| Installing stone flooring in your home or office can be the perfect solution for some situations. If properly sealed at installation stone flooring can last a lifetime. Natural stone flooring, faux stone vinyl flooring, stone laminate flooring, and the new plastic flooring that looks like stone are options you can choose from to create the look you want. Stone tile flooring at your entrance or stone patio flooring are ways you can finish an area so it will withstand foot traffic and weather. |
Stone flooring is an excellent choice for some situations. It’s durable so good for entryways and bathrooms. It makes a great solar mass so is good for passive solar homes as heat storage. It’s elegant so wonderful for living rooms or great rooms.
The material is a natural looking element that has been used in homes for hundreds of years. The most obvious advantage of this type of flooring is the beauty and design that it offers. The major disadvantage to it is that natural stone flooring can be quite expensive. But, there are many ways around that. If you are considering the purchase of stone flooring for your home or business, insure that you realize the many ways in which you can purchase it.
More Types Than You Thought
There are several types of stone flooring. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the overall goals of your project, you should choose the best selection for your needs.
Natural Stone Flooring: There are several materials that are used in “real” stone floors. These include limestone, marble, slate, quartzite, granite and flagstone, sandstone, and travertine. You should select the product to use based on your budget as well as on your preferences in durability, color, texture and shape. Also, it is important to consider the weight of the stone as some structures can not support a very heavy flooring, at least not without increasing floor support.
Faux Stone Flooring: There are several types of faux flooring options for you to consider. These are the ideal ways to go if you are under budget constraints. Most of the products you find will not be completely like the real thing, but in most cases they are an agreeable alternative. Here are some examples to consider.
- Faux stone vinyl flooring is made from vinyl materials to resemble stone. You will find a wide selection to choose from, and although they are not true stone, they come close to looking like that. The biggest problem with these is their lack of true texture.
- Stone laminate flooring is another interesting choice. It provides for another “faux” look with all the many benefits of laminate. It is much easier to care for and much lower in price too.
- There are many other products on the market that you can select from as well. But, before you try out that new plastic flooring that looks like stone, you should first get your hands on it and feel it. Does it give you the look, texture and tone that you are after?
Stone Tile Flooring: In this stone flooring where the stone is cut into a tiles, rather than being left in bigger, more irregular shapes. This allows for a realistic look and an easier installation. Consider it the mid-way point between faux options and natural stone flooring.
Things To Consider
When you consider stone flooring for your home or business, there are several points that you should remember prior to making your selection.
- Installing stone flooring should be done by a professional. If you plan to do it yourself, make sure to follow instructions very carefully. If you don’t, you are likely to have a floor that cracks, chips or is uneven and causes someone to fall.
- You should take into consideration how to clean stone flooring as well. It is not as easy as you might like. Each type of stone requires its own methods; you may find it somewhat tiresome to take care of stone, beautiful as it is.
- Lastly, you should realize that stone flooring can be used in virtually every aspect of the home from the kitchen, bath and entry to stone patio flooring.
Stone flooring is beautiful and durable, but a bit fussy to care for. If you want to make a statement that other flooring options don’t make. Or it’s great if you want to lower your heating bills by using it for storing, and subsequently releasing, heat into your home. Stay on top of the maintenance of your stone flooring and it will last a lifetime.
Where is the information on saltillo tile flooring? I had been communicating with you but no longer see Saltillo Tile flooring as an option.
It’s at https://theflooringlady.com/saltillo_tile.html
You can also use the search box in the upper right-hand corner and do a search for “Jackie” – that will also give you the link. ;o)
I am looking at installing travertine tile in my great room (family room/eat-in kitchen). I have read that there can be “bad batches” of travertine or lower quality travertine. How can I tell if this is the case? What should I look for and what questions should I ask to avoid purhcasing low quality travertine? How can I ensure I purchase high quality travertine?
Travertine quality varies as widely as the places it is found. In general, higher quality stones will have a tighter (compacted) structure, fewer fill areas (especially wide, shallow areas where the fill has very little to bond to), will be filled on both sides (to prevent punch through from high heels, furniture legs, etc.), and will exhibit a quality fabrication finish (no saw marks, blemishes, or unfinished areas).
