Slate has long been
associated with the outer construction of a house and has been a material used
for roofing for many centuries. It is
known for its durability and also for its attractive appearance but in recent
times, slate has made a move into the house and now is popular in a variety of
ways around the kitchen.
What is Slate?
Slate is a
fine-grained rock that can be made up from clay or volcanic ash and is the finest
grained rock in its category, metamorphic rocks. This graining can be expertly ‘cut’ by striking
it parallel to the grains to create the smooth, flat sheets so long used as a
roofing material. Slate is most often
grey in colour but slate from different places can vary, being purple, green or
cyan, such as the very dark grey slate found in North Wales.
Slate was first used
as a roofing material back in the 1870s and remained popular for this use
because it is very resistant to water absorption, being virtually waterproof. Added
with its appearance, longevity and the fact that little maintenance is required
has retained it as a popular roof tile option.
Uses of slate
As well as roofing
materials, slate has traditionally been used for both tombstones and
commemorative tablets. The Maya of
Central American used slate to make stelae, their version of a commemorative
stone and it was highly prized. Slate is
fireproof and a good electrical insulator so has been used throughout the 20th
century in switchboards and in large electrical motors.
Two famous uses of
slate is as the table tops on billiards and snooker tables and in the 19th
century for school blackboards, as well as the individual writing slates given
to children to work with using chalk pencils.
Fine slate is also used as a whetstone to hone knives.
In the kitchen
Two of the main uses
of slate in the kitchen are for flooring tiles and for worktops where its waterproof
abilities come to the fore, along with its durability and general
toughness. This means that it is resistant
to stains and can handle almost anything a busy household throws at it. The same low maintenance that makes it appealing
for roofing materials also makes it appealing to put on the floors or worktops
of a kitchen and it offers a natural finish to the room.
Slate has also found
its way into the accessories of the kitchen, bringing its enduring qualities to
the job. One of the most popular uses is
as a chopping board, where fear of markings the material is almost non-existent
and particularly helpful to the heavy-handed chef. Placemats for the dining table is another
popular use, where the fireproof heat resistance of slate protects the table
beneath from the heat of serving dishes.
Another popular use
for slate is for decorative items. Due to
its ease of use, it can be formed into decorative wall hangings that are often
personalised to make an ideal present and cut into a variety of different shapes.
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