Hi.
We’re building in ski country in North Central VT, and will be utilizing hydronic radiant heat in the slab (Slab on grade system) and on the two floors above (Plate-type with the heat transfer plates installed below subfloor).
Many flooring products have made their way onto our radar, with a tile (bathrooms and entry) and hardwood program (kitchen/living/bedrooms) being the direction we were headed.
But an ad from a few years ago in FHB annoucing Tulikivi’s introduction of soapstone tiling products for bathroom and flooring use caught my eye and intrigued me. So….
1) Has anyone installed (or seen and felt) soapstone floors over radiant ? Due to soapstone’s known ability to hold warmth, it is apparently great over radiant, and it apparently has almost no dimensional instability through heating and cooling cycles (a factor, from minor to major, when considering other flooring products over radiant heat).
2) How does soapstone perform wet in bathrooms/entries ? The friction coefficient is claimed to be less slippery than most bathroom tiles.
3) How does it wear in real life use ? Real life maintenance issues/concerns ?
4) What installation pitfalls (or pleasures) has anyone experienced ?
Soapstone seems to have alot of buzz these days, and I’d love to learn of direct experiences regarding the product. We’re looking at a VT company which mines the product in Brazil.
Thanks in advance for any input, suggestions and experiences.
Replies
I expect it would be about the same as any stone or tile flooring material for radiant transfer. For a slab system, there is a lot of mass going on anyways. I would not buy it if thermodynamics is the primary reason you are considering it. Comfortable RFH can be designed for cheaper materials as well.
As a material, it is rather soft. Much softer than ceramic tile or granite. It can be shaped with woodworking tools. It will scratch. On the other hand, it can be sanded down if it gets scuffed up. I do like the look of it.
>> How does it wear in real life use?
It'll last a long time if you're willing to take your shoes off. If you're not, well, have you ever noticed the dished out marble steps in old buildings? Marble is a lot harder than soapstone.
I ordered some soapstone samples. There are very easily scratched with just your fingernail. On the dark color samples it looked very bad. Likely the scratches would not show as easily on lighter colored stones.
There is a company that sells a lower talc soapstone. I got a sample from them and found that it does not scratch nearly as easily as the regular soapstone. If I remember correctly the low talc version is called "Cobra"
http://www.soapstones.com
Mike K
Amateur Home Remodeler in Aurora, Illinois