Stone floors are an elegant and classy choice for any location—natural, beautiful, and always stylish. The cool, hard surface of stone has long made it the go-to choice in warm climates.
Long lasting and relatively easy to maintain, choosing stone also offers a natural way to cut down on dust or allergens. Stone flooring also works perfectly with underfloor heating.
Stone flooring comes in a variety of price levels to suit most any home flooring budget.
- Granite: The hardest and densest construction-grade stone material, granite can be polished smooth, honed flat, or left in a naturally gauged state.
- Slate: A rustic classic available in wide range of irregular shapes, slate is usually found in dark gray, soft red, and medium green. Almost as hard as granite, slate is resistant to cracks and breaks. However, it is prone to some chipping on the edges. Naturally porous, like all stones, slate should be chemically sealed after installation, with periodic reapplication recommended for best effect.
- Limestone: Limestone offers moderate density and strength and is porous (must be sealed). It tends to weather well, taking on an aged, antique look over time, reminiscent of classical stone structures.
- Sandstone: An extremely porous material, sandstone needs to be treated with multiple applications of a quality penetrating sealer and a surface sealer on a regular basis. Sandstone is generally not recommended for humid or wet environments.
- Engineered Stone: This type of flooring is engineered with a high percentage of natural stone (e.g., limestone) combined with other resilient materials, making it an alternative to natural stone, porcelain or ceramic tile. It combines the character and longevity of those materials, but it’s warmer and softer under-foot.
Talk to ACS About Your Stone Floors
As you narrow down the look and feel of your stone floor, talk to ACS. Preparation is critical for getting a stone floor installed correctly. Having a proper substrate (the surface on which the stone tile will be laid) is critical.
Because stone can be thicker than other flooring surfaces, you may need to install a transition strip between your new stone floor and adjacent areas.
Finally, we will also want to discuss sealing—today’s advanced sealers fill the spaces between the crystals and minerals in stone tiles (rather than just covering the surface) to make the stone more resistant to water and stains. Stone floors in low-traffic areas and nonporous stone, such as granite, may not need to be sealed.
At ACS, we love working with stone. We thrive on the challenges that stone installation involves and the beauty of a perfectly installed stone floor.
Preparing for Your Installation
To get ready for your new floor, you will need to take some steps before the installers arrive. Download our Preparing for Your New Floor Checklist.