hypertech

Our granite is almost in. They showed up with it cut for the wrong sink. They tried to fix it and it didn't work out, so they are recutting the sink piece and will be back Tues morning. Hopefully, I can run some dishes then. I'm starting to run out.

So, the tile like vinyl floor that used to look pretty nice only lookes OK now. We went to the tile shop. Sandstone is absolutely beautiful, but I couldn't see puting it on a floor anywhere. I'm worried about slate chipping with teh dog running on it. Porcelin and ceramic, well, they were OK, but just didn't feel as nice as the natural product. Limestones and travertines had a lot of pits in it and the filled product was just OK. Most of our house has a cleaner look to it so the tumbled tiles wouldn't really go.

So, anyone have any suggestions for a tile type that would look good againt granite counters and maple cabinets? We've got some marble samples in the house now, but that stuff is pricey.

hypertech

No onehas any thoughts?

I saw some ceramic tile at the house we went to for new years that had a different finish. I'm going to look into that at other supply stores.

Those of you with tile, what kind do you have? Those of you with wood, do you like that?

If you could and you have one, is there a reason you would like the other better?

SpeedyV6

I have slate floors in my bathroom. They're okay I guess but are a little too dark for my tastes. I haven't had any problems with chipping.

Scribesoft

Best thing you can do at this point is head out to Barnes & Nobles or a local bookstore and peruse through the kitchen books in the Home & Garden section. Look for kitchens with maple cabinets and granite counters and see wgat they're doing with the floors. It'll give you a ton of ideas.

Gpump

I know slate isn't the hardest material out there, but I didn't think it had a chipping problem in everyday applications? Doesn't seem like dogs running on it shouldn't be able to mess it up. I dunno, read up on the subject before you write off any stone - I personally love the way slate looks.

soopa

Dogs running on slate isn't going to chip it.

My slate has been in for a few weeks now with the dog running on it daily, us dragging cabinets and appliances across it... two fridges being slid around on it... and countless other abuses.

No problems so far except how much dirt it shows (I went pure black (actually dark grey)).

I highly recommend slate.

soopa

Oh and slate doesnt really "chip" anyway. It kind of shaves... so if you chip it... you'll end up with a rather natural looking transition rather than an unsightly chip like you might picture.

Chief F1 Fan

you really want to stand on a slate floor in Minneapolis in the winter? Besides, you have granite on the counters, isn't that a little stone overkill? just my

ric

It depends entirely upon the slate; I've used slate in institutional settings (for floors in lobbies and corridors of hospitals and university classroom buildings), and the material, if laid properly, holds up brilliantly; I've had some installations in for more than five years, and they look like they did they day they were laid. However, it is a porous stone, and will require sealing about once a year; the rest of the time it just requires washing. It should NOT be waxed; waxing fills the pores, destroys the beauty of the stone and commits you to waxing it forever after. In addition, if you go with slate, pick a dark grout for obvious reasons; a light colored grout will pick up an inordinant amount of dirt. I generally work with a dark grey grout and play with two/three shades of grey/green slate and one really beautiful charcoal slate that has some mica flecs in it, which gives some of the tiles a random streak of reflective material. . Soft slate will "shale" or spall, if there are fault lines running just beneath the surface, but that should be restricted to someplace other than high-wear areas. The challenge is to find a guarantor of a slate supply that is consistently dense and make sure the stone is quarried with a lasercutting technology, which guarantees the level quality of the stone. You're not looking for the kind of slate that you would throw into your back yard for a patio..... The other challenge, which is true with any stone, is to avoid exposed crisp corners- any exposed edges should be "eased" before being installed. This reduces corner chipping, to say the least. My guess is that Soopa's slate floors will last the duration of the house................

I have installed a Toli flooring in my last home that is a vinyl tile floor that looks like wood; we did a dark and light wood checkerboard pattern on the diagonal (http://www.toli.com/lghtwood_7.html) . Again, this is a material that I have used in hospitals, and it holds up very well. The look is so close to being wood that it fooled some of my fellow professionals.......and the real estate agent who sold the place was pitching it as a parquet wood floor until we corrected him......This is not standard stuff, it is manufactured for institutional use, and has a much better character than the standard fakewood vinyl that is generally commonly available. I believe the cost, installed, was about six bucks a square foot. It was one of the selling features when we threw the place on the market.

ric

One source for institutional-quality slate is http://www.stonesource.com/searchres...d%20Quartzite; this webpage will give you some idea of the colorway array available in good slates.

soopa

if you get slate, i WOULD consider a radiant floor system. my slate is insanely cold compared to the wood floor right next to it. it's really too cold to stand on bare foot.

as for granite + slate... for obvious reasons... i think thats fine. i like alot of stone.

besides, seeing as how you're doing the floor as the last step... some sort of tile is your only option... you would have a hard time laying hardwood at this point.

soo... what else would you do besides a stone tile? ceramic?

