Slate flagstones

[UncleEbenezer]

In my slow but ongoing works on the house, I've come to the idea that I can floor the entire downstairs with colourful slate flagstones: something like https://www.stonetilecompany.co.uk/natu ... -600x400mm . My prospective kitchen-installer is happy in principle to do that, and for the hall and living room - where it's a lesser job and less disruption - I might venture to do it myself.

A while back I enquired about travertine (which would've been for the living room but not the kitchen) and you guys convinced me it wasn't a great idea. What gotchas should I look out for with a characterful slate?

[Dod101]

I am not sure how they would do as an inside job, but Caithness slabs can be obtained and they will last forever. I must say I have only used them on a patio and wish I could find a few more. They were in their time exported round the world and can still be found. Not cheap though to buy, obviously secondhand. Not colourful though.

Dod

[sg31]

If you look at the picture in the first link there seems to be 2 iperfections in the floor. One is what looks like a sunken section infront of the far cupboard and a crack just over a tile to the right.

Not a great look for a publicity shot. It makes it look like a sheet vynil covering. It may ne nothing but I'd check the product carefully.

What is your existing floor made of? Timber or screed. Any tile over wood can be a problem unless done properly. I've never known a kitchen fitter who could lay any sort of tile over timber. It needs a proper job doing.

[tikunetih]

Slate throughout your *entire* ground floor, not just a specific area that contains external doors? Including living/sitting room?

1. too dark
2. too cold looking and too cold to the touch, unless underfloor heated
3. if you're in the UK / northern Europe, then "living rooms" that are tiled or stone floored are a no go IMO
4. not being ceramic, would need to consider sealing them and maintaining this; not a huge deal

For me, 1, 2 & 3 are absolute showstoppers, but each to their own!

[bungeejumper]

If you look at the picture in the first link there seems to be 2 iperfections in the floor. One is what looks like a sunken section infront of the far cupboard and a crack just over a tile to the right.

Fair's fair, it does say 50% off. Broken off, presumably.

Which reminds me. Last year, we were looking for a few simple limestone slabs for the garden, and we called in at a properly poncy stone-flooring outfit a couple of miles away from us. The sort of place that does £100,000 marble bathroom floors for rock stars, and swimming pool decks for billionaires.

Got any offcuts, we asked hopefully? They pointed us toward a row of wooden crates in the carpark, filled with the most priceless collection of discarded slabs you've ever seen. All of which had been newly removed from their clients' homes with horny-handed pneumatic drills and pickaxes because the colours didn't match her ladyship's toenail varnish for this year.

Take what you want, they said to us. Five quid a lump, it's all going for landfill. We left with three or four square metres of beautiful stone, for fifteen quid all in. A couple of hours with the angle grinder, and our council tax had gone up a band. Mind you, we'd have had to supply our own sledgehammers if we'd wanted it (ahem) "randomised" instead.

The moral of the story? It never hurts to ask.

BJ

[JamesMuenchen]

When I was working in construction one of my mates took home a load of left-over plain grey roofing slate and tiled his kitchen floor with it.

We all thought it looked great.

[bungeejumper]

When I was working in construction one of my mates took home a load of left-over plain grey roofing slate and tiled his kitchen floor with it.

When I refitted the kitchen of my last cottage, all those years ago, I did it the other way round. I tiled the wall splashbacks with "off-colours" of Ruabon quarry tiles that my local shop was trying to get rid of. For a floor-layer, the accidental salt-flares of pink and white and yellow that happen from time to time during the firing process are just a damn nuisance that make the tiles worthless; but as a wall decoration, they positively added interest to the room.

All I had to do then was find a tile cement that would be strong enough to hold these half-inch thick tiles to a vertical surface. And, ermmm, to make sure that the plaster walls to which I was attaching them wouldn't fall to pieces under the strain.

Oh, and then paint them with linseed oil once a year to stop the tiles from attracting fat stains. The result was worth the effort, though. Looked absolutely brillliant.

BJ