Echeguren Slate, Inc.
1620 Innes Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94124
Tel: (415) 206-9343
Toll-Free: (800) 992-0701
Fax: (415) 206-9353
E-Mail: slate@echeguren.com
Web site: http://www.echeguren.com
Echeguren Slate, Inc. was established in 1981 and is an
importer/exporter and distributor of an extensive line of over 40 colors
of exotic fine quality slate flooring and roofing tiles. The company also
handles slate flagging and cut slabs as large as 6' x 3' x 3" as well as
some sandstone and quartzite products. We stock slate and stone from the
U. S., Spain, China, Brazil, India, Africa and other places.
Current inventory of about 70-80 truckloads of product
in our San Francisco stoneyard enables us to dispatch our specialty materials
on short notice. We offer an architectural sample kit of all our colors
in a 4" x 4" format. Full size 12" x 12" samples can also be sent upon
request.
Uses & applications
The classic elegant and prestigious way to roof. The beauty
of a slate roof is enhanced over time, adds value to your project and lasts
generations.
In addition to distributing the standard high grade slates
of Vermont and New York, Echeguren Slate, Inc. imports and stocks a large
array of attractively colored slates from China, Europe, Africa and India.
Besides being economical, some of the foreign slates are thick with rough
textured surfaces which can add eye pleasing substance to a building. To
accommodate classical European architecture, we also offer the refined
smaller sized slates of Spain.
The architectural versatility of slate, in combination
with its durable, low-maintenance and fire-resistant qualities, make it
a top quality roofing material of unmatched value.
An elegant yet economical and resistant interior and
exterior flooring application. Echeguren Slate, Inc. imports and stocks
an extensive line of slate, sandstone and quartzite from China, Brazil,
India, Africa, Europe and the U. S. New slates of striking color and exotic
beauty are being introduced into the American market. The many shapes,
textures and colors being offered are enhancing the architectural palette.
A slate floor will enliven your project and give it a finished look of
unique character.
In addition to tile, pavers, dimensional slabs and flagging,
we offer slate for walls, treads and risers, sills and coping.
Slate is hard, dense, and fine-grained low-grade metamorphic rock that
splits into thin slabs along planar surfaces. This splitting, known as
slaty cleavage, results from recrystalization under pressure and commonly
develops at an angle to the bedding planes. Slates are formed from clays,
shales, volcanic ash, and other fine-grained rocks. Minerals present are
quartz, sericite, chlorite, some graphite, titanium oxide, and iron oxides.
Slate is commonly found in areas where shale has been subjected to heat
and pressure during mountain building. Because of its physical characteristics
and its cleavage, slate has been used for a great variety of surfaces in
different forms of construction.
Building with slate – a look at the design process.
In this interview with a California designer, Stone World examines the
process of designing with slate – from material selection to maintenance.
By Michael Reis
With the continuing trend toward “earthy” materials, slate has been
steadily gaining popularity as a design element. Once thought of
as an exterior material for use on patios and walkways, slate can now be
found in kitchens, bathrooms, and living areas. But like any natural
material, slate has certain inherent properties and characteristics that
require knowledge by the specifier as well as the installer and end user.
One designer who has made extensive use of slate in his work is Barry
Brukoff of Brukoff Design in Sausalito, CA. In addition to using
the material on many of his residential designs, he even specified slate
throughout his own residence. In this interview, he talks about his
experiences with the material:
SW: Would you say that slate is one of your preferred design materials?
Brukoff: Yes. It’s a natural material. It’s inexpensive.
There’s nothing else at that price point that’s as beautiful; it’s flexible
and easy to work with.
SW: What do you mean by flexible?
Brukoff: You can really do a lot of different things with it;
In one project, we used 12- x 12-inch (305 x 305mm) tiles on a wall, but
we also cut some of them vertically into 3- x 12-inch (76 x 305mm) strips
and some into 6- x 12-inch (152x 305mm) strips. It made an undulating
mural that looks complicated, but was really simple. If you had done
that with ceramic tile, which is more uniform, the cut sizes wouldn’t have
meant anything, but because each piece of slate is so unique, you really
see the difference.
In my own home, I’ve used slate slabs on counters in the kitchens and
the baths.In the master bath, I have slate tiles on the wall, and
every morning it’s a delight to be there.It’s like taking a shower
in a rock grotto. Each piece is like a painting, and I hand-selected
each tile for the shower stall. The installer for that job is a real
craftsman, Paul Giacomantonio of Half Moon Bay, CA, and he used 1/16 inch
(1.6mm) grout joints and ground the tile so there were no rough corners.
