Slate is an exotic and unique natural stone. It’s stately, sturdy, durable, and impervious to heat. This earthy stone exudes warmth. The character of slate stone allows it to fit into a traditional design with an informal time worn look. A real classic old world feel. Similar to soapstone, slate scratches easily. It will scratch and chip around the edges and become weathered or aged looking. Slate’s main uses include roofing and flooring. This non slippery natural stone is perfect for flooring applications. Other uses include monuments, slate back splashes, sinks, islands, roofs and counter tops. Slate is made of laminar construction and as such has the ability to be processed into thin sheets and still maintain serviceable strength and rigidity. This property makes slate the only dimension stone having been used for blackboards and roofing shingles. It was also traditionally used as the cloth-covered playing surface of billiards tables.