Installing French Pattern Travertine in Your Home

You can never go wrong with French pattern travertine tiles if you want a bold and one-of-a-kind look for your house. The pattern is also known as ‘Versailles pattern’ and ‘Roman pattern,’ and what makes it different is the way each tile is arranged, which breaks the rigid, monotonous, and geometric look of regular square tile installations. In a set, there are 12 pieces that consists of different sizes of tiles: four 8x8, two 8x16, four 16 x 16, and two 16 x 24, and when put together, they cover a 16-square foot area. DIY diagrams are often provided by suppliers, but you can refer to the following steps to lay French Pattern travertine properly in your home, too:

1. Measure the area where you want to install the tiles – Find out the square footage by measuring the length x width. If the room is oddly shaped, visually divide it into squares, then add each square area together. Length in inches times the width in inches is equal to the area in square inches, then divided by 144 to get the measurement in square feet.
   
   
2. Have the right materials – Make sure you already have the set of French pattern tiles. From there, you can gather up the rest of the necessary materials, like the thinset, backerboard, tile saw, trowel, a thinset mixing paddle, grout, a grout sponge, a five-gallon bucket, a ½ hp drill, chalk line, a grout and natural stone sealer, straight edge, and a backerboard scoring knife.

3. Start with the cement bed – This is what’s under the tile. Cement board is easiest to use, making it good for DIY projects. Just make sure the base floor is properly prepared.
   
   
4. Applying the thinset – Mix the thinset in the bucket following the instructions on its packaging, and use the trowel to spread it out. Wait for 24 hours to cure before you actually lay out the French pattern travertine tiles.

5. Installing the tiles – Determine how you want to lay out the French pattern travertine tiles. Use the chalk line to make a guide. Measure and cut the edges of the tiles make them fit properly into place.  

Source: http://www.stone-mart.com/blogs/installing-french-pattern-travertine-in-your-home/