"PipeDown" wrote in message
. net...
|I know lots of people don't like the HD slate but I have had good
experience
| with it so far. I installed 12" squares almost a year ago at my entry
slab
| and inside foyer and have not the least sign of wear anyplace in the
| install. I got about 10% breakage from the box but that only meant
| returning two boxes of 5 pcs each for exchange. At $1.29 SF I paid, you
| can't find this material cheaper and you do get what you pay for as usual.
|
| I cut about 1/3 of the pieces into 3" wide strips and found only the light
| tan pieces to be too soft. The grey, reddish and mixed color pieces were
as
| hard as any slate I've ever seen (or sawed).
|
| The consistency of the thickness and wider than normal (tile store)
| variation in color were the main defects I noticed but the color was not a
| problem for me . You can always select pieces one by one rather than
| unopened boxes.
|
| I think what you get from a tile store for 2x to 3x the cost ($2-$5 SF) is
| more consistent color, thickness and fewer chips (corners and edge). You
| get a generally better matched set of tiles and that spells quality in
some
| peoples eyes.
|
|
| "G Henslee" wrote in message
| ...
| Sans wrote:
| "Travis Jordan" wrote in message
| . ..
| | wrote:
| | But the stuff that HD is currently offering up as slate that I've
| seen
| | barely qualifies as such: it's soft, dirty and prone to falling
| apart.
| | I'd gotten good slate tile from HD about 8 years ago, but lately it
| | seems to be really cheap crap.
| |
| | Amen. My experience too. DO NOT put the HD slate outside. You'll
| | regret it.
| |
| |
|
| Thanks for all the opinions.
| How do I purchase good slate? by price, by brand? how do I know some
| other tile store has the same one as HD?
|
| Stay clear of the Indian and Chinese slates like HD markets. Read this:
| http://www.aldonchem.com/mt-slate.htm
|
|


Thank you very much for your opinions PipeDown and Richard J.
The point of using HD's is the price since I can't afford $5/sf. I will give
it a try
thanks again