From the mountains of Snowdonia to the Lakeland hills, slate has been used as building blocks and roofing, flooring and wall cladding, kitchen worktops and even for writing on! Why has slate been so popular for many hundreds of years? Well in the case of North Wales and Northwest England, simply because it’s there. OK maybe that’s over simplifying things a little too much. Slate is not only found right on the doorstep, it’s also easy to split into thin sheets and is low water absorption quality makes it resilient to frost damage and therefore perfect for roofing tiles and bathroom floor tiles.
These days much of the slate used in the UK comes from Spain. The former slate mines of North Wales and The Lake District are now museums, however slate can still be sourced from these mines, just not in the large quantities in which it was once mined. Slate tiles, whether they be for the roof, the floor, or as wall tiles are as popular today as they ever were, if not more so as the porosity of some slates can easily be sealed these days making slate tiles far more versatile. Slate is fast becoming a contender for granite as a popular choice of natural stone kitchen worktop.
Mainly dark or pale grey in colour, slate also comes with a green, purple, cyan, blue or red hue. These different colours vary depending on where the slate has been quarried. Different densities of slate also occurs in different parts of the world so if you’re looking for slate suitable for bathroom floor tiles then the Brazilian or Vermont slates are probably the best option as they have very low absorption and won’t necessarily need sealing like the more porous slates require.
Slate is ideal for use in conjunction with underfloor heating systems. The tiles can be split thinly and with slate being a good conductor of heat makes slate one of the better natural materials to use in this situation. If you are sealing your floor tiles, then using a water based polyurethane is advisable as it is penetrative, giving a deeper and better seal. A water based polyurethane is also non yellowing and won’t crack, so you can rest assured that your slate kitchen or bathroom floor tiles will give you many years of good service. Regardless of where your slate tiles originate; from the mountains of Wales to the quarries of Brazil, slate offers a timeless charm that hard to beat.