I like slate laid like this but prob

ably not from HD or even like this

I would encourage you to look at real tile stores for gauged slate, it's a far superior product from what HD has, which around here is flaky and ungauged.

I would suggest to go for better quality slate tiles

Thanks all:) Do you know of type of stores to find them in? I live 2 hours south of Pittsburgh Pa and am willing to travel a ways to get them.

when we did our kitchen 10 years ago, we did the slate from home depot. 18X18. They had a huge pallet of non gauged tiles. We hand picked over 150 tiles to get the right coloring, similar to your first picture. if we didn't we would have gotten the plain green/gray ones. try to go to a stone yard that has better selection. and try to pick a larger format. even the rectangle ones are better than the 12X12. We laid ours on a diamond pattern with a rectangle edge. (tip***seal the tops BEFORE you grout!)

The rustic gold may look better with the hickory floor.

Gauged or not slate is beautiful. HD sometimes allows you to pick through the products and grab what you want. A flooring store like myself will not allow that, you get what you get. Gauged slate does not mean each product will be the same thickness but does mean the tiles will be square.
Based upon the photo you supplied of your area I feel you will be happier with the rustic gold/california gold. This color will compliment the tones in your wood trim and outside wall color. The lilac/autumn lilac/autumn mist slate will favor more earth tones with greens and browns. Either product will bring in an abundance of color.
Might I also suggest you look into the versailles pattern if available in your area. You will not be able to pick and choose the tiles, this pattern comes prepackaged.
Found this photo online for pattern display. Color of this product is multi raja which can be confused with multi color.

Also, once product has been installed you will want to seal it. Applying water to the surface of the stone will give you an idea of what the product would look like if you used an enhancing sealer, without the sheen that water gives. If you don't like the enriched colors that that will give then I would suggest you look into an impregnating sealer. This sealer will keep the current look of the stone. Slate is porous and will need to be sealed heavily at least 2-3 times after installation. Do not allow the sealer to bunch up and apply with a brush. No paint rollers or sponges or you'll create bubbles in the sealer and you will see them after the sealer has cured.

I so appreciate everyone's input and different perspectives and experiences .:) I knew nothing about sealing the slate etc., but with your alls input feel more at ease with the process due to the helpful advice. There's been several decisions thrown at me at once as the contractor comes next week.

Make sure the person setting the slate has experience with setting SLATE as opposed to other types of stone or tile. Get references and go view them! Slate is tricky.

With todays tile technology I would research tiles that look like slate but are porcelain or ceramic. Look at some of the new wood tiles where from 1' away still look exactly like wood. Now place it 5' from your eyes and there is no difference visually.

There is however a huge difference in the tile itself. I clearly understand that if you want real slate and have a house that warrants it go for it but know what you are living with and buy a couple pairs of slippers as barefoot won't happen.

You mention small grout lines, not happening with real slate as the tiles aren't square or have repeatable thickness. 3/16 is about as small as you are going. HD slate is great for a mud room not for an entire floor in a house or kitchen.

Price isn't the issue it is the quality of the stone. Good luck and go to a real tile store first slate look tiles are always in the bargain bin and zero insult meant.

Once we look over the slate samples I ordered and if we choose not to go with them, what would be our 2nd type of tile you would go with?Porcelain? I found a picture on Houzz that I absolutely love but the builder doesn't say where they purchased it.


Would like input as to if you think this is a good style for both the entrance and bathroom. If you have any styles similar to the colors in this that you would suggest, please post them. :)

Daltile Continental Slate or Mannington Serengeti Slate are both porcelain reproductions that you don't need to worry about poor quality, or lippage because of poor gauging.

Those are pretty. Curious as to where I could look at them at.

A good tile showroom should carry both brands.

Bev shoot me your zip code in a message and I'll let you know if Dal or any other major tile distributor is near you.

IMO slate has its own personality that can’t be matched with any other look alike product.

Thanks, that would be a help...it's 26505

Bev, the closest Dal Tile to you is roughly 3.5 hrs away.
14790 Flint Lee Rd; Ste #200
Chantilly VA 20151
703.961.8425

Dal does have local retailers in your area.
http://products.daltile.com/locate_dealer.cfm

If the link above comes up empty simply add your zip code in the search section with a radius of 50 miles, you will come up with a bunch of locations in your area who deal Dal Tile products.

