Slate paving

The slate slabs are an ideal solution for dressing both your interior and your exterior thanks to their robustness, strength and durability. This natural stone is recognised for its exceptional resistance to water and frost, as well as to everyday stains and dirt, making it a preferred choice for durable paving that is also attractive.

At Minéral, we select our slates according to strict criteria: frost resistance, low porosity, dimensional stability and controlled aesthetics. Each material is tested and validated by our teams, who come from four generations of marble workers and stonecutters.

In addition to their great resistance, the slate slabs are easy to maintain. Regular cleaning with suitable products preserves their natural beauty and shine over time, making slate a practical and durable material.

Beyond its technical qualities, slate blends harmoniously into a wide variety of environments.

Indoors, slate slabs are often used as flooring in rooms such as the bathroom, the kitchen or the living room. They can also clad walls in the form of cladding strips, bringing a natural and authentic touch, particularly around a fireplace or a wood-burning stove. We also offer a custom cutting service in our workshop, ideal for creating unique worktops, tables, washbasins or bathroom furniture.

Outdoors, slate slabs are perfectly suited to terraces, paths, façade cladding, pool copings and even pool tiling. Depending on the finish chosen, these slabs can offer a non-slip surface, making your outdoor spaces safer.

Slate also has its place in the landscaping of your garden. It is found as slate mulch to reinforce the mineral look, but also in decorative elements such as edging, pavers, stepping stones or stakes. These products, available in stock, make it possible to create original and durable outdoor spaces at very competitive prices.

Each slate slab is unique, with a natural appearance that brings warmth and modernity to all your projects, whether indoor or outdoor.

➡︎ For more information on the maintenance of natural stone indoors, see our dedicated article: How do you maintain a natural stone floor or wall?

Contrary to the sometimes narrow image of slate as simply a roof covering, slate slabs are perfectly suited to indoor or outdoor paving (terrace, garden or pool coping), notably thanks to their frost resistance, resistance to water and abrasion. But the success of the installation depends directly on the technique used, and on the quality of the installation materials.

Our advice from Minéral experts:

1. Use only adhesives suited to natural stone, never standard tile adhesive.

➡︎ We recommend Murexin KTF 55, a high-performance adhesive mortar, designed for sensitive natural materials such as slate. It ensures excellent adhesion and perfect long-term hold, even in wet or outdoor conditions.

2. Take care with the grouting using mortars specific to natural stone, available in different shades.

➡︎ This helps avoid the risks of infiltration, cracking or efflorescence (whitish deposits), while preserving the aesthetic harmony of the paving.

3. Comply with the DTU depending on use (indoor or outdoor):

• For outdoor installations, find our complete guide here:

➡︎ How to lay outdoor natural stone paving?

• For indoor installations, follow the DTU 52.1 or 51.1 standards depending on your constraints:

➡︎ How to lay natural stone tiles indoors?

4. Follow the basic rules: minimum slope, perimeter expansion joints, drainage mat if necessary, and complete drying of the substrates.

Installation accessories available:

At Minéral, we provide a complete range of professional installation accessories, available in stock: mortars, grout, mat, tools, treatment products, etc. Click & Collect available in store or direct delivery to site.

The natural slate is one of the best value-for-money options on the market for your outdoor landscaping. At Minéral, we have been working with this stone for more than 40 years, with large volumes imported directly from selected quarries in Brazil, China, Spain or India, which allows us to offer you competitive prices without compromising on quality.

The price of slate paving generally ranges between €40 and €90 incl. VAT/m², depending on several criteria:

• The finish: natural cleft, brushed, honed…
• The thickness: often 1.5 to 2.5 cm for indoor or outdoor paving, thicker for vehicle access
• The format: large formats, opus, calibrated or irregular slabs
• The origin of the stone (graphite slate from Brazil, green slate from India, etc.)

➡︎ Please note: some natural slates may contain iron, which causes surface oxidation (orange marks). This is not a defect but an aesthetic characteristic specific to certain types of slate – which we fully embrace and value in our selection.

