An excellent question: the tile pros here are big on porcelains that look like slate, while the guys at my local tile store-- the real tile store, not big box-- insist that once you get it installed and properly sealed, it will be years before you need to re-seal slate, and the maintenence will be minimal.

I do know that I love real slate, and think it would be very non-slip. Not all slate is the same, some has very little/no clefting, and looks like it would be easier to clean than the really rough stuff. I love the randomness of color and texture only the real deal can provide.

Should have ordered something weeks ago, but can't decide.

What he said. On BOTH counts. :-)

I love the look and feel of real stone. Some of the porcelains are getting really close. I would have done real slate in my bath if it were just me. But with my wife and her cats I knew I had to go with something more industrial. That is the same reason why we have silestone instead of granite in the kitchen.
I ordered slate-look porcelain.
I am going to have enough trouble keeping DW from using comet cleanser in the new Toto toilets I bought.

Thanks for the feedback. I think I am going to go for either dark slate--I just love it and the porcelain that looks like slate just isn't quite there yet. Or I may go with a light porcelain that looks like limestone.
Thanks again!

We put in a slate floor in our bathroom 3 weeks ago and LOVE it. Granted we haven't been using the floor for a long period of time, but we're really happy with our choice. It's called 'brazil gray' and is a lovely deep gray with subtle markings, very little clefting.

Devon

We are doing a slate bathroom for my son's bath. He is a college student and loves the look...as do we. We are natural stone people. We understand that the slate needs some TLC. We are thrilled with how this is turning out. Pics are where we are now. The slate will go to the ceiling on the wall. It has not been enhanced yet. That will darken it and bring out the color. The slate is from Home Expo, their Indian Autumn. The back wall of the shower is a quartz/glass
pattern. The floor is 16x16 and is covered right now.
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Nina,
Did you pick out your tile yet? Here is my 2c from personally installing Travertine, Slate and Porcelain tiles. Travertine and Slate floors and Porcelain shower walls. I LOVE natural stone

My thoughts on Natural Stone Tile Travertine, Slate etc and Porcelain faux stone tile.

Natural stone looks and feels awesome, will add a huge value $$$ to your homeÂnatural stone tile is timeless. I am huge fan of slate.

Natural stone tile is slightly more expensive than Porcelain. It can crack during installation if you are rough on it when setting or need to pull it up bc it sits higher or lower than a surrounding tile(you goofed when toweling on the thin set)Âusually only a factor on large tiles 16' or 18' etc. You should reseal natural stone once a year to keep it looking brand new. You should reseal the grout once a year too.

Travertine is typically pretty flat on the underside which helps setting in the thin set. If you are doing large tiles 16' or 18' make sure your substrate is dead flat (not necessarily level flat)Âlarge tiles are not very forgiving. If you go with small tiles (6x6 or less) they are more forgiving on less than dead flat substrate. I usually recommend Travertine for a newbie if they want natural and large tiles.

Slate on the other hand is not very flat on the undersideÂwhich makes setting the tiles a little more 'fun'. You should lay out all of your slate tiles on the garage floor ,draw an outline of the bathroom on the garage floor. You want to strategically place tiles for color as well as matching up surrounding tiles for thicknessÂevery slate tile varies in color and thicknessÂmost might be fairly close in thickness but there will be some tiles that will be the extremes (thicker or thinner) . Therefore you need to either match them up naturally OR chip away at top or bottom to make them match. Practice on a broken piece before you do this on a good piece and take into consideration which surface you should chip away. This pre matching will prevent 'surprises' when you start to set the tiles. Ânumber or mark all of the tiles so you know what goes where. Slate will break if it gets too thin, be careful with pieces that you cut to fit around the toilet drain fitting. If you make the perfect piece for around the toilet sewer drain and it has a thin finger that breaks before you are ready to set itÂuse clear 5 min EpoxyÂthe joint most likely will be covered by the toilet anyway Âif the glue joint is not covered by the toilet do a nice job and the glue joint will not even show. OR cut out a whole new pieceÂ!

One more thing about natural stone tiles on a bathroom floorÂyou may run into a situation where the tiles sit higher than the toilet sewer flange Âmaybe as much as 3/8'Âthere are two methods to deal with this. First is the one I always do buy two wax seal rings and put them on top of each otherÂyou only get one chance to set it down perfectÂhave a helper spot and guide the toilet to the flange bolts. Second is buy a flange extender to make up difference in heightÂ.itÂs your choice.

Porcelain tiles are relatively inexpensiveÂand can be found in virtually any finish you desire, faux natural stone to brilliant smooth shiny white. Some porcelain faux stone tiles are very convincingÂand some are not. They are bomb proof during installationÂthey can be man handled without fear of cracking or breaking. They are dead flat and thin. These two features make them highly tolerant of less than dead flat substrates. Since you know the tiles are EXACTLY the same all you need to worry about is more or less thin set to deal with a less than perfect substrate. With natural tiles you need to be concerned with the variance between tiles AND a less than perfect substrate.

Porcelain tile will require less maintenance bc the surface is of course man made and a glazed which makes the surface impervious to water, chemicals etcÂthis makes it easier to clean since the surface is not porous.

Well, that is maybe more info than you bargained for. Hope it helps.

Bathroom Daddy

We're getting ready to redo our master bath and want to put down slate floors. I love the look, but need to know first is it safe -- meaning non-slippery? If not, then how do we make if non-slippery. Also, what cleaning products does one use on a slate floor and what cleaning products will damage it? If bleach happens to spill on it, will it stain?

Hi...can someone please send me pics of slate flooring in the bathroom? Since slate is dark, does it give a dark and gloomy look to the bathroom? Im very worried about this because I dont want my bathoom to look like dungeon. Very good points here...this is a great forum! Thanks!

I have slate tile in my bathroom and an extension room. The slate in the bathroom is mostly a dark grey and in the extension room, a medium brown/grey. We have a small bathroom, and I think that matters a lot--it makes the space feel smaller. There are lighter colors of slate that won't look dungeony and I would definitely look for lighter colored slate. And this is speaking as a complete neophyte. But I do know what i like and don't like--that's my only qualification. Best of luck!