Hey folks,
My kitchen floor is currently covered in a heinous '70's pattern linoleum that I plan on ripping up. I know there's hardwood underneath which I want to expose. The one thing that could be problematic (or pretty cool) is that in a corner of my kitchen the floor is actually slate where the stove used to be. (Furthermore, the walls are brick in that corner only - it actually looks quite beautiful right now.) The slate is currently covered with plywood with the linoleum on top of that. The slate seems to be depressed by about a half inch or more so when I expose the original floor it will be uneven with the hardwood. I'd really like to display the slate since I'm interested in bringing out the history of the house, but am not sure if it'll be practical. I'm wondering if it's possible to lift the slate and put something underneath it to raise it up a little bit to level it off. Also I'm wondering if there's something I should think about covering the slate with to protect it (some kind of urethane or something?) without ruining it. Also I imagine it'll be pretty cold in the winter. I'm completely open to ideas if anybody can think of anything.
Thanks, Nate