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Choosing The Best Stone

Natural stone is available in a near-endless array of types and styles at every price point. With so much variability, having knowledge going into the buying process can really pay off.

Part of the beauty of natural stone is that no two pieces are ever the same. Each piece has its own pattern, surface texture, veining, and crystallization, so your stone floor will truly be unique. This also means that your floor’s appearance may vary from tile to tile, but that only adds to stone’s elegance and charm. Keep this in mind when you bring home stone samples – what you see may differ from the final product once installed.

daltile stone flooring | Dolphin Carpet & Tile
stone tile slate flooring | Dolphin Carpet & Tile

Variations in Look and Feel

Please remember that it is not possible for you to hand select every piece of stone in your floor. Irregular markings, lines, veins, and crystallization will more than likely be present. You can rest easy knowing that these are not imperfections, but rather a natural part of the stone’s beauty.

Additionally, no natural stone tile will have a perfectly smooth surface. Even after your floor tiles are polished, you may still notice small chips or pits that are more or less apparent under different lighting. Stone tiles will vary naturally in thickness, squareness, and length–much more so than man-made ceramic or porcelain tile. As a result, once your natural stone floor is installed, you should not expect a perfectly smooth surface from tile to tile.

Understanding Grout

Grout is used to outline each tile during installation, framing each one visually and holding it in place.

The grout lines between each natural stone tile are typically thinner than what is used when installing ceramic tile. These lines are usually filled with un-sanded grout, which you can match, contrast or coordinate with your tile color depending on the look you want.

If you want your grout to be less noticeable, we’ll help you select a grout that is close in color to the stone. A contrasting grout color on the other hand can be either darker or lighter and will make your grout lines more visible. Keep in mind that the grout colors you see in the store may look slightly different once installed in your home, typically because of differences in temperature and humidity during the installation process. This can even cause color variation from room to room. Again, think of this as part of the natural charm of your floors.

stone grout | Dolphin Carpet & Tile
daltile stone flooring | Dolphin Carpet & Tile

Stone Care

By following these care guidelines, your new stone can stay attractive for many years.
daltile stone flooring | Dolphin Carpet & Tile

Stone Installation

Being ready for your stone installation will make the entire process go more efficiently.
daltile stone flooring | Dolphin Carpet & Tile

Stone Trends

Each stone style and trend has its own characteristics and performance capabilities, which you'll need to consider.

Additional Markets Served: Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, Cooper City, Miramar, Miami Lakes, Pompano Beach, Dania Beach, North Miami Beach, Miami Beach, Homestead, Key Largo, Marathon, Florida City, Lighthouse Point, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Miami Springs, Sunrise, Plantation, Weston, Boynton Beach, Hialeah, Palmetto Bay, Hollywood, Opa-locka, Tamarac, University Park, Cutler Bay