Stone sealer - sealant creates a barrier on the surface of your stone floor that repels liquid and keeps spills and water marks from penetrating and damaging your stone floor. This treatment is the perfect finishing touch to any granite or marble installation works. This process is a must for the protection of all natural stones.

Dear Floorlady, I am planning an addition to my home in Central NY state. One part of the addition is an entry/mudroom, unheated but enclosed and insulated. The other part is a screened porch, open to the elements.

My builder is planning a concrete pad for both. We have lots of options for flooring but I'd really like stone to match the fieldstone fireplace and drystack walls around the property.

I have so many questions. Does it make sense to put stone on top of concrete? Do I mean concrete or cement? Does the concrete/cement have to be laid on a slight grade? Will moisture cause the floor of the porch to crack and the stones to heave or become loose? Where can I find exact instructions on how to do this...there are a few stone masons around but I'd like to understand as much as possible before talking to them. Do you recommend slate or flagstone instead of fieldstone? If fieldstone is OK, can I use rocks I find myself (we have lots of rocks around here and, strange as it may sound, gathering them from creekbeds is a lot of fun....the local farmers call us "Rock Freaks".) thanks.

Hi Karen! Wow! Lots of questions! ;o)

Yes, it makes complete sense to put stone on top of concrete. It provides something stable for the stone to sit on so that you will hopefully never have to experience 'heaving' stones.

I wouldn't think that the concrete has to be laid on a slight grade since the whole idea is to have a level floor, right? It will self-level somewhat and your builder will have tools to utilize to make it level. :~)

Slate may not be great choice unless you have a very good moisture barrier underneath - preferably under the concrete itself because concrete will draw moisture, which will ruin everything! You can really use any of the stones you want so long as you have a good moisture barrier underneath them and really good sealer & finish (multiple coats!) on top of the stone. Even the creek stone should be sealed or you'll be losing pieces/layers. In my experience there is usually layering associated with these stones.

Of course, I can't guarantee that the floor wouldn't heave/crack, but it will definitely reduce the chances.

Oh, and don't worry - you're not alone! There's lots of 'rock freaks'!

You're one smart cookie to want to know everything possible before you contract workers! Don't be afraid to utilize the site's search engine located in the upper right-hand corner and even at your favorite search engine (mine's Google!). Read, read, and read some more!

I am trying to lay a runner, which was made from my carpet on my stone stairs, which are solid precast stone. I wondered if you had any ideas for an adhesive that would be strong enough to hold the carpet on the stairs without damaging the stone. Obviously I would only apply the adhesive to small areas on the stairs necessary to hold the runner in place, but I would love some ideas...thank you!!

You could try stair rods which attach to the stairs on top of the carpet- the runner is held in place by them. I've seen them in brass and stainless -- there may be other options. This option would let you remove the carpet runner for cleaning or redecorating. There are no VOCs from glue to worry about either!

Hello Flooring Lady, I have just completed building brick and stone (sciota blue stone treads) front steps to my home. I'm a pretty experienced diy'er and the steps look great, but have run into a problem with the landing. For the landing, I "wet-set" irregular flagstone varying in thickness into mortar. They look great but I've run into a slight problem. I graded the landing slightly away from the front door as to avoid water run-off toward the house. However, when setting the flagstone into the mortar, due to the varying level of the stone, I have had some "pooling" in certain spots of the landing. When I leveled the landing, I used the high point of each stone instead of the low point as the point of reference, which has created some natural peaks and valleys on the landing. I was wondering if you knew of a clear gloss finish which would function as both a sealer and a self-leveling agent. Most sealers that I have looked into online seem to be brush, roll, or spray on. I'm wondering if there is something that may provide up to approx 1/8 - 1/4 inch of "filler" in some of the valleys of the landing. Any suggestions?

Hi Frank,

I've never heard of any that are thick enough to act as the type of filler you need. Maybe somebody else has and they'll help us out by chiming in.

Dear Flooring Lady, I am converting a 5x13 room in my basement into a wine cellar. I am using natural flagstone to do the walls and the floor. I have the vapor barrier and the galvanized metal lath for the walls and it has a concrete floor. I have a couple of questions since I am new to this and the guy helping me has only done brick before. 1 Do I do the walls first and then the floor? I was planning on using a 1x2 on the base of the wall that I would remove after I do the walls which leaves room for the flooring. (also doing that on the ceiling and around the door.) Is this a good idea? 2 Can I set the stone directly on the concrete floor or do I need a moisture barrier there also?

Thank you for your help.

Hi JW,

This sounds more like a question for somebody who deals more in construction since you're dealing with floors and walls. It sounds like it'd be a good topic for me to investigate/learn for myself. This part of the site will help explain about different moisture barriers.

I would think it'd be easier to lay the floor first to avoid a gap at the base of the wall, but that's up to you, especially since I don't have a clue as to any of the specifics about the flagstone you're working with.

I did a little Google-ing using this search: "how to" build "wine cellar" - interesting stuff. I think you'll find this to be very helpful in particular. Sounds like a neat project. Good luck!