Slate or Ceramic Tile?
March 24, 2008 10:45 AM
Should I put a natural slate floor in my kitchen, or use some other kind of tile?
Both are awfully hard on the feet and knees if you're going to be doing a lot of standing while you're prepping and cooking. And both will create spectacular breakage if you drop a bottle of wine or olive oil or mayonnaise etc.
We've got a bamboo floor in our kitchen - it's beautfiful and easy to keep clean and easy on the joints. In previous (home) kitchens I've experienced, it's been linoleum or vinyl laid over a plywood subfloor. In professional kitchens, it's usually been tile, but then we had those (ugly) rubber mats on top of it to save our feets and knees.
I love the look of slate, though.
posted by rtha at 10:54 AM on March 24, 2008
We've got a bamboo floor in our kitchen - it's beautfiful and easy to keep clean and easy on the joints. In previous (home) kitchens I've experienced, it's been linoleum or vinyl laid over a plywood subfloor. In professional kitchens, it's usually been tile, but then we had those (ugly) rubber mats on top of it to save our feets and knees.
I love the look of slate, though.
posted by rtha at 10:54 AM on March 24, 2008
We asked the same question. We put slate in our mudroom and were going to extend it into the kitchen. After discussing it with the architect, the builder, and a number of homeowners we ended up with hardwood flooring in the kitchen for the reasons posted above. Easier on the feet, more forgiving, etc.
My sister in law has a cork floor and loves it.
posted by bondcliff at 11:08 AM on March 24, 2008
My sister in law has a cork floor and loves it.
posted by bondcliff at 11:08 AM on March 24, 2008
I agree with meerkatty and rtha, natural slate can be REALLY tough on your feet, knees and backs, and is instant death to anything you drop. It (like other natural stone surfaces) can also be difficult to get clean.
posted by nkknkk at 11:12 AM on March 24, 2008
posted by nkknkk at 11:12 AM on March 24, 2008
I would avoid the slate. It's hard on the feet, but porous enough that it'll absorb oil from the occasional spill or drip, and then what do you do? We have slate in our bathroom and if I were handier or more affluent I'd replace it. Go for a well-sealed wood floor—ideally solid wood, without a veneer, so that it can be refinished when need be—and your feet will thank you.
posted by mumkin at 11:23 AM on March 24, 2008
posted by mumkin at 11:23 AM on March 24, 2008
I have cork flooring in the kitchen and I love it.
posted by francesca too at 12:06 PM on March 24, 2008
posted by francesca too at 12:06 PM on March 24, 2008
Echoing jamaro - a friend's natural slate floor always looks tacky. I love cork floors, personally.
posted by anadem at 12:08 PM on March 24, 2008
posted by anadem at 12:08 PM on March 24, 2008
I think slate looks absolutely gorgeous, and wish we could've afforded it. (We did grey-green ceramic tiles that look lovely.) Slate is going to look "lived in" and more rustic. If you're the kind of person who is going to be frustrated by a floor that doesn't gleam like those in a magazine, then slate is not for you.
If you're planning on selling your house in a few years and want to maximize resale value, you may not want to bother, since a lot of people have strong options about stone, as you can see by the responses in this thread.
I got a lot of "it'll kill your back" warnings with the ceramic tile, but haven't found it to be significantly more uncomfortable than linoleum, wood, other tile floors.
posted by desuetude at 12:25 PM on March 24, 2008
If you're planning on selling your house in a few years and want to maximize resale value, you may not want to bother, since a lot of people have strong options about stone, as you can see by the responses in this thread.
I got a lot of "it'll kill your back" warnings with the ceramic tile, but haven't found it to be significantly more uncomfortable than linoleum, wood, other tile floors.
posted by desuetude at 12:25 PM on March 24, 2008
I second (or third, or fourth) the cork floor in the kitchen. We spend a good amount of time in there, and were its floor covered in slate like our entry way I would surely eat nothing but take out. Slate hurts your feet and back and it's always cold. Cork, not so much. It's springy and it likes you.
posted by littlerobothead at 12:56 PM on March 24, 2008
posted by littlerobothead at 12:56 PM on March 24, 2008
Just to take a contrarian view: if you like the looks of it, go for it. Put the right sealant on it and it will look fine and be maintainable. If you're young and healthy, the hardness won't bother you, but if it does, all you really need is some ergonomic pads (they make them especially for kitchens in a variety of textures and colors) in the spots where you spend most of your time, not all over. That'll save some of the breakage too. I have a hard tile floor, no mats, no fatigue and no inordinate breakage (you gotta be careful, that's all).
posted by beagle at 2:02 PM on March 24, 2008
posted by beagle at 2:02 PM on March 24, 2008
nthing the "no-slate" sentiment. We have slate floors in the kitchen, and they never look clean, even after washing. The slates also crack easily if your floor shifts even a little (e.g. old wooden house).
posted by media_itoku at 2:15 PM on March 24, 2008
posted by media_itoku at 2:15 PM on March 24, 2008
I love the look of slate, and wanted it for our bathroom. Our tile guy told us it was really hard to maintain, and we'd have to seal it every so often else it would flake off and never look clean. We went with ceramic that looks like slate, and I'm very happy with it. It never looks dirty. I don't think I've actually mopped it in the 3 months I've had it.
