| Slate flooring is beautiful. You can select slate flooring tile in a variety of shapes and thicknesses, letting you create various designs. Natural slate flooring comes in a variety of colors, mostly dark, contributing to your design. Installing slate flooring isn’t much different from installing any stone flooring. Slate tile flooring is easy to clean and maintain, if when installing it you are careful and seal the resulting floor. Now check with your slate provider and installer on how to clean slate flooring and about the care of stone flooring in general. |
Slate as a stone which makes for flooring that is nothing short of amazing. If you are looking to purchase stone flooring for your home or business, slate is a choice to think hard about. While it is more expensive than other types of flooring, it will last a long time.They are a reasonable deck and because of its hard-wearing abilities and life span, are a standout amongst the most practical sorts of stone flooring.Slate floors compliment all outline sorts from contemporary to conventional. It provides you with a durable, hard to stain surface and with some of the most beautiful textures and patterns available.
Slate flooring is often purchased as slate flooring tile.There is tremendous assortment accessible when hoping to source slate tiles; this changeable rock can be found in various hues and molded tiles which takes into account genuine singularity. Slate tiles offer an actually slip-resistance surface and can in this manner be the perfect ground surface for a kitchen or lavatory. The tile can be purchased in a variety of shapes to make any design or pattern that you want. High temperatures take very tiny particles of clay and silt and bond them closely. The resulting stone is impermeable so liquids don’t penetrate readily. This leaves you with very few stains and virtually no cracking (as long as it is laid correctly, that is.)
Slate tile flooring offers many features. For example, the impurities that are in the silt and clay that make up slate provide for a wide range of colors. You can often choose from dark colors like black, red and green, lighter colors like various shades of gray, and combinations of these colors. This makes it an excellent choice for virtually any color scheme in a room or house. That color variety also lets you create interesting and beautiful patterns.
Another benefit is that you can purchase it in a variety of shapes and sizes. That goes for patterns as well as thickness. You can choose tile squares or go with large slabs. It is quite versatile.
Installing And Caring For Slate Flooring
When it comes to installing slate flooring, you should consider calling in the professionals. If you are a capable do-it-yourselfer, you can do the work on your own, otherwise step aside for a professional. Some words of caution though. You need to ensure that you cut the slate properly or go with precut tile pieces. If it is cut improperly with the wrong tools, it will snap, reducing its value and usability. Also, it is important that you pay attention to the grouting process. Because of the natural texture of slate, you will have a more difficult time grouting. You can avoid this by grouting after you have sealed the flooring.For whatever length of time that the slate ground surface is introduced on an appropriate sub-floor, your slate deck ought to be exceedingly impervious to any sort of harm. On the off chance that you have any uncertainty about the suitability of the surface where you need to introduce your slate flooring, it is best to counsel an expert before you endeavor any establishment methods. A note about sealants: if you opt for a high shine sealer, the dirt and dust of every day use will show more than a low-sheen sealer.
As for how to clean slate flooring, you will use the same method that you would for the care of stone flooring of any type. A bucket of warm water without any powerful chemicals is the best method. Keep up on the maintenance of sealants, as well as keeping the grout chip free, to maintain the integrity and beauty of the slate.Slate is a natural stone and will require in-depth knowledge of the exact products that will achieve the best possible clean without damage. Industrial-strength rotary cleaning machines are then used to agitate the cleaning solution, which is then rinsed thoroughly and dried.
Slate flooring is beautiful and durable. Not only do the color choices make a statement, but the textures add interest not found in most other stone floorings. Slate is an excellent choice for your flooring needs. It’s an excellent choice for an entryway, kitchen, sun room, or even living and dining rooms.
I have been warned about using limestone tile for flooring in the kitchen and entry areas (we active dogs and kids) and am considering quartzite tiles as an alternative. Now I have been told that some quartzite can be quite porous even though it has a high Moh value. Would you recommend using limestone or quartzite tiles for an active household, especially in the kitchen? Can you recommend a natural stone alternative for our consideration?
