A good sweeping will often be enough to clean your slate patio.
For deeper scratches, use harsher sandpaper or steel wool but finish with a fine grit. Start with a fine-grit sandpaper (like 400) and gentle pressure. To get rid of scratches, use sandpaper or steel wool. Stains and scuffs can be minimized by rubbing mineral oil into the scratch. Hardware stores carry a variety of indelible pens in many colors. To conceal scratches and scuffs in slate, first try a stain – or touch up – pen. Scratches in slate can be concealed or sanded out. Linear, light grey scratches in dark grey slate stand out. Other scratches look unnatural and unsightly. Scratches in natural stone can blend in, or they can even add character. Also, dark-colored slates may be hotter underfoot.
For some, the uneven surface may be hard to walk on. Natural stone can enhance your home’s style, from traditional to modern.Ī slate patio is not perfect. Slate is not slippery underfoot – unlike marble and some ceramic tiles. Flakes or thin layers of slate cleave off, giving slate a unique texture. It has a color range from grey to black, cyan to striking greens and purples. Slate has many good qualities: strength, durability and stain resistance. A patio made from slate complements a garden’s natural beauty. Slate tiles give the patio a unique and interesting texture, like this. Every slate tile is one-of-a-kind: from the color range to the shape of the surface. Slate tiles are a beautiful, natural and durable choice for your hardscape. Is Slate Good For Patios if it Scratches? Slate tile patios can be sophisticated or earthy, and they will last a lifetime – with some care. Who knows? You may dislike your tiles – or you may love them. Do they go with your patio furniture? Do you like the texture – the unevenness? Watch as the color changes during the day. Lay the tiles in the patio space in your backyard and see if you like the aesthetic. If you blast them with the high-pressure nozzle on your hose, what happens? Spill wine or food on the tiles, then see how well the tiles clean up with dilute dish washing soap. Water pooling on the patio may turn an unsightly orange color. If the soak water turns orange or red, there may be an iron mineral in your slates. Soak the tiles in water for a day (or a week!) and try to chip off layers. Do they scratch under a chair or heavy table? If they do scratch, will one of the treatments listed below decrease the damaged look? Take them home, and experiment with them.
#Slate patio for free
If slate comes from so many places and in lots of grades – how do you choose? Before committing big bucks, ask for free samples or buy one or two of the slate tiles you are considering.
Brazilian slate is colorful, dense and has low water absorption. Chinese (“Mandarin”) and Indian slate is colorful but soft and tend to absorb water. Natural stone experts say that slate from Vermont and New York is smoother and denser, with low water absorption. In freezing climates, water absorbed by the slate freezes and the slate can crack. Key questions to ask are: is the slate outdoor grade (not indoor), where is the slate from and does it have low water absorption? Water absorption is important because it can cause the slate to cleave or flake. To decrease the number of scratches, first try to choose slates that are higher quality – harder. Slate tiles do get scratched and scratches tend to show more on slate’s dark colors. It takes hundreds of thousands – or millions – of years to turn shale into slate. Then, the shale is buried and subjected to heat and pressure. Shales, or mudrocks, are deposited in water in quiet settings, like the bottom of the ocean. Slate began as a shale – a sedimentary rock made of very fine grains of quartz (silica) and other minerals. Should I Use Sealer On My Slate Pavers?.How Do You Remove Scratches From Slate?.Is Slate Good For Patios if it Scratches?.