As for the suggestion of bamboo - I wouldn't put that in your kitchen. We have it in the living room and I love it, but it scratches easily, completely shatters glass if you drop it, and it isn't very moisture tolerant. So it would probably be ruined if you had a bad sink or dishwasher leak. I'd avoid any natural wood (cork included) in the kitchen.
posted by delladlux at 4:35 PM on March 24, 2008
As for the suggestion of bamboo - I wouldn't put that in your kitchen. We have it in the living room and I love it, but it scratches easily, completely shatters glass if you drop it, and it isn't very moisture tolerant. So it would probably be ruined if you had a bad sink or dishwasher leak. I'd avoid any natural wood (cork included) in the kitchen.
posted by delladlux at 4:35 PM on March 24, 2008
My kitchen has saltillo tile in it. Yup, drop ceramics and they're done. It is not at all difficult to clean the tile and it certainly seems to resist marks. The grout in between the tiles is more difficult to keep clean but it isn't at all bad. I've had wooden kitchen floors and would never go back to that - it just seems to get grotty.
posted by jet_silver at 4:41 PM on March 24, 2008
posted by jet_silver at 4:41 PM on March 24, 2008
I got a lot of "it'll kill your back" warnings with the ceramic tile, but haven't found it to be significantly
Is the tiled floor even or uneven?
When it comes to tiled floors, where a person may stand for a long period of time, like the bathroom or kitchen; the floors should be tiled with each tile having a slightly different level. This allows your feet to “not be” flat on the ground. Thus you will have fewer pains in your back when standing in one place for a long period of time compared to standing on a perfectly flat leveled surface. It has to do with the feet’s muscles not being able to relax.
posted by thomcatspike at 2:31 AM on March 25, 2008
Is the tiled floor even or uneven?
When it comes to tiled floors, where a person may stand for a long period of time, like the bathroom or kitchen; the floors should be tiled with each tile having a slightly different level. This allows your feet to “not be” flat on the ground. Thus you will have fewer pains in your back when standing in one place for a long period of time compared to standing on a perfectly flat leveled surface. It has to do with the feet’s muscles not being able to relax.
posted by thomcatspike at 2:31 AM on March 25, 2008
When it comes to tiled floors, where a person may stand for a long period of time, like the bathroom or kitchen; the floors should be tiled with each tile having a slightly different level. This allows your feet to “not be” flat on the ground. Thus you will have fewer pains in your back when standing in one place for a long period of time compared to standing on a perfectly flat leveled surface. It has to do with the feet’s muscles not being able to relax.
I neither get why someone would be standing for a long time in the bathroom nor how large ceramic tiles would be placed at different levels without risking breakage. But my floor is level. Sorry, thomcatspike.
posted by desuetude at 6:19 AM on March 25, 2008
I neither get why someone would be standing for a long time in the bathroom nor how large ceramic tiles would be placed at different levels without risking breakage. But my floor is level. Sorry, thomcatspike.
posted by desuetude at 6:19 AM on March 25, 2008
As for the suggestion of bamboo - I wouldn't put that in your kitchen. We have it in the living room and I love it, but it scratches easily, completely shatters glass if you drop it, and it isn't very moisture tolerant. So it would probably be ruined if you had a bad sink or dishwasher leak.
The scratching has not been our experience - the floor does have a couple of scratches, but I wouldn't say it scratches "easily" - the main one I'm thinking of happened when someone dragged a heavy piece of furniture. There aren't scratches where the kitchen chairs regularly get pulled out/pushed in. I've dropped glass stuff on it and none of it has broken - except a wineglass, maybe, but not glass bottles of stuff. And a wineglass will certainly shatter if dropped on slate or tile or very nearly anything.
As for moisture tolerance, we've not experienced any plumbing leaks (knock wood), but there was a cat pee....incident that went unoticed for several days (don't ask). Cleaned the floor and it's all good.
posted by rtha at 12:17 PM on March 25, 2008
The scratching has not been our experience - the floor does have a couple of scratches, but I wouldn't say it scratches "easily" - the main one I'm thinking of happened when someone dragged a heavy piece of furniture. There aren't scratches where the kitchen chairs regularly get pulled out/pushed in. I've dropped glass stuff on it and none of it has broken - except a wineglass, maybe, but not glass bottles of stuff. And a wineglass will certainly shatter if dropped on slate or tile or very nearly anything.
As for moisture tolerance, we've not experienced any plumbing leaks (knock wood), but there was a cat pee....incident that went unoticed for several days (don't ask). Cleaned the floor and it's all good.
posted by rtha at 12:17 PM on March 25, 2008
Have you considered something like Amtico? It has the look of slate without the problems mentioned above.
posted by Giant luck at 3:37 AM on March 26, 2008
posted by Giant luck at 3:37 AM on March 26, 2008
To close this out -- we chose wood over tile. Easier to install, feels great, and looks good. Thanks all!
posted by mtstover at 11:55 AM on June 19, 2008
posted by mtstover at 11:55 AM on June 19, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by meerkatty at 10:51 AM on March 24, 2008