Brazilian Black Slate Paving

When cutting Slate tiles, it is best to use a diamond blade, and preferably a good quality wet cut tile bench or 4 ½ inch angle grinder, ideally with water feed machinery to reduce the amount of dust produced and to provide a successful cut through the tiles.

Slate tiles can be laid the same way as standard ceramic or porcelain tiles, but with the exception of cutting which will require a wet cutting bench or grinder with a high quality diamond blade. For more information on slate tile installation please follow our natural stone mosaic tile installation guide

The thickness of slate tiles depends on what they are being used for, internally you will normally see tiles ranging in thickness between 8mm to 12mm, for external applications they will normally be between 20 – 25mm in thickness.

How many slate tiles you get per square metre really does depend on the size of the tiles. Establish the width and length of the tiles in mm, multiply these together, this will give you the area of the tile, then divide 1 x this area and this will give you the amount per sqm. Example below:

600mm x 400mm size tiles (0.6 x 0.4 = 0.24). 1 / 0.24 = 4.166 giving you just over 4 tiles per sqm in this size

Slate tiles are a natural quarried product that is extracted in large blocks and then sawn to the desired size and naturally split by hand to the specified thickness required for the end use.

We would also recommend using a flexible S1 rated tile adhesive when installing slate tiles, in either a grey or white colour. Always start by laying the thickest tile and then build up thinner tiles with the adhesive up to the recommend maximum thickness.

Slate is a foliated, fine-grained metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash that shows no clear compositional layering, but can be easily split into thin slabs and plates. Because it is a good electrical insulator and fireproof, it was used to construct electric switchboards in the early 20th century. Slate having those properties and great thermal stability makes it a top choice for a fireplace hearth and an area with underfloor heating.

Daily cleaning is important, wipe up any spills immediately and sweep floors every day with soft broom to stop any build-up of dirt. Mop Slate floors weekly with clean water and gentle PH neutral cleaner at the recommend ratio shown on the bottle. For walls we would recommend using the same process but with a clean damp cloth. This is an excellent way to prevent build-up of dirt and debris and keep your natural stone tiles looking prefect.

On occasion you can apply a coat of Slate Oil to bring back the lustre of the natural slate, this will also offer some protection against staining.

We would always recommend using thicker slate for external usage and the standard 8 or 10mm slates use for internal applications. They would need to be at least 20mm thick to give them the required strength for external applications. Slate is the ideal material for patios as its extremely dense and hardwearing and will last for decades if installed correctly.

Yes slate tiles are extremely durable and make an excellent internal tile, it is important to use the correct finish tile in the correct place, honed / polished Slate tiles are not really suitable for floor installations as they can be easily scratched.