Slate Flooring: Pros and Cons

Many people today opt for slate flooring. Slate is a fine-grained material in the family of metamorphic rocks, which consists of quartz, mica, chlorite and also calcite. In the past, slate material was commonly used for outside purposes, such as for building exteriors, but today, slate is successfully used for flooring. There are both pros and cons to using slate as a flooring material, both of which are described here to help you decide if slate is your best flooring choice.

Waterproof and Stain Resistant

An excellent characteristic of slate is that it is waterproof, thus slate can be used for bathroom floors, driveways, pool areas, etc. For the same reasons slate is resistant to stains, which makes slate flooring an ideal choice for the kitchen where drips and stains are common. So, slate flooring, from a cleaning point of view, is the best choice since it doesn’t need a lot of fussy cleaning procedure.

Slate – Very Heavy-Duty

Slate flooring is very heavy-duty and is the best if you have a busy household. You can rest assure that you don’t need a lot of delicacy around slate flooring, especially if you have young children in the house or if you have a lot of visitors. Also an important feature of slate flooring is that it is fire resistant and doesn’t require heavy (and expensive) maintenance.

Price and Style

There are a lot of different designs on the market today, so eventually you will find that color and design made for you. Slate flooring when compared to other flooring option can prove to be a little expensive at first hand, but when you consider all of its features and calculated relatively how much it will serve you, then I think the extra money spent at the beginning will surely prove to be worth it. To reduce the amount of money, you can opt for a do-it-yourself installation, that way you can cut off money used for labor and invest it in the material itself. Remember that if you are a complete novice on this subject, let a professional handle the work.

Slate Flooring and Cold Weather

Maybe the main drawback of slate flooring is that in winter, slate flooring can be a little colder underfoot. The latter problem can easily be avoided by insulating properly the bed of the slate tiles prior to its installation. This is the most common problem experienced when it comes to slate, but when you compare it to all of the benefits of slate flooring, I can safely say that the balance shifts heavily on the pro side.

Scratching of Slate Flooring

In order to minimize the scratching, it is highly advisable to add proper padding to your furniture. Slate can chip easily if not taken care of properly but this also applies to other types of flooring, maybe with the exception of granite, which is quite strong in this department.

As you can see there are a lot of pros and cons regarding slate flooring, so prior to making a decision, weigh all of the options alongside with your taste, so that you can truly choose the best material and design for your home.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

How to Prevent Uneven Floors

Preventing uneven floors is the first step in any flooring project. Whether you are installing hardwood, tile or laminate flooring, if the floor is even slightly uneven your new flooring will not perform as well or last nearly as long as it should. It may also result in bounce or squeaks in the floor. It is entirely worth investing a bit of extra time and money to make sure that floor is even before installing flooring. Here is how to ensure you get an even floor.

What You’ll Need:

• Replacement lumber
• Construction adhesive
• Wood screws
• Drill
• Hammer Level (laser level is best)

Step 1: Inspect Existing Joists

You will want to inspect the existing floor joist for rot, damage or decay. Some may just be old and need reinforcement. Replace any floor joists if needed, or reinforce the existing floor joists. If there is obvious sagging in the existing sub-floor, you may want to consider adding support beams for additional support. In many homes, particularly old ones, floor joists could be spaced too far apart or are not sufficiently supported for the required load.

Step 2: Evaluate Sub-floor

The sub-floor is usually of plywood, and is also subject to decay and rot. If this is an existing sub-floor, evaluate the wood to see if replacement is indicated. If in doubt, replace it. The plywood is critical to the amount of flex in the floor, which can compromise the integrity of the flooring above it if there is too much. Sometimes, all that is needed is some additional strategically placed screws to secure a particular spot. Make sure that screws are not placed immediately next to seams between plywood sheets, but in the body and straight into the joists. Construction adhesive can also be helpful to add some additional reinforcement to a troublesome spot. Ideally, particularly for tile floors, tongue and groove plywood is best to eliminate any flexion around butt joints of sheets.

Step 3: Evaluate Floor

Check the floor at different points in the room with the level. Assess the floor at different angles and identify any uneven areas. There are a variety of ways to even the floor, and a broad spectrum of ideas and suggestions can be found on the Internet. However, there is a common opinion that the solution is shims (on top of existing sub-floor) and additional plywood can help even spaces out. That is, assuming, that all that can be done to correct uneven floor joists has been done. If the area that is uneven is low, it can be built up using shims cut from a 2×4 with 1/2 inch plywood over the top. If there is a particular area that is raised, screwing it more tightly into the floor joists may correct the problem.

Step 4: Evaluate Flooring

Flooring can also cause uneven floors. Warped hardwood will create ridges in the floor. Laminate can bubble up. Tile can break. If any of these are the culprit of the uneven floor, it can be corrected by replacing that particular section of flooring.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com