Is slate good for bathrooms?

Answer 1

For the floor or walls?

If you are thinking of using real slate for your floor keep this in mind. Your floor has to be 100% level with no give in it at all or the slate will crack or shatter under pressure and even textured slate will be slippery. For the floor i would reccomend the Faux slate tiles avaliable at most hardware stores... Now for the walls thats a diffrent story.

If you want to use real slate on the walls i would say yes, It makes a wonderful back splash or accent tile. With good grouting it will hold up well and you should not have any problems with water. I have seen real slate tiles in shower stall applications. Just make sure you ask your Hardware store how to apply the slate correctly.

Remember real slate has held up for hundreds of years on old roofs, so its a wonderful material. Just not to durable under foot traffic.

Hope that helps some .. Donna
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Answer 2

Isn't it a great thought though. Creating a "grotto" in a room so personal, and often a sanctuary.

Answer number one is correct. It is porous, and will need sealing. You can however back it with concrete type, composite backer board, which will add to the expense, but allow more protection. I'd seal that as well before applying the slate.

You don't mention,,,if you know,,, your method of application, which could be similar to tile, or might be an overlap effect? Any grouting, etc, you do will also affect the aesthetics of the look you might desire.

You also don't mention WHERE. Walls, Floor, shower stall?

I've installed thousands of sq. ft. of tile, and seem to re-do more bathrooms than anything else. No offense, but you can find great looking ceramics that actually look like, and are patterend like slate,,,even in pieces that are already molded to look like path stones, and look grouted.

The dream of the grotto effect, if that's your goal, is very cool, and certainly can work, but think too, of the maintenance and the length of time you'll be in that house.

The other issue with slate being porous, beyond water seeping through to whatever backer exists, is the moisture that can remain, and accomadate mold and mildew. Sealing all of it will help, but is also something that has to be maintained, and on occassion, redone.

Without knowing your budget, size of the bathroom, extent to which you want to use slate,,, I'd check options first. Admittedly though, I love the idea. My own bathroom is tiled in a terra cotta, floor, walls, shower stall, alll the way to the ceiling, and is a pretty neat bathroom,,,if I say so myself.

Rev. Steven

Answer 3

It is porous and can stain. However, we did put it in our daughters bathroom and it looks great. We used a stone sealer - I think the worst thing is water stains on it which show up white, so the sealer stops that.