Wholly, Holey Travertine

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Ever wonder why travertine has all those holes, yet limestone is virtually hole-free?

Although both travertine and limestone share identical minerals, limestone is formed in a body of water, while travertine is formed by hot water and bubbling gasses coming up from beds of calcite. The calcite is deposited and the gasses escape during formation of travertine, leaving holes behind in the process.

If the stone doesn’t have holes, it’s not travertine.

HOWEVER, the SIZE of the fill holes, the COLOR MATCH of the fill in the holes and the quality of the FINISH on the face of the travertine are the primary factors in determining the VALUE of the travertine. Place an inexpensive travertine next to a more costly travertine.

These three factors (fill size, fill color, and finish) should determine whether one travertine has more value to you than the other. At the point where the more expensive travertine doesn’t have enough value to you personally, go with the less expensive stone. The cost of the stone must have visual and inherent characteristics to worth the price you are paying.

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Central Arizona Supply Showroom

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Have you been to The Studio by Central Arizona Supply?

This beautiful showroom that showcases plumbing and fixtures is located in downtown Phoenix on 16st, just south of Camelback.

You will not only find amazing products with a very urban vibe, but there is also tile and stone provided by Villagio—the perfect complement to an awesome showroom.

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Gaggenau Shop in Shop

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It isn’t often that we have the opportunity of supplying tile to a company that is older than our country, so it’s with great pleasure to announce that we are providing tile for the soon-to-be-open “Gaggenau Shop In Shop” inside the Allstate Appliances Scottsdale showroom.

Gaggenau Appliances, is a German manufacturer of appliances that was founded in 1683.

Fast forward to 2015, when Gaggenau selected floor tile from Villagio for their largest Shop in Shop in the Western Hemisphere, and their only Shop in Shop in Arizona.

Villagio provided Gaggenau with BASIS DARK GREY porcelain tile that has a current contemporary feel and complements the beautiful, innovative appliances manufactured by a company that has been around for more than 300 years.

Here is a sneak peak of the new Gaggenau Shop in Shop.

Look for a grand opening to be announced by Allstate Appliances later this year.

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Four Things to Know About Limestone – #4 Finishes & Textures

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In our final entry in the four most important things to know about limestone, we look at IMPORTANT THING #4: FINISHES & TEXTURES.

Denser, stronger limestone are ideal for manufacturers to create one-of-a-kind 3D stones. Split-face (where a thicker tile is split in half, using the split face), striated (straight lines cut into the tile), chiseled finishes, 3d basket weave, trims and moldings—the list of possibilities is limited only by the fabricator’s abilities.

In summary, a stone may have the same name, but may not be the same quality. At Villagio, many of our limestones are rated light duty, medium duty and heavy duty for residential areas.

We don’t carry the most porous (consequently most problematic) limestones.

Visit us at our Scottsdale Showroom where we can help pair the stone characteristics with your cost and maintenance expectations.

Four Things to Know About Limestone – #2 Density & Strength

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We are currently looking at the four most important things to know about limestone.

Today, we look at IMPORTANT THING #2: DENSITY & STRENGTH.

As with all natural stones, limestone has a wide range of density/strength. It is important to pair the durability and cleaning expectations with your application when selecting natural stone.

Some of the very light limestone out of Turkey can be extremely porous and should be sealed BEFORE installation (they can permanently stain during the installation process) and are suitable only on walls and the lightest of traffic areas (like bathrooms).

On the other end of the spectrum, is limestone from the Jura region of Germany, which has been subject to intense heat and pressure over time and can have density and hardness surpassing granite!

For more information on how to design with limestone visit us at our Scottsdale Showroom.

Stay tuned for our next post on limestone pricing.