Stone flooring for conservatory -any advice?

[KristinaM]

Our long awaited conservatory is just finished, we are just about to install the underfloor heating so I need to make a decision on floor tiles. Any advice please?

DH wants travertine or limestone to reflect the light into the adjacent kitchen, which is now a bit dark. Needless to say he won't be mopping it.

I'm thinking about slate as easier to keep looking clean . We have three small children and a muddy garden but no pets.

I would go with the travertine as long as you don't have pets. I have 3 kids and 2 dogs - and it is definitely the dogs that bring the most mud in. The kids do bring it in but not that much.

I have a feeling slate can get scratched easily, and is slippy when wet (although I have never had slate so can't vouch for it).

That's interesting! Do you have light coloured floors?

When we bought the house there were cream coloured tiles in the kitchen , off the back door, and they always looked dirty . Nightmare.

We have a mottled pale tile - it doesn't show the dirty unless it is really dirty . Similar to this

We have a natural light stone and two dogs. It shows the muddy paw prints clearly, but general dust and dirt just blends in, so it doesn't look dirty. And I am a bit when I clean and see how much grime came off

The toughest part to keep clean is the grouting.

I would go for a pale -ish stone and a dark grouting. Looks really effective and will save you from the 'grotty grouting' look. You will not regret it, trust me.

Is the grouting dark grey? I thought travertine had to be filled with a pale grout?

I like these mottled tiles, Throkenholt

Googleing slate tiles suggests that they are hard to clean

And I'm a bit of a slattern

Ours has a darkish grout as well - on the advice of the tiling shop.

Ours are actually more paving stone shape and size (very big tiles) - but that kind of colour.

I had slate in the kitchen and it's a nightmare to keep clean! To many ridges and lines in all directions, you have to mop in asterisks to keep it clean. Now I have a lovely amtico floor, bliss to keep clean!

I have added a piccie to my profile that shows our tiles.

NO!!!!!! you just did that to give me puppy envy, Throeknholt

And I thought 2 boys a year apart was crazy........

yep - crazy house - I think I am just becoming sane now. At least until we got the puppy.

Would it help to say she has eaten through 3 shoes in the last few weeks ?

Gandalfs hat -we have Karndean in the bathroom and its fab .we had to replace a few tiles recently ( we had to lift them to fix a shower leak) and the new ones are identical -no fading or marks after 9 years .

But I worried about scratching in a conservatory, as obviously it leads into the garden . Hence the tile plan. I'm so worried about getting it wrong as it will be very expensive and messy to change

The other thing I discovered when googling "cleaning stone floors" is that there are lots of companies out there whose business this is. Why would this be the case if they were easy to clean with a damp mop?

< worried>

Thanks Poltergoose, that's encouraing. How will I know if I'm buying the good or poor quality slate?

Oops , I need over 30m2

< checks budget >

you mean travertine with holes in it, for dirt to collect?

and limestone that dissolves in spilt vinegar and cola?

Yup piglet

Underfloor heating?

Oh yes indeed, underfloor heating. Being fitted next week, then it needs three weeks to dry out before the stone floor can be laid. So I need to decide soon.

Any thoughts on marble ( brushed not shiny) ? Smooth so easy to clean,I hope. No filling, like travertine.

As its a conservatory and it a kitchen I was hoping we might be safe from spilled acid. It's meant to be a problem for granite worktops too but I've had one for the last 5 years without any problems

I think you should try something new and gorgeous like granite as it will look beautiful anywhere in your house. This gorgeous stone is also available in a wide range of patterns and colors to suit your house.