Preparation for Slate Tile Flooring

There are quite an abundance of factors in finally deciding to purchase a slate tile flooring system, and it is rather important to consider all of these variables as you prepare to take that step towards aesthetic value and beauty in your floor.

Do you want to install these tiles onto your kitchen, your bathroom, your patio, or some random area of your house? It is quite important to think about how much walking is done in that specific area, so you can gauge how much foot traffic will be trampling onto the tiles.

Also, this is where you would consider the general climate of the area as well.

Substrates are the very foundation upon which you will place these slate tiles of love, so you will want to understand the different tpes available. This will help guide your choice in selecting which types of slates will be a proper match for the substrate.

But, what is a substrate in the first place? My intuition brings me to ask this question for the many of you who have never heard of the word until this posting.

For most of us, the word sounds like a chemistry lab experiment waiting to happen. And, it really is, essentially. it is a biochemistry term for a "molecule upon which an enzyme acts". And, in the world of home improvement, a substrate is the foundation in which the tiles (regardless of type) will set in onto the floor. It is also known as a "subfloor".

There quite a few types of substrate available. There is plywood, particle-board flooring, planks, oriented stran board, concrete slabs, along with a few others.

In the case of slate tile flooring, it is usually recommended to place a thin-set cement substrate onto another substrate, such as plywood. But, ultimately it is up to you and how you want to take on this endeavor.

Once you have decided and settled on the substrate/subfloor and the tiles, you can proceed to ordering everything (whether it is from an online builder, or at a brick and mortar store).

As you wait in anticipation, you can expect to find in each box of tile slabs a sort of variation going on. As in color variation. This will be a nice fact to know, so you can mentally mix and match adjacent pieces as you create a colorful arrangement that you will like best on your floor.

A good suggestion is to open all of the boxes and take out all of the slate floor tiles, so you can see all of the available colors. That way, you can do a sort of a dry run with the tile arrangements, and you can see what will look better. Also, you can avoid making a costly mistake by immediately setting the slates into the substrate and not being able to rearrange it afterwards.

Stains are possible with slate tile flooring, so it is best if you invest in a good tile sealant. They range from high glossy to no sheen.