Natural Stone Flooring
For centuries natural stone products had been the only choice when laying a floor. However these became less popular and comparatively expensive with the introduction of mass produced linoleum, carpet and ceramic flooring.
Natural stone flooring is a durable, classy alternative for the home as well as commercial premises. Stone is a natural product, mined from the earth, and is considered eco-friendly, particularly if it is available locally. Stone includes any quarried rock such as granite, limestone, sandstone, slate, marble or flagstone. These natural stone floor choices may be glazed or unglazed.
Stone flooring will add beauty and value to your home. Many of the options come in a shiny, matte or textured finish. If you can find your materials locally, you will save a bundle on shipping charges, and reduce fuel emissions as well.
Opting for natural stone flooring in your home or a conservatory is an excellent way to add a grand finishing touch to the newest room in your house. Stone flooring offers plenty of options and is rugged enough to last for years, without looking any less stunning than it did on the day it was first laid. Natural stone tiles come in lots of different shapes and sizes, making them extremely versatile for laying in room of all shapes and sizes. A natural stone floor allows you much more freedom in design than you would get with almost any other flooring choice.
Adding a finish to a natural stone floor has both an argument for and against. Some believe that certain finishes stop the stone from being able to breath. This can cause the floor to become brittle. Removing a finish requires careful application of a floor stripper; one has to be careful because such a high-pH could damage the stone. The other side of the argument is that a finish protects the stone floor from wear that comes with excessive traffic, it also safeguards it from stains that can stem from spills. Cleaning is therefore made. It is interesting to note that a more textured stone can soak up greater amounts of moisture than the other types, which means a spill will need to be mopped up very quickly. More texture also usually means that it will be more hard-wearing and more resilient to alkali cleaners.
Natural stone flooring comes in many styles and can suit both a traditional and contemporary setting. Stone is a very adaptable material that is at home in a country cottage as well as an urban townhouse or apartment. Ideal for hallways, kitchens, dining rooms, conservatories and bathrooms and increasingly being used in living areas and bedrooms. Stone goes well with other natural materials such as wood and works particularly well with under floor heating. Natural stone flooring is unique as every tile is a one off and this look cannot be recreated by man-made material. Fossils, shells and crystal veins are all marks of authenticity.