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

This is exactly what I was going to post. If your floors are ripped up, just spend the money and get the radiant floor system installed. Your feet will thank you in the fall/winter. Not only that but it will cut back on your overall heating costs since the radiant heat will also heat the room....

soopa

This is true ONLY if you go with hot water radiant heat. electrical systems will cost you far more to operate per month.


I didn't go with radiant heat because... 1... hot water systems are expensive and timely to install... and i didnt want to set back the timeline/budget anymore. additionally... if i did it above the sub floor... it would of raised my slate higher than the wood floor next to it and i would of needed a threshold.... which would of fucked everythning up.

in the end, i realize how much its needed with a stone floor. the room is miserable to be in in the morning. letting the dog out in a rush is painful

i will probably end up installing a radiant system below the subfloor... in the basement ceiling. not quite as efficient but it will get the job done with little fuss.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Yes, you're right... however, in my case the opposite would be true. Our heat is forced hot air (natural gas). Natural Gas is freakin' expensive. It's cheaper for me to run electric then gas... so even with electric radiant heat, I'd be ahead. At night we started turning the heat down and using an electric heater/fireplace with a thermostat in the bedroom. The room is about 3-5 degrees warmer then if we had the heat on, and our gas bill dropped $27... meanwhile electric only went up a few bucks max.

Chief F1 Fan

wish my house had radiant heat

hypertech

We are looking at porcelein tiles right now. I found some with a finish I like much better than the last samples we had.

How much did that in floor heat cost? From what little looking I've done, it seems to be nearly twice what it will cost me to do the tile to add the heat.

soopa

If you're doing electric... you can probably DIY. It's not that difficult.

You can even prep for the tile yourself (put down the backer board, leveling the subfloor with mortar)... it's easy and will save you at least half the cost of installation for the tile.

Right then, you can set the coil rolls in the mortar.

Your only costs after that would be having an electrician wire the system up to your breaker box and throw a switch in the wall somewhere. 1-2 hours work.

If you're doing hot water radiant... it's difficult... and you'll have to pay a plumber or find a good floor installer that can do it. The costs will be significant over an electric DIY.

However, like I said, even though Natural Gas costs are twice that of Electric... hot water radiant flooring is several times more efficient (especially if you're going with a porcelein tile) than electrical radiant and it WILL cost you less in the long run... especially if you have a large kitchen.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Ooops, forgot to put that in my last reply. I agree, hot water radiant heat is more effecient then electric. If we added radiant heat (which we're considering in the master bath), it would be hot water which wouldn't be hard to do b/c we're on a crawl space and the master is on the first floor, so access is very easy.

DanL

iTrader: (2)

We considered ceramic tile when we replaced our countertops with Silestone, but were easily talked out of it. It's may be fine unless you spend a lot of time in the kitchen. But it's cold and hard on the feet, it's often difficult to keep the grout lines clean, and if you drop a glass or plate...well, either the falling object breaks or the tile breaks. We ended up going with a laminate which has a simulated tile pattern and love it. Easy on the feet, almost bullet-proof, super easy to keep clean, and if a glass or plate should fall, there's a decent chance it won't break. We installed the floor ourselves. Took one day and was pretty easy once you got the hang of it . The other benefit is that I didn't have to worry about clearance issues, i.e., running into problems due the the thickness of the tile and the backer / concrete board. You'll have to add 1/4" of Handi-board at a minimum between the subfloor and tile and you may have to beef up the structure below to carry the extra weight and prevent sagging and bouncing which can crack the tile.

BTW, just a word of advice. Whatever floor you get, may sure you'll be able to get your dishwasher out without tearing up the floor! That happened to a friend of mine. He had granite countertops and a ceramic tile floor installed and when he went to replace the dishwasher, there was no way to get it over the edge of the tile, even when the legs were screwed all the way in. With your typical laminate countertop you can unscrew the countertop and lift it off the base cabinets if necessary to gain sufficient clearance. No such option once you have a stone (granite, Silestone, etc.) countertop installed.

synth19

Sorry for the bump, but my my wife and I really like slate... the problem is that we are worried about kids walking bare foot on it. Sounds silly, but is slate dangerous? We're worried that ppl might injure themselves since some of the points of the slate are kinda rocky or edgy. Will a sealer take care of that? thanks!

hypertech

We wound up doing slate in the entry and lower bath. It isn't sharp. Its more a flaking that happens. It isn't really sharp.

One it was installed, there were a few spots that flaked off and then it pretty much quit doing it.

The sealer is absorbed doesn't affect the material's surface.

If you're not sure of it, go buy a box and put it in your house. That's what we did with a whole bunch of different things and then took back all the extra.

Actually, we are doing that right now again. As soon as I finished upgrading the place, we sold it and bought a house. Now I'm at it all over again only this time on a much larger scale.

Moog-Type-S

Daltile makes a synthetic look slate called Continental Slate.

synth19

that's really nice... and LOL.. similar to the tile we picked up, but only a blackish gray!

Moog-Type-S

^^ It's available in a few other colors as well.