Best flooring options for bathrooms

Best flooring options for bathrooms

In many parts of the home, choosing flooring mainly comes down to appearance. You want your living room, dining room, bedroom, or office flooring to look great. When choosing bathroom flooring, consider how it will perform under stress. And the stress event, in this case, involves water. Water is so prevalent in bathrooms that it is an expectation, not an anomaly. Additional factors, like durability, appearance, cost, and ease of installation, need to be considered, as well. Read on to find out what the best flooring options for bathrooms are.

Choosing bathroom flooring

Durability

In busy bathrooms with a lot of foot traffic, the flooring needs to be tough and water-resistant. For a seldom-used guest bathroom or powder room, the floor doesn’t need to be as durable. But if you’re unlikely to re-do that bathroom often, it’s worth getting flooring that will hold up over time.

Waterproof or water-resistant?

In most cases, waterproof flooring is the best choice. But in bathrooms only used by adults, or small powder rooms where standing water isn’t likely, water-resistant flooring is a good option.

Maintenance

Some types of flooring, like textured stone, require more maintenance than something like luxury vinyl. Ask about maintenance when you shop for flooring.

Installation

You can save money with a DIY bathroom floor installation. However, installing a bathroom floor might require removing and reinstalling a toilet and careful attention to waterproofing details. Make sure you’re up to the task before you tackle the job yourself.

Cost

If you’re on a budget and considering a professionally installed floor, ask the contractor for an estimate on a few options that meet your needs. Luxury vinyl is typically less expensive to install than tile or stone and looks great.

Safety

Slippery bathroom floors are dangerous. For a safer floor, we recommend textured porcelain tile flooring over vinyl or laminate. Glazed ceramic tile will likely be the most slippery option you can choose, so keep that in mind.

The best flooring options for bathrooms

Porcelain and ceramic tile

There’s a reason why porcelain and ceramic are classic bathroom flooring choices. Not only are they waterproof, but they’re also relatively inexpensive and can mimic the look of pricier materials such as natural stone or wood. In terms of styles, porcelain and ceramic are offered in an endless array of sizes, shapes, textures, and colours, so your design choices are practically limitless.

Natural stone

Durable and attractive natural stone always exudes an air of luxury, but it’s pricey and not completely waterproof. Softer materials like travertine and limestone need to be resealed every couple of years. And harder stones like marble and granite can last up to five years before having to reseal them. If you can afford natural stone and don’t mind refinishing the floor once in a while, it’s certainly one way to raise the resale value of your home.

Vinyl

For the past decade, vinyl has surged in popularity as a bathroom flooring material. This is because vinyl is water-resistant, reasonably priced, and easy to instal. This has resulted in a plethora of styles and designs flooding the market. The material comes as sheets, planks, or tiles, with sheets being the best option for bathrooms because the installation is virtually seamless, making it waterproof.

Engineered wood

Engineered wood is better than solid wood under high moisture conditions due to its dimensional stability. After all, engineered wood has a plywood base that holds up well against moisture. Plus, engineered wood flooring looks authentically like wood because the top layer is real hardwood veneer. If you wish to have natural wood in a bathroom, engineered wood is the best choice.

Concrete

Concrete bathroom floors are typically found in homes with slab foundations. You can also choose to have a concrete slab or overlay poured for a bathroom floor. The slab can be dyed, polished, stamped, or painted to create a sleek look that fits well with a modern aesthetic.

Cork

If sustainability is important to you, consider cork as a flooring material. Waterproof and comfortable underfoot, it’s an excellent choice for the bathroom. It’s also naturally textured, which makes it the perfect non-skid surface. Plus, cork can feature some beautiful and unique grain patterns. To protect your cork flooring from moisture, reseal it every couple of years.

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