Roofing Slates for your Floor
For over a decade, we have been playing around with different surfaces and products suitable for our clients. It’s not too difficult to come up with a great floor solution for dry areas of the home, but when you talk wet areas-it’s a different story.
Mudrooms, Laundry, Bathrooms–these are areas where it is likely that there will be standing water at some point. For the mudroom, we are also concerned about outdoor muck and debris. The challenge is to find something that is non-toxic, and can withstand water and muck without failing. It is also a plus if the material is slip resistant.
Our solution for these areas is roofing slates. These 8″ x 16″ pieces of slate can be repurposed from use as a roofing material to flooring. The roofing slates are unique in that they have the little pre-drilled holes on the tile (easily filled with grout during install), and the characteristic scalloped edges.
Slate, in general, is a very sensible solution for wet areas. The surface texture varies from an eggshell texture to a more rough surface. In any case, this material grips and doesn’t slip when it gets wet. This is a huge benefit.
Roofing slates are installed like other stone tile. They can be set into a brick pattern or a random off-set. This flexibility is ideal for the novice tile setter. There is no real “grid” to follow. It is porous, so it needs to be sealed at the time of installation.
The price point ($3.85/sf) makes them a really smart choice for those with a tight budget. Cleanup is a snap–wet mopping with a ph neutral cleaner is sufficient. For those folks worrying about maintenance, try a no-seal grout such as Bostik TruColor. This grout is amazing–it doesn’t require sealing and won’t stain, ever.
Check out our gallery pages to see roofing slates installed as floors. It’s a pretty cool look and a smart choice for so many reasons.