In many areas of your home, choosing the right floor covering usually boils down to aesthetic value and appearance. Let’s face it! We love the feeling of having a dining area, living room, or bedroom flooring that looks incredibly great. Functionality and performance, on the other hand, come next. However, with bathroom flooring options, the playbook and priority seem to change.
When we are dealing with bathroom flooring options, homeowners tend to consider how these floor coverings function under stress. This kind of stress comes in a liquid form—water and lots of water. In a high humid area like a bathroom, it is expected that water is everywhere. When water quickly touches the wrong type of bathroom floor, it makes the situation even more complicated and costly. So, in this blog, we will figure out which flooring material might work best for your bathroom.
Ceramic and Porcelain Tiles
Porcelain and ceramic tiles are leading bathroom flooring options for years. With tile flooring, durability and versatility are always a guarantee. This means that you can expect a very tough bathroom floor without limiting the color and design choices you can have. Both ceramic and porcelain tiles are trendy and look great in your bathroom. Not to mention that they are inexpensive flooring choices.
Tile flooring is best suited for the bathroom because it is waterproof. Both ceramic and porcelain tiles can resist moisture even standing pools of water. Because of their durability, tiles won’t easily wear down, scuff, or peel up. It also cleans up well, so maintaining it is never a challenge at all.
Although tile flooring is tough, it is cold and hard under feet. It would be difficult to stand over a tile flooring for a long period of time. Also, keep in mind that ceramic and porcelain tiles become slippery when wet. However, texturing can solve the problem. It is important to speak to a professional flooring contractor for the best recommendation.
Waterproof Vinyl
Amazingly practical and pleasing—these features describe vinyl flooring. For many years, vinyl flooring is one of the most popular bathroom flooring options. Gone are the days where you will see flimsy and cheap-looking vinyl flooring. With the help of modern technology, it has evolved into becoming an elegant flooring solution in many areas of your home.
Vinyl flooring is 100% waterproof, making it a very ideal choice for moisture-prone areas like your bathroom. If you are expecting extreme amounts of water such as in the laundry room or kid’s bathroom, sheet vinyl flooring is a great choice. Another great thing about vinyl flooring is that it is DIY-friendly. Tiles and planks are easy to install. Plus, they are cost-effective bathroom flooring options.
Natural Stone
The natural stone floor is a popular choice across the US for one great reason: it looks luxurious. It is undoubtedly beautiful in your bathroom because of its natural appeal. Whether it be granite, travertine, or marble, natural stone tiles in your bathroom can add the wow factor and pure luxury to your home. Plus, it can increase the resale value of your property.
Aside from its aesthetic value, natural stone is tough and durable. It might be hard and cold, but you can resolve it if you install radiant heating. While a natural stone can be slippery, this can be mitigated by adding texture to it. You can also purchase a naturally textured stone like slate.
While a natural stone is an ideal floor covering in your bathroom, it is pricey. Real stone flooring is one of the most expensive flooring materials in the market today. You also need to hire a flooring contractor to install natural stone flooring because it is not for DIYers. Cutting and laying stones require skills and expertise that only professionals can do. In addition to this, stone flooring has a high maintenance requirement as it needs regular sealing and resurfacing to restore its look and quality.
Engineered Wood
Engineered wood flooring is created to address the moisture issues of genuine hardwood. Unlike solid hardwood, the dimensional stability of the engineered hardwood holds up so well against humidity and moisture. If you want to achieve the appeal of the real hardwood in your bathroom, this is your best option. The top veneer layer of engineered wood is in fact a genuine hardwood. However, this type of flooring can be a little bit expensive, but not as costly as the solid hardwood. Make sure not to sand your engineered wood flooring more than twice as it can wear through the top veneer layer.
Water-Resistant Laminate
With the help of advanced technology, manufacturers were able to create water-resistant laminate flooring. No longer a stranger to moisture-prone areas, laminate flooring is also one of the best bathroom flooring options these days. To guarantee that you are getting a water-resistant laminate, read thoroughly over the product specifications. For your bathroom, you want to buy a laminate with medium-density fiberboard (MDF) core. This core has water-resistant components like wax, which prevents soaking up standing water for a short period of time before it even absorbs completely. However, keep in mind that laminate flooring is not completely waterproof. It may have a water-resistant feature at the top of the floor, but it is not waterproof at the bottom. So, if there are moisture issues on the subfloor of the bathroom, laminate flooring may warp and bubble.
Waterproof Carpet
You might be surprised that a carpet is one of the best bathroom flooring options today. But don’t forget that it needs to be waterproof.
Waterproof carpet is produced with RX2 technology, which provides the carpet with the ability to repel liquids. Every fiber of waterproof carpet has RX2 coating on it to guarantee that the floor is water-, stain-, and soil-proof. If you want a soft, non-slippery flooring, you may want to consider getting a waterproof carpet.
Flooring Options to Avoid in Your Bathroom
Solid Hardwood
Solid hardwood has no protection against humidity and moisture. In fact, water is the enemy of solid hardwood. Even the smallest drop of water can cause rotting. That is why if you have standing water on your wood flooring, the best response is to wipe it up immediately. Due to this very reason, genuine hardwood isn’t a good choice for bathroom flooring.
Wall-to-Wall Carpet
Regular or non-waterproof carpet absorbs messes and water. It retains moisture quickly, so you may end up walking on a soggy surface if you install it in your bathroom. With this, a non-waterproof carpet is a bad option for your bathroom.
Which Bathroom Flooring Options Do You Prefer?
There may be a few flooring options for your bathroom, and each has its own pros and cons. Keep in mind that in making a decision, always factor in your budget, personal style, and performance of each flooring material. However, if you still need help in providing you a better recommendation, don’t hesitate to call us today. Carpet Ready is here to give you a no-commitment estimate for your next bathroom makeover.