If you are expecting very large quantities of slate tile flooring, keep in mind Murphy’s Law! Anything can happen (including broken tiles), so it will be highly probably that not all of them will arrive intact.
This is true, and it is not to be a big shock to you. When dealing with mass amounts of slate, damages can occur when handling them (or shipping them).
To make up for this: order extra tiles! It is best that you order extra to make up for any potential damages to the tiles. Not only will it be easier on you if there ARE damaged tiles, it will be a time saver as you can immediately replace the tiles instead of waiting for future shipments to arrive.
So when all of the boxes arrive, you can open them all up, and inspect every single floor tile for damages. And when you do, put those pieces in a box so you can ship that box back easily.
Then, when you are taking the tiles (that are intact) to do a dry run on the floor, you can check those slates for debris and clear it off.
Because, if you leave the loose dirt pieces on the tiles, the tiles will not have a level installation. They will be rather uneven in general.
What will also be messed up is if you lay the slate tiles onto a wet floor! It is a definite no-no. Who knows what is going to happen if all that moisture is trapped for so long underneath?
Also, once you have all of the slate tile flooring down, you may move on to the waxing procedures. This is a very crucial step, actually, for it is a waiting process. You can not proceed to the next step of applying sealer until all of the wax has finished curing.
The wait is well worth it, though. I know I’m not speaking for myself when I say that footprint marks left in the wax are not so nice to look at permanently in slate tiles. I made the mistake myself, and I’ve never been able to get rid of the marks.
As the next chapter in the “waiting for tiles” saga, you will have to wait for the grouting, too. The average wait time: 24 hours. This way, all of the mortar can settle nicely and dry up well before you grout.
Ben Dziga can shed some knowledge on slate tile flooring and all of the basics when you check out his slate tiles blog.
Tags: decorating, floor renovations, Floor tiles, floors, home, home improvements, interior design, slate tile floor installation, slate tile flooring, slate tiles, slate tiling