Choosing the right flooring to install when building or remodeling your bathroom is essential for protecting both your investment and your health. A bathroom floor needs two things to be effective: water resistance and slip resistance. Given the amount of ambient moisture most residential bathrooms experience you do not want a floor that will easily be damaged by water, and no one needs to break their leg by slipping and falling when they step out of the shower. That is why you should examine your options before heading out to your local flooring store and just picking whatever looks best.
Hardwood Flooring
We’ll start with the obvious non-starter. Hardwood flooring in a bathroom is highly inadvisable as the wood will quickly absorb the moisture and begin to warp, crack and grow potentially toxic mold and mildew. This is also true of engineered hardwoods and laminate floorings, although to a slightly lesser degree.
Carpeting
Carpeting is out of the question for use in a bathroom. While it is certainly slip resistant, putting carpeting a bathroom will quickly end in disaster. The exposure to all the moisture in a bathroom will give rise to mold, mildew and bacteria that could be toxic to you and your family as well as cause the carpet to quickly rot.
Ceramic Tile
Ceramic tile is the classic choice for bathroom flooring. Ceramic tiles are available in a plethora of shapes, sizes and designs, so you will almost certainly find something that suits your tastes. Tile is also very resistant to moisture, although the mildew can occasionally find a home in the grouting if the floor is not attended to occasionally. Ceramics are also very durable, and, should one break, fairly easy to replace. The only drawbacks of ceramic tile are that some larger tiles may be slippery and that it can be quite cold underfoot when you step out of the shower.
Stone Tile
Stone tile is an excellent choice for bathroom flooring and is very versatile from a design perspective for those who want to add an element of natural beauty to their bathroom. Stone is very water resistant and can be treated or sand-blasted to give you some friction and help prevent slip and falls. As with ceramics however they can be quite cold to step out onto after a shower or bath. Stone tile is also the most expensive option when it comes to bathroom flooring.
Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl flooring is always a safe choice for bathroom use. It is available in sheets or tile with a wide variety of colors and patterns to suit your tastes. Vinyl is exceptionally moisture resistant and is available with slip resistant coatings. It is also less likely to be cold underfoot when you step out of the shower than stone or ceramics. Vinyl is generally inexpensive and easy to install, making it a good all around choice for homeowners on a budget, but it lacks the classic appeal and durability of ceramic or stone tiles.
For more assistance with choosing the right type of flooring for your space, contact us today! Carpet Wagon can help!