stone floor tiles

[jimbo15]

i am considering laying stone floor tiles in my kitchen. Are they difficult to work with and cut ? Are they porous and do they have to be sealed ?

[buildersmate]

Are you talking real stone? These are typically 30-35mm thick and clearly need specialist cutting equipment. I have had some success cutting a few with a �70 Tiles-R-Us tile-cutter, but one really needs the proper tradesman's tool with a decent sized diamond cutting disc. I wouldn't want to do the whole perimeter of a room this way.
Sandstone and limestone are porous and have to be sealed.

[Ethel]

Having lived with a stone floor kitchen I would advise you to think again.

They are cold. Very cold. And anything you drop will be smashed or dented.

Hard to keep looking clean - as soon as it dries from cleaning it looks grubby,.

And I don't know why but standing on a stone floor for more than ten minutes makes your legs ache.

[theonlyone]

I have a tiled floors in the kitchen, bathroom , conservatory not stone just ceramics , true what Ethel says nothing bounces and cold , but I find it easy to keep clean .

[LuBlu]

Last year we laid a real slate floor in our kitchen. I believe that they are difficult to lay, not just the cuttingof them, but because invariably each tile is a different thickness, so to get them level is tricky.
Have said that, I love it. Yes it is cold and I'm sure no crockery would withstand being dropped on it. We needed to seal it a few times to stop it from absorbing stains etc and it needs to be resealed every year.
It never really looks dirty, but I'm sure a light stone would, in the same way any other type of light coloured flooring would.

[wallis1007]

last year I used a new type of tile in the kitchen. The tiles are a synthetic slate. Not cheap but VERY hard wearing (guaranteed against scuffing or marking for ten years) and warmer than slate.Easy to cut with a sharp knife or saw. Easy to lay as well.It's not often I recommend things to people but so far I cannot fault these.My Daughter has tested them well with rollerblades, skateboards,heely's and god only what else.