A common misconception about tile and grout is that they are waterproof. Once you install tile in your shower you have a big waterproof box that will last forever. Ummm, no.
Tile and stone (as well as grout) will actually retain water. How much water it retains is directly related to the density of the tile. For instance, porcelain tile is much more dense than travertine. This means that travertine will retain more moisture and allow more water to seep through to your substrate. If you happen to have travertine in your shower – don’t panic. As long as it was installed properly it will be fine.
So how do they figure this out?
When a specific type or brand of tile or stone is manufactured for production, the company will determine its density. There are four different categories into which each tile may be placed.
This is determined by weighing the particular tile, submerging it in water for a period of time, then weighing it again. The difference in the two weights determines the density or absorption of that product. Basically how much water it holds. It will then be placed into one of the four categories.
- Non-vitreous: These are tiles that absorb 7% or more of its body weight. These are for indoor use only, normally on vertical surfaces such as backsplashes and wainscots.
- Semi-vitreous: These absorb between 3% and 7%. These are also for indoor use only.
- Vitreous: Absorb between 0.5% and 3%. These tiles may be used for interior and exterior applications.
- Impervious: These are the most dense (porcelain) and absorb between 0.001% and 0.5% of their weight in water. They are suitable for all applications.
Depending upon where you intend to install the tile you may need to consider this. In most cases it’s not an issue. Only in the most extreme or unusual circumstance will you need to take into account the category of your particular tile. A tiled patio in Alaska, for instance. If you have a tile that absorbs a considerable amount of moisture and it freezes, well, you’re gettin’ a new patio.
The biggest factor to consider is the amount of water to which the tile will be exposed. (Along with the possibility of freezing, of course.) For anything up to and including a regular shower, it isn’t necessarily an issue. These applications, using proper methods, should be at least water resistant before a box of tile is even opened.
Why is this an issue?
With any tile application, the durability of the tile will be only as good as what is beneath the tile! Let me say type that again – that again.
If you have a wall in your shower with just plain drywall and you stick your tile to it, it may look good for about a year. It may look good for much longer. But, if moisture gets behind the tile (and it will) through the drywall, to the framing studs, well, you’re screwed.
Your framing studs are (most likely) just simple 2 X 4′s. If even a minute amount of moisture from your shower reaches it all hell’s gonna break loose. Common studs will do what we call “wick” moisture. It is aptly named because it acts just like a candle wick (tile guys are simple folk).If you place one end of a candle wick in water the other end will be soaked in short order. Wooden studs do the same thing.
Think of it as a water highway. The water will simply continue along that same path until it finds something else to soak into. That something else is more wood. When wood gets wet it . . . wait for it . . . swells. Normally that swell has only one place it’s going – right against the drywall and into the back of your tile. Tile’s will crack, grout will crack, your patience will crack, and the end of the world will be right around the corner. You get the idea.
This is not (normally) a subject that needs to be considered when installing tile on your floor. A shower (or other wet area) is unique in that it is subjected to a great amount of water on a regular basis. Unless your kitchen is a swimming pool you really don’t need to be that concerned about it.
Just understand that tile and grout are not waterproof so care needs to be taken to eliminate as much moisture from the surfaces as is realistic in any given application. You know – don’t make your kitchen floor a swimming pool.
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Roger,
My son and I are doing a shower and we are using Noble TS for the floor pan on top of the required floor slop and the TS over Durarock on the walls. We are going to put 4X4 tumbled travertine on the floor, with sand grout, caulk at the floor to wall transition, and will seal with DuPont™ StoneTech® Professional Impregnator Pro® Sealer.
My son works for a home remodeling company and has done a lot of tile work, but this is the first time he has used travertine for a shower and we are getting a lot of different opinions of what order to do the job, seal tile before laying, lay tile then seal, lay tile grout then seal. We are of the opinion that we will lay the tile then grout and at the same time, we are grouting filling in all of the depressions and voids of the travertine with the grout, and last apply the sealer.
Your opinion and any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi Garry,
You guys are correct. If you want the depressions and pits in the face of the travertine filled you do not want to seal before grouting. The sealer will fill all the microscopic voids of the tile and not allow the grout to remain in the pits for very long. If you want the pits filled then the correct order is tile, grout, sealer. Great sealer choice and TS is good stuff too. Do make certain you follow the required grout curing time before sealing the tile.
Other suggestions? Well, my son should get a job… Oh, you probably meant about your tile. Soaking the travertine in a bucket of water and allowing it to dry before setting it will rid the tile of excess ‘dust’ created in the fabrication process and shipping/storage. Just toss ‘em into a bucket for ten minutes or so, pull them out and let them dry, then set them. This will increase your adhesion to the tile by about 20% or more and eliminate any bonding issues due to excess powder on the tile.
And my son still needs to get a job.
Have Fun!
Hey,
and then water gets behind the curtain and somehow undermines all that hard work. anyways i might be just paranoid but figured i would ask for your professional opinion. Thanks again for all the help, i could not have done this without this site! seriously… is there anyway i could send you some pictures???? mabey you could start a section of what your readers did…. or pick out my flaws and use it in the flawed… 
I wanted to say thanks again for all the help and information, i am all done and love the way the shower turned out but i have one thing left. I have gotten quotes for frameless glass but am having a hard time shelling out the $950 for it and was thinking of using a shower curtain instead. My question is, is the water retention of the glass setup worth the price or should the curtain do just fine?? my concern is that i dont put up the glass cause im a cheap
Hey Justin, Hallelujah! Someone finally finished a shower and told me about it.
You can use a shower curtain if you wanna. Your shower is waterproof under your tile, right?
As long as you properly installed your pan liner and it’s waterproof and the bottom of your shower curtain hangs inside the curb it won’t be a problem at all.
You can absolutely send me pictures. Just email them to Floorelf@Floorelf.com. I only have one other photo of a fireplace but I’ve been wanting to put up a page of everyone’s projects for a while. Maybe I’ll just do it and then people will start sending stuff, eh? Yeah – I do everything the hard way.