What Sealer Should I Use on a Travertine Deck?

[Shazbat]

The subject kind of says it all. We are in the final stages of our pool build. The decking pavers went down just before Christmas and the polymeric sand went in New Year's Eve. The pool will have a salt system and I've heard from a lot of folks that sealing the stone is necessary to prevent salt degradation. My question is what kind of sealer. I have read disparaging comments on this board about 'the Crud you buy at Home Depot', but cannot find any reference to a better source (or even a brand name).

I am considering Deck-O-Grip, both for its sealing properties and also its slip resistance. Is this a viable solution? Should I even bother sealing the deck? Any advice, greatly appreciated.

I live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (HOT!!!). The pavers are sand-set over 12 inches of compacted road-base.

I am building the pool through a local company, Pool By Owner (http://poolsbyowner.com/), which allowed me to design and oversee all aspects of the construction. As you can see from the photos in the link, I had a challenging site to work with. The yard is not really small, just very narrow. There is also a 10% to 20% grade which added to the fun. I decided on using all Pentair equipment. The pool has a 105 ft perimeter and varies between 3.5 and 4.5 ft depth. I have not calculated the volume, I think I will just record the meter reading when I fill.

I really appreciate all of the shared knowledge on this site. I learned a lot and gained the confidence to take this project on. My boys are looking forward to a cooler summer.

http://picasaweb.google.com/shazbat/PoolBuild#

 

[revstriker]

I'm not familiar with travertine pavers, but I am familar with travertine tiles. There is a very good brand of sealer made by StoneTech you might want to look at. It's a product made by DuPont. They have different types of sealers depending on what you are looking for (enhancing effects, etc.).

 

[budster]

I recommend a silicone-based "paver sealer", not water-based. Applied in one coat, the good stuff will cover about 125 sq.ft. per gallon and will remain intact for 10 years. Check with a local paver/travetine dealer in your area. Such sealers will "bring out the color" a bit, just like wetting it -- that's what it will look like.

Good luck.

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum!

My partially educated opinion would be true travertine would not be a very good choice for a deck in an area that has many freeze thaw cycles..probably even as far South as Dallas.

The best tile forum on the net, IMO, is Johnbridge.com. Most of those guys do indoor work but you should be able to come up with some good exterior advice as well. They'll be pretty cluless about swimming pool decking like Kooldeck, etc. but they are good tile people.

PS - Home Depot sells some of the most expensive and best tile sealer on the market........I still question that travertine is a good choice regardless of the sealer you use.

 

[revstriker]

Welcome to the forum!

My partially educated opinion would be true travertine would not be a very good choice for a deck in an area that has many freeze thaw cycles..probably even as far South as Dallas.

The best tile forum on the net, IMO, is Johnbridge.com. Most of those guys do indoor work but you should be able to come up with some good exterior advice as well. They'll be pretty cluless about swimming pool decking like Kooldeck, etc. but they are good tile people.

PS - Home Depot sells some of the most expensive and best tile sealer on the market........I still question that travertine is a good choice regardless of the sealer you use.

I'll second the johnbridge tile forum. Great place for info! I trained and worked as a tile layer in Germany and still do quite a bit of odd jobs on the side now. John's forum is always a great place to learn about new products and techniquies.

As I said in my earlier post, I don't know that much about pavers, but I do know about tiles. And you are correct, travertine tiles would not make a good outdoor tile in an area such as Dallas. However, in researching some pavers, they do have travertine pavers that are freeze/thaw rated. Not sure why though, maybe because the pavers are dry set (in sand, not mortar)? But true travertine is is porous, so it absorbs water. And of course, if it absorbs water and then that water freezes, the stone can crack.

Either way, I would make sure that the pavers are indeed freeze rated, and that they are installed per the manufacturers directions. I'd also check out any warranty they may have.

 

[Shazbat]

Thank you for all of the replies. It is a little late to change to a different material as the deck is installed. I was hoping that the sealer would cut down on the porosity, and reduce the risk of flaking during freezing weather. The referenced site, JohnBridge.com, is quite informative. I have it bookmarked for futher research.

Thanks again,

Jim