Wikipedia , "travertine is a terrestrial sedimentary rock, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from solution in ground and surface waters, and/or geo-thermally heated hot-springs". Well, what does all of that mean for flooring? Travertine is a natural stone product formed by sediment and used for construction, walls and flooring surfaces. The Colosseum in Rome is made of travertine. It is sometimes called travertine marble or travertine limestone, but it is neither true marble or limestone, although they are related. Travertine naturally has holes and pits in the surface caused by gas bubbles during formation. These holes they can be filled and tiles are sold filled or unfilled. Travertine can also be brushed or tumbled to give it a more worn appearance or honed for a smooth surface. It comes in a variety of colors depending on the type and variety of sediments that formed it and it's cut into various sizes.

Throughout history, travertine has been very popular as a building and flooring material and recently it has enjoyed a resurgence because of it classical rustic look. It is being utilized for flooring, counters, walls, and backsplashes. It is a beautiful, durable surface, but must be kept sealed to prevent soil build up and staining. Like all natural stone products, each piece is unique and can be used to create a variety of looks.

New measure vehicle for Home Plus Longview

We just got our new measure vehicle for our long-time estimator, Charles Jenkins. This odd looking little car was exactly what we were looking for. It is easy to drive, gets great gas mileage, and had plenty of space for a Home Plus wrap. It's a Ford Transit Connect. Home Plus has always offered free estimates to our customers and for many of those years, Charles has been the one to come to your home and draw out the floor plan so our salespeople can figure the job correctly. If Home Plus Longview has ever done any flooring for you, most likely Charles measured it. He's very proud of his new transportation, so if you see him around the East Texas area, give him a honk and a wave.

Home Plus Power Point

Check out this SlideShare Presentation by Raegan Quesenberry:

Home Plus Power Point

View more presentations from Home Plus Longview.

Waterproofing Ceramic Tile Showers

Several years ago, when tile showers became very popular once again, I began to research the best ways to install them. I learned everything I could about showers. I quickly discovered that tile mastic was a no-no because it would mildew in the humid conditions, cement board was not waterproof, and green-rock would leak as well. I knew that the shower pan was a critical area because they could leak. We were always getting calls from people who had older showers with leaking pans wanting repairs (not ones we had installed). At that point, showers just scared me and I was determined that we wouldn't touch one unless we could do it right. I had seen too many done wrong and the risk just wasn't worth it.

Potential customers called and we were not in the shower installation business. That is until I ran across the Schluter-Kerdi product at a trade show. What caught my eye was a cardboard box filled with water that was not leaking. The wasn't just an inventive way to make a cheap drink cooler. This orange stuff made this cardboard box completely waterproof. I had to know more about it so I asked the representative every question I could think of about using Kerdi on showers. Schluter-Kedi is a waterproof, resistant to most chemicals encountered in humid showers and it won't rot. They also had kits with pre-sloped pans and curbs. This was it, a way to be in the shower business without a chance of leaking showers.

I scheduled John, the Schluter rep, to come out to Longview and train our installers on how to use the product. John came and built a small scale shower which we still have in our showroom. We have been installing tile showers ever since. We will not install a shower without Kerdi waterproofing, even though we have lost jobs to others who don't take care to eliminate future leaks. If we can't do it right, we don't want to do it.

Floors Don't Wear Out, They Ugly Out

I'm back on ugly floors again. The tired old saying in the flooring industry is that floors don't wear out, they ugly out. Apparently, there is some truth in that as evidenced by these and other photos. What was once stylish, can soon become that hideous floor of yesteryear. Those beautiful greens and oranges that were hip in the 70's never really came back in style. I'm still curious to know who still has these floors now considered ugly. Send me your pictures at: timholland@homeplustx.com.

SmartStrand Carpet Challenge Results

Last Saturday, we held the SmartStrand Challenge during the East Texas Builder's Assciation's Home Products Show out at Maud Cobb Convention Center in Longview, TX. We hosted several rounds of staining by registered participants and this is what the carpet looked at by the end of the day. We supplied the "stainers" with red Kool-Aid, grape juice, ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, grape jelly, dirt, bleach, cola, and chocolate syrup and let them try and stain the SmartStrand carpet. On Monday, we moved the challenge ring back to Home Plus and had Cathy's Carpet Care come out and attempt to remove the stains.


The results: The SmartStrand performed much better than anyone had imagined. Except for a few remnants of mustard that will have to be spot cleaned, the carpet came clean. We had only one side cleaned to show just how bad the entire carpet was stained. The remaining side smells kind of like the dumpster behind a McDonald's, so I'm not sure how long we will leave it on display, but if you're in the area, stop by and see the results for yourself.

The SmartStrand Challenge Ring is ready!

The ring is complete for the SmartStrand Carpet Challenge on Saturday. If you want to help trash the carpet at the Home Products Show at Maud Cobb Convention Center in Longview, be there on Saturday and sign up. We will supply a Home Plus t-shirt, plastic gloves, and all of the staining products like coffee, mustard, Kool-aid, grape juice, chocolate syrup and dirt. We'll have standard 3-minute rounds every hour throughout the day on Saturday only beginning at 10:30am. On Monday, we'll bring the carpet back to Home Plus and have it professionally cleaned by Cathy's Carpet Care. Stop by and see if the stains come out.