Any Lowes or Depot can order Daltile/American Olean (same company), or other special order, no problem. And any other local real flooring store has several, suitable porcelain choices. You just have to go visit.

You Houzzers are great!

If you finally install slate floor tiles, take a look at this ceramic collection:

www.casceramica.com

www.casceramica.com

CAS ceramica,,,,do you have a distributor in So. Calif? thx.

Not sure what I think of the slate in the bathroom...it's definitely different.

I unboxed 3 different colors and laid them out. These all came from Lowes. The two rows up against the wall is Emsers " rustic gold" the 3rd row is Allen + Roths "multi-color" the outer row and a half is Emsers "lilac". The Allen + Roth were fairly even and uniform in size, but the Emser had multiple chips and thicknesses, plus the colors that came out of the two different style boxes looked the same to me. I do believe that the Carpenter that did the hack job on our stairs found employment at Emser cutting and packaging slate by the looks of it.

That is why I prefer porcelain lookalikes. No thickness issues. Find a retailer that carries Mannington Serengeti Slate in the dark color. It is the most realistic that I have found.

We replaced our stairs this summer when the Pros on here pointed out our top step was a little shorter and a code violation and that someone may take a fall, I think these things fall in the same "code violation" category. Lol
What I'd really like is a look like this homes bathroom and noticed other people have asked the name of the tile with no response.
The pic is also listed above in my post if this link doesn't work. I also like the looks of the brown one that Sophie posted. Any thoughts to as what this natural looking tile is?
http://www.houzz.com/r/9977a3544f23ed1952153ebbdfcc3abf/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5ob3V6ei5jb20vcGhvdG9zLzIyNjU3MDU3L0N1c3RvbS05ODAwLXNmLUxvZy1Ib21lLXJ1c3RpYy1iYXRocm9vbS1vdGhlcg/MTQ0YjNl/e/v1/nlc/share.link/u/E5MdOEzbLFzY89uJboKFeNXN1wKKIsvWWjDhrhewYz-l91NGB_qE83m__Rway0w1Ws7rQo6jp3b1xPsH0NnCnhKhEV0tpkxU

Thanks Green Designs will check it out along with Dal tile mentioned in this thread.

Natural slate will come in different thicknesses, this is very common. When we install slate, I tell our installers to use a 1/2"x1/2" trowel and to "butter" the back of the slate tiles adding additional thinset mortor. Doing this will create a better bond between the slate and subfloor. Emser is a superb company as we have dealt with them for over 15 yrs direct. I have had their Lilac slate installed on our front entrance leading into our store for nearly 13 years.

Disregard the wet spots as we had heavy fog and condensation last night. My opinion, natural slate beats the mimicking ceramic and porcelain tiles hands down concerning color variation, no 2 pieces are alike. This product is installed outside, heavy traffic and has had all elements of weather hitting it. We have not had to replace any tiles over the years due to cracking from freezing weather or any other instances.
If you do choose to use natural slate I would recommend you live on the product for a few weeks prior to sealing it. It is common for the product to flake off on different tiles during this time frame which does not hurt the integrity of the product.

Your slate looks nice :) The top picture I posted with the lilac slate is my friends bathroom and it turned out nice too. Maybe we got some bad batches, as there were several chipped and only a couple of the lilac pieces from the box looked even remotely like lilac. The multicolored Alan & Roth had a look that reminded me of fuel floating in water shine to it....I didn't like the color at all. I told my husband I felt that slate may be too dark for our small 7'x10' bathroom. We don't have lights installed and it's just the green board up which makes it look things look darker. I'm still considering slate for the entrance at the French door area which will cover approximately a 4'x6' area, though not sure how well it will go with the natural hickory.