Hi Mike,
I think either option would be good – the biggest thing is to seal before laying and to seal with with a product after grouting that will protect it. Yes, they’re both porous, which is why it’s very important to seal well – so that dirt doesn’t get into those pores as well as other substances that can stain it.
We had several problems installing our slate- first, slate can be difficult to stick down, if the adhesive side is not cleaned and mudded. We have had a lof of our tiles pop up, probably 1 out of 5 tiles has come loose. This is because the contractor simply screeded the floor with thinset and a notched trowel, and did not remove the thin haze of slate dust on the new tiles. This dust has to be removed, and EACH tile has to be coated with mud, and placed on the floor which has been pre-coated with mud and scraped clean. This method allows the slates to really bond with the substrate. Another method i used in my shop to lay the slate is to use a full bed of thinset, not a notched trowel. the slate coated with an oversized gob of thinset, and then pressed down so that thinset oozes from between the neighboring tiles. The thinset is then wiped clean and acts as grout. In my tests this was the best way to lay the slate because grouting was not necessary. It is more time consuming initially. We did not choose to seal the slate- does sealing slate prevent cracking and actual durability of the grout, the slate, and the bond to the substrate? we have tile in the entire first floor of the house except the bedrooms.
Thank you for your advice. Can you elaborate on sealing before laying the tiles and after? Do you seal only the top-side, or should we apply sealer to both sides of the tile and the edges before it is put down? Lastly, we were advised to use an oil-based or solvent-based sealant (511 brand I believe) for best results, do you have preferences for sealers to use before and after grouting?
Hi Nate,
I found your post very interesting and thank you for posting your method of laying slate. As to your question, yes, you really need to seal slate. Remember, slate is porous and absorbs dirt and can stain if something colored is spilled onto it. Using a sealer will prevent this – just make sure that the sealer you use is formulated for slate or stone.
Hi Mike,
I prefer to seal both sides, though it’s more important to do so if you’re laying slate on concrete. My personal preference for sealing products is AquaMix.
Having just completed installing slate tile in our bathroom, hearth, fireplace surround and entrance I wish I would found this posting BEFORE doing all this work. I did not clean the under side of the tile and am now concerned the tile will be popping up over the next few months–especially the entrance since this will, obviously, receive the most traffic. What can I do at this point? Is this a common problem? Should I be concerned about this issue? Currently, the tile is sealed–five coats total; three coats before laying and two coats after grouting.
what is the best underlayment for laying slate outside on a stoop? there is currently 50 yr old concrete which was under an old tile that i removed. can slate be set with a sand base and just grouted? can slate be installed with a mastic?
Hi Rory,
Hopefully you won’t experience any issues. If you do, the only remedy will be to lift up the stones that pop up, clean them well and reset them. You did well though in sealing them before you laid them – a lot of people don’t do that and then have problems getting the grout haze off of the stones or worse yet, seal after laying without getting all of the haze off, leaving them no choice but to strip and re-seal.
Hi Stewart,
I would not use a sand base as this will allow the slate to shift over time (and it might not be a very long time!) and you’ll have cracking grout all over the place. I would recommend that you make sure to use an adhesive that is recommended for stone that is outdoors. If the mastic you’re thinking about using is recommended for that type of application then you should be safe. If in doubt, call the manufacturer of the mastic product you think you want to use. On the stoop itself, a thinset should work nicely, medium set if the stones are really heavy.
I have a problem. I had new slate steps installed outside about 9 months ago. This winter, I was afraid to use a shovel on them to get rid of ice. So, I used some salt. Now I have whitish stains on the steps. I have tried cleaning with soap and water – but nothing works. Any ideas? I hope they aren’t ruined.I am upset with myself for not thinking they would require special care and upset with my landscaper for not having warned me.
I would try using a product to remove efflorescence, such products can be found at AquaMix. They have a few products that you can use. You didn’t mention if the slate had been sealed or not, if not, you need to do that afterwards – you may still need to even if it has been sealed as the salt may have eaten through it. Just make sure that you use a sealer that’s compatible with any other products used on it before, or to be safe, you can always strip and apply a few fresh coats of sealer.
