Get Rockin' with a Stone Tile Installation

Across the nation, the words "Classic Rock" conjure up images of rock n' roll icons like Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, and Bob Dylan. For homeowners on the hunt for stone tile, however, there's a lot more attention being paid to rockin' kitchen floors than rockin' the free world. If you've got granite on your mind more than the Grateful Dead these days, here's a stone tile primer for the ages! Rock on!

We Will, We Will Rock You!
These six simple words, first made famous by the legendary rock band Queen, are now sung everywhere from little league baseball games to big time professional sporting events. Not surprisingly, there is just as much rock to go around when it comes to choosing the right stone tile for your home. When asked which type of stone homeowners should look for, Peter Taschioglou, founder of Peter Tasch Tile and Stone in Gresham, OR, suggested that homeowners look to granite, limestone, marble, and travertine, as these stone tile types provide the best value for the overall cost.

• Granite—Granite continues to be a homeowner favorite for a host of applications. Thanks to its high scratch and stain resistance, as well as its stunning good looks, granite is hard to beat as a countertop material. Watch out for it as a flooring product, however. According to Taschioglou, "granite is usually polished, and when it's polished, it's slippery." That can spell disaster in bathrooms and kitchens where the combination of water and smooth surfaces is a common occurrence.
  
• Limestone—Limestone is another homeowner favorite. "It's a good option for stone tile," says Taschioglou, who notes that "it's much softer than granite, though it is more porous." In rock talk, that means limestone is easier to work with and creates a more antiquated look, though it will stain easier than its granite or marble counterparts if you get it dirty.
  
• Travertine—Travertine gets a lot of attention these days, especially as a high quality stone tile product for wall and floor applications. That said, Taschlioglou notes that if you do choose travertine for your home, it's worth your money to choose a high quality product. Why? "It's brittle," says Taschioglou, "and it breaks as you use it." In other words, cheaper stone often ends up in a more expensive installation, since you'll need to purchase extra material to make up for the damaged stone you'll have to throw out.

Like a Rolling Stone
If you were lucky enough to make it to Woodstock in '69, you know that there are some times when it is possible to have it all. Imagine Santana, Hendrix, Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and the Who all in one place! Unfortunately for homeowners, having it all isn't an option with stone tile. Once you select the stone of your choosing, it's time to narrow it down even further and settle on a style and texture. According to the website real-estate-agents.com, here are the most popular options that homeowners have to choose from:

• Honed—Honed stone refers to tile with a smooth, but un-glossy appearance, creating a more subdued, semi-formal look.
  
• Polished—Polished stone tile has a glossy look with vibrant colors. It's the perfect choice if you're looking to turn heads, but it does require due diligence where cleaning is concerned in order to avoid the accumulation of unsightly scuffs and scratches over time.
  
• Flamed—Flamed stone is created by applying high heat directly to the rock, bursting crystals in the stone and creating a rough, porous surface.
  
• Tumbled—Tumbled stone tile refers to stone tiles that are tumbled to create a rough, uneven, more antiquated appearance. Marble, limestone, and granite are good candidates for this popular form of texturing.

Stone Free
Of course, classic rock isn't all love and free concerts. It has a dark side, too, especially when you look at Hendrix, Joplin, Jim Morrison, or any of the other rock icons who played hard but died young. On the stone tile front, homeowners should know that there is a downside to selecting stone, as well. "All stone is porous," points out Taschliogou, "You've got to seal them all to protect them against staining." The other option, according to Taschliogou, are new lines of porcelain tile. "You can't really duplicate stone's look," he says, "but with new lines of porcelain you can come pretty close." Not only that, but it's a much lower maintenance material, as well. "I'm seeing a lot of stone tile being replaced by porcelain," Taschliogou says, "especially for people with kids since porcelain is so much easier to maintain."

Whether you opt for stone tile or a ceramic alternative, it's tough to go wrong when you choose stone tile. To quote the great Bob Dylan: "Everybody let's get stoned!"