For example, our black graphite schist, a superior-quality cleft slate, is offered from €29.50 incl. VAT/m², in immediate stock, in the 60 x 40 x 1 cm format, perfect for indoor tiling.

Our experts support you to:

• Choose the right thickness according to loads (terrace, garden, light vehicle, etc.)
• Adapt the installation (on a sand bed, on a screed, on pedestals)
• Select complementary products for good harmony (edgings, slabs, pavers etc.)
• Select compatible maintenance products (such as Lithofin Wash & Clean or waterproofing agent KTF 55 for dark stone)

✔ Installation guide available online or in store

✔ Samples on request

✔ Permanent stock of more than 800 m² of slate

✔ In-store pickup or home delivery by appointment

Need a clear and quick quote? Contact our team: we will guide you to the best technical solution according to your constraints, your budget and your geographical area.

Even though slate is a natural product with many qualities, some aspects may be perceived as constraints, but they actually reflect its unique strengths. At Minéral, we have worked with this material for several decades, which allows us to know its technical specificities perfectly and to guide our customers in making an informed choice of the right slate for each use.

• Weight: The weight of slate slabs is often a sign of quality and robustness. This density guarantees excellent resistance to foot traffic, notably for an outdoor paving or a path in your garden. The weight also reflects the solidity of the material, making it a durable choice for your landscaping.
• Apparent fragility: At first glance, slate may seem fragile, especially at the edges or if dropped on a sharp corner. But its naturally cleft structure acts as a barrier against internal micro-cracks, and it resists compression and frost very well (laboratory tests are mandatory for all stones). For high-traffic areas or edges exposed to impact (pavers, pool copings), we recommend thicknesses greater than 2 cm or smaller formats, less exposed to mechanical stress.
• Sensitivity to scratches: Slate can show marks over time, particularly indoors or when heavy furniture is moved. But these micro-scratches are part of the stone's natural aging: they fade with use, develop a patina, and gradually disappear.
• Cost: Admittedly, slate can cost more than basic porcelain stoneware, but this extra cost is explained by:
  The natural look of the material, impossible to reproduce artificially
  Its durability over time (a well-laid slate lasts more than 30 years without noticeable alteration)
  Its ideal thermal behavior: low conductivity, it stays pleasant underfoot, even in full sun

Moreover, at Minéral, our prices start at 29.50 € incl. VAT/m², thanks to our direct purchases from quarries and our policy of regular clearance on certain finishes or lots.

Availability and stock: Some slate references may require a delivery lead time, especially for specific formats or finishes. This reflects a rigorous selection and a choice of quality products. For urgent projects, more than 800 m² of cleft slate in permanent stock are available in our warehouses.

➡︎ It is not a question of quality, but of type of stone and aesthetics.

At Minéral, we have been marble craftsmen for four generations, with deep expertise in the selection and import of natural stones. That is why we want to recall one essential thing: schist and slate do not compete in quality; they are distinguished by their origin, their structure, and their visual appearance.

• The schist, often used in a natural finish known as cleft, offers a raw and authentic texture, highly appreciated in rustic or landscaped outdoor settings.
• The slate, for its part, allows a wide variety of finishes (cleft, sandblasted, polished…) and a wide palette of shades: intense blacks, greys, purples, up to nuanced or oxidized slates.

Some slates naturally contain ferrous (pyrite) components, which can cause slight oxidation. This phenomenon, far from being a defect, is natural and sought after by many architects, as it gives the stone a living, organic and evolving look. It is a real aesthetic argument, which gives character to a paving or a facade.

What makes the real difference is not the label “schist” or “slate”, but the quality of the selection. At Minéral, we favor only materials with proven technical performance: low porosity, good durability over time, frost resistance, structural stability.

By buying a schist or slate slab on our site, you are guaranteed a natural product that has been tested, validated, and selected for its durability, its aesthetics and its compatibility with outdoor uses in the French climate.