Hi,

I’m in the process of redoing a fireplace, and am trying to figure out which natural stone to use. The fireplace is a wood burning unit. We plan on using a 6-8? surround with the hearth. I need something that is durable. I’ve ruled soapstone out because of the green veins that through the stone. I want to use a honed black granite, but my husband wants to use slate. He likes the rustic look of the stone, but I’m afraid that it looks too blue. Everyone that I have spoken with tells me that it scratches very easy, and that I’d be disappointed with it in the long run.

What’s your advice for someone looking for a produce that is durable, easy to keep clean, and will give years of lasting satisfaction? I’ll look forward to your input, and appreciate your time, Melanie

Hello Melanie,

Slate is a nice rustic option, but given your concern with long durability, you should consider dark granite. You say you want a honed surface I strongly recommend dark granite and be sure to apply a good sealer. However, I do not recommend absolute black granite (honed) because it just shows too much dirt and it is hard to keep totally clean (eg. finger prints).

There are so many colors to choose that you should just take a look at a lot of colors and see what goes best with your decor and taste. I recommend going to www.GraniteStock.com to search from hundreds of granite colors. You can search by color (brown, black, green) and then see a swatch of the one you like. You can also see if a supplier is listed in your area that has it in stock so that you can look at the full size slab.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova

This entry was posted on Friday, October 6th, 2006 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Answers to Granite Questions..., Granite Choice Advice, Granite Color Help, Questions About Slate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.