25 years ago I had to choose between stone dust and sand when laying a brick patio using standard sized bricks. The underlying ground here in Virginia is fairly high content clay, I can absolutely state that stone dust is the way to go.... here are a few pointers; 1. Use a rigid but moderately flexible edge guard to define the area. I used aluminum about 4 inches tall. Don's use something softer like plastic or nylon as it will flex and your bricks will start to migrate all over the place no matter whether you use sand or stone dust. 2 . Use 4 inches of stone dust, but apply 2 inches first...then compact it with a manual or mechanical tamper....then thoroughly soak with water and wait a couple of days before applying the 2nd layer of stone dust and tamping and watering again. (BTW, I really don't understand the comments about stone dust not draining well....you will see the water soak quickly through the stone dust.) 3. Make the area as level as possible using a screed (look it up :) 4. Install some water permeable landscaping membrane on a fairly well leveled area. This will promote drainage and stop weeds from infiltrating from below. I will also make it easier to slide the bricks into place. 5. Install the brick. Either full size bricks or the thinner pavers. I used full size bricks which are more stable. To ensure that the bricks are level with one another, place a piece of piece of wood (approx 3" x 8" by 3/4" ) across the surfaces of the brick you are working on and its adjoining bricks...then hammer it with a large mallet until they all the bricks are even. Give then some good wacks...full-sized bricks can take it so long as you use wood as a buffer. Be gentler with the thinner pavers. 6. Depending upon your personal preference, you can butt the bricks directly up against one another or place a think spacer between them. I use pieces of asphalt roofing shingles to maintain uniform spacing. I like the look and using spacers allowed me to adjust the alignment for bricks which may not be uniform size. 7. Regardless of which way you go on item 6, sweep stone dust into the joints between the bricks. Wet the area, let it dry and repeat again. The irregular shapes of the stone dust will lock the bricks into position much better than sand, which is more round. Sand will not get into some of the smaller joints between bricks. 28 years later I am still VERY happy with my results. Occasionally a nearby tree root will distort things a bit but that will happen with either sand or stone dust. I just remove a few bricks and cut out the root. The only periodic maintenance I need to do is sweep new stone dust in the spaces between the bricks one ever 4-5 years. Good luck.

I hate my wood floor in the kitchen. Granted, it probably wasn't very nice oak to begin with *and* it's also right off the patio so there's a lot of dirty boots. But there were still some mighty big worn patches when we moved in, and here we are ten years after having them refinished and they look horrible. They're worn through in the same high traffic areas, not to mention all the scratches and gouges my kids put in the floor dragging the bar stools (and various other things) around. It's my kitchen, though - constantly used, wet, busy, and the only way to get into the back yard. The wood in the hall is still fine, so I know it's just the level of usage and abuse. Personally, I'm planning on tile for the kitchen/family room remodel. Since I live in Seattle, we're planning on old school electric radiant heat for at least some portion of it. And as my kids (and their cousins) have had stomach flu the last few weeks, I can't wait to have floors I can thoroughly scrub and bleach. ;-) Good luck!

nutherokie you have been quite helpful. I live in so. california and when I mention this type of flooring to people they either think I am nuts or their eyes just glaze over. I remember seeing this brick flooring in a beautiful home 30 years ago and have never forgotten it. Rustic and warm feeling with nice cabinets and plenty of white molding. Maybe it was just the ocean air as it was a bayfront home. (lol) I am using black granite with white cabs and think that the red/blk/white in the used "antik" (arto) bricks will look beautiful. I am still thinking of framing approx. 16" of the brick (havent chosen the pattern yet) with a 4" wood border - transitioning the great room wood into the kitch, laund. bath and art room. Yes, I am nervous in taking this leap. In fact tomorrow, I am going to see a floor I was told about that was somewhat similar. It is so scary as if I don't like it, I really can't afford to rip it out. I do think it will be durable though. As for standing on, with a good mat under a runner, I don't think it would be any different than travertine, porcelein, etc. There are some good pictures with the wood dividing the brick on Portstone.com. After receiving some samples of that I did not care for the look. It looks much more authentic in the pics. vs. up close with regard to how the painted antique finish was applied. I am sticking with Arto at this time as I went to their factory in Los Angeles and their product is beautiful. I would even consider the 6" x 6" square pavers. I don't think they have them in the truer red that I am looking for. They lean alittle more toward the orangey tones. Sorry for the ramble. I'm still keeping my eyes open if anyone has some brilliant ideas. I have a few weeks before I have to make the decision.

I do have arto brick in a small area in my house. I love it, because I love the aesthetic. But, I'm sure glad I didn't put it in the kitchen, oh my goodness. Here's what you should know: 1. the colors I saw vs. the colors that came were....let's just say, not exact. There were a couple attempts to get it right. It took a LONG time. They are custom orders and it took weeks and weeks. (But that was a few years ago, maybe they are quicker nowadays). 2. it is thick. So, our very professional installers worked with it to slope the engineered wood floor (all installed at same time) up to meet it. It's gradual and very subtle; no one would notice. But I do believe that many installers would be challenged by that. Also, if you're butting it up against an existing floor, it may be too thick and you would need an unsightly bi-level transition strip, or some other solution. So thickness of my tiles was an issue (surmountable). 3. Our installers and the retailer recommend 511 sealer. There are different kinds--I can't recall which one, but it's not a surface sealer (no "coating" on top). It sinks in, and renders the tile more resistant to staining. I am able to get stains up, but even though it's a 20 year sealer, you still need to do it every so often (1, 2, 3 years, or so). I still haven't re-sealed, but it needs it now. 4. The grout lines are necessarily thick. It's a rustic look, and I love it, but cleaning is not much fun. Lastly, I'll mention that we put large format rectified limestone in the kitchen. It is also, imho, rustic and natural looking. I love it, too, and the grout lines are teeny. It always looks clean, and much easier to maintain. So if I had to do it over again, I'd do the more uniform, larger tiles in both areas, and only have minimal grout.