We recently put in a slate tile flooring in our master bath and some of the thinset was not cleaned off the tiles. I was able to wipe the dry thenset off with a sponge, but doing so created a haze on the tile. What is the best way to get rid of the haze before I grout?
Hi 1st time,
Actually, you’re supposed to clean off the haze before it dries completely. You’re also supposed to seal the stone before you lay it to make the thinset easier to clean off – it also prevents the chance of the thinset seeping into the stone.
Anyhoo, go to http://www.aquamix.com and look up their product line for slate – they have a category of “problem solvers” – including a product that’ll help get that haze off.
My husband and I just installed 12×12 slate tiles from a local quarry in our entry foyer. The foyer is a small area, only 4×6. While sealing the tiles with a high gloss sealer & finish I noticed that some tiles seemed to not be ‘absorbing’ the sealer as readily as others. Some tiles look a natural dark slate blue in color while the tiles that have been successfully sealed are the desired black color. I inspected a left over tile that had not been installed and what I discovered is…the tile seems to have a smooth side and very subtle textured side…which I believe is probably the face side of the tile. I was unaware that the tile had a face side since we asked the guy who sold us the tiles at the quarry and he said the tiles could be installed any which way. Long story short, the floor like a horrible mixed checkerboard of blue and black and I don’t know what to do now. Can you offer any suggestions?
Hi Shelly,
If the checkerboard effect is truly a result of which side is facing up, then there won’t be much you can do aside from starting over from scratch. One thing I can suggest is perhaps stripping the tiles (thankfully it’s a small area!) and using an ‘enhancer’ product on it first – basically a sealer. If you look at http://www.aquamix.com and go to their slate category, you’ll see what I’m talking about – the term enrich & seal comes to mind. I can’t guarantee that this will work though because of the different faces that are exposed. Ooh, just remembered, there’s an article link for it here: https://theflooringlady.com/aqua_mix_enrichnseal.html — Good luck!
i`ve just purchased 36m of slate to tile a large kitchen and utility room/shower room.
as slate can vary so differently in depth. and i dont want the kids stubbing their toes, the company i have used have machined milled all the tiles to an even depth of approx 12mm(plus/minus 2mm) they look absolutely beautiful and i cant wait to lay them. when i have checked some of the tiles, they seem to have a very thin layer of slate that crumbles and comes off very easy leaving a more solid slate underneath. can i just scrape this thin layer off with a scraper without doing any damage to the tiles ? and do you always have to use a wet cutter to cut them to size ?
kind regards dave
Hi Dave,
It’s your choice it you want to take that thin layer off, but I wouldn’t. What I would suggest sealing the whole tile before laying. Why? It protects the slate, stabilizes it by encapsulating it (so to speak) and will make it much easier to clean up after grouting. If nothing else, please, please seal the surface before grouting. Slate is very porous and any mess from the grouting will work its way into the pores and be very difficult to clean if off thoroughly.
Yes, you should use a wet cutter.
Be sure to use sealers and products that are specifically made for slate. AquaMix.com carries a good line, there are others of course.
I installed a slate tile floor in my sunroom about 6 years ago. It is beautiful! As I recall, after installation, we treated the floor with Linseed oil, does that sound right? Since installation, I have done nothng but vacuum and/or sweep the floor.
Now, I have ordered some new furniture and would like to thoroughly clean the room, prior to the arrival of the furniture.
I own a Hoover cleaner for hard floors (the kind with the spinning brushes) and think this may be a good tool to use with a mild cleanser to clean the slate. Do you agree?
Should I treat again with Linseed oil after the cleaning?
Thanks!
Hi Wendy,
I personally don’t know of anybody who has used linseed oil on their slate, but I suppose it is possible, I don’t think I’d use the Hoover on a slate floor, unless the slate is in exceptionally good condition. I’d be careful in choosing a cleaning product too. Some people will use dish soap thinking that it’d be ok – especially diluted. Dish soaps in general leave a tacky residue. Be sure to use a cleaner specifically formulated for use on stone flooring.