Slate tiles on Bathroom floor

[Sarki]

Redoing master bath and considering 12" x 24" natural slate tiles. They come unsealed but I would apply sealer.
Love the look but wife is concerned about staining/maintenance as well as rough feel when barefoot.
Anybody have experience or thoughts on this.....
Pro's vs. cons.
Thanks

 

[Bighead38]

Any example pictures?

Where in NY are you?

 

[Barnabas]

I am sitting in a bathroom right now that has a natural slate floor. Ours is large irregular pieces of slate about a foot across that are bound with concrete rather than grout. The gaps vary between 1/4" and 1" because of the irregular shapes.

As far as I know, the floor has never been sealed. House was built in 1969, and I moved in in 1972. The concrete (grout) has darkened over time and is darker in the higher traffic areas. It really just needs a good cleaning with a stiff brush. There is no staining to the slate that I can see.

I do not mind walking on it. I guess I have gotten used to it. There is one piece of slate that is slightly higher than the others, but I have gotten used to it as well. Your's should not be a problem, since your tiles will be equal sized.

Dogs have done their business on the floor, and it always cleans up well. I use a spray cleaner that is designed for granite, slate and marble. We have marble in the kitchen.

Before moving to NC I lived in Schenectady.

 

[malibu101]

I live right next to Slatington PA.
Which is a few miles from Slatedale which still has an active slate mine.
The "Slate Belt" region around Bangor is only a few miles away and also has an active slate mine.

I may be prejudiced when I say that slate is very versatile stone for many uses.
It can be "machined" in many different finishes.
It is durable to almost everything except for hard, heavy impacts.

All around my town are houses with slate roofs that are closing in on 100 years old.
Granted, some are better than others with maintenance throughout the years and some that have been let go and are being sheathed and covered with shingles year by year.
There are even slate curbs along some roads that are still in perfect looking shape.

I will say that anything close to smooth slate with a finish on it will be slick. Textured slate would be better for this.
While slate is pretty dense and good at not getting deeply stained, I would still seal it somehow in a bathroom application like this.
Often times inside (like a bathroom) can be a worse environment than outside with soaps and everything else that happens in a bathroom.

 

[Sarki]

Any example pictures?

Where in NY are you?

No pictures available of actual tiles as haven't purchased yet but they carry them at HD and have them on website.
Lots of positive reviews but a bit hesitant on using in bathroom due to possible staining from shampoo, lotions, oils and such. The idea of having to seal the tiles each year also becoming a turnoff as seems to be some nice porcelain tiles out there that provide similar look.
Oh yeah......located in northerm Dutchess County