Your bathroom is one of the most vital spaces in your home, after all, it's a primary need for your day-to-day convenience. They're an essential component of any home whether you’re planning to resell soon or you're there for the long run.
In regards to remodeling a home, whether you've been living there for a while or just purchasing, bathrooms tend to be at the top of the priorities list.
This certain room comes with particular concerns when it comes to its finishes – specifically flooring. The major cause for these concerns: water. This is because water can wreak mayhem on the home, and bathroom floors always catch the majority of roaming water.
From splashing, spills, leaks, overspray, etc., water will unavoidably end up on the walls, floor, and sometimes even your ceiling. It’s inescapable, therefore, your bathroom must be capable of withstanding all of the liquid it will encounter.
When it comes down to considering a bathroom remodel, it's a fantastic idea to analyze your choices to decide what flooring is best.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST OPTION
Selecting the most suitable option will be based on your requirements.
Think about specific possibilities that will resonate with you to assist in sorting through all the types of flooring. For instance, will this floor be installed in a children’s bathroom that will see lots of water spattered all over? Does the main person using the bathroom tend to slip?
Concentrating on what you require out of your bathroom floor will help you decipher what kind of flooring will be best.
WATERPROOF + WATER-RESISTANT FLOORING
For starters, do you know the difference between waterproof and water-resistant flooring? Waterproof flooring is impenetrable to water. Water-resistant flooring can handle small spills, but immense amounts of water will provoke long-term damage.
When deciding on flooring, water-resistant options are excellent for rooms in your home where water spills or leaks are a possibility (such as a laundry room, kitchen, or basement). Water-resistant flooring is typically less expensive compared to waterproof flooring because of the MDF (medium-density fibreboard) or plywood core materials that are used in its construction. These absorbent internal materials are what cause peeling, swelling, and warping when exposed to water. Water-resistant flooring tends to wear out from the moisture and humidity that occurs in a bathroom. For many, once it's damaged, it can't be restored.
Now, as for waterproof flooring, water can sit on, or even penetrate the flooring's surface without harming the material, or subflooring underneath. It also stops mold and mildew from developing since there's no moisture permeation because of the materials used that make the flooring waterproof.
DON'TS
HARDWOOD & LAMINATES
Hardwood floors are an awesome alternative in many spaces in the home, but they should never be installed in a bathroom. For hardwood to work in a bathroom, it'd have to be flawlessly installed and sealed from all dampness. If not, water will pierce through and will someday rot. With the addition of needing to be re-sealed with a coating more often than in any other room.
Engineered woods and laminate aren't the best options for a bathroom floor. While engineered wood does have actual wood layers, you have to 100% guarantee that it's completely sealed and secure, just like hardwood. Usually, the material beneath the wood layers isn't waterproof, let alone water-resistant. It's the same with laminate floors, which generally aren't good with moisture, needing spills to be cleaned instantly to avoid the risk of warping and swelling.
CARPET
If you grew up in the 70s or 80s, you might recall carpeted restrooms. Carpeting absorbs moisture from water leaking, the air, and overspray holds onto it and finally, it turns into mildew and mold. Mold/mildew can lead to damage to the subfloor and respiratory problems later on. As most of us are familiar with, bathrooms aren't the cleanliest spaces. Imagine a bathroom floor you can’t clean thoroughly. Ew.
THE BEST FLOORING FOR A BATHROOM
NATURAL STONE
There's a vast assortment of natural stone alternatives, from limestone to granite to marble. Raw stone tiles are waterproof and resilient with a variety of natural patterns and colors. The stones can be presented as mosaics, planks, or tiles.
Just like anything else, the pros come with cons. Stone can be challenging to install if you're more of the do-it-yourself type. It can also be slippery, but grout designs and finishes applied after can reduce the slip. It can also demand more frequent upkeep than other choices. This is because several stone products need routine applications of adhesive to stop debris and dirt from penetrating, moisture absorbing, or preserving the stone finish.
The biggest disadvantage for many buyers is the price. Natural stone offers an elegant finish but comes at a cost. Stone is one of the most costly flooring choices available since it's a natural and very limited resource.
STAINED CONCRETE
If you’re in a location or structure where you have a concrete foundation, you can stain and finish the concrete. However, concrete isn't waterproof if it hasn't been correctly sealed and finished. This is not a do-it-yourself task, as it typically includes acid engraving the concrete to prep it for extensive filling, patching, grinding, and staining. Stained concrete is an affordable and stunning option for flooring, offering an assortment of color finishes, individually unique to the concrete. Yet, they can get slippery when wet and require a non-slip additive.
WATERPROOF VINYL
Vinyl is another inexpensive bathroom flooring alternative. WPC (wood plastic or polymer composite) and SPC (stone plastic or polymer composite) vinyl are excellent waterproof choices for bathrooms and other wet, crowded rooms. Vinyl can be made to look like ceramic tiles, stone, or wood planks.
SPC and WPC flooring is a tough core byproduct, that fuses the waterproof, longevity, and scrape-resistant qualities of vinyl. The center of these products are made from stone or wood polymer compounds and shielded by a wear layer, which makes either of these excellent waterproof alternatives for a bathroom. Watertight vinyl is also cheaper than hardwood and stone, so many people use it in other rooms rather than hardwood.
PORCELAIN OR CERAMIC TILE
Porcelain and ceramic tiles are excellent choices for a bathroom. Tile is typically less expensive compared to other hard surface choices. It's also waterproof, strong, and obtainable in an assortment of designs and colors. Porcelain especially soaks up less water than any other ceramic product. Ceramic and porcelain can even endure puddles and pools, making them fantastic for shower tiles.
Nonetheless, tile has a few traits that are frequently labeled as cons by some. It's dense, so it’s oftentimes dubbed “cold” or “hard”. It's true that standing for ample duration on tile can be discomfiting, but that's the case for all hard surfaces.
Another probable disadvantage to tile is, it can be slippery when wet, and bathrooms are almost always damp. However, as this is true for many hard surfaces, this isn't typical for porcelain or ceramic.
SIZE
Another thing to think about when deciding on bathroom flooring is the size. A smaller bathroom allows you to experiment with pattern tile, making the room seem larger. You can even get a more expensive tile since you won’t need as much material as you would in a bigger bathroom.
If you find yourself trying to figure out what kind of flooring is best for your bathroom, contact our team at Stay Forever, INC., we'd be more than happy to help you make this important decision!
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