Natural Stone

Sandstone is a lovely material that often has a gentle look, resembling the waves of a wind swept, color laden dessert landscape. It comes in a variety of colors, and finishes, and it is relatively easy to maintain, even in a kitchen environment, where it is becoming very popular.

PORES

The most important thing to consider when installing sandstone flooring in a kitchen is the stones pores. Sandstone is very absorbent, and it has relatively large pores which can suck up a liquid rather quickly. This is one of the reasons that it is so often used to make drink coasters.

These pores are especially bad in the kitchen, where spills happen frequently. These liquid messes can soak into the pores of the sandstone and stain the material on the inside, making it impossible to remove.

Luckily there is a very simple way to solve this. All you have to do is apply a below surface sealer to the stone. This chemical application is like a wet, invisible glue, that goes down into the pores of the stone and clogs them up, making it impossible for stains to seep in.

This sealer should be applied once during the installation and then once more afterwards. After that, it can be reapplied every 6-12 months depending on the amount of floor traffic, and how shiny and deep you want the stone to appear.

Slippage

It is not generally possible to polish sandstone in the way that marble and granite can be polished. This means sandstone basically comes in two finishes, honed, and cleft.

A honed finish refers to a flat even surface. A cleft finish refers to a natural dimensional look.

The great thing about these finishes is that they both have somewhat of a texture to them, which can act as traction in a room, where spills and puddles are a common event. This means that your sandstone floor will be safer for you, and your family, then other more slippery and polished stones.

Style and Taste

There are a wide variety of sandstone colors available. There are also a variety of multi colors available. A multicolor sandstone is a material that has a pattern of color in its surface, which is different in every tile. Multicolored stone is considered some of the most unique material you can get.

Generally sandstone is used in an application where a softer, gentler effect is desired. The fact that it is made from sand, means that sandstone tends to remind us of beaches and desserts, and the soft feel of the sand beneath our feat.