If you're considering natural stone flooring, you should first assess your lifestyle, budget, and specific requirements. Then, consider which natural stone types best suit your needed flooring's intended use and installation location (e.g., kitchen, bathroom, and entryways).
Knowing how to make the right natural stone choice can help guide you in picking one that aligns with your needs and preferences and complements the rest of your home. It can also help you avoid "buyer's regret," considering that stone flooring is more expensive than other options.
As a NASDAQ article points out, the total cost of stone flooring can range from $8 to $47 per square foot.
By familiarizing yourself with stone flooring installation tips and selection tactics, you can maximize your long-term investment.
What Is the Best Natural Stone Flooring?
There's no single "best" natural stone flooring, as its idealness depends on where your priorities lie. Some of the most popular options, however, include the following:
Granite
Granite is a durable, coarse-grained igneous rock known for its heat- and scratch-resistance. You can find it in various earthy and bold colors, including:
- White
- Black
- Gray
- Beige
- Brown
- Yellow
- Blue
- Red
- Green
Slate
Slate is a hard-wearing, finely grained stone known for providing good slip resistance, making it an ideal choice for areas that often get damp (think bathrooms and kitchens). It comes in many colors, including:
- Gray
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Purple
- Red
Quartzite
Quartzite is a metamorphic rock made of sandstone and formed under intense pressure and heat. Its primary composition is quartz, making it dense, strong, and ideal for construction, including floors.
Quartzite is typically white or gray in its pure form, although you can find it in pink and red shades.
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock formed from limestone subjected to intense heat and pressure. It's highly aesthetic, given its beautiful veining and unique patterns.
White is the most sought-after color, but you can also find marble in black, gray, and green. It even comes in pink, which is often due to the presence of iron.
Travertine
Travertine is a sedimentary rock made of mineral deposits found in natural springs. It's a porous limestone with a textured surface. It's popular for its distinctive appearance and earthy colors, such as beige, cream, and ivory.
Does Stone Flooring Increase Home Value?
Yes. According to the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA), natural stone "virtually always" increases the resale value of a home.
Natural stone has many characteristics and features that allow it to boost a home's resale value. Examples include:
- Durability
- Timeless aesthetic appeal
- A premium, high-end vibe
Many natural stone flooring types also deliver top-notch quality and longevity that can withstand decades of use. InterNACHI, for instance, says that granite, marble, and slate can last a hundred years or so.
How Do You Choose Natural Stone Flooring for Your Space?
From factoring in your lifestyle to considering your budget and the material's installation location, these are key steps to choosing the right natural stone flooring for your space.
Don't forget to contemplate the varying stone floor maintenance requirements. Failure to satisfy these can impact its appearance and integrity.
Your Lifestyle
Your lifestyle can influence your choice of natural stone flooring through durability needs, maintenance, and the specific installation location. If you have a hectic schedule, for instance, you may want to consider a low-maintenance option for high-traffic areas in your home.
Granite is an excellent example, as it's highly durable and can resist stains if properly sealed. It also requires minimal effort to maintain; just wipe it clean with a soft cloth, warm water, and gentle dish soap.
Your Budget
The prices of natural stone flooring vary, with slate being among the more affordable options. Marble, with its luxurious, elegant appearance and unique veining, is undoubtedly beautiful but commands higher prices than slate.
The Floor's Installation Location
Where you plan to install the natural stone flooring should influence your choice, as some types, like granite and quartzite, are more durable and better for high-traffic areas like hallways and entryways.
If you're looking for the best stone for kitchen floors, you may want to opt for either flamed- or tumbled-finish slate or travertine. They're ideal for applications that require slip resistance.
Consider online tools that can help you imagine what your future flooring will look like in a specific room. You can try the Visualizer found on the website of Tiles of Europe to get started.
The Floor's Maintenance Requirements
The natural stone's maintenance requirements influence how practical it is to install it for a specific room and application.
Aside from granite, slate is another relatively low-maintenance option that only requires periodic sealing. It's also easy to clean; you can just sweep or dry mop it daily and mop it regularly with a solution of warm water and mild dish soap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Stone Floors High Maintenance?
Natural stone floors require more maintenance than their manufactured counterparts. Vinyl, for instance, is super easy to clean and only calls for sweeping or mopping as needed.
Some luxury vinyl flooring (LVF) doesn't even require sealing at all.
Still, if cared for properly, natural stone flooring can last much longer than other options. As mentioned above, granite, slate, and marble can last a hundred years or so.
Conversely, an online query for LVF lifespan will show you that it usually only lasts around a decade or two.
What Are the Cons of Natural Stone?
Cost is the primary drawback of natural stone. It's more expensive than manufactured materials because it requires labor-intensive quarrying.
It also costs more to transport, considering its heavy weight, and is more complex to install, given that it requires expert techniques and specialized equipment.
Once installed, your stone flooring will require occasional sealing and regular cleaning. Still, its unparalleled beauty, timeless appeal, uniqueness, and natural stone durability all make it a worthy investment.
Shop for Your Natural Stone Flooring Today
Choosing the right natural stone flooring involves factoring in your lifestyle, budget, intended use, and installation location. As long as you consider these factors, you should be able to choose the most suitable option that meets your needs and wants.
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