Slate for a shower???

[sr160009]

I am in the process of building a new house and my wife and I wanted to put in slate floors for the bathroom and in a shower. I am being told that my not be a good idea, because slate is porus and water may get inside the slate and start to crack. I was hoping some of ya'll may be able to give me some advise on this subject.

thanks

 

[Egon]

Slate has layers that may conduct water between the layers. The slate itself is not porus. The water would have to enter through the sides and through the grout between the tiles. There are also numerous types of slate with different properties.

I would use slate in the bathroom but have no idea if it would be reccommended.

Google slate and you will be able to get some pretty good information.

One site: Slate Stone Physical Properties,Slate Stone Wholesale,Slate Stone In India,Slate Stone Wholesalers,Slate Stone Wholesellers,Slate Stone Wholesalers India

I have split more than one slate rock.

 

[Asymtave]

Any tile/stone "system" is porous. Even if you have perfectly glazed tile, the grout is always the weak link as far as water getting through.

So no matter what type of tile/stone you use you have to have a first line of defense for water seepage in a tub/shower surround.

See John Bridge "Tile Your World" prelim page

Years ago I stumbled onto a book written by the sites owner, John Bridge. I think it was simply called "Ceramic Tile Setting". Your library should have it. Highly highly recommended. He an absolute straight talker that tells it like it is with no BS.

I have installed 2 shower/tub surrounds, 2 ceramic floors, and 3 woodstove hearths following his advice, and they turned out great.

In short, slate is an awesome beautiful material and if you want it then go for it. Just follow John's (or a pro installer's) recommendations.

 

[inveresk]

Slate is good on hearths, floors, countertops and roofs. It's not a hard stone - it can be scratched with a key, for example - so isn't great in heavily trafficked areas but in a shower room you shouldn't have a problem. It's generally regarded as non-porous and frost resistant.

It can be slippery when wet so I'd watch it on a floor (and get a sample before you bulk purchase) but it's normally available with a riven face instead of smooth for these types of installations.

There are also some slates around where the laminations are quite lightly bonded and if water gets between them and freezes, it can throw off the face.

 

[schmism]

isnt slate used on roofs? (yes) does a bathroom freeze? not normally .... does a roof freeze.... yes....

what am i missing?

 

[Harvster]

It's all about the pan. The John bridge site is a good one. Build a properly sloped waterproof pan and you can use rice krispy treats for a shower floor if you want to.

 

[ToddW]

It's all about the pan. The John bridge site is a good one. Build a properly sloped waterproof pan and you can use rice krispy treats for a shower floor if you want to.

John Bridge is a tile god

Between his web and his book I've done alot of tile work and it came out great. His book gave me the courage to rip my master bath down to a bare slab and rebuild. It was one of those few times that something actually came out looking as good as I had pictured it in my mind.

/Todd

 

[MarkV]

Another consideration with any natural stone is that it can be a bear to keep clean of soap film that will be part of a shower environment. There are some real good stone ‘look a like’ glazed tiles out there that are much easier to maintain.

MarkV

 

[hilld]

It's all about the pan. The John bridge site is a good one. Build a properly sloped waterproof pan and you can use rice krispy treats for a shower floor if you want to.

Guess instead of a water problem you will have an ant or rodent problem.

Derek

 

[Egon]

Snap - crackle - pop

 

[Ken_f]

We have used slate to totally replace 2 bathrooms, an entry area and create a utility (washer dryer) room. Works great !! Attached are some photos of the project at various times in the adventure.

We use the showers daily and except for having to change soap from dial (white bars) to a clear type of soap because the soap residue showed up more on the darker slate than on a white fiberglass shower stall.

We are now replacing the master bath but this one will be travertine so I will be an expert at working with that soon.

Email me with any questions.

Ken

subs@kmfarm.us

 

[sr160009]

We have used slate to totally replace 2 bathrooms, an entry area and create a utility (washer dryer) room. Works great !! Attached are some photos of the project at various times in the adventure.

We use the showers daily and except for having to change soap from dial (white bars) to a clear type of soap because the soap residue showed up more on the darker slate than on a white fiberglass shower stall.

We are now replacing the master bath but this one will be travertine so I will be an expert at working with that soon.

Email me with any questions.

Ken

subs@kmfarm.us

Ken,

That looks very good.

thanks for all of ya'lls replies, I feel a lot better about installing slate in the bathroom/shower. Hopefully my contractor will start my house either this week or next week. He is still finishing up with anouth house right now. Everytime I talk to him he tells me a week to 10 days, for the last month. So if he can start before May I will be happy.