It shouldn't scratch..but I only know of slate that should be sealed.

If it's a true slate, yes it needs to be sealed periodically....and yes, it is easy to scratch. You might try protecting the chair and table legs with plastic or felt.

There are also products that are not slate, but are called slate.

Thanks. We just got samples in the mail. The manuf says they are slate but they are extremely uniform in texture and thickness, much more so than the other products we have seen.

We did a stain test and a scratch test. For stain test we put olive oil and canola oil on a spot, let it sit and wiped with a wet rag. No sign of oil remained once it dried. This seemed good.

For scratch test I set tile on floor and dragged wood chair across it. Permanent scratches so this test was a failure. Maybe sealing it would help but the manuf said sealing not req'd but could be done once.

We are now leaning towards a wood floor (unfinished) with a durable sealer (boma traffic hd). At least I know that we can easily refinish if/when the floor gets scratched.