Choosing to go with stone floors may have been the easiest part of the process! Your next step
is to find out which types of stone will best suit your needs. There are many varieties of stone flooring, and all have
their benefits, in addition to the wide range of different looks. Since different types of stone require different amounts
of care, be sure to ask the retailer or manufacturer how to care for your preferred stone floor before you make a definite
decision. Consult this page before shopping for stone flooring to get a better idea of what you want to look for.
Featured Stone Flooring Products
Stone Types
Take a look at your options with this selection of different types of stone flooring.
- Flagstone: Best suited for outdoor uses, flagstone is a sedimentary rock which
is split or cut into layers. Flagstone tiles are most often seen in patios, walkways, steps, and ancient castles.
- Granite: Known for its density and resistance to scratching, granite floors are one of the most popular
types of stone flooring. There are hundreds of varieties available, giving you many options for different granite flooring
looks.
- Limestone: With its natural, earthen appearance, limestone is great for a subtle design scheme. It's
formed of sedimentary material like coral and shells, giving limestone floors a very unique look in a variety of earthen
colors.
- Manufactured stone: Manufactured, or agglomerate stone, is a synthetic material made from chips of
natural stone combined with cement, polyester, or epoxy resins. It presents the look of natural stone flooring, and is often
cheaper than real stone.
- Marble: Marble flooring is known for its classic veined appearance. It is a soft,
easily–polished stone susceptible to scratching.
- Sandstone: Composed largely of quart sand grains, sandstone flooring features a rough, textured
surface. Many varieties of sandstone floors are available with very distinct, interesting colorings.
- Slate: Water–resistant slate flooring features a sheet–like, textured look. Composed of
slate, quartz, and shale, and available in a wide variety of
natural colors, slate flooring is a great choice for a unique stone floor.
- Travertine: Soft, porous travertine has the density of marble with a textured surface. The natural
cavities can be filled for a polished finish, or left empty to keep the texture of the travertine flooring.
Stone Finishes
Once you've chosen your stone, choose your finish for truly customized floors.
- Polished: This common finishing technique brings out the beauty of stone floors by reflecting their
natural crystals. Progressively finer polishing heads are used to get a shiny surface. Limestone, marble, and granite
floors are commonly polished.
- Honed: Honed finishes are created by stopping before the last polishing stage. This allows for a
softer, flat matte appearance that shows fewer scratches, and is easy to maintain. Slate, marble, and limestone do well with
this type of finish.
- Acid–washed: This shiny surface includes small etching marks and pits, offering a rustic look.
Limestone and marble flooring are commonly acid–washed, and this technique is commonly used to soften the shine on
granite.
- Saw–cut refined: Saw marks are removed from this type of stone flooring during processing, but a
honed finish is not achieved. You may have to special order this type of finish.
- Flamed: The surface of the stone is heated and then rapidly cooled, causing the stone to chip and pop
and leaving behind an unrefined, rough texture. This type of finish is most often seen on granite floors where
slip–resistance is desired.
- Split–faced: This rough–textured surface comes from hand cutting and chiseling at the
quarry. It is primarily seen on slate floors.
- Tumbled: This finish comes from tiles being tumbled in a machine, leaving a slightly pitted or smooth
surface with rounded and broken edges and corners. Marble and limestone floors are most often given a tumbled finish.
- Brushed: The stone's surface is brushed, giving the stone floor a naturally worn–down
appearance.