Yes, travertine is usually filled in this manner. Travertine is a sedimentary stone formed in and around hot springs. It occurs when calcite (calcium carbonate) is deposited by water, then compressed over time to a solidified structure. Travertine almost always has holes and channels where water and hot gasses escaped during formation. In most instances, these holes are filled during fabrication with cementuous (like grout) or resin (like epoxy) products to form an even, flat surface.
Hopefully, you’ll be able to find some good quality travertine. FYI: there are also products that you can use yourself to fill in pits and such if they appear afterwards. Make sure to seal it very, very well the help keep it stable and add stregnth and protection.
i dropped a bottle of nail polish on a tumbled marble floor . How can I clean it up?
Help!!!!
Hi Pat,
Oi, what a mess. Chances are, no matter what you clean it up with, you’re going to have to apply some more sealer/finish/polish (whatever is already on your floor) after you get the nail polish up because it will be stripped with what you use to clean up the nail polish! *shudder*
If you use something like a flat blade x-acto knife the finish will probably get scraped up along with the nail polish. You could try using a non-acetone nail polish remover, no guarantee if this will affect your floor finish. Of course, you can use the regular nail polish remover (acetone), this is guaranteed to take off your flooring finish wherever you apply it.
I’m sorry there’s not an easier solution……
Hi floor lady :)
I am installing nuce traveltine in my entry way. However, the color looks darker than what we saw in the store. are there different shades of nuce!!!!! what can I do to make it look lighter?
thanks
I’m wondering about Villa Stone by Cryntel (sp?)
Does it hold up? Any drawbacks? I’m thinking of it for a kitchen, eating area and guest bathroom.
Thanks
Hi Marilyn,
Villa Stone is a quality flooring manufacturer. You just need to evaluate the pros and cons of going with a stone flooring over any other type of flooring. Stone flooring is a good option for kitchen, and bathroom.
I installed Villa Stone in my kitchen and foyer recently. What’s the best way to clean it?
Hi Lou,
Did you have Honed or Paver Villa Stone installed?
It is “polystone composite” tile. I cannot find anything on the carton that describes it as honed or paver.
Hi Lou Ellen, You could contact the manufacturer, Villa Stone, via their website at http://www.villastonecollection.com/ to see if they have specific recommendations or you can read through my article Stone Floor Care.
Flooring Lady
I would like to do an indoor stone floor. I am looking for a flagstone type look using uneven natural looking shapes but want it to be a 1/2″ thick material. Can you offer information on suppliers or websites please? Thanks very much
Hello Flooring Lady
We had the Villa Stone (wheat) by Cryntel installed this winter in our kitchen & baths (love it) But why are the edges and corners rolling up? Our shoes are starting to catch. We’ve had the intaller replace one tile about 3 months ago. Thought all was good until know I have 4 more tiles that are affected plus a couple in my daughters bath. Are the tiles supposed to be treated after the grout dries?
Jim,
I’m sorry, I can’t.
Good luck with your project.
Kathy, I’m thinking of installing VillaStone. What kind of surface was it installed on? Do you suppose that the surface wasn’t cleaned good enough? I believe that the tiles are selfstick, right?
Dan, The VillaStone was put on top of laminate flooring. They were not self sticking. I think you can get those at Lowes. We purchased this pictular product at a flooring store. But the installer sprayed each tile with glue and used separators to allow for grout.
The tile square is not lefting from the floor. The top surface edges on the sides and corners are rolling up. Our shoes catch thats how we noticed the problem.
The store where we purchased the product is supposed to have a manufacture rep come out and take a look.
As far as the product I love the look it really looks like its real stone especially when you use the grout.
Kathy,
I would ask the installer who replaced the damaged tile, if he is aware of the cause. It is possible that there is a moisture issue or something else that needs to be corrected.
Glad you have the rep. coming out to take a look. Please let us know how it goes.
Flooring Lady – We know it’s not moisture because we had 2 house inspectors check out our house we had issues with the Hickory wood floors we had installed. The planks started splitting days after installation. This was a manufature problem all resovled and replaced with Oak. No splitting on the oak planks.
Now we have the tile issue. Case of just bad luck.