5 Best Flooring Options for Bathrooms
Bathrooms often get overlooked during the process of home building. It’s easy to think a room so small wouldn’t cause many problems, however, various issues like excessive water use and the spread of germs can reak a lot of havoc in the long run.
There are many ways to tackle these problems; the easiest of them is by selecting bathroom-friendly flooring.
In this article, we’re going to explore 5 of the best flooring options for bathrooms.
Two Types of Flooring to Avoid
It’s rare to find a house that doesn’t use either one of these floorings. They’re classic choices for every homeowner. We’re talking about hardwood flooring and wall-to-wall carpet flooring.
Since bathroom floors are often wet for extended periods of time, it’s paramount to have a flooring that can handle such conditions. Unfortunately, both hardwood flooring and wall-to-wall carpet flooring miserably fail in this regard.
Hardwood flooring, if exposed to moisture for a long time, tends to rot and warp. Whereas, carpet flooring absorbs water like a sponge, giving a safe haven for mold and bacteria to grow and multiply.
For this reason, all the options on this list have been sorted through one crucial factor - waterproofness.
5 Bathroom-Friendly Flooring Options
1. Ceramic or Porcelain Tiles
It’s impossible to start this list without mentioning the best flooring option for bathrooms - ceramic and porcelain tiles. This flooring is 100% waterproof, with porcelain tiles especially being renowned for providing resistance against germs and bacteria.
With a wide range of colors and designs, ceramic and porcelain tiles are perfect for creating vibrance and radiance in bathrooms. What especially makes these tiles so loved is their affordability and ease of availability across all parts of the country.
If you’re looking for a flooring that will provide stability and suitable grip for your feet, ceramic and porcelain tiles will, unfortunately, be the wrong flooring option to choose. These tiles are known for sometimes becoming slippery and can be quite hard to fall on.
2. Natural Stone Tiles
Another amazing bathroom flooring option is the natural stone tile. Just like ceramic and porcelain tiles, natural stone tiles are also great at keeping allergens at bay due to their nonporous surface. They look great with most bathroom styles too, however, moody settings are where they excel the most.
Where ceramic and porcelain tiles falter, natural stone tiles shine. These tiles are one of the most stable tiles to choose when it comes to dealing with wet surfaces. This is all thanks to its rough yet comfortable texture that gives sufficient grip to the feet.
Unfortunately, since stone is a natural material that is not as readily available as ceramic, this flooring falls in one of the more expensive flooring options on this list. It is also best to avoid natural stone flooring If you’re living in colder climates as stone can get unbearably cold during the winters.
3. Luxury Vinyl Tiles
We’re big fans of luxury vinyl flooring. Whether you need flooring in the living room that looks like hardwood flooring or flooring in the bathroom that feels like rugged tiles, luxury vinyl flooring can do both quite successfully.
Luxury vinyl flooring comes in two variants: Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) and Luxury vinyl tile (LVT). Both are waterproof but for bathrooms, we like to suggest the latter as it’s easier to style and provides a better underfoot on wet surfaces.
The best thing about luxury vinyl tile is that it’s unmatched when it comes to affordability. Where ceramic tiles cost somewhere between $5 to $20, luxury vinyl tiles range from $4 to $7.
However, despite being cheaper than some of the more expensive options on this list, these tiles will not increase the resale value of your home. Luxury vinyl tiles are also not as durable as other options on this list.
4. Polished Concrete
If durability is the most important factor for you, then nothing beats well-built polished concrete flooring. There’s a reason why this flooring is so commonly used in outdoor basketball courts; it can handle heavy impacts without denting and can adapt to various temperature changes as well.
It’s understandable if you feel having concrete flooring inside the house is a bit strange; however, there’s nothing to worry about. Polished concrete goes through certain manufacturing processes that make it perfectly suitable for most homes. Due to the variety of designs this flooring offers, it looks rather gorgeous once installed.
Polished concrete does have its downsides nonetheless. Even though it is one of the most durable bathroom floorings, if it does get damaged, the whole slab would need to be replaced; thus, this is not an easy flooring to maintain or repair.
5. Engineered Hardwood Flooring
As mentioned before, wood and water don’t exactly get along that well. So the idea of having any type of hardwood flooring in an area as moisture-prone as the bathroom surely does sound like a nightmare. However, there’s still a way to make use of wooden flooring in your bathroom, and that’s through engineered hardwood flooring.
Before we delve further in, it’s worth addressing one thing beforehand:
The only advantage of having any type of hardwood flooring in the bathroom is aesthetic. It’s all about creating that irreplaceable charm of warmth that wood creates wherever it's used.
So why use engineered hardwood flooring? Because, unlike solid hardwood flooring, it uses multiple layers of plywood along with hardwood to make the flooring more durable against scratches and impervious to water damage.
Naturally, this doesn’t make the floor waterproof but it does provide some protection. We would suggest using engineered hardwood flooring for bathrooms that are rarely used, such as the guest bathrooms. You can also keep a nice bathtub instead of a shower in the guest bathroom to prevent splashes. Just add some rugs and voilà!
Conclusion
Whether you’re constructing a rental or a home for your family, choosing the right type of bathroom flooring is one of the most important decisions to make during home building.
With these 5 bathroom flooring options, you can rest assured knowing each flooring will keep your bathroom in tip-top condition for a long time.
To recap, the 5 best floorings for bathrooms are -
1. Ceramic or Porcelain Tiles
2. Natural Stone Tiles
3. Luxury Vinyl Tiles
4. Polished Concrete
5. Engineered Hardwood Flooring
Need help finding the best flooring for your bathrooms? Floors2Day is here to help!
Reach out to us at Floors2Day by giving us a call at 877-356-6759 or booking an appointment online using this link. (If you book online, you say $150!) We offer our flooring services in Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C., Virginia, Wisconsin, and Illinois!
Here at Floors2Day, we provide the best quality flooring products, coupled with excellent customer service, and quick and easy installation.
With over 20 years of experience in flooring, we have seen it all. Every client is unique, and our services are always custom to your needs! We also proudly offer 12-month 0% interest and 90-days deferred financing, learn more here! So, sit back and relax as our team provides you with an amazing, worry-free renovation experience.
To learn more about the flooring options we offer, click here.
