Q:  What is Slate Tile?
A:  Slate is a reliable natural stone, slate is known for its earthy rugged beauty, subtle color patterns.  Slate has been a popular choice for both practical and decorative uses for centuries.  The natural surface textures of slate tile flooring vary from tile to tile, adding a unique tactile dimension to the overall look and feel of your tile flooring project. The subtle textures that characterize this ruggedly elegant natural stone make slate a unique choice among tile flooring options. 

Used both outdoors and indoors, slate tile flooring is attractive, durable, and long-lasting and is commonly used in areas that require a level of foot traffic safety, such as foyers in public buildings, or for use as pool surrounds. In this sense, slate tile is highly trusted to deliver a walking surface that minimizes slips, while also delivering on an attractive design element that can define a space. Slate offers versatility, resistance to wear, and long-lasting beauty, adding value to your space in more ways than one!  Slate tile flooring is naturally slip resistant, making it a great choice if a major source of foot traffic comes from children or the elderly. It also makes an excellent poolside option.

Slate tile flooring, along with quartzite tile, comes in a variety of colors, from greens to pinks to blue-grey shades. The robust nature of slate may be traced to its harsh beginning, formed under tremendous pressure and heat deep in the earth, the product of slit, volcanic rock, and a myriad of trace minerals that account for an earthy, rugged beauty that is instantly recognizable.

Things To Consider Before You Buy
Slate is a popular, practical, and decorative natural stone tile solution for flooring. The slate option is a great choice when you’re looking for a surface that is slip resistant, and one that is specifically designed to be uniform for the most level and even surface possible. With the natural color variations, you have the option of getting creative when it comes time to install your slate, and you can really make a unique statement that will make your floor truly distinctive.

The robust nature of slate may be traced to its harsh beginning, formed under tremendous pressure and heat deep in the earth, the product of slit, volcanic rock, and a myriad of trace minerals that account for an earthy, rugged beauty that is instantly recognizable. Slate’s naturally slip-resistant surface is very hard and durable, with varied colors and features that have served builders and architects for centuries. Suitable for indoor as well as outdoor applications, slate satisfies several natural stone flooring needs....

Slate has been a popular choice through centuries and across continents for both practical and decorative uses. Slate is formed by means of tremendous pressure and heat from deep in the earth, and found most commonly along continental coasts all over the world. The harsh beginnings which formed the slate give way to a rock that stands up to wear as well as one that reveals a singular beauty. Slate flooring is typified by earthy color variations that make each tile unique. Slate is often installed as flooring for use in foyers, hallways and bathrooms as well as for poolside surfaces, due in large part to its characteristic slip-resistance, a common consideration in these areas. One of the most popular textures available in slate is that of the “split face” variety, which is particularly effective when looking for this slip-resistant feature. With a range of colors that vary from orange, to beige, to greens and purples, slate offers a distinct aesthetic dimension as well, adding to its value as a decorative natural stone tile as well as a practical one.

Color Variation
Because slate is made from a natural stone, you can expect a certain level of color variation from tile to tile. This is because of the fluctuation of the amounts of minerals and other compounds unique to each individual tile. These natural color variations allow you to be creative when it comes time to laying out each tile, making a unique statement with the individual slate tiles you have at your disposal - No other slate floor will look exactly like yours! For this, a good idea is to open all of the boxes of slate you’ve purchased to see the full spectrum of the natural stone in unique to your batch. This will allow you to plan out how you wish to design your floor in a dry run, much like you would do with ceramic tile or granite tile.

Gauge
At the production stage, slate tile processing proceeds with the idea that an installation should be as easy as possible. The first principle in working with any kind of interlocking building material, such as slate, is the dimensional uniformity of the material. The term “gauge” refers to the process of making sure that the slate tiles have been cut square, allowing them to be as uniform as possible when it comes time to install them. Working with slate that is square will allow for a more straight-forward installation, saving time and money for everyone concerned.

Calibration
Another term you will commonly hear when looking for slate, or any natural stone for that matter, is “calibration.” This refers to the surface of the stone and the process whereby each tile is cut to a specified thickness in relation to other tiles of its variety. Once again, this process is done with simplicity of installation in mind. The slate is machine honed on the back to either a flat or combed finish, and in both cases is made even to achieve uniformity. One of the most vital elements in laying any flooring is to ensure that the resulting flooring is absolutely level, and the process of calibration at this stage of production addresses this requirement. Along with gauge, this mechanical processes of calibration helps to make sure that the slate is cut in such a way as to be practical as well as aesthetically pleasing.