Slate Flooring

[chasineyes]

Wondering how you grout slate flooring since it's not a smooth surface like regular tile? Or is it the same method just more difficult to clean up??

[Stratosman]

Seal it first. Use a quality penetrating sealer and that will help, it still is a bit more tedious than tile, but not too bad.

[sparcebag]

Use a piping bag also,Its like a bakers icing design application tool,You can apply the grout exactly into the gaps.

[Liar]

It depends, is it gauged or irregular? By that I mean is the surface just rough or do you have different layers showing? If you have irreg. you will have 90 degree corners on the surface that will take more time to clean. Irregular is time consuming and tough to smear the grout in without having it get into the corners on the surface. A good sealer will help with clean up, it allows more time for the grout to be on the surface without drying on. You can clean the face of the tile while the grout is soft, just stay back from the grout joint. You need to be sure it sets up in the grout joint before you wash the joint down, it should be firm when you touch it before you wash it. Most joints vary with slate, making the wider areas prone to "washing out" making the grout lower than the top of the tile. I would clean the face of the slate while the grout is still fresh, you wont get it perfect, you will have a haze on the tile, you can clean that up with the final wash after the grout joints have been washed. Be sure to get all of the haze off the tile after a couple of hours..

using a bag to grout the tile is tough on your arms but you don't need to use any water. Fill the grout joint slightly over the top of the tile, being sure to fill the joint with no air trapped under the grout. When the grout has set up, firmer than using the water method, you would take a piece of wood, ( I use the handle to a countertop broom) and strike the joint. This removes the excess grout from the joint. You then use a SOFT bristle broom to sweep the excess grout off the tile and off the floor. Hope that helps.

Dan

[Kodiak]

i seal slate with a penetrating sealer until it stops eating it up and then grout the tile.

get a small brush so you can get it out of the cracks and bumpy areas in the slate where it changes level.