What are the cons?
Natural Stone Tiles can be used to create many unique and interesting looks, whether it be indoors or out. However, there are some things to be aware of.
- Natural stone tiles often require some forms of additional maintenance, be it cleaning or sealing them.
- Some natural stone tiles aren’t suitable for use in all areas.
- Some may require more specialised tools to cut or lay.
- They tend to be more costly per square meter than ceramic or porcelain alternatives.
What are the Pros?
Given the above list you may be wondering why you would possibly want to use natural stone tiles; but there are some benefits to using them.
- They are extremely robust and weather resistant if properly sealed and maintained.
- Most natural stone tiles are suitable for use outdoors.
- They can give truly one-of-a-kind effects that cannot be replicated with other kinds of materials.
- While slightly more costly, they are timeless, and it is extremely unlikely that they will ever go out of style.
Things to consider
There are a number of considerations to be made when laying natural stone tiles that may not be immediately apparent. Grout for example, not the colour choice, but the actual application of it. As most natural stones are porous by nature, it is important to make sure the tiles are properly sealed before grout is applied to avoid the potential for grout to stain the surface of the tiles. Some natural stone tiles, like our slatestone split face tiles, generally aren’t grouted at all, this would obviously mean they shouldn’t be used in wet rooms unless they are fully “tanked”. This isn’t always the case, our Quartz range for example, will come factory sealed and thus requires no additional maintenance or sealing, these can be laid and grouted just like any other tile.
