slate floor

[Anonymous]

Hi, i am in the process of laying a black slate floor in my kitchen (new tiles not reclaimed).
i am just wondering what would be the best thing to grout these with. It says on the box to seal thes before grouting to prevent staining. but i would rather not seal these at all, as i would prefer the natural look, as it is in a heavy traffic area and think the dust and dirt would just show up more on a sealed floor and would also hinder the breathability on the solid floor undrneath. it is currently laid with awful plastic then laminate on top, and really does not do the house any favours.
any suggestions would be greatly appretiated.
thankyou

 

[Anonymous]

I used real slate tiles to make a fireplace hearth some years ago. For grouting I took the advice of the tile centre where I bought the tiles, and the black grouting material they sold me seemed very satisfactory. Despite constant heating and cooling it never cracked, and after our 13 years in the house it still looked as good as new.
The bad news is that I can't remember what it was called!
However, if you go to a specialist tile store, I'm sure they'll be able to give you advice on th ebest grout.
Slate is tricky to grout, because its pronounced stratification tends to offer lots of traps for excess grout to get stuck in. Then, when the grout is dry you get lines of grout staining along each side of the joint line. To prevent this, some people recommend spreading the grout over the whole floor - not just the joint lines. Then, once you've wiped off all the excess, if any grout is left on the face of slate, it doesn't stand out.

 

[Anonymous]

I've used the natural stone protector from wickes on a couple of new slate floors and apart from being very slightly darker you would not tell it was sealed, until you drop some water!

Not sure if it would cause problems though if water was trying to rise up through the slate.