Green Slate – a general guide

About Natural Brazilian Green Slate

Brazilian green Slate, in common with other types of slate has evolved from the very fine mud and sediment of prehistoric swamps deposited across millions of years. It is this ancient history defines the very nature of Slate.
Layer after layer of silt deposited year after year over millions of years compressed and hardened to form a natural rock that can be very hard and tough, resistant to weathering and untypically for a natural stone, has high tensile strength.
The high tensile strength of slate is due to the layered or laminated nature of the stone, this can best be seen by the application of Slate for roofing tiles.

Slates can be split very thin to form a strong light weight roofing covering that has been used for thousands of years and indeed is still widely used to day. Natural slates are generally tough hard wearing,and resistant to the effects of weathering.

This natural character make slate an excellent choice of material for use as house signs and engraved plaques. However care must be taken in the choice of slate as some slates may lose their colour in direct sunlight. The green slate we used was high quality Brazilian green slate chosen for its sea green colour and its ability to resist the effects of weather.
This Brazilian slate is relatively free of mineral impurities, though can contain flecks of fools gold and occasional quartz veining. Green slate is an excellent slate for house signs, it engraves beautifully and is suitable for both incised and raised in relief lettering.

Cumberland Green Slate

Green slate from the lake district of England is probably the finest green slate in the world! Very tough and extremely weather resistant.

The colour is generally a dark mottled sea green and is far more varied in pattern that Welsh slate.

However this wonderful stone is now in short supply as the quarries seem to be coming to the end of their lives. If you have a chance to have a house sign or anything else in this slate grab it!