BDU Stone Tile Flooring and Countertop College™

From Near the Earth's Core and Onto Your Floor: The Natural Stone Tile Solution

What you will learn: origins of natural stone; benefit of natural stone as flooring; what to consider before deciding on where to install stone tile flooring; why granite is the perfect natural stone for countertops and vanity tops; basic maintenance of granite countertops, tile flooring and vanity tops.

Some of the greatest surfaces available for your household or commercial project are not manufactured – they are born. Well, not born precisely, but certainly formed in the natural factory of the earth’s crust. But what should you consider before deciding upon these naturally strong and durable materials for tile flooring, countertops and vanity tops?

Marble, slate, and granite represent some of the most naturally suitable materials for household and commercial surfaces because they are highly resistant to impact and wear. In addition, the stone tile flooring, vanity tops and countertops made from these materials are some of the most attractive options available for your flooring and other surface applications. The random patterns in granite and marble are formed over millions of years and make your floor or countertop truly individual, offering an elegant look and feel to any household or commercial space. The granite, slate, and marble are quarried from massive deposits and cut into large blocks. These blocks are then cut to standardized thickness, with one side of the granite or marble honed and polished.

Stone tile flooring: location, location, location

Considerations such as moisture levels, slip resistance, foot traffic, and even hardness of the surface of your stone tile floor are more easily judged once you’ve decided where the installation will take place. When starting your search for the most suitable flooring surface, first consider how much traffic the space will get. Generally, the higher the traffic the harder the surface likely should be. Next, add to your considerations how the hardness will affect the use you make of your floor. For instance, if your floor is for a kitchen or dining room, it is important to note that fragile items such as glassware or china are more likely to break if dropped, for example, on marble or granite, as opposed to bamboo wood flooring. Also, remember to consider moisture, and how much your stone tile floor is likely to sustain. Some types of stone tile flooring are more porous than others, proportionately less resistant to moisture and more likely to crack over time.

The issue of slip resistance is important as well, particularly if your household or commercial space is likely to see high traffic from young children or the elderly. A marble stone tile floor may not be the best choice if you are concerned with someone slipping in an area such as a bathroom, where footwear often consists of bedroom slippers and socks, items not known to be slip-resistant themselves! In area such as this, stone flooring such as slate tile may be more appropriate, or perhaps unglazed ceramic tile might be also be a good choice.

Granite Countertops and Vanity Tops

For countertops specifically, granite is a very popular choice, and for very good reason. The stone tile flooring application of granite for use as a countertop or vanity top is also a smart way to go, just because of the nature of the stone itself.

Granite is one of the hardest natural surfaces in the world, and proves to be highly scratch and heat resistant. In an application such as a kitchen countertop for instance, this is a major factor which many homeowners and professional builders trust; a material that is both scorch resistant and scratch-resistant is of paramount importance in a world of hot pots and casserole dishes, as well as sharp cutlery edges.

Granite is a very dense material as well as a very durable one, but overtime it is vulnerable to staining and to moisture absorption. It is a highly recommended that all granite countertops be sealed to make sure that they are protected from spills which are likely to stain the countertop. For granite stone tile flooring, the same principle applies, and the granite tiles should be sealed once a year in order to promote their longevity.

The world of natural stone flooring, as well as granite countertops and vanity tops, offers you a range of choices in terms of look, texture and moisture resistance. Whatever your practical concerns, you are likely to find a type of stone tile that satisfies your practical concerns as well as your desire for a truly beautiful floor.

©2009 by BuildDirect.com Technologies Inc. (BuildDirect™). All rights reserved.