Slate being as frail as it is prior to installation will have chips. Always ask whom ever you purchase from if they will replace the broken tiles at no charge. Big box stores are notorious for having chipped slate tiles as their employees seem to handle their products with less care than a mom and pops store. Slate will have high variation. Lilac comes from Autumn Lilac which is the same as Autumn Mist, in the end it's all the same color. Do not expect the product you choose now to match identical to your friends as this is a natural stone which will vary in color throughout the quarry it is cut from. Out of the 3 colors you have pictured above, I like the rustic gold. If you add an enhancer sealer to it I feel it will not only bring in an abundance of color but will tie nicely with your hickory. Just add water atop of your samples to get an idea of the enhanced look.

I see posts like this where the OP wants a certain product to be what they want so bad they ignore their own complaints and the others recommendations. You have noted that you think you got a bad batch because of the chips but at least 3 people have explained they will all have chips. This will be a job that your contractor will install and you will call him back the next day stating that it all looks good except for this one or two tiles.

You might think I am criticizing you but I am not I am trying to explain that this product is not for you by what you have stated. It is like marble in a bathroom you can tell the homeowner a 100x's it will have different sections of color and sure enough there is that one or two tile that show different and guess what it is the tile or the installers fault. Yes one can check each time but sometimes it just does not get caught or does not look like that until you step back and see the whole job dry. It is the product not the installer.

If you browse through this section you will see at least 5 complaints within several months. I love the job it is just this one section. No it is the product ad in a few months or after a shower there will be more then one section.

Go to a real tile showroom the tile will be the same price and probably cheaper as slate tile is not a hot item.

I don't think you are criticizing me and I do understand that slate is going to have imperfections which is part of its make over, but there was some of the slate pieces that were in fact damaged. After I laid it out the slate in the bathroom the colors I had on hand were not the look I desired, but will lay them out at the entrance to rule it in or out. In the meantime, we've been at a couple of tile stores that one person on here found for me and also to a Kovals showroom to look at their samples. It's nice to have more choices than just Lowes or HD.

Went to Kovals and got a few samples. Would like your input on them. I believe they are Daltile and Happy Floors. Will post a few more below.

Some of the same but in different light.

ok. lots of choices. I don't like the brown squares. if you have the dark vanity, do you want lighter floors? While I like the dark gray sample, I also like the rectangle light gray on the left in pic 2, above (last pic, far right).

I kind of like the red for accent but like other natural ones too

Hi Beth:)

I think the problem is that I don't know whether to go light or dark. I'm really awful at choosing colors. I sort of like the red below as a possible 3" accent in the shower but I like natural accents too. I think the ones you ruled out are the "tic tac toe" looking brown squares, because they are too dark of brown right? But you like the dark gray slate look and the long rectangular light colors...the one with gray tones in it. If you have any other choices, feel free to share. :)

is this for bathroom and sunroom? or where is this going? where would you do the accent tile? I do like it. it's hard to pick because we don't have a complete pic of the room w/the vanity. that ledger slate tile in the store, above pic, is the same slate I have on the front of my house. when you put a sealer on it, the color looks deeper and richer. it's very nice. I also have that color slate in my kitchen, but large tiles. go for something lighter in the shower area I guess, and your sunroom, how about that darker gray rectangle? which ones do you prefer?

I will do it stager and with a small joint and a dark color being close to the slate. to fill more contemporary I will have do 12x24 rectangular. a larger tile will help the space feel larger. and will look less busy.

This will be for a 7'6" x9'6" bathroom with a window. Can you all post me a couple pictures to show me what you would think would go well? You like a bigger tile correct? I'm really lost with all of this.

Ive included the layout of bathroom and bathroom space...not sure if it will help.

This is what I will do with a larger rectangular tile. here is a sketch. I send you also some picture of small bathroom , different material than yours but to give you the idea with a large tile and glass for the shower to enlarge the space.

Found a few more tiles for consideration.
Ones a Daltile(slate look) the other is Hapoy Floors.

I like the long plank but will look busy in this small spcace. Or and i think it better the first slade tile beffore the black one. And will use everywhere and will still interlock installation incling the shower.

The slate display board is all the same style, I think they did that to show the variety. The black area is where one of the skates had fallen off the board.

Better pic of the slate one from the board....also an additional slate looking one in a lighter color.

the top one