It was expensive to do, but since the material is inexpensive, it offsets.
You can purchase slate for the same price as inexpensive ceramic tile.
From a contractor’s standpoint, grinding and other things can be done
considerably more readily than they can be done in granite.
SW: Did setting slate tiles in the shower present a maintenance
problem?
Brukoff: It was sealed with Mira Matte and 511 Porous Plus (from
Miracle Sealants). The Mira Matte really brings out all the color
and richness of the slate.
SW: Did you also seal the slate counters?
Brukoff: Yes. It was also sealed with the 511 Porous Plus
1 ½ years ago, and I haven’t had to put another coat on since.
I always emphatically recommend sealing slate.
SW: Are you finding that more homeowners are receptive to slate
for interior use?
Brukoff: Yes they are. We’re putting in a powder room and
kitchen backsplashes in a high-rise apartment in San Francisco. Because
of the general look of the kitchen, they chose honed black granite counters,
and we used the slate on the backsplash to add texture and pattern that
they’re not getting in the granite.
SW: Does the rough finish of slate present a problem for interior
residential use? For example, are people apprehensive about walking
on a rough slate floor?
Brukoff: I think they are conceptually, but once they experience
it, it’s not a problem. We did a bath and shower stall in slate five
or six years ago, and we had also ceramic tile for the kitchen counters.
After they were in for a year, we went in to photograph the job.
We saw the slate bench in the shower stall, which was wet, and the water
was perfectly beaded up on the surface. The owner came to us and
said, “I wish we had used slate for the rest of the house. This is
the only material that hasn’t given us any problems.” That is really
what launched me into using the material.
SW: In some of your designs, I see that chairs were placed directly
on the surface of the slate, without an area rug or any other protection.
Is scratching a problem when the chairs are moved across the surface of
the stone?
Brukoff: Without the proper glides – in nylon or a similar material
– it would be a problem. If it was a metal chair that you dragged
back and forth, there would be a scratch that you would have to repair,
but there is hardly any furniture that’s made without proper glides.
SW: One of the problems I sometimes have heard about slate is
the uneven thickness of the tiles. Has that presented a problem for
you?
Brukoff: It’s true that it’s often ungauged, but we haven’t had
a problem with it. The only time I would see that as a problem is
if you’re doing a small area with thin-set adhesive rather than a mortar
bed. Then you really have to watch what you’re doing. We did
a residence in Palm Springs with 2-foot-square (610mm) slabs, which we
were able to get at no extra cost because we had a long lead time.
I was there when the crews were installing it, and it was a cement bed
installation. The guys would simply work with a level, fixing corners
and using mallets to push uneven corners into the surface. As long
as you’re using a wet mortar bed, it’s no problem flushing everything out.
Without experience, someone could get in over their head, but that’s true
of anything.
SW: Do you often try to use the same installers?
Brukoff: It depends on the region where I’m working, and the lead
time, but ideally I like to use Paul Giacomantonio because he’s a real
craftsman. He does a lot of work with slabs, and he’s a real artisan
who can work with these large pieces. Slate isn’t perfectly square,
and the average guy who works with it will need a ¼-inch (6.4mm)
grout joint to allow for the differences. He looks at it as an artistic
challenge to make it all work together with a very tight grout joint.
SW: For your exterior slate use, I’ve seen that you’ve used a
standard square tile pattern as well as a pattern that’s almost like flagging.
How do you determine which to use?
Brukoff: In those cases, I used the same pattern on the inside
and the outside. It runs all the way through the residence.
I like to simplify materials and keep them consistent. You get the
sense that you’re bringing the outdoors indoors and vice versa.
SW: In your designs, do you typically choose the slate first,
and then select the other elements in a residence, or is all part of a
collective process?
Brukoff: It’s all part of a package, and I’m clear in explaining
to my clients that materials are not to be picked in isolation, but as
part of a spectrum of options that should be fit into a cohesive unit.
Almost always, one of first pieces of the puzzle is the floor. That’s
the platform on which the other things sit. When a homeowner picks
a flooring material, it sets the tone for the house. It’s a basic
decision, but it will have an impact on every subsequent decision.
Echeguren Slate Inc. is an importer of natural stone from all over the
world. We carry an extensive line of slate, quartzite, and sandstone.
Our products are available in roofing tiles, flooring tiles, pavers, slab
and irregular flagging.
Our knowledgeable salespeople are available to answer any technical
question or quote price and availability on any of our many products.
Currently we are stocking the following sizes in gauged or ungauged
tiles: 12”x12”, 16”x16”, 18”x18”, or 24”x24”. Special sizes
may be ordered in domestic as well as imported material.
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